Prishtina Insight That He Kosovo, Said the Problem Was the He Said

Opinion: Can Identity Cleansing be Negotiable?

May 6 - 19, 2011 Issue No. 63 www.prishtinainsight.com Price € 1

NEWS Special Albania Asks to Play France Qualification Report: Game in Prishtina Spotlight on > page 3 South Serbia From Sandzak to Southern NEWS Serbia, Belgrade is failing to turn its verbal pledges Heritage Handover into action when it comes to Kosovo Police to guaranteeing ethnic Embitters Serbs Albanians and Bosniaks > page 5 fair levels of state sector employment NEIGHBOURHOOD See Pages 11-15 Blasts Hit Albanian Election Gathering Kosovo’s Smuggled Medicines > page 9 NGO NEWS Pose Threat To Lives Tree-mendous A BIRN investigation can reveal that Kosovo pharmacists are full of drugs that have been illegally imported, jeopardizing Work Turns people’s health and depriving the country of much-needed taxes. Obilic Green tasked with licensing medicines - for use in Kosovo. Stamps forged or absent: By Besiana Xharra often had not authorised the use “The KMA needs to license and sale of key drugs. these necessary drugs so that Drugs can only be legally rugs smuggled into Kosovo, “We sell drugs that aren’t pharmacists aren’t forced to keep imported into Kosovo under a bypassing all safety and licensed because if we don’t, peo- illegal ones,” Bytyqi said. license from the KMA. On arrival Dcustoms measures, make ple may die, because they cannot Shkumbim Deda, another at customs points, importers need up a high proportion of goods sold find a replacement,” he said. “We chemist, agreed. “There are many also to show certificates proving by pharmacists, a BIRN investiga- have no choice,” he added. drugs in Kosovo that are neces- the origin of the products and > page 22 tion has revealed. Kadri Bytyqi, of the sary but not licensed, and if we do detailing the contents. One pharmacist in the capital Pharmacists Association of not stock them, patients suffer,” Customs duty on these imports told Prishtina Insight that he Kosovo, said the problem was the he said. is then collected and a stamp believed that up to 60 per cent of restricted number of licensed Deda cited two common exam- placed on the package, showing the drugs sold in Kosovo were ille- drugs, which did not meet the ples: Natrium Valproate, which is that tax has been paid and the Kosovo’s only English-language gal imports. demands of the market. widely prescribed for epilepsy, product has been checked before it newspaper is available: He said he had little choice but According to him, more than and Farin, used to treat high blood reaches the shelf. to sell them because the Kosovo 300 types of drugs that are essen- pressure. Neither is licensed in Delivered to Medicines Agency, KMA - the body tial for patients are not licensed Kosovo. continues page 2 Your Door

Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians Power Plant Delay Blamed From Newsstands Explore Mainstream Media on Meddling Consultants across Kosovo

Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community Minister of Energy in the last adminis- Sent To members will be given the opportunity to tration Justina Shiroka-Pula has broken a Your Inbox speak for themselves about their problems two-year silence to blame delays on decid- in the media in a bespoke project that ing the design and construction of a new includes attending learning centres and power plant on the project’s international From protecting their cultural heritage. transaction advisors. our partners “The project aims to “Ever since the beginning, NGO focus decrease by five per cent... page 22 business the transaction advisors... page 6 see page 16 for more info

is supported by: 2 May 6 - 19, 2011 investigation Kosovo Mayor Jailed Kosovo’s Smuggled Medicines Pose Threat To Lives For Extortion from page 1 country, which is not under the control of the Kosovo govern- he mayor of Kosovo’s south- The KMA changed its stamp ment, is the main point of entry. ern municipality of last March, following complaints “Most illegal drugs come in TKacanik, an influential fig- that it had become too easy to from the north, but they also ure in the governing Democratic forge. It has since been replaced enter from Albania and

Party of Kosovo, PDK, has been in brief News but Prishtina Insight found Macedonia,” KMA chief inspec- jailed for three years for extortion many products on shelves either tor Ejupi said. and illegal possession of weapons. had no stamp, or only bore the Adriatik Stavileci, spokesman Xhabir Zharku was found guilty of old stamp. for Kosovo Customs, said that the crimes, along with three other Haki Ejupi, the KMA’s chief half the 20 cases of smuggled defendants, at Prishtina’s district inspector of pharmacies, said drugs that they had intercepted court on Thursday. that pharmacists selling unli- this year came from Serbia. In July 2006, Zharku, alongside Arsim Kolshi, Besnik Hasani and censed drugs were gambling The bulk of the seizures Nusret Cena, threatened to kill the with people’s lives. “If the medi- occurred in April as part of a winner in the auction of a publicly cine hasn’t been subject to due joint operation conducted by the owned sheep farm unless he with- controls, they are risking KMA and the customs service. drew his bid. patient’s health, because we Following this mass confisca- Products marked with expired (top) and current tax stamps The threatened man did so, allow- don’t know the contents,” he tion of unlicensed products from ing the second highest bidder, said. chemists, many pharmacists by March 31, 2010. products, included Bensedin, Kolshi, to buy the 30 hectares of Ejupi said he suspected many went on strike for two days, But more than a year after the Brufen, Diklofen, Bedoksin, land. people fell ill after taking such demanding that the KMA issue deadline expired, Prishtina Daonil, Deprim, Glibenklamid, When police searched Zharku’s medicines, though official data new licences for goods. Insight found dozens of products Loperamid, Furosemi and property, they found two automat- on this phenomenon is absent. on sale with the old stamps. Metildopa. ic weapons, made in Iran, as well Patients often don’t know that Little seems to have A source in the industry said BIRN has discovered that doc- as explosives and a mortar. they have been sold an unli- changed since April. counterfeit