Dialogue for the north endangers ruling coalition

• Dialogue for the north endangers ruling coalition (Koha Ditore)
• Kosovo Government to yield before Nikolic (Zëri)
• They don’t talk about the north (Express)
• Kosovo institutions want to communicate with Orthodox Church (Koha)
• We have the President (Express)
• EULEX announces arrests of barricaders in the north (Epoka e Re)
• Weak confiscation of old Yugoslav license plates (Zëri)
• US reinforcing its military presence in the Balkans (dailies)
• Two more years for EULEX (Epoka e Re)
• Çitaku requests serious partnership from EULEX (Epoka e Re)
• De-Marnhac with additional four months to lead EULEX (Koha Ditore)


Kosovo Media Highlights


Dialogue for the north endangers ruling coalition (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi is not ready to enter the dialogue for the north with only Behgjet Pacolli by his side. This is at least what has been stated by senior local and international officials. Local sources told the paper that Thaçi is afraid that such a dialogue would damage his political position not only towards the LDK leader Isa Mustafa but also towards those who are claiming to take over the leadership of PDK, while the other sources expressed understanding for Thaçi’s stance.

“Thaçi would enter the dialogue for the north with the only condition that this dialogue includes also the head of LDK, Isa Mustafa. This way, LDK would lose the possibility to win political points from the citizens and on the other side no one in PDK would blame him why he accepted to enter a political dialogue”, said a well-informed official about the dialogue process. The same explained that Prime Minister has already make this clear to international friends.

“In fact, he did not reject the possibility to break the ruling coalition to open the path to early elections if Mustafa does not accept to be part of the dialogue”, said the source of the newspaper.

The breaking of the coalition has been seen as a realistic option also by a senior international diplomat. His expectations are that Thaçi 2 will be “delegitimized” in September this year. According to this diplomat, no one believes in the PDK-AKR coalition and as such it does not have enough strength to face the process of the dialogue for the north. The unnamed official went on to say that other diplomats also have understanding for the hesitation of Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi to enter the dialogue for the north with the present coalition. “There are two solutions: reformatting of the Government through which the coalition would change or early elections,” said the foreign official.

Kosovo Government to yield before Nikolic (Zëri)
The paper considers that the announcement of the Serb President Tomislav Nikolic that he is to visit the north of Kosovo this week presents a serious challenge for the Kosovo Government. Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuçi said that authorities in Pristina will act in accordance to applicable laws. “We will treat everything based on laws, the Constitution and national interests,” said Kuçi when asked whether the Government will allow or ban Nikolic’s visit.

However, political analysts that the paper spoke with believe that the Kosovo Government will be powerless in preventing possible visit of Serbia’s new head of state though this would constitute a breach of the country’s Constitution, sovereignty and integrity. “With this move, the Serb president is challenging the Government of Kosovo and showing that he has that territory under control. KFOR and EULEX are status-neutral so for them this would be a technical not a political challenge,” said analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu.

They don’t talk about the north (Express)
Opposition parties refuse to cooperate with the Government of Kosovo in the anticipated talks on the north. LDK parliamentary group chief Ismet Beqiri and AAK deputy leader Ahmet Isufi said on Tuesday they received no invitation to become part of a team that would discuss the northern part of the country.

“We will not shoulder the responsibility that Mr. Thaçi has with all the failures in this respect so far, especially in the talks, which he initially said were technical but now come out as political. As far as LDK is concerned, the solution for the north is ready and it rests in President Ahtisaari’s Package,” Beqiri said.

Isufi said Kosovo doesn’t need a special team to discuss the north. “No, because we used to solve things with teams in the past, now Kosovo must function as a state and this government, which has failed to invest anything, should resign,” Isufi added.

Kosovo institutions want to communicate with Orthodox Church (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that Kosovo institutions are making efforts to establish regular communication with the Serb Orthodox Church in Kosovo. Sources of the newspaper have explained that contacts between the Church’s clergymen and institutions have increased recently. Furthermore, according to these sources, one member of the governing cabinet has already conducted a meeting with the representatives of Serb Orthodox Church while other meetings have been held on Orthodox holidays and they are expected to be intensified in the future. The goal, according to the sources, is to enable a visit of the President Atifete Jahjaga and Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi in one of Orthodox Churches in Kosovo in the coming months. The efforts are being made for the advancement of the communication in the local and national level. The efforts are supported by international organizations like ICO, but also by the member states of Quint.

We have the President (Express)
Express reports on the leading front-page story that Kosovo Assembly Speaker and PDK general secretary Jakup Krasniqi is known to often surprise with his public statements which are different from those of other PDK officials. Judging from Krasniqi’s statements many can conclude that there are major divisions within the biggest party in Kosovo and that trouble can break out there very quickly.

Krasniqi never hesitated to criticize Hashim Thaçi who for many people is an undisputed leader in PDK. Krasniqi’s closeness with Fatmir Limaj, who is also one of the critics of Thaçi, has sealed the perception about divisions in the party.

But Krasniqi is also known for changing his positions often. In an interview for the paper on Tuesday, Krasniqi denied reports that he walked out of the party’s chairmanship meeting which was attended by party leader Thaçi. Krasniqi also said that his previous criticism against Thaçi was aimed at further democratization of the party and not claiming the party leadership.

EULEX announces arrests of barricaders in the north (Epoka e Re)
The EULEX Spokesperson, Blerim Krasniqi, has stated that conditionings of the Serb parallel structures in the north regarding the freedom of movement to this mission are unacceptable. In this context, Krasniqi has warned these structures that EULEX will arrest all those who violate the freedom of movement. “Blockades of the roads, attack towards the officials of the European Union and KFOR soldiers, as well as direct or indirect inducement of violence, are illegal acts and as such, they can lead to the arrests or penal persecution of the involved individuals,” said Krasniqi.

