• Ahtisaari: Not my fault Serbia lost Kosovo (dailies)
• Pristina conditions the restart of the dialogue (dailies)
• Election reform “softens” Thaçi (Zëri, front page)
• Thaçi and Nikolic will shake hands? (Express, Epoka e Re)
• Far away from elections in the north (dailies)
• Trade Workers Union announces protest on September 20 (dailies)
• Forgotten barricades in the north (Zëri, front page)
• EULEX intensifies investigations into Marty’s allegations (Bota Sot, page 2)
• Tracing Enver Sekiraqa (Express, page 8)

Kosovo Media Highlights

Ahtisaari: Not my fault Serbia lost Kosovo (dailies)
Former envoy of UN Secretary General in negotiations for the status of Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, said he is not guilty that Serbia lost the “right” to govern Kosovo. “I don’t feel any guilt, and why? The question is similar to that – if Russia should have influence on Finland? No. Both countries are independent and they should behave like that. Even when certain things happen. Serbia has lost the right to govern Kosovo”, Ahtisaari told the Serb newspaper Vesti, which is published in Frankfurt.

Ahtisaari emphasized that everything is fine with his plan and everyone knew that it was going to be presented early 2006. “After the meeting on 31 January 2006 in London, I asked members of the Contact Group to send their private messages to Belgrade and Pristina and to Kosovo Serbs. The first point of those eight private messages has been very clear. In the light of what happened in Kosovo, because of the actions of Serbia, the return of Kosovo under Serbia is an unsustainable option”, said Ahtisaari.

Pristina conditions the restart of the dialogue (dailies)
Kosovo Foreign Minister, Enver Hoxhaj, emphasized that the end of supervised independence opens a new chapter in history of Kosovo. According to him, during the five last years, Kosovo was able to implement all international obligations, especially the Ahtisaari Plan, reported KTV. As far the technical dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is concerned, Hoxhaj made it clear that there will not be a continuation of the process without implementation of already achieved agreements in Brussels while precondition for the start of the dialogue for normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is disintegration of illegal parallel structures of Serbia.

Election reform “softens” Thaçi (Zëri)
Prime Minister of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi is expected to gather this week leaders of political parties in a bid to find a solution that would take Kosovo out of the political stalemate regarding election and constitutional reform, reports the paper quoting a source from inside the PDK.

The idea for such a meeting, according to the source, has been floating around for quite some time but it will be this week that will see it being finalized. “There was a debate within the party for the Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi initially inviting political leaders to find a solution to overcome the situation created around the constitutional and election reform, but the majority prevailed in the view that the invitation would have to come from Prime Minister Thaçi,” said the unnamed source.

Thaçi and Nikolic will shake hands? (Express, Epoka e Re)
Sources close to the Office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo confirmed to RTK that Hashim Thaçi and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic could shake hands in New York on the eve of the United Nations session. Sources also said the handshake can happen only if assurances are given that Americans are insisting on such a meeting.

International authorities, in particular senior officials in Brussels, are actively preparing to arrange a short meeting between the two leaders that would send a clear message that meetings and talks between the two parties are the only way to solve withstanding problems.

Far away from elections in the north (dailies)
Head of the Kosovo Government’s administrative office in the north Adrijana Hodzic told Radio Free Europe that only the increase of will of Serbs in the north can pave way for organization of local elections. She also said that the readiness of the Serbs in the north to hold elections would also mean the closing of administrative office.

At the same time, Koha Ditore reports that a car belonging to one of the office’s employees was set on fire in the north by yet unidentified persons. Hodzic condemned the act and said this once again speaks about the absence of rule of law in the north.

Trade Workers Union announces protest on September 20 (dailies)
Dailies report that Kosovo’s unionists have collected 61,000 signatures from citizens rejecting the selling of publicly-owned enterprises – the Kosovo Post and Telecom (PTK) and the Kosovo Power Corporation (KEK) – and the liquidation of the Trepça mining complex. On Monday, the unionists will submit these signatures to the Assembly, the Office of the President, the Government and the US Embassy in Pristina.

If the Kosovo Assembly and Government do not take into consideration this request, the unionists say they will stage a powerful protest on September 20th, three days after the Assembly debates on the privatization of the POEs. Representatives of unionists told reporters on Sunday that the protest will be aimed initially against the signing of the contract between the Kosovo Government and the Limak-Calik consortium for the privatization of KEK’s distribution network.

