Rexhepi: We have the north under control

• Rexhepi: We have the north under control (Kosova Sot)
• Cooper: Belgrade misinterpreting the footnote (Epoka e Re, Kosova Sot)
• Stefanovic: Cooper on Pristina’s side (Express)
• Stefanovic has accepted Kosovo (Zëri)
• The roadmap for visas to be received today (dailies)
• Hopes rest with Dell (Zëri)
• Complete the reforms (Express)
• 23 verbal notes missing (Koha Ditore)
• Increase of recognitions with “pressure of Pacolli” (Koha Ditore)
• More difficult for Kosovo recognitions (Express)
• Thaçi called on Hungarian businesses to invest in Kosovo (dailies)
• Thaçi appoints man accused of criminal acts as deputy minister (Koha)
• EULEX identifies 56 possible suspects for war crimes (Koha Ditore)

Kosovo Media Highlights

Rexhepi: We have the north under control (Kosova Sot)
In an interview for Deutsche Welle, Kosovo’s Interior Affairs Minister Bajram Rexhepi said the northern part of Kosovo is under the control of law enforcement mechanisms. “The security situation is under the control of law enforcement mechanisms, despite the violent incidents that have occurred there,” he said.

Rexhepi praised the work of KFOR, saying that lately there is greater commitment by the international force to fulfill its mandate to provide freedom of movement.

“They removed some barricades which were technically more difficult. There was an unacceptable attack by criminal groups against KFOR troops and two soldiers were wounded by firearms. The attackers were identified because KFOR recorded the whole incident. KFOR soldiers responded with rubber bullets. A Serb is believed to have been wounded from firearms used by Serbs and not by KFOR,” Rexhepi added.


Cooper: Belgrade misinterpreting the footnote (Epoka e Re, Kosova Sot)
European Union facilitator in the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue Robert Cooper said Belgrade is wrongly interpreting the agreement on regional representation of Kosovo. The insistence of the Serbian side to have the full text of the footnote written on Kosovo’s nametag is a misinterpretation of the agreement, said Cooper. “A footnote is a footnote,” he said adding that it is enough for the text of the footnote to appear in the documents of regional meetings.

Stefanovic: Cooper on Pristina’s side (Express)
The head of the Serbian delegation in discussions with Kosovo, Borislav Stefanovic said that the mediator of the European Union, Robert Cooper, supports Pristina’s ambition not to use the footnote during the regional representation, as agreed in Brussels. “The agreement on regional representation has not been implemented due to its different interpretations. We agreed on the footnote to be presented on the name tag (together with the name of Kosovo) but unfortunately they all pretend as if we did not agree on such a thing. It is clear that they also have the support of Robert Cooper on this,” said Stefanovic for radio Deutsche Welle.

Stefanovic has accepted Kosovo (Zëri)
Zëri reports that the leaders of northern Kosovo Serbs have reacted toward accusations made against them by Serbia’s chief negotiator Borislav Stefanovic. Marko Jaksic, a representative of northern Serbs, rejected Stefanovic’s claims saying that northern Serbs are aware that things cannot go back to the way they were in the late 1990s. Milan Ivanovic, chairman of the Serb National Council, reacted against Stefanovic’s statement who said municipal institutions, infrastructure and services are totally ruined.

The roadmap for visas to be received today (dailies)
Dailies report that the Minister for European Integration, Vlora Çitaku, is expected to receive the roadmap for Kosovo’s visa liberalization from the European Union today. Çitaku left yesterday with her delegation for Brussels, where she will meet with the Commissioner for the European Union’s Internal Affairs, Cecilia Malmstrom, who is expected to hand over the guidelines to the Kosovo Delegation.

Express reports that Kosovo Minister for Internal Affairs, Bajram Rexhepi, head of the Assembly commission for European integration, Lutfi Haziri, Deputy Minister for European Integration, Gëzim Kasapolli, as well as the mayors of Peja, Istog, Graçanica and Gjilan are in Brussels. This daily reports that the content of this document will be discussed as well, and adds that Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuçi is also currently in Brussels, on the invitation of the European Commission Chief for Civilian Operations, Hansjord Haber. They are expected to discuss the EULEX mandate after the conclusion of the supervised independence as well as the conclusion of this mission.