versions of the old tors throughout Kosovo continue Zharku, who was also mayor at the censed product. stamps were still in circulation. to prescribe unlicensed medi- A health ministry official said They were easy to falsify, and cines. time of the offences, has been When Prishtina Insight visited the ministry routinely received were being used on unlicensed “Almost every day patients handed three years of imprison- ten pharmacies recently to check complaints from patients, along- products to make them look offi- come in with doctors’ prescrip- ment on the charge of extortion the stock on sale, we found side samples of poor quality cial. tions, prescribing some unli- and given a fine of 1500 Euro on shelves still full of unregulated drugs. But they were unable to Our spot check on products for censed drug,” Xhin Hoti, a phar- the charge of unlawful possession goods. act on these complaints because sale also showed many unli- macist from Pristina, said. “It all of weapons. Most of these products were the KMA’s testing facility was censed versions on shelves, even starts from the doctors, so we’re not stamped at all, indicating out of action. when licensed alternatives exist. forced to stock such drugs for that they had been smuggled into Medicus Trial Health Minister Ferid Agani One pharmacist said that this our patients.” the country. Others bore old, out- has said that restarting the is because customers are often KMA head Jeton Shala said he Confirmed of-date import stamps. KMA’s laboratory is a priority used to, and ask for, well-known agreed that the issue needed to In a bid to standardise the but has yet to offer a date. Serbian products, many of be discussed but until a solution n appeal panel composed of prices of medicine and curb which are not licensed in Kosovo. was found, illegal drugs would two EULEX judges and one import tax evasion, the health Coming from the north: Unlicensed products included continue to be confiscated. AKosovo judge from ministry issued new import many from Serbia’s state-owned “We will set up a working Prishtina District Court has con- stamps in 2009. No official figures exist on the pharmaceutical giant, Galenika, group tasked with increasing of firmed the indictment against five By law, products with the old, quantity or type of Illegal drugs whose medicines are not licensed drugs,” he said. “But for defendants in the Medicus, organ blue-coloured stamps, which confiscated by Kosovo customs licensed for sale in Kosovo. now we have also increased trafficking case. allowed pharmacists to write in or police. Other drugs found on pharma- inspections in order to confiscate The offences were allegedly com- their own prices, ought to have It is generally believed that cy shelves, which do not appear unlicensed drugs on the mar- mitted in 2008 at the Medicus been removed from the shelves Clinic on the outskirts of the Serb-run far north of the on the KMA’s list of licensed ket.” Prishtina and involved victims from various countries. Four defendants will face charges of trafficking in persons for the purpose of removal of organs and Probe Stalls Into Marty Report organised crime. Three defendants will face a charge of unlawful exercise of medical activity. Two defendants will face a charge of Claims on Kosovo abuse of official position. sons are as yet under the spot- of Serbian prisoners and others The case will now be listed for trial light. in Albania. at Pristina District Court. EULEX said that anyone who But Marty has refused to pro- had evidence to support the vide any evidence for his claims Two other defendants involved in By Petrit Collaku the case remain at large. grave accusations made in the to the EU mission in Kosovo, report, including Marty, needed saying the mission was not up first to to come forward and sub- to handling the investigation Albania and Kosovo our months after the mit their findings to EULEX and thus an "ad hoc" judicial Sign Joint Border release of the controver- prosecutors. structure needed to be set up, Fsial Council of Europe “We have exchanged letters with which would operate outside Control Deal report, the EU law mission in Mr Marty. We have not yet Kosovo. Kosovo says it has not received received any hard evidence from EULEX disputes this. “We have CoE Human Rights Rapporteur Dick Marty lbania and Kosovo are to any evidence enabling it to start him,” a EULEX spokesperson full confidence in our own wit- investigating its grave claims. told Prishtina Insight. ness protection unit, which has bring their border posts and falsehoods. Months after a Council of “At this stage we have nothing already shown itself capable of Atogether, meaning that trav- Kosovo officials refused to be Europe report accused Kosovo's more to add. When we have handling high-level and sensi- ellers will be checked just once. drawn further on the probe, or top leaders of trafficking in more to say, we will say it,” the tive cases,” EULEX said. The agreement was signed earlier on its likely results. “It’s in organs, the EU rule-of-law mis- spokesperson added. Serbia, meanwhile, has sent a this week by Albanian Minister of EULEX's competence,” sion said a preliminary probe The report caused a bombshell proposal to the UN asking the Interior Bujar Nishani and Kosovo Hajredin Kuci, Kosovo's Deputy was still trying to establish when it was released in international body to launch an Minister of Internal Affairs Prime Minister, told Prishtina whether enough evidence exists December, as it linked former independent investigation into Bajram Rexhepi. Insight, declining to comment to begin a formal investigation. Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, the allegations. The rule will apply to the coun- further. The mission says it can only fighters, including the current Kosovo's government reacted tries’ three border crossings. The Kosovo government earlier launch an official investigation Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, angrily when the report was Nishani and Rexhepi also signed called on Marty to present all if enough hard evidence is to organised crime and accused made public, accusing Marty of the relevant protocols for carrying his facts and proof to the compe- received, and no specific per- them of harvesting the organs basing his report on rumours out joint border patrols. tent judicial bodies.

