Solution for the north needs “political courage” from Pristina

• Solution for the north needs “political courage” from Pristina (dailies)
• Thaçi rules out partition, autonomy for the north (dailies)
• Thaçi: The handshake came too late (Zëri)
• Serbs want to annul agreements reached in Brussels (Express)
• Parliamentary lobbying in five EU countries (Koha Ditore)
• Pacolli: Changes are needed (Epoka e Re)
• Minister Kusari-Lila on the point of being dismissed (Zëri)
• Gërxhaliu accuses ministers Kusari-Lila and Beqaj of blackmail (Bota Sot)
• Appointing non-Albanian staff “unacceptable” (Zëri)
• Serbs on the move (Express)
• Civil society disappointed with pay increase of government officials (Express)


Kosovo Media Highlights


Solution for the north needs “political courage” from Pristina (dailies)
The problem in north Mitrovica should be resolved through dialogue and the military solution should be rejected as a possibility, said NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, during his visit in Pristina along with a high delegation of EU officials. After meeting with Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi and Deputy Prime Minister Slobodan Petrovic separately, Rasmussen held a press conference to deliver his message on behalf of NATO. “[The solution for the issue in the north] requires engagement from authorities in Belgrade, but also political courage and commitment from political authorities in Pristina”, said Rasmussen, reiterating that promoting dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is the only answer.

Thaçi rules out autonomy for the north or partition (dailies)
Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi reiterated that there will be no special status granted to the north of Kosovo nor will the region secede: “The stance of all Kosovo institutions is and will remain unchanged. There will be no partition, no special statuses or autonomy for particular parts of our country. There will be one integrated Kosovo where all communities will exercise freely their rights and identities.”

Thaçi briefed his ministers about the visit of the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stating that the dialogue with Serbia was an issue. He said the Kosovo side refuses to continue the dialogue as long as the Serbian side doesn’t implement agreements reached so far in the process.

Thaçi: The handshake came too late (Zëri)
In an interview for Croatian magazine Globus, Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi is quoted as having said that his handshake with former President of Serbia Boris Tadic means very little and came too late as Tadic failed to meet him while still head of Serbia. Thaçi said Tadic was President of Serbia in two mandates and he never expressed the readiness or courage to make history by shaking hands with Kosovo representatives then. “The ice needs to be broken at the institutional level,” stressed PM Thaçi.

Serbs want to annul agreements reached in Brussels (Express)
Representatives of several Serb associations in Kosovo said yesterday that they plan to start collecting signatures for a petition that calls for the annulment of all agreements reached between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels. Representatives of several associations told reporters in northern Mitrovica that they will start collecting signatures on Thursday. Through their petition, the associations will call on the President, Government and Parliament of Serbia to annul all agreements “because they lead toward the dissolution of Serbian institutions in Kosovo”.

Parliamentary lobbying in five EU countries (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that Parliamentary Commission for Foreign Affairs on Thursday will send a letter to the counterpart commissions of the five European Union countries that do not recognize Kosovo as an independent country. The letter, which aims to communicate and establish a line of inter-institutional cooperation with those states, asserts that recognizing the independence of Kosovo would be morally fair, legally suitable and strategically wise. To date, Kosovo is not recognized by Romania, Slovakia, Greece, Spain and Cyprus out of the 27 EU member states.

Pacolli: Changes are needed (Epoka e Re)
Making front-page news, AKR leader Behxhet Pacolli said he is disappointed with politics in Kosovo and that he will leave the post of Principal Deputy Prime Minister.

Pacolli indicated that he was approached from a high-level peace-keeping mission and will leave the government if he chooses to accept the offer. Pacolli assured that even without him the AKR will be in the ruling coalition until the end of its mandate.

Asked to comment on the ruling of the Constitutional Court on President Jahjaga’s mandate, Pacolli said the Court’s decision was not required. “I am inclined to believe that the President will act the same way Fatmir Sejdiu and I acted, in order to avoid institutional crisis or the blockade of reforms,” he said.

Pacolli also said that regardless of the latest political developments, he doesn’t feel betrayed by Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi or by LDK leader Isa Mustafa.

Minister Kusari-Lila on the point of being dismissed (Zëri)
According to Zëri, Minister of Trade and Industry Mimoza Kusari-Lila may be discharged by Thursday if she doesn’t revoke the decision for imposing a tax on cement imports, adding that today’s session of the Assembly will be decisive for the Trade Minister.

Kusari-Lila’s party, AKR, initiated a motion at the Assembly today where she will be asked to provide explanations for her decision. “We have requested a motion, if she doesn’t recall the decision and if the MPs vote for lifting the measures then this will be the end for Minister Kusari-Lila,” said Emin Gërbeshi from AKR.