Hopes rest with Dell (Zëri)
LDK and AKR, both parties that reached an agreement to overcome the presidential crisis last year, are hoping that US Ambassador Christopher Dell will insist on full implementation of the agreement which paves the way for presidential elections this year.

The largest opposition party LDK has warned that if the agreement between their party, AKR and PDK is not respected in its entirety it will not vote in favour of constitutional and election changes. AKR leader Behgjet Pacolli stated that people should stick to principles and keep their words. “I believe that Dell will make sure that all that signed the agreement will live up to it. When the current president came along, I was there and she was told decisively that her mandate will be a year or a year and a half,” said Pacolli.

Complete the reforms (Express)
The Office of the European Union in Kosovo reiterated on Wednesday its request for political leaders of Kosovo to accelerate the election reform process. According to them, the additional time for the Commission for the Election Reform should be used to conclude the process that started a year ago.

Express reports that earlier the office of the European Union in Kosovo concluded tha although substantial progress has been achieved on simplifying the election process, major problems remain, principally; political parties have not reached an agreement on the lists and the number of election zones. The next meeting of the leaders is expected to be held next week; however there are no indications that an agreement will be reached this time.

23 verbal notes missing (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that verbal notes from 23 of the 89 states which have recognized the independence of Kosovo are missing from the archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, allegedly some have not been archived and some lost. Officials in the ministry rejected this information, but they did not allow access to the documents to disprove the accusations. “Until now the foreign ministry did not have a special folder to archive the documents. They have been left separately and some of them have been lost”, said a Government official. “Now when they are requested from the Assembly, the ministry has been mobilized to gather the copies which are to be found with Pacolli and in the Presidency”.

Increase of recognitions with “pressure of Pacolli” (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that Kosovo Government high officials have accepted that Kosovo has not been recognized from 91 countries, but from 89, the same as it has been stated one day before from US Embassy in Pristina. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to these officials , even if they have known that Nigeria and Uganda did not recognized Kosovo, was pushed to increase the number of recognitions to 91 with “pressure” of First Deputy Prime Minister, Behgjet Pacolli. The main person who is charged with the lobbying issue, as the government sources said, has also threatened with resignation if the two African states would remain outside the list of the countries that have recognized Kosovo independence.

More difficult for Kosovo recognitions (Express)
Former British Ambassador to Serbia, Charles Crawford said in a blog published by the Daily Telegraph that it will be more difficult for Kosovo to gain international recognition, since the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, will preside over the United Nations Assembly for one year, while Serbia will also preside the OSCE during 2015. Crawford who was Ambassador in Serbia from 2001 to 2003, also writes about the work of Serbia and Jeremic in lobbying against the recognition of the independence of Kosovo. He said that the majority of the countries of the G20 Group and eight countries of the European Union voted for Jeremic’s candidature at the UN which shows “Belgrade’s tremendous lobbing work.”

Thaçi called on Hungarian businesses to invest in Kosovo (dailies)
Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi during his stay in Hungary met with the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban. During the meeting the excellent relations between the two countries were discussed, says the press release of the Prime Ministers Press Office. “Prime Minister Thaçi thanked his counterpart for the help of Hungary, with special emphasis on the recognition of the independent and democratic state of Kosovo and its support for the Euro-Atlantic perspective of Kosovo. Hashim Thaçi together with his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Urban, during the day opened the Economic Forum held in Budapest. Government high officials and representatives of the business community from both countries also participated in the forum. “The aim of the forum is to attract foreign investments and strike cooperation agreements between both countries”, said the announcement. The Prime Minister gave a speech inviting Hungarian businessmen to come and invest in Kosovo.

Thaçi appoints man accused of criminal acts as deputy minister (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that former Mayor of Skenderaj Municipality, Ramadan Gashi, recently appointed Deputy Minister of Justice by Prime Ministe Hashim Thaci, is accused by the District Prosecution of Mitrovica of three criminal acts. They have to do with the misuse of official duty during the time when he was a Mayor. Gashi, the name which does not figure yet on the web page of Ministry of Justice, is accused to have caused damages to the Skenderaj Municipality.

