EULEX searched office of Srbica mayor
EULEX and Kosovo anti-corruption police searched the office of the mayor of Srbica, Sami Lushtaku. The search was part of a probe into housing fraud. No arrests were made but EULEX said that it had eight suspects on charges of "abusing official position, fraud in office and trading in influence."
Branimir Glavas sentenced to 8 years for war crimes
A Bosnian court sentenced the powerful parliamentary deputy Branimir Glavas to eight years in prison for war crimes. Glavas is the first senior Croatian official convicted of war crimes committed against Serbs during the breakup of Yugoslavia.
In 2009, Glavas was sentenced to 10 years over the torture and killing of Serbs in Osijek. He fled to Bosnia where he was protected from extradition since he held a Bosnian passport. Croatia's Supreme Court this year reduced Glavas's prison term to eight years.
Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu resigned
Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu resigned. A court ruled that he violated the constitution by also being leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). "I was convinced that keeping the function of the president of the Democratic League of Kosovo without exercising it did not violate the constitution, the court had a different opinion and I respect the ruling," Sejdiu said.
Zeljko Dukic sentenced to 20 years in prison
Zeljko Dukic, former member of the paramilitary unit called the Scorpions, was found guilty of killing 14 ethnic Albanian women and children in March 1999 in Podujevo, Kosovo. He has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Belgrade court.
Dukic received the same verdict last year but it was overturned by the Belgrade Court of Appeals which ordered a new trial on June 15.
Source: B92.
Hiking and grieving
When I first hiked, I gradually added more distance to my hikes until distance was no issue. Then I added more weight to my backpack. Gradually, I added more and more weight until I carried all the gear that I could possibly need. If you are a heavy set guy, this may not be such a big deal, but if you are me that backpack quickly represents half of your body mass. But it is not so much the physical aspect that makes this possible. It is far more important that you are preparing mentally for this. Or, as I was told over and over again years ago in the military, it is all “between the ears”. And it is, really.
UNMIK rejects Kosovo criticism on Mitrovica
Ilber Hisa, appointed as the coordinator for Northern Kosovo earlier this year, called the UNMIK mission an "obstacle for improvement of the situation" in Mitrovica because it divided the Serb community. According his findings, the Kosovo budget intended for the north has been finding its way to the so-called parallel structures formed by the Serbian government via UNMIK.
Blocking Kosovo from international organizations having "dire consequences" says EU
European Parliament rapporteur Jelko Kacin warned Serbia that blocking Kosovo in all regional, European and international economic organizations is having dire consequences for the economy of both Serbia and Kosovo. Kacin also said that the relations between Serbia's ruling coalition and opposition parties in Serbia is far below the level found in developed parliamentary democracies.
Hate crime v. art
Cartoon by Glenn McCoy.
EU: Serbia needs to deal with Kosovo
EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said that the EU block is seriously committed to the Serbian candidacy. But he also warned that Serbia needs to deal with the Kosovo issue because a candidate with an unresolved issue, or conflict, cannot expect to be allowed to join the EU.
Source: B92.
Remains found in Perucac
Remains of at least eleven victims of the 1992-1995 war were found in a drained artificial lake in the town of Perucac on the border between Bosnia and Serbia. The Serbian war crimes prosecutors office said the victims were killed by a Bosnian Serb paramilitary group called White Eagles. Its leader, Milan Lukic, was sentenced to life imprisonment in July 2009 by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
Bosnian Serbs sentenced for war crimes by ICTY (July 20, 2009)
Milutinovic acquitted, five others sentenced (February 26, 2009)
KFOR Chronology (July 14, 2001)
Source:
Earth Times.
Police injured after tension in Mitrovica
At least two KFOR troops from the UK and an unspecified number of EULEX police officers were injured after separating two groups of ethnic Albanians and Serbians in Mitrovica.
Hundreds of ethnic Albanians entered the Serb-dominated northern part of Kosovo shortly before midnight to celebrate Turkey's win over Serbia in the Basketball World Championships. Serbian residents responded by pelting the Albanians with stones.
Serbia indicts nine for 1999 Kosovo killings
Serbia has indicted nine ex-paramilitaries over the killing of 43 ethnic Albanians in the Kosovo village of Cuska on May 14, 1999. They later burnt bodies to conceal evidence.
Source: Reuters.