In the last two days the Office of the Language Commissioner has received nineteen complaints from journalists regarding violations of the law on the use of languages.
The trial to Olvier Ivanovic and four other Serbs, charged for crimes against Kosovo Albanians in 1999 and 2000, will resume on 21 January with the testimonies of prosecution’s witnesses.
Lawyers of the accused Oliver Ivanovic, Dragoljub Delibasic, Aleksandar Lazovic, Ilija and Nebojsa Vujacic said in their opening statements that their defendants didn’t commit crimes they are charged with. They also disputed the credibility of the witnesses proposed by the prosecution.
The head of Kosovo delegation in talks with Belgrade on vehicle insurance taxes, Rahim Pacolli, said that two delegations didn’t manage to reach an agreement over the Green Card at the last meeting in Brussels.
Pacolli said to RTK that Serbian side didn’t show readiness to sign the agreement because they didn’t agree with some counts of the agreement, for which they asked to be amended, but the request was not accepted.
Creation of the Association/Community of Serb municipalities (A/CSM) should not lead to closure of provisional bodies, instead an adequate solution should be found for around 800 employees in order that they are not laid off, said president of the provisional body of Kosovska Mitrovica municipality (Serbia-run administration), Aleksandar Spiric, to RTK2.
Trial to the leader of the Civic Initiative SDP Olvier Ivanovic, and fourth other Serbs, charged with committing serious crimes in Kosovo during 1999 and 2000, will start tomorrow.
Lawyer Nebojsa Vlajic said to Tanjug that Ivanovic’s defense is ready for a months-long trial and that human rights of Serbs, who are in detention for almost a year now, have been violated.
"If we estimate that we cannot achieve the basic interests and that we cannot change what is the most important for us, we will certainly leave the government. But let's give these people a chance and let’s see if they are sincere when they say that they want Serbs in Kosovo", said Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister Branimir Stojanovic.
Nomination of Branimir Stojanovic at the post of the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo has left the post of the Mayor of Gračanica/Graçanicë vacant. Dr Nebojsa Milovanovic, so far deputy Mayor, will carry out the duty of the Acting Mayor of Gračanica/Graçanicë until mayoral elections.. Elections are due to take place in not less than 30 and not more than 45 days, from the date of Stojanovic’s resignation.
Civic Initiative SDP – Oliver Ivanovic has condemned the statement of the British Ambassador to Pristina, Ian Cliff, that Serbs have recognized Kosovo’s independence by being part of the Kosovo government, and communicated that Serbs decided to be part of those institutions in order to improve relations with Albanians.
On 27 December will be 11 months since the arrest of Oliver Ivanović. On the same day expires the decision on the extension of his detention. Defence says it is ready, and representatives of the CI SDP, whose leader is Ivanovic, expect that EULEX will make a fair decision and allow the accused to be released pending trial.
British Ambassador to Pristina, Ian Cliff, says the role of Serbs and other non-majority communities is of the key importance for Kosovo’s progress and that all who participate in the work of the parliament and government are de facto recognizing Kosovo’s independence.
“We, as the embassy, used to have good cooperation with the Ministry for Communities and Return. We’ll see, but I think that the role of Serbs and non-majority communities is crucial for Kosovo,” Cliff said.