Court declares Limaj innocent

• Court declares Limaj innocent (dailies)
• Kosovo agrees, Serbia doesn’t accept its signature (Koha Ditore)
• KFOR neutral on Serbian elections and on alert (Koha Ditore)
• OSCE asked to assist Albanians from Preshevo Valley too (Zëri)
• Trial against Haradinaj set to conclude by end of June (dailies)


Court declares Limaj innocent (dailies)
Members of the Kosovo Assembly and PDK deputy leader Fatmir Limaj were acquitted of all charges against him in the so-called Kleçka case, papers report. The other three former KLA members were also declared innocent by the Pristina District Court as the trial body found no evidence to support claims that the four KLA commanders committed war crimes.

“I have always maintained that I am proud of what I did for my country, my citizens, and my contribution to the KLA,” said Limaj upon leaving the courthouse.

Prosecutor Mauricio Salustro is expected to appeal the decision at the Kosovo Supreme Court.

Kosovo agrees, Serbia doesn’t accept its signature (Koha Ditore)
The paper reports that the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia on the OSCE organizing Serbia’s parliamentary and presidential elections in Kosovo was mediated by the EU. The agreement was facilitated by EU’s Robert Cooper and was discussed with the OSCE only after it was reached. The agreement however does not include Kosovo as a party because Serbia doesn’t sign documents if Kosovo signs them. As a result, the document was signed only by Serbia and the OSCE and reads that OSCE has the support of Kosovo authorities.

The UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, welcomed the agreement.

KFOR neutral on Serbian elections and on alert (Koha Ditore)
KFOR troops will be neutral towards Serbian elections in Kosovo but at the same time they will be alert in ensuring a safe and secure environment, said KFOR Commander Erhard Drews. “KFOR will act on two principles. The first is that it will neither support elections nor prevent them but will be neutral. With regards to the second principle, we will be ready and focused on keeping a calm and safe situation,” he said during a visit to Prizren.

On allegations that KFOR permitted free access to trucks coming into Kosovo through illegal border crossings in the north, Drews said that his troops considered that trucks with medicine from Russia did not present any threat to the safe and secure environment in Kosovo and were therefore not obstructed.

OSCE asked to assist Albanians from Preshevo Valley too (Zëri)
Albanian representatives from the Preshevo Valley have called on the OSCE to apply the same standards for elections of 6 May for both the Kosovo Serbs as well as Preshevo Valley Albanians currently living in Kosovo. They urged the OSCE to provide conditions for Albanians to go freely on 6 May to the Valley so that they can cast their votes.

Trial against Haradinaj set to conclude by end of June (dailies)
The trial against former Kosovo Prime Minister and AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj and two of his KLA fellow-fighters is expected to end on 25 or 26 June, papers report. The decision was announced during a statutory conference at the ICTY. The trial chamber also said that within ten days, it will render a decision on whether to grant temporary release to Haradinaj.

Kosovo Press Headlines

Koha Ditore

Front page
• Kosovo agrees, Serbia doesn’t accept its signature
• Limaj declared innocent again
• Document that seals independence, not translated
• Tender for food in KEK leaves 125 people jobless

Other headlines
• Complex Kosovo-Serbia relations imposed compromise on Serbian elections (3)
• KFOR neutral and alert on Serbian elections (4)
• Closing arguments on Haradinaj’s re-trial on 25 or 26 June (4)
• Kosovo media, determined against the new penal code (5)
• FOL: Prime minister to be in the function of the state not the party (6)
• Nazmi Mustafi, in detention for two more months (6)

Zëri

Front page
• Journalists boycott central institutions and political parties
• Fatmir Limaj declared innocent
• PDK’s financier asks €700,000 from Zëri

Other headlines
• Trial against Haradinaj expected to end (2)
• Plan for the north to be proposed by the government (2)
• Peci presents credential letters (2)
• Two more months detention for Mustafi (4)
• Berisha: Dick Marty, fervent anti-Albanian (4)
• OSCE to assist Albanians from Preshevo Valley too (5)
• Import of UNMIK/Kosovo products banned (6)
• Fol: Elections for Mitrovica, not elections for Ferizaj (7)
• In the service of Kosovo (8)

Kosova Sot

Front page
• Law violations and TV speculation of Makifete
• Boycott day
• Limaj and three fellow-fighters, innocent
• Two more months detention for Nazmi Mustafi
• Editorial: Democracy under threat

Other headlines
• Journalists boycott central institutions and political parties (2)
• FOL accuses Thaçi (3)
• Import from Serbia with UNMIK/Kosovo banned (6)
• Berisha: Dick Marty, fervent anti-Albanian (8)
• Azem Syla to leave Switzerland after 15 May (9)

Epoka e Re

Front page
• Limaj triumphs again
• Daka: We passed the test successfully
• Haradinaj trial to end after June 26th
• Reporters boycott central institutions and political parties

Other headlines
• Marty’s report against Albanians (3)
• Thaçi welcomes Limaj’s return to politics (5)
• The witch hunt has failed (5)

Express

Front page
• Second victory
• Run-off without coalitions
• Boycott!

Other headlines
• OSCE brings election material (4)
• Good with Germany (5)
• Fitou’s assessments (5)
• Go to the north too (6)
• Rights for the Valley (6)
• Azem Syla to leaver Switzerland (7)
• The Hague sets the dates (9)
• Mujota continues violations (11)

Bota Sot

Front page
• Rudi: I am ready to testify about the murder attempt on my life in 2000!
• Review of history of armed war began with Sali Çekaj
• Berisha: Dick Marty more anti-Albanian than Milosevic
• Boycott, because freedom of the press is non-negotiable
• Macedonian police arrests 20 suspects
• Swiss prosecutors are questioning Azem Syla
• Will Ramush Haradinaj return to Kosovo soon?
• Limaj and others declared innocent
• FOL, speaks out against Prime Minister Thaçi

Other headlines
• Serbian elections: The principle of uncertainty (2)
• Germany extends mandate of its troops in Kosovo (2)
• Fitou praises government for allowing Serbian elections in Kosovo (6)