Y M C +381 38 602042, +377 44 243367, +386 49 243367 K news May 6 - 19, 2011 3

Editor’s Word Buxheti

By Lawrence Marzouk

’ve been poring over the contents of Kosovo’s 2011 budget in the past few Albania Asks to Play France Idays. What I find most depressing are the sav- age cuts to a string of absolutely key ministries in order to accommodate a road. Qualification Game in Prishtina The budget for infrastructure improvements to the health service this year was International football may be coming to Kosovo earlier than expected after it emerged that Albania’s national supposed to be 11.5 million euro; it has been team is hoping to use Prishtina stadium for its final qualification games for the European Championships cut to 8 million. Education has been slashed from 29 million to 23 million. But that’s ok on October 11. The club needs to improve the pitch, girls and boys, patients and doctors, you can “He has chosen Prishtina because Kosovo install better lightning and renovate the all clamber into your cars and drive to has contributed a lot to Albania with football player facilities. Durres for the weekend. The creaking hos- By Petrit Collaku players and fans that make absolutely amaz- After renovations, the stadium could offer pitals and crowded schools will sort them- ing atmosphere in every match played in a capacity of up to 20,000 seats. Ejupi stated selves out. Tirana,” Ejupi told Prishtina Insight. that France would not mind playing Tony Blair – the guy named after a small hile Kosovo’s Football Association The president of Kosovo’s Football Prishtina since this country has recognised side-street in Ferizaj – once said he had is continuing lobbying FIFA and Federation Fadil Vokrri told Prishtina Kosovo’s independence. three priorities: “Education, Education, WUEFA to take part on the interna- Insight that the federation has not received He stated that the city’s stadium is under Education.” It wasn’t a great joke, but it did tional stage in football, Prishtina Football any such request from UEFA or Albania. Prishtina municipal responsibility. He said win him a landslide election. Club is trying to raise funds to renovate the “But it all depends on the government,” that it is a dream of every Kosovar, and par- Hashim Thaci’s priorities seem more akin stadium in order to meet the minimum Vokrri said. ticularly of the “Red and Black” fan club to “Excavation, Excavation, Excavation”. requirements for international matches. Ejupi stated Kosovo’s Football Federation which supports Albania, to have Albania Again, not hilarious, but evocative, perhaps, The club president, Remzi Ejupi, said is currently unable to participate on the play in Prishtina. of the insane spending decisions that this that the capital has to be ready with a stadi- international stage because to become a “I hear people talk about Kosovo’s and government has embarked on. um to offer to Albania so they can move their member of FIFA and UEFA it must first Albania’s unity,” he said. “Aren’t these One in every five euros of the govern- Euro 2012 qualifications to Kosovo. secure a seat at the United Nations, but added matches the best example to show the ment’s budget in the next three years will be Albania will soon start the construction of Albania’s request to Kosovo is not illegal. unity. spent on building the glorious stretch of a brand new stadium in Tirana and will not He explained that in those situations it is “I have just had a meeting with the Deputy tarmac with its tear-jerking moniker, the be able to continue holding matches there up to the football teams that can correspond Prime Minister Behgjet Pacolli and he sup- Patriotic Highway. If you look at just the while work is ongoing. with neighbouring teams seeking support. ports me,” he said. “If we all are engaged, we infrastructure budget, the Merdare- In April, Ejupi said he was contacted by “Now, experts are working on the draft can make it,” Ejupi ended. Vermice motorway accounts for about half the president of Albania’s Football project but I can say, roughly, we will need Albania is third in group D with five the total spending for the next three years. Federation, Armand Duka, who told him around one million euro to do the renova- matches played, having won two, lost two We don’t know whether it is going to have that Albania’s team would like to play in tions in the stadium,” he said, adding that and drawn one. any real impact on Kosovo’s stunted econo- Prishtina for the team’s next home games the work could be finished in two months if France is leading the group followed by my, bar the actual boost that the increased against France on September 2 and Romania the constructors works in two shifts. Belarus. capital expenditure will bring in terms of short-term job creation. And even this point needs to be seen in the context of most of Questions Raised Over Highway Rerouting the cash going to the US-Turkish consortium, Bechtel Enka, not to Kosovo firms. The legality of a Kosovo Government decision to reroute a 700 million euro highway is being questioned by Will the highway increase trade? Will it bring more investors to Kosovo? Will it opposition members and civil society become Europe’s most embarrassing white- stripy elephant? No one has the faintest idea because no one has bothered to do any proper work finding out. By Besiana Xharra If you throw 750 million euro at any capital project, there will be some benefits, but the key questions are, what the cost-benefit osovo Government’s decision last analysis is and whether the cash could be week to reroute the country’s fist spent better elsewhere. But answers came Khighway, and largest ever infrastruc- there none. ture project, has been criticised by opposi- To make matters even worse, the govern- tion parties and civil society. ment doesn’t know how it is going to pay for Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has it, how much it will cost – certainly some announced that the new road, dubbed the experts believe the country was duped into Patriotic Highway because it will eventual- a deeply one-sided contract – and what ly connect Tirana and Prishtina, will no route it will take. longer pass through a mountainous section Unfortunately, because it is unpatriotic in southern Kosovo. not to cheer-lead the road, expensive bridge Instead, Thaci said the road will take a by expensive bridge, no one has really got longer but less expensive route via the town hold of this disastrous decision. One of the bridges near Prizren, forming the Patriotic Highway of Malisheve, home to the former People, politicians, sensible members of Transport Minister Fatmir Limaj, saving as a 350 million euro saving would leave confirmed the government was willing to the public tell me to shut up and stop com- 350 million euro. the total cost at 400 million euro, even take decisions unlawfully. plaining because “it’s popular”. Well, so is Thaci added that the detour will add just though 225 million euro has been set aside The Government nor the Ministry of xenophobia and petty tax fraud, but it does- seven minutes to journey times. this year, 265 million euro in 2012 and 269 Finance was available for comment and n’t mean it is right. If this is right I most, A leading thinktank, Gap Institute, said million euro in 2013. the criticism leveled against them. definitely, want to be wrong. the rerouting would take an extra seven Ismet Beqiri, of the main opposition Ela Ruci, construction firm Bechtel So, instead of a balanced programme of minutes only if drivers were able to main- party Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, Enka’s spokesman, said that their work is hospital buildings, improvements to educa- tain an average speed of 130km an hour. says that the decision is illegal. progressing well. tion, environmental projects and road It also pointed out that the move contra- “The government is trying to present the She said the section from the border, building, we get a big road which has no dicts an earlier Government decision, giv- LDK as if we are against the highway, through Prizren to the town of Suhareka economic rationale – certainly not one that ing the assembly final say on the route. while we oppose only the illegal proce- would be opened within the year. has been presented to the public. According to the institute, the dures that are being carried by Hashim It’s probably too late now to change the “So far we have worked on ten bridges, Government, in its meeting on April 27, Thaci in this case,” he said. road plan, but it’s not too late to demand bet- some of them have already been complet- has not requested that the assembly con- Burim Ramadani, a senior figure in the ter decisions by the country’s leadership ed,” she said. sider the decision. opposition Alliance for the Future of and a little more consultation on how tax- The institute added that the savings sug- Kosovo, AAK, said that Thaci’s decision Work on the highway began in April 2010 payers’ money is spent. gested by the government remain unclear, and should take three years. 4 May 6 - 19, 2011 news Davutoglu: ‘I’m Not a Neo-Ottoman’ The Turkish foreign minister on why Turkey is a Balkan country, neo-Ottomanism, achiev- ing lasting peace in the region and relations with Serbia and Macedonia.

