US in support of Kosovo and Jahjaga

• US in support of Kosovo and Jahjaga (dailies)
• Pantic: Serbs in the north ready “to go to war” if needed (Koha Ditore)
• Hodzic: The north to be included in the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue (Express)
• Nikolic: Tadic made a mistake shaking hands with Thaçi (dailies)
• Warlick: The U.S. do not request recognition of Kosovo (dailies)
• Fitou: Decision of the Constitutional Court should be respected (Zëri)
• Krasniqi: Responsibility falls on leaders of political agreement (Epoka e Re)
• LDK feels betrayed, AKR hopes in the good will of the President (dailies)
• Bukoshi and Haraqija leave the Government (dailies)
• Haziri: Kuçi’s resignation hurt dialogue with EU (Epoka e Re)


Kosovo Media Highlights


US in support of Kosovo and Jahjaga (dailies)
Republic of Serbia should accept the new reality of Kosovo and the integration of the Serb state in European Union is to depend on the improvement of relations with Kosovo, said the US Assistant Secretary of State for European issues Philip Gordon in Pristina after giving the same message earlier to the President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolic.

Gordon presented the US stance clearly to Serbian President Nikolic whom he told that the US will not shift from its support to the state of Kosovo. “I have conveyed the message to the leaders in Belgrade and I am repeating it here once more that United States of America will continue to strongly support territorial sovereignty of Kosovo and its independence,” stressed Assistant Secretary of State Gordon in a press conference after the meeting with President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga. He added that Serbia should accept reality in Kosovo while the dialogue between two countries should continue.

Gordon had words of praise for the work of the President Jahjaga and called on everyone to respect the decision of Constitutional Court regarding the mandate of the President.

Pantic: Serbs in the north ready “to go to war” if needed (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore quotes sources from north Mitrovica as saying that about 400 persons took part in the protest organized on Monday by Serb political structures and criminal groups in the northern part of the city. Protest lasted for one hour with the so-called mayors of Mitrovica and Zvecan addressing the crowd. The illegal mayor of Mitrovica Municipality, Krstimir Pantic, emphasized that Serbs do not want the presence of KFOR and EULEX in the north as “they have taken the side of Kosovo institutions”. “This is a nation to which the more pressure you make, the firmer it becomes and is even ready to go to war be it against its own government or international community if pressure persists,” Pantic warned.

Hodzic: The north to be included in the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue (Express)
Head of the Kosovo Government Administrative Office in north Mitrovica Adrijana Hodzic said that some outstanding issues in the north cannot be resolved at the local level and that it is a mistake these problems are not addressed in the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. “It should be made clear to all that many issues in the North cannot be resolved without an adequate dialogue and adequate results would come from talks between Pristina and Belgrade,” Hodzic is quoted.

Nikolic: Tadic made a mistake shaking hands with Thaçi (dailies)
Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said that the handshake between head of Serb Democratic Party Boris Tadic and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi in Dubrovnik was a personal gesture. He said he spoke to Tadic prior to the summit in Dubrovnik and the former president did not inform him that we was about to meet Thaçi. “Had he told me, I would recommend not shaking hands with a man who faces serious charges,” Nikolic said.

Nikolic at the same time spoke about a potential meeting with Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga noting that he would agree to meet her only in a formal format and not informally.

Warlick: The U.S. do not request recognition of Kosovo (dailies)
Dailies report that the Ambassador of the United States in Serbia, Mary Warlick, said on Monday that the US are not requesting Serbia to recognize Kosovo but that it is essential for the future Government in Belgrade to continue the dialogue with Pristina, implement the reached agreements and start to resolve open issues with all neighbors, as soon as possible. According to her, the intention is to normalize relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

Fitou: Decision of the Constitutional Court should be respected (Zëri)
Zëri reports that while the Democratic League of Kosovo and the Alliance for the New Kosovo consider that the decision of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo to respect the full mandate of the President is political, the French Ambassador in Kosovo Jean François Fitou, appealed on Monday to all parties to accept and respect this decision. During a meeting with the press, Fitou said that the Constitutional Court has the right to interpret the Constitution, it is the only mechanism that can do so and it rules that the President should be elected on a long mandate, which in Kosovo is a five-year mandate.”

Krasniqi: Responsibility falls on leaders of political agreement (Epoka e Re)
Kosovo Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi repeated his position that after the ruling of the Constitutional Court on the mandate of the president, the responsibility should fall on Thaçi, Mustafa and Pacolli as signatories of the political agreement that brought Jahjaga to the post of president.

“We know that the Constitutional Court during its mandate has made a series of painful decisions, but politics and experts did not comment on those decisions and maybe this was for the better. I think it’s better to ask the actors of the agreement. I think they must find a way out of the current situation,” Krasniqi said.

LDK feels betrayed, AKR hopes in the good will of the President (dailies)
The mandate of President Atifete Jahjaga which according to the Constitutional Court’s opinion should end in 2016 has angered LDK and AKR as their representatives announced on Monday that they will not be silent towards the given opinion. On the other hand, representative of PDK and Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi recalled that the agreement between three parties was unconstitutional.

The head of LDK parliamentary group, Ismet Beqiri, said that on the issue of the president’s election and her mandate, they have been betrayed by the PDK leader, Hashim Thaçi. “We will insist that commissions on the constitutional and elections reform do their job and forward to the Assembly all changes including those that deal with the president and of course they will be voted. Then there will be a blockade, no progress will be made,” said Beqiri. He also said that “with some people in Kosovo one can never enter an agreement, because they don’t keep their word.

