Opposition does not love Thaci at the head of dialogue with Serbia

Opposition parties in Kosovo insist President Hashim Thaci is not at the top of the dialogue process with Serbia, now as his final phase approaches. According to the opposition, the Assembly is the highest body to decide on the issue.

Only after Thaci withdraws from the chairmanship of dialogue and Parliament to take up the role in this process, the opposition is ready to co-operate about establishing a consensus in relation to the final agreement expected to be reached with Serbia.

Avdullah Hoti, chief of the parliamentary group of the Democratic League of Kosovo, told Radio Free Europe that dialogue should be led by state institutions and that as opposition the LDK will make its contribution.

But since the institutions, according to Hoti, are now being led by a minority government and do not have legitimacy, it is impossible to develop any dialogue with Serbia.

It is important to build consensus on the approach the state of Kosovo must pursue in dialogue with Serbia. Who should lead him, this is determined according to the Constitution. Dialogue on such topics is guided by institutions that have constitutional responsibility and constitutional responsibility in this country only have the Parliament and the Government of Kosovo, because they stem from citizens' votes“, Hoti said.

The Kosovo government has already approved a platform for political dialogue with Serbia. On the drafted platform, which awaits the approval of the Assembly, the leading role in dialogue with Serbia is entrusted to the president of the state.

But this approach of the government continues to be rejected by the opposition, part of which is the Vetevendosje Movement. MP Jelal Svecla from Vetevendosje told Radio Free Europe that President Thaci is not entitled to lead the process.

For Vetevendosje Movement, it is now clear who should not guide the dialogue, since we now have a bad experience with these people in terms of negotiations with Serbia. Hashim Thaci is the most reluctant person to lead this process. We have bad experiences even with former negotiator Edita Tahiri in this process of dialogue. Likewise, many of the current institutions' leaders are not the most creditable persons to lead this process as important as dialogue with Serbia”, Svechla said.

MP Svecla stresses that a new process of dialogue with Serbia must be made an internal dialogue between Kosovo's political forces in order to determine a clear framework of this process.

Also, according to him, it would be important to have dialogue with communities in Kosovo, since, as he says, it is one of the main requirements of international partners to ensure a secure future for the Serb community living in Kosovo.

The Vetevendosje movement, Svechla says, would be willing to enter these negotiations if conditions were met.

We will enter a process if we start with internal dialogue, clearly define the frames of dialogue with Serbia. Because we are the Parliamentary Republic, parliament is the highest body to decide on the issue. In these cases we would be willing to become part of these talks, always given the country's primary interest”, Svechla says.

On the other hand, MP Dukagjin Gorani from the Social Democrat Party of Kosovo told Radio Free Europe that dialogue with Serbia should be subject to the Kosovo Assembly.

It is pointless that a process developed badly for so many years will continue to bypass the country's highest body, the Kosovo Assembly. I don't think imposing the current president as the only act in this process will succeed. I understand he is interpreted co-operative by the international community and Serbia, but this is also our big disaster”, Gorani says.

He adds that the PSD supports the dialogue, but not its source format.

According to Goran, the necessary changes should occur through the Parliament, which should produce the rational consensus, otherwise, he adds, is at risk of entering into a situation of opposing the legitimacy of the whole process and its results.

Dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade with the ease of the European Union is expected to continue in June, though the date of the meeting between Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vuciq, has not yet been officially confirmed.