PDK withdraws from the committee overseeing the KIA, demands priority for the law on the Specialist Chambers

The parliamentary committee overseeing the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA) held its first meeting after the Kosovo Assembly voted on the 16 parliamentary committees on Monday.

The meeting’s agenda included reviewing and approving the committee’s scope of work. Bekë Berisha, chair of the committee and a member of the Alliance parliamentary group, announced that the meeting would be held without the presence of the media.

Berisha explained that meetings of this committee had also been held behind closed doors to the media in the past.

After the committee was constituted, deputies from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) left the meeting. They demanded that the Assembly proceed as soon as possible with amendments to the law on the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

Deputy Besa Kabashi-Ramaj said that the establishment of institutions was important, but stressed that at this moment Kosovo’s main priority should be the law on the Specialist Chambers.

“We have just taken part in the committee overseeing the KIA and, naturally, as the Democratic Party of Kosovo, we consider the constitution of the institutions very important, which is why we were there. However, we also left this meeting after its constitution because, at the moment, for the Republic of Kosovo there is no greater priority than proceeding with amendments to the law on the Specialist Chambers,” Kabashi-Ramaj said.

Deputy Rrahman Rama also described this issue as a “priority above all priorities.” He announced that the PDK would not participate in any other parliamentary committees until the law was put forward.

“But for us as a party, as Besa also said, the law is a priority above all priorities. And we will not participate in any committee until this law is completed. We have seen that many laws have come before the Assembly and its various committees, and we believe, and I believe that all citizens also believe, that the number one priority is the Law on the Specialist Chambers,” Rama declared.

Asked about the prime minister’s commitment that the law would be submitted for processing within the week, Rama said that the PDK expected this to happen as soon as possible.

“We are waiting for it, we are waiting, we are here, but our pressure is for it to come as soon as possible, as soon as it is possible for it to reach the Assembly so that we can complete all the procedures,” Rama said.

Rama also spoke about the announced meetings between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and PDK Chairman Bedri Hamza, which are related to the issue of the president.

He reiterated that, before discussions on this issue, the law on the Specialist Chambers must be put forward, according to the PDK. He said this should include oversight of the process and financial support.

“You also know the position of the PDK and of Chairman Bedri Hamza himself. For us, the priority is first for the law on the Specialist Chambers to include oversight of the process and financial support. After that, we can sit down and discuss, and it is also our position that Kosovo should have all its institutions as soon as possible,” Rama said.