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Daily Media Monitoring Summary: Tuesday, 4 December 2001
Quoting sources within the two parties, the paper noted that the two leaders discussed possibilities of co-government. Based on the sources, during the meeting Rugova emphasized that his party is aiming for three posts - president, prime minister, and the prime minister of the Assembly. The LDK leader also said that a meeting between him and Haradinaj and Thaçi would be held within this week. The paper said that the meeting didn't result in a fixed position. Nonetheless, sources within the LDK speak of support for a coalition with the Alliance, however on condition that the LDK would hold the three main positions. Furthermore, it was noted that Hashim Thaçi, leader of the Kosovo Democratic Party, sent an invitation to Rugova, but that the later didn't respond. LDK sources claim that Rugova will meet with Thaçi soon. Commenting on the issue, the paper noted: "this shows that Albanians, especially Rugova and LDK, are not willing to do anything without the mediation of a third party. This is a tradition which has led to many problems in the past." In its report on the Rugova - Haradinaj meeting, Zëri quoted AAK deputy chairman Muhamet Kelmendi as saying that the Alliance defended its position that co-governance should be built on the basis of a wide agreement, rather than a two-party agreement. Thus, Kelmendi told the paper that the Alliance was in favour of including the Kosovo Democratic Party in the talks. Quoting well-informed sources, the paper said that a framework on negotiations for co-governance could be expected by Thursday, whereas the agreement itself had to be reached before 10 December. Zëri also reported that Thaçi's cabinet has issued a communiqué calling all parliamentarian parties to a meeting to coordinate work for the first session of the Kosovo Assembly. On the front page, the paper also carried a column by Blerim Shala, editor-in-chief, titled "The first day of negotiations". Shala wrote: "The first week prior to the constitutive session of the Kosovo Parliament began with an interesting day which promised important developments towards forming a broad coalition. Ibrahim Rugova, leader of the LDK, which won 47 seats in the Kosovo Parliament, has met with AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj. It is expected that Rugova will also meet with Hashim Thaçi, chairman of the second biggest party in Kosovo. Furthermore, it is supposed that these meetings will result in a stable agreement, which would be signed by Rugova, Thaçi and Haradinaj. A few days ago, the such news would have seemed to be science fiction. Now, it has become a part of politics. Negotiations between the LDK, PDK and AAK should be held without fixed positions, preconditions, without seeking winners and losers, and always having in mind the result of 17 November elections, that created suitable conditions for co-government. The possibilities of an agreement are real, so long as our leading politicians don't get back to their old habits that lead to many accusations and counteraccusations, nervousness and frustration. In Kosovo, there are no political blocks, only political parties that won the vote on 17 November. If our leaders understand this, it will be much easier to reach a political compromise that would lead to the Government of coalition."
Separation and then return of around 20 journalists ... their visit was allegedly to cover the visit Serb deputies of the coalition Povratak to the building where Kosovo's Assembly will sit . . . As a matter of fact even after Milosevic's downfall the Serbian government continues to boast that Serbia has become a democratic country and that media lead the way. However there are still media that report that there are alleged concentration camps in which poor Serbs are being tortured by Albanians; (this) shows the world in which our colleagues in Serbia still live. These same journalists know that when they go to sleep at night in Belgrade at least a dozen men wanted by The Hague Tribunal for war crimes are sleeping freely in Belgrade. Our colleagues from Belgrade pretend that they are living in the Serb paradise and that this nation knew nothing but to suffer, showing the manner in which our colleagues continue to work. We regret to say that newspaper spokespersons have to become politicians of the Serb coalition Povratak. It is not even worth mentioning who the politicians represent and protect. Especially politicians with dubious aspirations. One thing more has to be cleared up, if Serb journalists believe that they have to come from Belgrade to Kosovo to "protect the Serb issue" it will very quickly appear ridiculous to the international community and Kosovar citizens. It should be the duty and the honor of our Belgrade colleagues to discover Mladic and Karadjic's hideouts and the hideouts of all the other war criminals. To meet with their politicians and find out the sorry state that Albanian prisoners are in in Serb jails. Find out how many more massacred Albanians are buried along the roads and drowned in trucks in Serb lakes and rivers. It would be their duty and ethical call as their German colleagues did after the Second World War and Albanians (especially journalists) raised their voices and protested against the killing of innocent Serbs. They should do everything in their power to raise the consciences of the Serb nation and inform them of the crimes committed by the police, the military and paramilitary forces in Kosovo for years and years. This has to be constantly repeated especially because the Serb journalists gave their contribution to this great mechanism of terror. These Danes, Germans, French, Italians and others (working in the UNMIK administration) have to be reminded once more of the sorry reality that every fifth German after the World War II was a refugee in neighboring countries and victimized because of revenge by Czechs, Serbs, Poles and others Why do they expect that something different would happen to the Balkan nazis? The Germans are the ones first to start the process of denazification, also the Serb have to do the same. The first step is to ask for forgiveness from their neighbors. If Serb journalists who are puppets of the daily Serb politics believe that the road to Kosovo will be laid with flowers they are gravely mistaken. If Haekkerup's staff believes that the Serb from Belgrade will be received with open arms and flowers they also are gravely mistaken. This is only for Serbs. Because others, members of the other communities and nations from all around the world, are living in Kosovo the most multiethnic place in southeastern Europe very warmly and without any problems or drawbacks. It is the duty of the Serb journalists to ask themselves why is Kosovo expelling them.
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