Members of the advocacy platform Empirika - civil society organizations, issued a statement on the anniversary of the murder of CI SDP, Oliver Ivanovic, reports Kontakt plus radio.
Representatives of several Serb non-governmental organizations from Kosovo discussed today in a debate organized in Caglavica whether reactions and condemnations from the civil society have an effect, KIM Radio reported.
Centre for Peace and Tolerance Director, Nenad Maksimovic said “it became politically incorrect to speak out and publicly criticize representatives of the authorities, being it on local or central level, with an opportunism prevailing which is the worst thing.”
After years of delay, the assembly of the capital of Kosovo looks set to give the go-ahead to the construction of a new 'Central Mosque' - despite the objections of civil society groups.
A key item on the agenda of the city council in Pristina, Kosovo, on July 25 is the future of the city's long-planned central mosque, Miranda Mullafazliu, the spokesperson for the municipality, told BIRN.
The Islamic Community of Kosovo, BIK, together with former senior state officials, placed the cornerstone of the Central Mosque back in 2012 in the city's Dardania district.
Citizens have begun signing a petition calling for an extraordinary session of the Kosovo Assembly to discuss the death of Vetevendosje activist Astrit Dehari in Prizren’s detention facility. The petition, launched following a protest under the slogan “Justice for Astrit”, calls for an independent investigation and hierarchical dismissal of all officials responsible for Dehari’s death. “We need to put more pressure on institutions. We have to insist justice is served,” said Besa Luzha, civil society activist.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo Isa Mustafa, said that the role of the civil society in Kosovo is very important, and proposed for them to be more involved in the Brussels dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade as well as on the implementation of the Stabilization Association Agreement signed between Kosovo and the European Union.
Mustafa also considered that the civil society should be involved on the election reform.
Several civil society organisations announced a protest for Monday, 8 August, at 19:00 against organized crime and corruption. The protest, second in a row, is organized following the recent publications of telephone conversations between the senior officials of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, linking them to illegal activities.
A group of 54 civil society activists have signed a letter in support of tomorrow’s opposition protest. In the letter, the undersigned state that as citizens of Kosovo they are deeply concerned with the current political crisis and in an effort to contribute to the resolving of the situation, they have decided to support the opposition protest scheduled for 17 February.
In an open letter, a group of civil society activists urged the people of Kosovo to support early elections as the only way to resolve the current political stalemate. “We live in days of mistrust in the country’s institutions, of doubts in the power of the citizen and in the possibility for social change. Therefore, we support calls for early parliamentary elections,” the letter signed by eleven civil society figures reads.
The leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, Visar Ymeri, requested the resignation of the government and the creation of conditions for new elections. At a round table with civil society, Ymeri said that the beginning of last year had been marked by mass departures from Kosovo, due to lack of prospects for the future.
Members of the civil society, marched today in Pristina to protest against the violence at the Assembly of Kosovo. They appealed to postpone the Assembly session planned for today.