AKR representative Myzejene Selmanaj said they still hope on the good will of the President to respect the political agreement adding that the Constitutional Court merely expressed an opinion and did issue a decision on the issue. “Expressing an opinion and deciding are two completely different notions,” said Selmanaj.

Bukoshi and Haraqija leave the Government (dailies)
Deputy Prime Minister Bujar Bukoshi and Deputy Minister of Finance Astrit Haraqija asked to be relieved of their government’s posts due to an indictment being raised against them. Bukoshi claims he is innocent of charges for misuse of official post while Haraqija said that he is ready to face justice.

Sources from the Government said that Bukoshi and Haraqija on Monday had to choose between resignation and discharge. A press release issued by the Government says that Prime Minister Thaçi “has officially received the request for the release from duty of Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Republic of Kosovo, Bujar Bukoshi and the release from duty of Deputy Minister of Finance, Astrit Haraqija, until the end of the legal proceedings”.

Haziri: Kuçi’s resignation hurt dialogue with EU (Epoka e Re)
Epoka e Re runs as the leading story an interview with Lutfi Haziri, chairman of the parliamentary committee for European Integration, highlighting his statement that the resignation of Hajredin Kuçi from the Kosovo Government has seriously hurt dialogue on rule of law with the European Union.

“Kuçi’s resignation seriously hurt the dialogue for rule of law, because he was a liaison officer between the government and the assembly, especially between Kosovo and the European Union,” Haziri said.

Haziri also said that Kuçi and European Integration Minister Vlora Çitaku have the biggest merits that the government’s agenda is moving forward. “Their departure is a handicap for the process,” he is quoted as saying.

Kosovo Press Headlines

Koha Ditore

Front page
• US support Kosovo and Jahjaga
• LDK feels betrayed by Thaçi
• Time to create “Albanian neighborhood” in the region
• Abdixhiku: Decision on cement is shameful
• Bukoshi and Haraqia resign from government posts

Other headlines
• Pantic: Serbs in the north ready “even to go to war” (2)
• AAK sues PTK director, forgets about Railroads director (4)
• Unionists say bill on healthcare is damaging (8)
• Robelli: She came from the envelope, now she won’t go out of the office! (10)

Zëri

Front page
• Jahjaga of the US
• LDK feels betrayed by Thaçi
• Bukoshi and Haraqia “go home”
• Ruling of the Constitutional Court must be respected
• PTK chief executive officer involved in conflict of interest

Other headlines
• Warlick: US are not asking Serbia to recognize Kosovo (2)
• The handshake, a personal gesture of Tadic (2)
• Jahjaga supports prosecutorial system (2)
• The office in the north is nearly completed (4)
• Northern Serbs protest (4)
• Nikolic: I would talk to Jahjaga only in a formal meeting (4)

Kosova Sot

Front page
• Americans support Jahjaga until end of mandate
• Editorial: LDK’s second defeat
• Courts and prosecutions emptied
• Bukoshi and Haraqia resign
• The judicial system is not transparent
• PTK chief executive officer ends up in court

Other headlines
• Hodzic wants dialogue with Serbia on the north (2)
• Respect the decision of the Constitutional Court (2)
• Jahjaga engaged for an independent prosecution (4)
• Berisha: Neighbors to free themselves from anti-Albanian doctrine (4)
• US doesn’t expect Serbia to recognize Kosovo (4)
• LDK outraged, AAK is softer (4)
• Nikolic: Tadic shouldn’t have shaken hands with Thaçi (5)

Epoka e Re

Front page
• Kuçi’s resignation has damaged the dialogue with EU
• America wants Jahjaga for President
• AAK supports decision of the Constitutional Court
• Fitou: Respect the decision of the Constitutional Court

Other headlines
• Berisha: Neighbors should be released from anti-Albanian doctrine (2)
• Serbs object opening of the office in the north (2)
• Nikolic: We are loosing Kosovo each day (2)
• Warlick: The US does not request from Serbia to recognize Kosovo (2)
• Krasniqi: Responsibility belongs to the three leaders of the political agreement (3)
• Bukoshi and Haraqija dismissed from their duties (7)
• Mimoza does not give in (9)

Express

Front page
• They go home
• America with Atifete
• Clash over the draft law

Other headlines
• Hodzic: The north should be included in the Pristina – Belgrade dialogue (4)
• Warlick: The US do not request from Serbia to recognize Kosovo (5)
• A wrong gesture (5)
• Krasniqi: Anti-constitutional agreement (6)
• Serbs’ protest (7)

Bota Sot

Front page
• LDK feels betrayed
• President has US support throughout her mandate!
• Bukoshi and Haraqija resign from Kosovo Government
• Justice in Kosovo with “closed doors”

Other headlines
• Serbs protest against Kosovo administrative office in the north (3)
• Jahjaga briefed by chief prosecutor (3)
• Warlick: US doesn’t ask Serbia to recognize Kosovo (3)
• AKR calls for respect of political agreement on president’s mandate (4)
• OSCE in Kosovo condemns killing in Ferizaj (6)
• Nikolic: I would talk to Jahjaga not to Thaçi (6)
• Fitou: Court’s decision should be respected (7)
• Minister Kusari-Lila to face motion over MTI’s decision (7)