to the Balkans. values and a joint vision. To this Q: What place does the end, we wholeheartedly support the Balkans occupy with regard to Euro-Atlantic orientation of all By Altin Raxhimi Turkish foreign policy? Balkan countries. We believe in the A: Due to its geographical, histor- importance of securing the entire ical and cultural heritage Turkey is region under the European and Ahmet Davutoglu on a visit to Greece a Balkan country itself. Euro-Atlantic structures. hmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s Therefore, the Balkans is neither Q: Many commentators in the ners for peace and stability in the tions stemming from the Dayton foreign minister since 2009 a bridge with the EU nor a Turkish Balkans view you as an apologist Balkans. Peace Agreement. Ahas perhaps made a greater ‘backyard’. We have very strong his- for the role the Ottoman Empire We have a common will and Turkey’s interest coincides with impact in the Balkans than his torical, social, cultural and human played in the Balkans. They desire to forge a strategic partner- that of Serbia and Croatia, for forg- predecessors in recent times. His ties with all the countries in the believe Ottoman rule is the root ship. This has been confirmed and ing a climate of reconciliation and role in mediating between Serbia, region. of the region’s poor economic encouraged at the highest possible cooperation in BiH. Bosnia and Croatia has been wide- There are millions of Turkish cit- development and internecine level through numerous high level If we see the people of the ly acknowledged. On top of that, izens that have their origins in the conflicts. Don’t they have a visits and frequent contacts at all Balkans in peace and sharing mutu- once frosty relations between levels. In line with our strategic al comfort then we, at home in Belgrade and Ankara have now Balkans. Turkey aims at lasting point? begun to thaw on Davutoglu’s peace and stability in the Balkans. I guess I already answered the partnership perspective, we have Turkey, are also in peace, as there watch. We share and actively support the question. However, as a matter of launched a close and frank coopera- are many Turkish citizens of However, some in the Balkans Euro-Atlantic vision of the Balkan fact, the Balkans had its golden age tion on bilateral and regional mat- Balkan origins. remain concerned that Turkey, countries. We believe all the Balkan of peace during the Ottoman reign. ters. Q: What does Macedonia mean one time Ottoman occupiers of countries should be sheltered under This is a historical fact. Those who We converge on many aspects and to Turkey? Why does Macedonia Serbia and large swathes of the the umbrella of EU and NATO, in a blame the Ottoman period for the we have a common vision for the have so much support from Balkans, is pursuing a ‘neo- not too distant future. region’s economic backwardness future of the region. We have great Turkey? Ottomanist’ foreign policy – with Our Balkan policy is shaped by and internecine fights are under the potential for cooperation in various Macedonia should be a model Davutoglu at the helm. Critics the defining principles of regional influence of historical prejudices fields. country for cohabitation in the within Turkey, believe this neo- ownership and all inclusiveness. It and stereotypes. Q: You have taken a lead role Balkans. Its multi-ethnic, multi-cul- Ottomanism is a result of the rul- is based on four main pillars which It will be enough to travel only a in negotiating between Serbia tural, multi-religious and multi-lin- ing AK Party’s increased confi- can best be summarised as security few hundred kilometres to identify and Bosnia and even in internal gual structure can be a good refer- dence and growing assertiveness. for all, high-level political dialogue, the patrimony created during the Serb disputes involving the ence for the whole region. There is Party members seem less shy of further economic integration and Ottoman rule. Therefore, we do not Islamic and non-Islamic commu- also a sizeable Turkish minority in recalling the Ottoman past as a the preservation of the multi-eth- want to be part of this blame game. nities in Serbia. How did you Macedonia and a large group of golden era. nic, multi-cultural and multi-reli- As I told you before we have to focus build trust and overcome the Turkish citizens have their origins This glossy, some say rose-tint- gious social structures in the on the good. To start with, we have negative view some majority in Macedonia. ed, view of the Ottoman Empire in region. to take a clear and realistic picture Christian Balkan states have of Dialogue and mutual under- Europe, is highly contentious in Our perspective on the Balkans of the history. Those who do not Turkey? standing should be encouraged to many Balkan states, particularly envisages a zone of prosperity and know history cannot make history. Turkey’s primary interests in the preserve and strengthen those who hold the Ottomans welfare, instead of a region beset by Despite the positive developments Balkans are to help normalize bilat- Macedonian society. Respect for the responsible for arresting economic conflicts and tension. We want the taking place in the region recently eral relations among the Balkan cultural/religious sensitivities of development and those who forged Balkans not to be considered as at and the rapprochement efforts of states to deepen regional integra- all communities should be encour- their national identities in opposi- the periphery of Europe, but as an local leaders, which we welcome tion. aged to ensure the harmonious co- tion to ‘the Turk’ on gaining inde- integral part of it. wholeheartedly, the Balkans Turkey has a clear, honest and existence of the people of pendence from the Ottomans. Transport corridors and energy remains to be the fragile part of open approach in its efforts towards Macedonia. Davutoglu replied by email to pipelines must go through the Europe and the test case for lasting the region. We do not have a hidden We are strongly committed to sup- some questions about his approach Balkans and trade, financial trans- peace and stability in the continent. agenda. Hence our relations are porting Macedonia’s full integra- actions and cultural interaction Important challenges are yet to be based on mutual trust with