Kuçi returns to the Government posts

• Kuçi returns to the Government posts (dailies)
• Kuçi: I read about the articles in Zëri ( Zëri, Epoka e Re)
• Rasmussen to visit Kosovo today (dailies)
• Reichel: Serbia should recognize reality in Kosovo (Koha Ditore)
• Dell: Surroi courted Thaçi over the president’s post (Kosova Sot)
• Nikolic: I will not be president in Pristina (Koha Ditore)
• LDK starts building blockades (Zëri)
• Çitaku: We don’t fear the large number of criteria (dailies)
• Judah: Tadic bizarre (Express)
• Thaçi, most preferred for resignation (Koha Ditore)
• Serb barricaders brutally beat up an Albanian citizen (Koha Ditore)
• Unidentified persons physically assault publicist Halil Matoshi (Koha Ditore)


Kosovo Media Highlights


Kuçi returns to the Government posts (dailies)
Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister, Hajredin Kuçi, who is also the Minister of Justice, has violated on Tuesday his given promise. He returned to the Government on both posts from which he resigned without the anti-media articles being fully revoked.

Last week, the Kosovo Assembly in its first reading approved the Penal Code. The MPs had the possibility to make proposals on the reformulation of articles 37, 38 and 39. After being first approved, the Penal Code, sponsored by Kuçi’s Justice Ministry, was returned to the Assembly but the disputed articles have not been finally dropped.

Almost one month after his resignation which has not been signed by Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, Hajredin Kuçi returned on Tuesday to the two official posts.

Kuçi: I read about the articles in Zëri ( Zëri, Epoka e Re)
The paper notes that although the ministry he leads had sponsored the new Penal Code of Kosovo, which contained articles 37 and 38 that are against the freedom of the media, Justice Minister Hajredin Kuçi said he was not aware of the two articles. Kuçi added that it was an article in Zëri which informed him about the contents of the two disputed articles and which then led him to resign.

Kuçi, who yesterday resumed the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister, said his resignation and then comeback to politics had nothing to do with any political games as accused by the opposition and civil society.

Kuçi refused to talk about the possible reshuffling of the government, saying that this is in the hands of Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi. Kuçi admitted that the PDK and AAK have approximated their positions, but added that there are no negotiations between the two parties about an eventual ruling coalition. He added that for the time being, the PDK’s coalition with the AKR is okay.

In another interview for Epoka e Re, Kuçi said that the removal of the two articles from the Penal Code left paved way for his return to the Government. “I think my action was right as was the subsequent decision of the Assembly. My action was not personal or an outrage against my colleagues but against a process or political concept I thought I should fight to uphold,” said Kuçi.

Rasmussen to visit Kosovo today (dailies)
Dailies report that NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, together with a delegation of NATO Council, will visit Kosovo today. A press release issued by KFOR informs that during the visit, the delegation headed by the Secretary General will meet with KFOR Commander Erhard Drews and representatives of the international community in Kosovo. “The delegation will also meet Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi and Deputy Prime Minister Slobodan Petrovic”, the press release reads. It also informed that Rasmussen will give an interview at the airport in Sllatina, at 17:00 hours.

Reichel: Serbia should recognize reality in Kosovo (Koha Ditore)
German Ambassador to Kosovo Ernst Reichel urged countries in the region to work on improving their neighbourly relations as a prerequisite for their EU integration. Reichel said he expects relations between Kosovo and Serbia to improve as the EU will no longer admit countries with frozen conflicts. “Serbia should recognize the reality in Kosovo and this country should not put into question this reality,” Reichel is quoted as saying during a debate in Deçan. The German diplomat also noted that it is unacceptable for Serbia to continue financing parallel structures.

Dell: Surroi courted Thaçi over the president’s post (Kosova Sot)
Soon to be former US Ambassador to Kosovo Christopher Dell in an interview for the paper said that the two most serious crises Kosovo faced during his term in office included the one that began by the resignation of former President Fatmir Sejdiu as well as the Kosovo Police action to restore law and order in the north in July of last year. “I will say one thing, Kosovo came out of both these crises stronger and better,” Dell said.