Forgotten barricades in the north (Zëri)
The paper writes that the situation in the north of Kosovo is different to that depicted by now former KFOR Commander Erhard Drews who had stated that all barricades, except for that on the main bridge of River Ibër, have been removed. In fact, the paper reports that there are still roadblocks and barricades along several roads in the north which it seems have been forgotten by KFOR troops. Some of these barricades include those on the Mitrovica-Ribariq road as well as in the village of Zupç where only one lane of the road is opened to traffic.

EULEX intensifies investigations into Marty’s allegations (Bota Sot)
EULEX’s special task force is reported to have stepped up its investigations into allegations of the Swiss senator Dick Marty of organ trafficking in Kosovo, the paper writes. Spokesman of this task force Juri Laas told Radio Kosova that contacts with persons who possess relevant information on the case have been intensified. Laas gave no further details but did say that the team has received adequate support from authorities in Pristina, Tirana and Belgrade.

Tracing Enver Sekiraqa (Express)
Express reports that Kosovo Police have launched a big operation to capture Enver Sekiraqa who is being seen by people moving freely in Pristina and in other cities. Sekiraqa is wanted for a series of crimes, including organizing the assassination of Triumf Riza, former member of Kosovo Police special units.

Unidentified sources in the police told the paper that a special task force has been set up to catch Sekiraqa, despite the fact that he has expressed readiness to surrender. “He is willing to surrender, but under one condition – not to Kosovo Police, but to EULEX. He is afraid to surrender himself to police, fearing that they could kill him,” the source added.

Kosovo Press Headlines

Koha Ditore

Front page
• Ahtisaari: Not my fault Serbia lost Kosovo
• Hamiti: Everything in PTK except profit to be privatized
• KEK: €400 million to close A
• Far away from elections in the north
• Trade Unions announce massive protests on 20 September

Other headlines
• Government silent towards Tërmkolli’s allegations against Jagcilar (2)
• Pristina conditions resumption of dialogue with Belgrade (2)
• Germany implementing Washington’s policy towards Kosovo (2)
• Car of one of administrative office’s staff in the north set on fire (3)
• War crimes, local prosecutors with hands tied by EULEX (6)

Zëri

Front page
• Thaçi “softened” by election reforms!
• No special status for the north
• Enver’s “clandestine” diplomats
• The forgotten barricades of the north
• Lluka aims post of KPA Board chief
• Zizek: Do not worry, catastrophe will arrive

Other headlines
• Before elections, law and order (2)
• Hoxhaj: A historic month for Kosovo (2)
• Thaçi and Nikolic to shake hands? (4)
• Car of a Serb staff of the Administrative Office is set on fire (4)

Kosova Sot

Front page
• Storm of arrests is expected in Pristina municipality and in central institutions
• Ahtisaari: No special status for the north
• Editorial: The lawless north
• Pacolli did not denounce Haraqia to the police
• No agreement to unblock reforms

Other headlines
• Far from elections in northern Kosovo (2)
• No solution with anti-constitutional institutions (2)
• Germany applies Washington’s policy on Kosovo (4)
• Hoxhaj: Dialogue after implementation of agreements (5)

Epoka e Re

Front page
• Berishaj: Kosovo, a national project
• Ahtisaari: Serbia lost Kosovo without me
• Reforms, parties do not move from their positions
• Hoxhiq calls for more security in the north
• Hoxhaj sets conditions for dialogue

Other headlines
• Dacic: There is nothing new in Germany’s conditions (2)
• Germany is applying Washington’s policy on Kosovo (2)
• If petition does not pass, unionists will protest on September 20th (9)

Express

Front page
• Help the locals
• Isa plays the victim
• Tracing of Sekiraqa

Other headlines
• Investigations intensified (4)
• The Government is impoverishes Kosovo (5)
• Lack of will (5)
• Remove illegal structures (6)
• Nor division, or special status (6)
• Americans decide (6)


Bota Sot

Front page
• Ahtisaari: No special status for the north
• Kosovo sells mushrooms and purchases also toys “Made in China”
• LDK: Government celebrates and speculates, poverty grows very fast

Other headlines
• EULEX intensifies investigation about the report of Dick Marty (2)
• Hoxhaj does not reject the meeting between representatives of Kosovo and Serbia (3)
• Secretary of State Clinton, on 4 October in Kosovo (3)
• Thaçi and Nikolic to meet in New York (3)
• Minister Hoxhaj requests East Timor to recognize Kosovo (4)
• Over 60,000 signatures against privatization of PTK, KEK and Trepça (11)