Thaçi dismisses Tahiri from the dialogue

• Thaçi dismisses Tahiri from the dialogue (dailies)
• Ignored by Belgrade (Express)
• Krasniqi: War criminals have assembled in the north (Zëri)
• France supports end of supervisory period (dailies)
• Mass: Recognition of Kosovo is not a condition (Express)
• Another municipality for Bosniaks? (Express)
• Legislators change Ahtisaari package laws (Epoka e Re)
• State Department report is realistic (Zëri)
• Serb and Roma neighbors suspects in killing of Albanians in 1999 (Koha)
• Ranillug Serbs announce protest against RKS license plates (Koha)

Kosovo Media Highlights

Thaçi dismisses Tahiri from the dialogue (dailies)
Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri is no longer Kosovo’s representative in dialogue with Serbia, Koha Ditore reports on the front page. The Kosovo chief negotiator was not invited at the meeting with the European Union facilitator of dialogue, Robert Cooper, who visited Pristina yesterday, but instead, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, was accompanied by European Integration Minister Vlora Çitaku. Sources told the paper this was aimed to show that technical dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade is over, and that Edita Tahiri will not be a representative in the future process.

The paper however reports that EU mediator Robert Cooper spoke during the meeting exclusively about technical dialogue, since he himself is not certain if he will mediate the advanced process of discussions. According to sources, Cooper has asked Thaçi to endorse the law on cadastre, that would allow for the implementation of the agreement on cadastre, reached in Brussels, and which according to Cooper is the only agreement that Kosovo is not respecting.

Koha Ditore also reports that Cooper was satisfied with the meeting that he had with the Prime Minister, even though outside of the Government building he was attacked with rotten tomatoes by Vetëvendosje activists.

Express reports that dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade is expected to resume in autumn. According to Thaçi’s government, Cooper agreed that dialogue should start after the implementation of previously reached agreements. Epoka e Re on the other hand reports that Thaçi said no to Cooper regarding the restart of the dialogue.

Ignored by Belgrade (Express)
The head of the Administrative Office in northern Mitrovica, Adriana Hodzic, pledged a day after being nominated by the Government that she will not allow politics to interfere with her duties. In an interview for Blue Sky on Thursday, Hodzic said her goal was to improve the lives of citizens in northern Mitrovica. “I can guarantee that we will act at a technical and practical plan. We will work with citizens and we will leave politics to the more senior level,” said Hodzic.

Express reports that the reaction from Belgrade came from the permanent secretary at Serbian Ministry for Kosovo, Oliver Ivanovic, who said that Belgrade will ignore that office.

Krasniqi: War criminals have assembled in the north (Zëri)
Zëri reports that during a speech at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Kosovo Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi said groups of war criminal have assembled in the northern part of Kosovo. Commenting on the recent attack against KFOR troops, Krasniqi said he was confident that the majority of Serbs in that area do not agree with such attacks or with barricades set up by certain Serbs there. “Groups of war criminals have assembled there and they are taking advantage of this lawlessness. They view the establishment of rule of law as a threat against them. Serbia has failed to dissolve its illegal structures in that region and is continuing to finance them,” Krasniqi added.

France supports end of supervisory period (dailies)
France supports the Kosovo Government in concluding the supervisory phase of Kosovo’s independence. This was said at the meeting between Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuçi and French Ambassador Jean Francois-Fitou. The meeting also focused on cooperation between Kosovo and France and special attention was paid to cooperation in the area of justice with Kuçi asking for France’s support in establishing the Academy of Justice in Kosovo.

Mass: Recognition of Kosovo is not a condition (Express)
The German Ambassador in Serbia, Wolfram Mass, said on Thursday at a press conference that recognition of Kosovo will not be a condition for Serbia to become a European Union member. According to him, all the requests for the official start of the negotiations for Serbia’s integration in the EU are already known and clear. “We do not request from you to recognize Kosovo,” said Mass. “As far as Kosovo is concerned, there are three things: implementation of the reached agreements, continuance of the dialogue for crucial issues, such as telecommunication and energy as well as normalization of the relations,” said Mass.

Another municipality for Bosniaks? (Express)
Express reports that Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga met on Thursday with a delegation of MPs, analysts, artists and representatives of civil society and the media from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Jahjaga said the future of Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as two countries that have suffered a terrible and painful history, lies in integration in NATO and the European Union.

During the meeting, Jahjaga also talked about the possibility of creating a new municipality inhabited mainly by Bosniaks in Kosovo. “As part of the decentralization process that has brought benefits to other communities in Kosovo, soon there could be established a municipality where the Bosniak community makes up the majority,” Jahjaga said.

Legislators change Ahtisaari package laws (Epoka e Re)
Kosovo Assembly is expected to vote today on the draft law for changing and complementing laws that enable ending supervision of independence. According to the draft law that is to be put to vote, 21 laws that derived from Ahtisaari status package will be supplemented. Assembly will also discuss today the decision of the Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga for sending back the Penal Code on review.

State Department report is realistic (Zëri)
Zëri reports that Kosovo Government officials have qualified as realistic a report by the US State Department according to which Kosovo is a source, destination and transit country for women and children who are victims of sex trafficking. Kosovo’s Deputy Interior Minister Sasa Rasic admitted at a press conference on Thursday that Kosovo continues to be a source and transit country for trafficking and added that the Kosovo Government is seriously engaged in uprooting this phenomenon.