the tion with the Euro-Atlantic institu- should grow. Historical centres like overcome. countries of the region. All the tions, which is vital not only for the Sarajevo, Belgrade, Skopje, Plovdiv, We must admit that wounds are Balkan countries show great efforts strengthening of peace and stability Mostar and Dubrovnik must pros- fresh and need constant attention to to eliminate stereotypes and preju- domestically, but also that of in the per along with Thessaloniki and be completely healed. We must deal dicial attitudes from their history Western Balkans. www.prishtinainsight.com stanbul. with the legacy of the conflict - from books. We are trying to generate a Turkey was among the very first The people of the Balkans should organised crime to refugees and dis- new perception of the Balkans countries to recognize the Republic Publisher: make best use of the energy created placed persons; from war crimes to based on mutual understanding, tol- of Macedonia with its constitution- BIRN by the common cultural and histori- shattered economies and infrastruc- erance, cooperation, integration al name and, national identity. We Balkan Investigative Reporting Network cal heritage they share, and convey ture, carefully and with a visionary and local ownership. We are happy continue to support the right of it as a valuable asset for a common approach while leaving behind the to witness our efforts yielding posi- Macedonia as a sovereign nation to Mensa e Studenteve, first floor future to their next generations. misgivings without delay. tive results. determine its constitutional name. Q: Following your 2009 Q: Turks of Macedonian origin Turkey is reaching out to all Macedonian people need to see 10000, Prishtina Sarajevo speech, you have been seem to want to apply for countries in the region on every the light at the end of the tunnel. We Kosovo accused by some of promoting Macedonian citizenship. front through bilateral high level regret that Macedonia’s path to the Phone: +381 (0) 38 24 33 58 an anti-European Union agenda According to a 1950s agreement visits, business contacts, NGO activ- membership to NATO and EU Fax: +381 (0) 38 22 44 98 and a return to ‘neo-Ottoman’ with the former Yugoslavia, ities, direct investments, energy remains impeded due to the name nationalism. How do you those who left do not have the connections, and by fostering cul- dispute. Euro-Atlantic integration [email protected] respond to this? right to return and recover their tural and humanitarian efforts to is essential for lasting stability in My speech during a visit to Macedonia citizenship. Should strengthen bridges between peoples this country. It must not be taken Editor-in-Chief: Sarajevo in 2009 on contemporary that agreement be revised? and in conducting development aid. hostage by the name issue. Lawrence Marzouk Turkish foreign policy has been The citizenship laws of On a regional level, Turkey is Macedonia collaborates actively [email protected] misinterpreted as advocating a poli- Macedonia - as far as we are actively pursuing multi-layered with its neighbours and other coun- Editorial Team: cy of neo-Ottomanism. I am not a informed - do not give many possi- diplomacy. We have initiated two tri- tries in the region. An important neo-Ottoman. Actually there is no bilities to acquire citizenship. lateral consultation mechanisms example is the finalisation of the Ana Petruseva, Gordana Igric, such policy. We have a common his- Having said this, we are not aware with Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, border demarcation with Kosovo, Jeta Xharra, Marcus Tanner, tory and cultural depth with the that a large number of Turkish citi- and Serbia on the one hand, and which deserves to be appreciated. Petrit Collaku, Shengjyl Osmani and Balkan countries, which nobody zens, whose families originate from with BiH and Croatia on the other. Kanarina Shehu. can deny. We cannot act as if the Macedonia, are willing to settle in In this context, I met with my col- Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish Ottomans never existed in this Macedonia and acquire citizenship. leagues frequently and took up foreign minister, took part in this region. My perception of history in These are just speculations that issues that hinder the normaliza- question and answer over email. It Marketing, Sales & Distribution: the Balkans is that we have to focus should not be given credit. tion of relations among these coun- was compiled by Altin Raxhimi [email protected] on the positive aspects of our com- Q: Does Turkey’s involvement tries and particularly with BiH. with Darko Duridanksi. This Q&A mon past. We cannot create a better with Serbia hinge on Belgrade’s Lack of trust towards one anoth- was produced as part of the Balkan Design & Layout: “Rrjeti” future by building on a negative position as central to security in er among ethnic communities is Fellowship for Journalistic Y view of history. the Balkans? What it Turkish still a major impediment to under- Excellence Alumni Initiative, estab- M Printing: Lindi Printing Center We need to build a better future policy towards Serbia? taking reforms and to building a lished and supported by the Robert C for the next generations that is Turkey and Serbia consider each functioning state in BiH without Bosch Stiftung and ERSTE Copyright © BIRN K based on common history, shared other as neighbours and key part- prejudice to the rights and obliga- Foundation. news May 6 - 19, 2011 5 Heritage Handover to Kosovo Police Embitters Serbs As protection of Orthodox churches and monasteries shifts from NATO to Kosovo Police, many in the Serbian community complain that their cultural and religious monuments are not in safe hands Gorioc. the start. KFOR remains responsible for “Here we see the consequences the safety of four other monaster- of this,” he said. “The internation- By Besiana Xharra ies: Holy Archangels in Prizren, al community urgently needs to Devic, Decani and the Pec change its approach and not allow Patriarchate. But it intends to Kosovo Police to protect the hand over protection of them as Serbian monasteries,” he said. Protection of Gracanica monastery was handed over to Kosovo Police last year he theft last month of lead well, as it reduces troop numbers. Marko Jaksic, a hard-line Serb roofing from a UNESCO