EULEX identifies 56 possible suspects for war crimes (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports a prosecutor of the European mission for the rule of law, officially opened investigations in connection with war crimes conducted in Krusha e Vogël, on 25 and 26 March of the year 1999, by Serb security forces and local Serbs. The European Prosecutor, which opened the investigation on 4 June has interviewed four witnesses, a fifth witness is expected to testify on Friday. Meanwhile, the European mission through a press release confirmed the start of the investigations and the identification of 56 possible defendants which could face accusations for war crimes. “An EULEX prosecutor from the District of Prizren has formally initiated the investigation into the war crimes committed in the village of Krusha e Vogël on 25 and 26 of March 1999.Until now, the prosecution has identified 56 potential defendants who would face charges of war crimes against the civilian population, including the killing of 113 villagers, deportation of all the women and children from the village, pillage and destruction of property”, says a press communiqué of the Press Office of EULEX.

Kosovo Press Headlines

Koha Ditore

Front page
• Thaçi appoints person accused of criminal acts as deputy minister
• More recognitions under Pacolli’s pressure
• 23 verbal notes missing
• Kosovo answers EU questions by copy-paste
• Albanian Government files complaint with CEFTA over blocking of cement

Other headlines
• Jahjaga meets IMF chair Christine Lagarde (3)
• Thaçi invites Hungarian businesses to invest in Kosovo (3)
• US calls on Serbia to improve relations with Kosovo (3)
• EULEX identifies 56 people who could be accused of war crimes (5)
• Soros: The accidental empire (10)

Zëri

Front page
• Ministers “under investigation”
• Marnhac’s mandate extended
• The roadmap, today
• All hopes on Dell
• Government fails with capital investments

Other headlines
• Jahjaga discusses democratic processes (2)
• Thaçi meets Hungarian counterpart (2)
• Brussels will give clear messages to Nikolic (2)
• Stefanovic has accepted Kosovo (4)
• High time to remove Serbian MUP from the north (4)

Kosova Sot

Front page
• KJC is anti-constitutional and lacks credibility
• General elections postponed to 2014
• No punishment for corruption in tenders
• Numerous violations in customs
• Editorial: Peci’s failure

Other headlines
• Thaçi invites investors to Kosovo (2)
• Rexhepi: The north is under control (2)
• The roadmap with additional tasks (2)
• US calls on Serbia to have good relations with Kosovo (4)
• Feith calls for equal access to public sector (4)
• Cooper: Belgrade is misinterpreting the footnote (5)
• Hoxhaj calls for removal of Serb forces from the north (5)

Epoka e Re

Front page
• Late, but good news
• President of all Albanians
• De Marnhac, EULEX chief for additional four months
• Kuçi goes to Brussels for EULEX’s mandate

Other headlines
• Serbia should improve relations with Kosovo (2)
• Brussels will “pull Nikolic’s ear” (2)
• Berisha: Liberation of Kosovo, a historic date (2)
• Cooper: Belgrade misinterprets the footnote (2)
• Jahjaga met with Verveer and Harman (2)
• We will receive them today (4)
• Hoxhaj: Nikolic carries with him a serious past (5)
• Jahjaga’s full mandate, in favor of leaders (6)
• Jahjaga does not speak prior to the Constitutional Court (6)

Express

Front page
• Finish the reform
• Multi-ethnic school

Other headlines
• Stefanovic: Cooper on Pristina’s side (4)
• They receive the roadmap for visas (5)
• Invitation to Hungarians (5)
• More difficult for recognitions for Kosovo (6)
• Message for Nikolic (6)
• EULEX advertises itself (7)
• Praises for IMF (10)
• He returns for oil (10)

Bota Sot

Front page
• EULEX is investigating the massacre of Krusha e Vogël

Other headlines
• Extended mandate of the Head of EULEX mission (2)
• Brussels will give clear message to Nikolic (2)
• Corruption is not righted with discussions and advertisements (3)
• Hoxhaj: Dialogue with Serbia, nearly impossible (4)
• Kuçi in Brussels to discuss the mandate of EULEX (6)
• Çitaku and Rexhepi in Brussels to receive the guide (7)
• Norwegian Embassy helps the woman of Kosovo (11)