Serb and Roma neighbors suspects in killing of Albanians in 1999 (Koha)
Koha Ditore reports in one of the front-page stories that EULEX is investigating one of the biggest massacres in Kosovo in 1999 in Krusha e Vogël. The paper recalls that Albanians, Serbs and Roma had lived in peace in Krusha e Vogël until March 23rd 1999. That day members of the Serb minority would take the fate of the Albanian majority in their hands. Several hours before the start of NATO attacks against former Yugoslav police and army, almost all Serb residents in the village were dressed in uniforms of the Serbian police and were armed with AK47s. Two days later, they would launch a campaign of persecuting and killing Albanians. 54 Serbs mainly from the village of Krusha e Vogël and two Roma are suspected of being involved in the killing and burning of 110 Albanians, which is considered one the biggest massacres in Kosovo. None of the suspects is in Kosovo. Sources from the prosecution told the paper that most of them are in Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Serbia and Bosnia.

Ranillug Serbs announce protest against RKS license plates (Koha)
Koha Ditore reports that Serb residents of Kamenica municipality have announced a protest on the Ranillug-Kamenica road in sign of dissatisfaction over the Kosovo Government’s decision for new license plates starting in June this year. Nebojsa Popovic, commander at the Ranillug police station, said the Serb protest against RKS license plates will be held on Saturday. Sources told the paper that Serbs would protest against a government decision which bans the use of old license plates. The protest is believed to be organized by parallel structures in Kamenica municipality.

Kosovo Press Headlines

Koha Ditore

Front page
• Thaçi dismisses Tahiri from the dialogue
• MPs from two blocs fighting against cement tax
• Serb and Roma neighbours suspected of killing Albanians

Other headlines
• Vetëvendosje welcomes Cooper with tomatoes (3)
• MPs demand recordkeeping of Police evidence (3)
• Millions promised but only €300,000 given for Mitrovica (4)
• Thaçi-Hysa over relations and developments in Macedonia (6)
• Serbs from Ranilluk announce protest against “RKS” license plates (9)

Zëri

Front page
• Cooper, pressure for agreements
• Serbs threaten the office in the north
• Another four police officers suspected over gold theft in Peja

Other headlines
• War criminals gathered up in the north (2)
• Maas: Recognition of Kosovo not requested from Serbia (2)
• Rexhepi seeks support for rule of law (2)
• France supports end of independence’s supervision (2)
• Serbia walks out of CEFTA meeting in Tirana (4)
• US State Department, realistic (5)
• Hungary to control Kosovo airspace (6)
• Danish kingdom assists KSF (8)
• EU’s conditions for Serbia-Kosovo relations (8)
• Liberalisation challenges municipalities (8)

Kosova Sot

Front page
• MPs in action over cement
• PAK violations surface
• Tomatoes for Cooper
• Smuggling with “SharrCem” cement confirmed
• Prosecutor Rattel wants kidney donors put on stand
• Editorial: Tomatoes and the north

Other headlines
• Bad with trafficking (2)
• Office in the north, apolitical (2)
• Jahjaga promises municipality for Bosniaks (4)
• EU doesn’t condition Serbia with recognition of Kosovo (4)
• Commission cross-examines police about the gold (4)
• Clinton-Nikolic discuss Kosovo (5)
• Jenkins: Kosovo has Euro-Atlantic perspective (5)
• Medvedev: We support Serbia’s war for Kosovo (5)

Epoka e Re

Front page
• No, to Cooper
• Limaj: A title that honors KLA war
• AAK, can turn processes
• They change the laws of Ahtisaari’s package

Other headlines
• Clinton and Nikolic discuss on Kosovo (2)
• EU’s five conditions for Serbia regarding Kosovo (2)
• Reeker: We will conclude the supervised independence (2)
• Mass: Serbia is not requested to recognize Kosovo (2)
• Hodzic: The office will not be political (3)
• France supports the conclusion of the supervised independence (5)


Express

Front page
• Dialogue in autumn
• Towards annulling
• Commission on the evidence rooms
• Ignored by Belgrade

Other headlines
• Mushkolaj: A false state (2)
• France supports conclusion of supervised independence (4)
• Recognition of Kosovo is not a condition (5)
• Tomatoes for Cooper (5)
• Thaçi: Politics within institution (5)
• Zbogar horrified (5)
• Support by Americans (6)
• Another municipality for Bosniaks? (6)

Bota Sot

Front page
• Vetëvendosje treats Cooper to rotten tomatoes
• James Berisha resumes lobbying mission for Kosovo
• Salihaj: I never once met a SHIK agent

Other headlines
• Serbs and Serbia oppose Administrative Office in north Mitrovica (3)
• President Jahjaga met a delegation from Bosnia and Herzegovina (3)
• Fatmir Limaj declared Vlora’s citizen of honour (4)
• Clinton asks Nikolic to discuss Kosovo (5)
• Berat Buzhala, chief commissioner in Independent Media Commission (6)
• US focus in recognition of five EU countries (7)