The move has raised hackles in representative in the divided monasteries and one monument objects.” Tworld heritage site church Belgrade, and despite a reduction northern town of Mitrovica, said has been handed over [already] to The minister said that Kosovo in Prizren has reignited the row in tension since KFOR’s decision the incident showed that ethnic Kosovo Police,” Alexander Feja, would not allow Serbia to make over protection of Serbian patri- was announced, Serbia continues Albanians did not want to protect mony in Kosovo. deputy chief of public affairs in acts of theft as an excuse to inter- to protest. the Serbian nation’s historic sites. While Prishtina officials argue KFOR, said. vene in Kosovo’s internal affairs. Serbia’s President, Boris Tadic, “We are in contact with the that the sites will be safe under the “Depending on the security situ- Behxhet Shala, director of the watch of the Kosovo Police, was quoted in the Belgrade media Serbian government and we ation on the ground, KFOR intends Council for the Protection of Serbian Church and political lead- in April as saying that he did not believe that very soon there will be to hand over responsibilities [for Rights and Freedoms in Kosovo, a ers disagree. want to see Serbian monasteries a solution for the Serbian monas- the rest] to the respective institu- civil society group, said Serbian Kosovo is home to many of the “in the hands of Albanian extrem- teries in Kosovo, because in the tions of Kosovo,” he added. churches, monasteries and monu- Orthodox Church’s holiest sites, ists”. hands of the Kosovo police they Feja said he understood the con- ments were a wing of Serbian for- leading off with the Patriarchal The remarks came during a visit are always threatened,” Jaksic cerns felt by many Serbs: “In eign policy. church complex in Pec/Peja, offi- to the Serbia by a senior member of said. Kosovo, following the destruction “Gazimestan was a centre of cial seat of the head of the Serbian the Russian Orthodox Church, a According to a report last year and damage of some of the most [Serbian] political empowerment Orthodox Church, and the key foreign backer of Serbia’s by the International Crisis Group, valuable sites in 2004, the Church at the time of Slobodan Milosevic, monastery churches of Decani and hard-line policy towards Kosovo. ICG, a think tank, some Serbian is understandably sensitive to and now it is protected by Kosovo Gracanica. Soon after the meeting, news Church officials would like to see a potential threats to these cultural Police,” Shala noted. Six years after riots left dozens emerged that thieves had stolen small force looking after their reli- treasures.” “On the other hand, at Decani of churches and monasteries badly part of the lead roof of the Church gious sites, modelled on the Swiss Kosovo’s government said that monastery, people living there are damaged, following days of ethni- of the Mother of God of Ljevis in Guards who protect the Vatican. the incident in Prizren did not mean not allowed onto their own private Prizren, known as the Bogorodica According to the same to ICG that Serbian Orthodox churches property [because of security cally motivated violence, NATO’s Ljeviska, in Serbian. report, Belgrade officials agree, generally were under threat. measures] and don’t even dare to Kosovo force, KFOR, last year Although it is not one of the hoping to force Prishtina to grant “Kosovo police are diligently speak out about it,” he said. began handing over control of 10 sites protected by KFOR, Belgrade Orthodox monasteries the same protecting these monasteries,” The idea that monasteries were protected sites of importance to officials quickly protested over the extraterritorial status that the Hajredin Kuci, the deputy prime being handed over to “Albanian Serbs to Kosovo Police. Kosovo Police’s failure to protect Vatican enjoys from Italy. minister, said. “The latest case [in extremists” was nonsense, he The first was Gazimestan, the the building. Under the Ahtisaari Package, Prizren] doesn’t mean that added. In the 1999 conflict in site of the legendary Battle of According to Church experts, 20 the blueprint for Kosovo’s inde- Albanians are extremists – we Kosovo, Serbian churches were Kosovo of 1389 between the square metres of roof have disap- pendence, which is enshrined in don’t even know yet who was routinely used to store weapons for Ottoman and Serbian armies as peared, allowing in damp, which the constitution, important responsible.” Serbian forces, he claimed. well as the location of one of for- will damage the UNESCO-protect- Orthodox sites enjoy special status The Interior Minister, Bajram “Yet now those churches are pro- mer Serbian leader Slobodan ed frescos. and a degree of autonomy - but not Rexhepi, said that Serbia was claimed as protected areas and Milosevic’s most notorious speech- The Church says it is the third extra-territorial status. using the plight of the church for it Serbia uses them to present es, marking the battle’s 600th time in five years that bits of the KFOR told Prishtina Insight that own political capital. Kosovo as an extremist country,” anniversary. roof have been stolen. it sees the Kosovo Police as capable “Serbia is using these monaster- he scoffed. Serbia was “playing a Since then, Kosovo Police has Oliver Ivanovic, Belgrade’s min- of protecting the sites, and it ies to make Kosovo appear extrem- terrible game”, he concluded. taken over protection of the ister for Kosovo, told Prishtina intend to continue to hand over ist in its policies,” he said. “But Gracanica monastery, another Insight that Serbia had opposed responsibilities to Kosovo’s institu- Serbia should know that Kosovo This article is funded under the world heritage site, as well as the the transfer of responsibilities tions. protects not only Serbian monas- BICCED project, supported by the churches of Zociste, Budicavci and from KFOR to Kosovo Police from “The task of guarding four teries but also other religious Swiss Cultural Programme. Kosovo Debates Future Role of International Presence Calls by local politicians to diminish the international presence in Kosovo have become increasingly vocal in recent days, as state bodies consider changes to the country's constitution. “On the occasion of the consti- dealing with "transitional provi- Civilian