“Anyone reading Koha Ditore in the last 16-17 months can understand what this media group really wants. They spend so much time speaking about independence of the media, media ethics and so on but I would not believe any story or opinion published in these media if there is no disclaimer at the start saying that the editor wants to inform the readers that the owner of this media group aspires for the post of the president of Kosovo,” said Dell when asked to elaborate on his statement that certain media owners have political ambitions.

Referring to a recent opinion piece published in Koha Ditore by columnist Enver Robelli, Dell said the article in question is malicious and written by someone who was witness to how “Veton Surroi crawled before the Prime Minister begging him to become president. And this happened in my own house, end of October or early November 2010,” Dell said further.

Nikolic: I will not be president in Pristina (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports quoting Serb media that the President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolic, emphasized that Serbia needs a consensus about Kosovo which means adopting a joint stance on to what extent can Kosovo institutions exercise their authority and which are the borders that Serbia cannot cross. “I think that I will never be anymore President in Pristina but neither will the president of interim institutions in Pristina be President of north Mitrovica”, said Nikolic to the journalists.

LDK starts building blockades (Zëri)
Zëri reports on the front page that the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), which was part of the agreement between the three political leaders that brought Atifete Jahjaga to the post of Kosovo President and helped overcome the political crisis after the Constitutional Court ousted Behxhet Pacolli from the post of president, has started flexing its muscles.

The biggest opposition party, which leads the committee for election reforms, on Tuesday blocked the work of this committee. The latest move by the LDK comes after the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of a full mandate for President Jahjaga.

“If the agreement is respected, reforms will continue, but if it’s not respected, reforms will certainly not continue. The issue of reforms is in the hands of those who violated the agreement, namely President Atifete Jahjaga and Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi,” said LDK MP Vjosa Osmani.

Çitaku: We don’t fear the large number of criteria (dailies)
Several dailies quote Kosovo’s European Integration Minister Vlora Çitaku as saying that Kosovo doesn’t fear the large number of criteria for visa liberalization because ultimately the implementation of criteria only brings Kosovo closer to the European family and it is in the public interest and in the interest of the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, Çitaku said she was confident that Kosovo will be able to meet the visa liberalization criteria.

Judah: Tadic bizarre (Express)
The Economist’s Tim Judah said in an interview for Express that the gesture of the former President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, of shaking hands with Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, was strange, opportunistic and hypocritical. He doubts that this handshaking has any value and adds that this is just the last attempt of Tadic to show he is still relevant and that if another coalition is created in Serbia, he would be the person to move things. According to Judah, Serbia currently does not have a clear plan for Kosovo. He stresses that Kosovo’s image has significantly improved in the recent months and adds that the country should not waste time by refusing the dialogue.

Thaçi, most preferred for resignation (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that more than 23,000 thousand votes in a poll of the portal Koha.net have been made in favor of Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi’s resignation. Thaçi has received 45.8 per cent of all casted votes from the visitors of the website. After Thaçi, the most voted person for resignation is Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi while the third is Bujar Bukoshi, who on Monday also left the Kosovo Government.

Serb barricaders brutally beat up an Albanian citizen (Koha Ditore)
An Albanian man was brutally beaten up by Serb barricade watchers on the outskirts of Zupç village in the north of Kosovo, the paper reports. The victim is reported to have lost the way and wandered into the village and while trying to return was encountered by Serb watchers. According to Kosovo Police Spokesperson Besim Hoti, the victim sustained serious injuries.

Unidentified persons physically assault publicist Halil Matoshi (Koha Ditore)
Political analyst and publicist Halil Matoshi was assaulted last night by as yet unidentified persons as he was stepping out of a literary meeting in Pristina, the paper reports. Matoshi was punched and kicked by three persons, one of whom had a knife. Kosovo Police confirmed the incident and said investigations into the case are ongoing.