Weak confiscation of old Yugoslav license plates (Zëri)
A week from the decision to confiscate license plates of former Yugoslavia entered into force, the paper reports that the police have managed to confiscate only five plates. According to Kosovo Police Spokesperson Brahim Sadriu, until now, the police have confiscated two license plates near Pristina, two south of Mitrovica and one in Gjilan. He said the police encountered no resistance during these operations and added that there has been an increasing interest of Serb citizens to get Kosovo license plates.

US reinforcing its military presence in the Balkans (dailies)
Several papers quote a report from US website OpEdNews according to which the Pentagon is reinforcing its presence in the Balkans. The US has continued to increase its presence in the former Yugoslav countries and other countries in the Balkans before, during and after the recent NATO summit in Chicago, wrote the author of the report. He further noted that considerable number of diplomats and analysts have called on the US to take on a more leading role in NATO so that the Alliance can function better.

Two more years for EULEX (Epoka e Re)
The European Union Council has decided on Tuesday to extend the mandate of the European mission for the rule of law in Kosovo, EULEX, for two more years respectively until 14 June 2014. According to this decision, within ten days, number of the employees at this mission will reduce to 700 international and 200 local staff. This daily reports that the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, has hailed this decision, while political analysts and experts of integration, have criticized the work of this mission so far. They have requested a completely different approach, especially in the north.

Çitaku requests serious partnership from EULEX (Epoka e Re)
Kosovo Minister for European Integration, Vlora Çitaku, has requested EULEX to intensify its engagements during its two-year mandate. She appealed on this mission to justify the trust of the local and international institutions. “Our expectations from this mission were greater compared to the results. During the two next years, we expect that EULEX will justify the trust of the European Union and of the Republic of Kosovo. I request EULEX to increase its engagements during the next two years regarding the obligations of the Republic of Kosovo towards the Euro-Atlantic integrations. In this respect, I see EULEX also as a partner of Kosovo’s integration in the European Union,” said Çitaku.

De-Marnhac with additional four months to lead EULEX (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that European Union will continue to keep Xavier Bout de Marnhac as the head of EULEX for additional four months. The reason for this action, according to EU officials, is that the EU thinks that the new head of the mission should be appointed only after EULEX entirely reconfigures. The news has been confirmed for the newspaper by Maja Kocijancic Spokeswoman of EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Catherine Ashton.

Kosovo Press Headlines

Koha Ditore

Front page
• Dialogue on the north endangers the ruling coalition
• Kosovo institutions want to communicate with Orthodox Church
• Albanians and Europe in the 21st century
• They flee from Pristina Airport
• Policeman who revealed theft of corruption evidence in the government receives death threats

Other headlines
• De Marnhac another four months at helm of EULEX (2)
• President Jahjaga meets Albanian community in Istra region in Croatia (3)
• Prime Minister Thaçi travels to Japan (4)

Zëri

Front page
• The paradox of “evidence rooms”
• EULEX’s mandate extended to 2014
• Constitutional Court says “Yes” to end of supervisory phase
• Few confiscations of license plates
• Government surrenders to Nikolic
• Students to vote for their representatives

Other headlines
• Prison for those who impede freedom of movement (2)
• US to strengthen their presence in the Balkans (2)
• Freedom House: Justice in Kosovo has achieved progress (4)
• Thaçi visits Japan (4)

Kosova Sot

Front page
• 415 complaints against municipalities
• Editorial: Fewer EULEX officials
• 250 applications for the office in the north
• EULEX’s mandate extended to 2014, it is downsized for 14 percent
• World Bank: Kosovo must address employment

Other headlines
• US strengthens military presence in the Balkans (2)
• Thaçi travels to Japan (4)
• AAK will not be part of dialogue on the north (4)
• Vetëvendosje accuses politicians of getting rich illegally (4)
• No conditions, only arrests (4)

Epoka e Re

Front page
• Towards the end
• Gaxherri: LDK cannot be the first without LDD
• Two more years for EULEX

Other headlines
• Pentagon strengthens military presence in Balkans (2)
• Breivik: An Albanian from Kosovo and Muslims turned me into a radical (2)
• Freedom House: Justice in Kosovo has marked improvements (2)
• Thaçi travelled for an official visit to Japan (2)
• EULEX warns to arrest barricaders in the north (3)
• Students to elect their representatives today (6)
• Two alliances speak differently (6)
• Diaspora requests three seats at the Assembly (7)
• LDK aims membership at PPE (7)

Express

Front page
• We have the president
• The investigator investigated
• Parents accused
• We continue with EULEX

Other headlines
• Rexhepi: Insignificant growth of banks (2)
• Nikolic will meet the illegal leaders in the north (4)
• Thaçi in Japan (5)
• Strengthens in Balkans (5)
• Do not discuss the north (6)
• Insufficient increase (10)
• Against privatization (10)

Bota Sot

Front page
• Is there an Albanian that can arrest Nikolic in Kosovo?!
• Vetëvendosje protests: Privatization of KEK is criminal!
• EULEX is leaving, EULEX is not leaving Kosovo!
• Red and Black Alliance calls for unification of Albania and Kosovo
• End of supervised independence with EULEX over our heads!

Other headlines
• Constitutional Court gives green light to constitutional amendments (3)
• Pentagon strengthens control in the Balkans (3)
• Prime Minister Thaçi travels to Japan (4)
• European Commission closer to Kosovo municipalities (7)