Representative, says the The International Steering tutional changes, we will discuss sions" that regulates the presence of authorities in charge of preparing Group, ISG, consists of countries whether... during this govern- the International Civilian the reforms should engage in a con- that support and guide Kosovo’s By Petrit Collaku ment’s mandate, there will be the Representative, ICR, whose role is to sultation process, and his office is independence and was established transfer of all executive competen- supervise Kosovo's independence. ready to provide advice on the mat- after Kosovo declared independ- cies from international institu- Regarding the International ter. ence. tions,” Bajrami added. Civilian Office, ICO, Bajrami “Constitutional reform is not a The ISG appointed Feith as rsim Bajrami, an MP from Kosovo set up commissions to referred to the experience of Bosnia process that will affect the ICR's International Civilian the ruling PDK who heads a examine the constitution and pro- and Herzegovina, where he said the mandate on which the International Representative for Kosovo. He is Astate commission on consti- pose a number of changes in April international community has Steering Group alone makes deci- also the EU’s Special Representative tutional reform, said that accord- this year after controversy sur- remained present for longer than sions in light of progress achieved,” for Kosovo. ing to the Ahtisaari Plan for rounding its presidential election, was needed. Andy McGuffie, ICO spokesperson, Kosovo's independence, Prishtina and major reforms to the docu- He added that sharing powers cre- told Prishtina Insight. should assess the need for contin- ment are expected. ates dual competencies, which cre- ued international presence three Bajrami said the government ates a situation in which the inter- years after the declaration of inde- What happens next with the EUSR? pendence, which was made in would first examine the nature of national community blames local the presence of the international institutions for problems and vice- February 2008. The future of the EU’s representation in Kosovo remains in the bal- “Kosovo today is a sovereign and community in Kosovo’s institutions versa. and agencies. The main representative of the ance. independent country and is The mandate of European Union Special Representative in Kosovo becoming functional and the time “For example, the Constitutional international community in Court has nine judges, three of Kosovo, meanwhile, has said it sup- Pieter Feith ended on May l without a replacement having been select- has come for all executive powers ed. of an international type to be whom are international. It should ports Kosovo's constitutional be discussed whether there is a need reform so long as the result is con- Prishtina media reported that 13 people have applied for the job, transferred to local institutions,” including the current European Parliament rapporteur on Kosovo, Bajrami told Prishtina Insight . for an international presence in the sistent with the international strat- court, or whether the court should egy for Kosovo's post-independence, Austrian Green Ulrike Lunacek. Bajrami noted, however, that Y have only local judges,” Bajrami and is aimed at improving democra- The EU has so far failed to decide what type of new mission will be reductions in the international set up in Kosovo due to disagreements between the 22 states which M presence would not happen in the told Prishtina Insight. Bajrami said cy in Kosovo. the constitution contained a chapter Pieter Feith, the International recognise Kosovo’s independence and the five that don’t. C short term. K 6 May 6 - 19, 2011 business Power Plant Delay Blamed on Meddling Consultants Kosovo’s former energy minister Justina Shiroka-Pula claims that delays to a massive new power plant were due to meddling from international advisors, a suggestion ridiculed by others involved with the scheme

sures from internationals in the project,” said Ceku. According to him, Shiroka-Pula By Lavdim Hamidi herself was managing the project, but contracted advisors are there only to give advice and cannot exert pressure. He says that under inister of Energy in the his leadership from 2004 to 2008, last administration the ministry had a professional MJustina Shiroka-Pula has team, which, according to him, broken a two-year silence to blame was more prepared than contract- delays on deciding the design and ed advisors and therefore was able construction of a new power plant to triumph citizens’ plans. on the project’s international Officials of the renamed transaction advisors. Ministry of Economic “Ever since the beginning, the Development did not want to com- transaction advisors with their ment on the declarations of for- ever-changing proposals and the mer minister Shiroka-Pula. international pressure have been Gezim Baxhaku, advisor to responsible for the stalling of this Shiroka-Pula’s successor Minister Replacements for Kosovo's aging power stations have been long delayed project,” said Shiroka-Pula. Besim Beqaj, told Prishtina Both US and World Bank funded have transferred their assets. tives in Kosovo,” explained regarding this issue,” Shiroka- Insight that he is sure Minister advisors had been working on a This is a huge delay on initial Shiroka-Pula, although refusing Pula told Prishtina Insight. Beqaj is not being exposed to any proposal to create a giant, 2000 plans for ‘Kosova e Re’, launched to mention anyone’s names. She refuses to comment on kind of pressure from internation- MW power plant in Kosovo, in in 2006, which foresaw that in 2012 Shiroka-Pula was project leader whether there was any controver- al representatives regarding the order to tap into the country’s the new power plant would start for constructing the power plant sy after her April remarks, and power plant project, called New massive reserves of brown coal. producing electricity. As a result during 2008-2010. also declines to comment on why Kosovo, Kosova e Re. But the much delayed project of the delays, the big European Regarding contracted advisors, she had not spoken out earlier, for “The Government and the has faced a number of set-back energy companies such as RWE she said that they are being paid example when still minister. “All I Ministry of Economic and