Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence – at World Press Freedom Day

An occasion to briefly review the media situation in Kosovo: By coincidence together with the World Press Freedom Day on 3rd. May started the 2011 Balkan Fellow-ship for Journalistic Excellence programme. Accor-ding to the organizer, this year’s programme sets a focus on justice in legal and social dimensions. Ten journalists from the Balkans attended the opening presentations in Austria’s capital city Vienna. Main speakers were Christoph Prantner from Austria’s daily "Der Standard" and Igor Stiks, research fellow at the Scottish University of Edinburgh. The event lasts until the end of this week.

Filed under: Media Reports, Opinion, AGPK, Freedom House, Korrik Sofalia, Kosovo, Krasniqi, Limaj, News, Politics, Prishtina, Pristina, Selvije Bajrami, Thaci, Vienna

President of Kosovo: Atifete … who?

PRISTINA / PRISHTINE / Kosovo Media this week broadly covered the fact, that the new elected President of the Republic of Kosovo seems to be unknown – not only in Kosovo, but also at the EU institutions. Obviously upset, members of the European Parliament (MEP) experienced – that the EU director for the Balkans, the Slovak Miroslav Lajcak, while reporting to the Foreign Policy Committee of the European Parliament (EP) was not able to say more than “It is important that she was elected …”. Further on, likewise the questioning MEPs he wouldn’t dispose additional information. …

Filed under: Media Reports, Opinion, Christopher Dell, Dellocracy, European Union, Feith, Jahjaga, Korrik Sofalia, Kosovo, Krasniqi, Kurti, Lajcak, Mustafa, Pacolli, Prishtine, Pristina, Thaci, USA

Kosovo’s Compromise-President Thwarts Ambitions of Parliament Speaker Krasniqi

PRISHTINA / PRISTINA – Both parties of the ruling coalition in Kosovo, the New Alliance for Kosovo (AKR) and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), agreed together with the biggest opposition party, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), on a “consensual” candidate for the recently passed anew presidential election by the Kosovan parlia-ment: The before politically unknown jurist and deputy commander of the Kosovo police forces, Ms. Atifete Jahjaga, is the new compromise and first female President of the Republic of Kosovo.

Filed under: Opinion, Dell, Jahjaga, Korrik Sofalia, Kosovo, Krasniqi, Mustafa, News, Pacolli, Politics, Prishtina, Pristina, Technorati, Thaci

Kosovo: the political limbo continues

PRISHTINA / PRISTINA ++ Despite intensive interventions from Kosovo EU representative Pieter Feith and Kosovo US Ambassador Dell, the political situation in Kosovo remains stagnating: At a meeting of Dell with the heads of PDK, AKR and LDK, Kosovo PM Thaci particularly refused the request from LDK head and mayor of Prishtina Isa Mustafa for early elections in 2012, whereas the main unsolved topic is still to find a consensual candidate for the presidency of the Republic.

Filed under: Media Reports, AAK, AKR, Dell, European Union, Feith, Korrik Sofalia, Kosovo, Krasniqi, LDK, Mustafa, News, Pack, PDK, Politics, Prishtina, Pristina, Thaci, US, Vetevendosje

Six Months More for Kosovo Acting President Krasniqi – Intention or Ignorance?

PRISTINA, Kosovo — One might doubt if Jakup Krasniqi, President of the Koso-var parliament and again acting Presi-dent of the Republic of Kosovo acts with intention or with ignorance. It was Kras-niqi chairing the session, which caused both the decision of the Constitutional Court to annul the recent election for the President of Kosovo – as well as the follow-ing constitutional and political crisis: First by unawareness of a constitutionally requested minimum presence of MPs (quorum) for the election of the Kosovan President.

Filed under: Opinion, Korrik Sofalia, Kosova, Kosovo, Krasniqi, News, Pacolli, Politics, Serbia, Technorati

Krasniqi acting Kosovo president + Court: No extraordinary elections + Registry compromise + Barroso avoids Kosovo

PRISHTINA / PRISTINA ++ The Constitutio-nal Court decided that since 31 March there has been an acting President of Kosovo, which is the Assembly Speaker Krasniqi ++ The Court said in addition, that there should not be extraordinary elections ++ LDK senior official Ismet Beqiri said that the LDK MPs will not attend the Assembly session when the President will be voted – whereas Kosovo PM Thaci warns that the boycott by the opposition may lead the country to extraordinary elections and that Kosovo budget may be at risk ++ The Kosovo delegation for the Prishtina-Belgrade talks has seemingly made a compromise to receive only the verified copies of the civil registry books from Serbia ++ The head of the European Commission Jose Manual Barroso might not visit Kosovo during his Balkan next week. Diplomats think that Kosovo is avoided by international leaders because of the bad image of the Kosovo authorities ++ Read more here: Media Monitor 02.04.2011 / Broadcast Monitor 01.04.2011

Filed under: Media Reports, Barosso, Belgrade, Election, European Union, Korrik Sofalia, Kosovo, Krasniqi, LDK, Prishtina, Thaci

Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi feels not responsible + New election of Kosovo President next week +

PRISTINA, Kosovo ++  According to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo the election of Behgjet Pacolli as the new President of Kosovo by the Assembly was unconstitu-tional. Pacolli’s advisor Gashi declared that Pacolli is ready to respect this decision: "Pacolli will be the candidate of the coalition partners in the new election of a new president because based on the decision of the Constitutional Court, he did not violate the constitution".

Filed under: Media Reports, Korrik Sofalia, Kosova, Kosovo, Krasniqi, News, Pacolli