Gërxhaliu accuses ministers Kusari-Lila and Beqaj of blackmail (Bota Sot)
Safet Gërxhaliu, the Head of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, said he has faced blackmail and pressure from Government senior officials asking him to rescind his statement and apologise following his criticism of the decision to impose tax on cement imports. He said his office received a letter from Minister of Economic Development Besim Beqaj and another from Minister of Trade and Industry Mimoza Kusari-Lila urging the Chamber’s Steering Council to undertake concrete measures for dismissing Gërxhaliu.

Appointing non-Albanian staff “unacceptable” (Zëri)
Albanian residents in the northern part of Mitrovica said the decision to appoint Adrijana Hodzic chief of Kosovo Government’s office in north Mitrovica and Dragan Milosavljevic as her deputy is unacceptable. “We don’t need an office without Albanians. Even appointing Adrijana Hodzic is unacceptable for us because she is from the Bosniak community, which is a minority even in the Bosniak Mahalla let alone the entire north,” said Fevzi Beqiri, representative of the Albanian community in northern Kosovo.

Serbs on the move (Express)
Serb writer Dobrica Cosic stated that Serbia should “hand over Kosovo in a civilized manner.” Meanwhile, former President Boris Tadic, confirmed that Kosovo is independent, while former Foreign Minister of Serbia Vuk Jeremic stated that the membership of Kosovo in the UN will happen “over his dead body.” Cosic, who in intellectual circles is known as the “father of Serb nation,” has recently been quoted saying that “Serbia should hand over Kosovo in a civilized manner because this is a cancer in our society”.

Civil society disappointed with pay increase of government officials (Express)
Representatives of civil society organizations in Pristina said yesterday that the decision to increase the salaries of senior government officials is to please the personal appetites of senior officials and that it is in opposition with the expectations of citizens. On the other hand, government officials said the salary increase would not represent a heavy burden on the budget, adding that they already have the consent of the International Monetary Fund on the matter.

Kosovo Press Headlines

Koha Ditore

Front page
• Solution for the north requires “political courage” from Pristina
• Surroi: Dell suggested to Thaçi that I become President
• Thaçi rules out autonomy and partition
• KIPRED: The north is heading toward autonomy
• Government’s pressure on OEK is condemned
• Parliamentary lobbying in five EU member states

Other headlines
• Assembly, without a coordination office with independent institutions (6)
• Peja municipality files lawsuit against LDK (8)
• Kosovo, fifth in the region on sustainability of NGOs (9)
• Ahmeti: The titans of cement (10)

Zëri

Front page
• Mimoza on the verge of dismissal
• Rasmussen calls for a political dialogue for the north
• AKR expects Jahjaga to resign
• KIPRED: PDK and AAK will give away the north
• Reporters to be protected by law
• Gaxha: Politics or Prizren?
• SharrCem: A campaign against us
• Rrustemi: Realistically, we don’t need constitutional amendments

Other headlines
• Thaçi: The handshake is late (2)
• Irinej: We will not give Kosovo away (2)
• AAK condemns attack against Matoshi (2)
• No division of Kosovo (4)
• Jeremic: Kosovo in the UN, over my dead body (4)
• Tadic: Kosovo’s independence is legitimate (4)

Epoka e Re

Front page
• Pacolli: Changes are needed
• Rasmussen: No military solution for the north
• Cosic: The time has come to give Kosovo away
• LDK doesn’t block election reforms
• Dedaj supports Constitutional Court’s ruling on Jahjaga
• Working group on visa liberalization to be made functional on July 16

Other headlines
• Tadic: Serbia confirmed that Kosovo is independent (2)
• Roberts: New Berlin congress on Balkans borders (2)
• Thaçi: No special status, no autonomy, no division (7)

Express

Front page
• Rasmussen: No to military solution
• Cursed advertisement
• The bitter dinner
• Disappointed

Other headlines
• Commission discusses about the letter (4)
• Roberts: Balkans to be redefined (5)
• Serbs on the move (5)
• Serbs want to annul agreements reached in Brussels (6)
• “Competitors” of MIA (7)
• The attack against Matoshi to be investigated (9)
• Reactions about Kosovo’s Chamber of Commerce (11)

Bota Sot

Front page
• KIPRED: Autonomy for the north deepens crisis in the country and region
• Rasmussen: Talk, there is no military solution for the north
• Thaçi: No division, no special status for the north
• Roberts proposes new Berlin Congress for the borders in Balkans

Other headlines
• Thaçi: Handshake is very late (3)
• Serb hooligans attack Albanian houses in Bujanovc (6)
• Working group on visa liberalization to become functional on 16 July (7)
• Gërxhaliu accuses ministers Kusari-Lila and Beqaj of blackmail (9)
• LDK reacts against government’s pressure on Chamber of Commerce (9)