Kosovo Press Headlines

Koha Ditore

Front page
• Kuçi returns to government without the removal of articles
• Government finances special prosecutors illegally
• Tough days await cement importers
• Halil Matoshi physically attacked
• Koha.net poll: Thaçi, most preferred to resign
• Criticism against government translates into threats against OEK

Other headlines
• Bukoshi’s staff continues work in the government, without their chief (3)
• A member of ROSU among six defendants in Spain (4)
• Reichel: Serbia must agree with the reality in Kosovo (5)
• Nikolic: I will never be President in Pristina (5)
• Tadic in Dubrovnik, after insistence by Americans (5)
• Organized crime in Kosovo has seized power, a state of law is impossible (5)
• Administrative office in northern Mitrovica starts work (7)
• Serb barricaders brutally beat an Albanian citizen (7)

Zëri

Front page
• LDK starts building blockades
• Kuçi: I read about the articles in Zëri
• Ban Ki-moon to visit Kosovo on July 24
• Rasmussen leads delegation of NATO Council in Kosovo visit
• The Prime Minister’s late campaign
• Kurti: Albania and Kosovo are not neighboring countries
• Haliti: In a multi-plan dilemma

Other headlines
• Çollaku: The two paths of the LDK (2)
• We don’t fear the large number of criteria (2)
• Llapi Group trial postponed (2)
• Hague: Premeditated barbarism happened in Kosovo (5)
• Nikolic surrenders: I will never be president in Pristina (5)
• Kuçi returns (5)

Kosova Sot

Front page
• Dell: Surroi crawled to Thaçi for the post of president
• Editorial: Three resignations
• Opposition leaves political dialogue with Serbia to the government
• Pristina Municipal Court, last in transparency

Other headlines
• NATO Council delegation visits Kosovo (2)
• Nikolic calls for consensus on Kosovo (2)
• Kuçi keeps his posts (2)
• Ban Ki-moon visits Kosovo (3)

Epoka e Re

Front page
• Neither a hero nor a victim
• Ban Ki-moon visits Kosovo
• The office in the north starts it work

Other headlines
• Hague: “Premeditated barbarity” happened in Kosovo (2)
• Kurti and Berisha at a vegetarian dinner (2)
• SNS and SPS create the new Serbian Government (2)
• Nikolic: I will never be the President of Pristina (2)
• Çitaku: Criteria do no scare us (3)
• Pacolli speaks for the political developments in the country (3)
• Law and order according to Euro-Atlantic standards (3)
• There are no facts for existence of a mass grave in Macedonia (4)
• Rasmussen to visit Kosovo today (5)
• Kusari-Lila defends the decision on cement (9)

Express

Front page
• Yes, chief
• They increase the salaries
• Tadic bizarre

Other headlines
• Idrizi: Allowed and natural (2)
• Hague: Barbarism happened in Kosovo (4)
• Çitaku: We will fulfill the criteria (5)
• Alludes on division (5)
• Rasmussen to visit Kosovo (6)
• Serbs beat seriously an Albanian (7)

Bota Sot

Front page
• NATO generals headed by Rasmussen in Kosovo
• Article 38 protects brave journalists from blackmails of criminal structures
• Parallel structures “threaten” Civilian Office in Mitrovica
• Reichel: Europe does not want unresolved conflicts

Other headlines
• Ban Ki-moon visits Kosovo on 24 July (3)
• Nikolic: I will never be president of Pristina (4)
• Lajci: USA concerned about Nikolic (4)
• Deputy PM Kuçi met with the head of EULEX, de Marnhac (6)
• Serbs attack one Albanian in Zupc (6)
• Head of Administrative Office welcomed by mayor Kastrati (7)
• Kusari-Lila: I have not made enemies but I took a decision on cement (9)
• Çitaku: We don’t fear the large number of criteria for visas (12)