changes, including the deci- withdrew from discussions. by internationals and that they do had to say, I said. Now I do not Development are committed to sion last year to massively reduced The original idea of a 2,000 not protect Kosovo’s interests in want to talk anymore,” she said. implementing development plans the scale of the plan. megawatt energy production this project. The four prequalified consor- and the construction of Kosova e Shiroka-Pula’s predecessor capacity was later scaled down to Despite her earlier openness on tiums for constructing ‘Kosova e Re is part of our capital projects,” Ethem Ceku said she was acting 600 megawatts in two states. the subject in mid-April, Shiroka- Re’ are Adani Power/PT Adani said Baxhaku. “totally irresponsible” to make “In the meeting on December Pula is now refusing to discuss Global from India and Indonesia, According to Baxhaku, the win- such a claim after being silent for 16, 2009, when the proposal was her comments regarding pressure the American-Turkish consor- ner for constructing the power so long. agreed that Kosova e Re would be from internationals. tium AES Electric Ltd/Demir plant should be announced at the “It is a total irresponsibility 600 MW, 300 plus 300, apart from “Please contact newly appoint- Export AS, the Turkish company start of 2012, and the works could that after three years someone contracted advisors’ intervened minster [Besim Beqaj] and you Park Holding and the Greek, UK begin after the financial package comes up in front of public opin- tions there were interventions can ask him regarding this issue. I and USA consortium, is completed and the investors ion and says that there were pres- even from diplomatic representa- do not want to talk anymore PPC/Contour Global LLP. Kosovo’s Economic Plan Unrealistic, Experts Warn Local economic experts say the Kosovo government's newly launched plan for economic development, which aims to increase growth by cutting red-tape and reforming the business sector, is unrealistic. The country hopes that such accumulative investment of four efforts will rank it as one of the to five billion euros,” Limani World Bank's top-reformers for explained. By Petrit Collaku business in 2012 and 2013. He said that the plan is purely The government’s strategy also political, with the aim of showing aims to declare the winner for pri- the people of Kosovo that the gov- vatization of the country's telecom ernment has an economic strategy n April 18, the government company in October and close the in place. Economic experts have questioned the government's economic plan approved the plan for 2011- financial aspects of the sale in “It’s a political plan because O2014, which foresees eco- December 2011. such strategies existed before but ing challenges which are dis- need for greater growth than 7 to 8 nomic growth from seven to eight It said it would privatise the dis- never succeeded,” he said. cussed in public debates. per cent in order to have the unem- per cent and hopes to reduce the tribution and supply of power dur- “There was a strategy for the He added that such an reactive ployment drop by eight to ten per unemployment rate by eight to ten ing the coming year as well. economy for 2004-2008 that failed attitude was seen at the beginning cent,” Demi said. per cent, but it has been met with Musa Limani, head of Economic totally,” he said. of 2010 when Kosovo’s government He said that the economic sceptism by some analysts. League of Kosovo, said he was Agron Demi from the think-tank approved a strategy for the north growth in the last three years has The plan aims to fight the infor- of the country. sceptical of the government’s plan GAP, meanwhile, says the new eco- come only through public expendi- mal economy, create a sole agency for economic development that nomic development plan is incom- “But, more then a year has gone tures and not from the develop- for tax and customs revenues, was revised in Bulgaria last week. plete and only presents priorities. and no results have been seen from ment of the private sector. improve fiscal policies, and revi- Professor Limani told Prishtina “The government’s objectives that strategy,” Demi said. “The same thing will happen talise agriculture. Insight that given Kosovo’s cur- presented in the plan are not more Demi stated that the govern- It also addresses the business rent situation, the target of seven or less then what we heard during ment's economic plan does not during the period 2011-2014 with sector, loooking to reduce barriers to eight percent economic growth the election campaign or the exist- explain how the economic growth this plan,” he said. “For the last Y for firms through a comprehen- is not attainable. ing plans,” Demi told Prishtina and unemployment reduction will three years, economic growth was M sive reform of the permits system “To reach economic growth of Insight. be achieved. six per cent but unemployment C that would eliminating 50 per cent seven to eight per cent in Kosovo He said that the government has “Even those two objectives do remained the same at around 45-47 K of required licenses. means that we need an annual taken a reactive stance to address- not come across because there is a per cent.” business May 6 - 19, 2011 7 Construction Halt Leaves Belene’s Fate in Balance Temporary work stoppage on controversial nuclear plant, pending review of costs, is unlikely to be end of the story, given the country’s hunger for new energy sources. nuclear plant, supplementing and But a clause in the contract also eventually replacing the unit awards the bank 0.95 per cent of upstream at Kozloduy. any new external investment that By Vera Ovanin The Belene project was first pro- it drums up for the plant, which posed more than 30 years before, some suggest creates a conflict of and construction first started in interest and could encourage the the 1980s but was abandoned after bank to give the project the green he future of Bulgaria’s con- the fall of Communism in 1990. light. troversial Belene nuclear In 2002, the plan was resuscitat- At the government’s own valua- Tpower plant appears in the ed, in part due to the closure of tion, HSBC would take upwards of balance again. In early April the government suspended construc- four 440MW reactors at Kozloduy, 23m euro, more than 11 times the tion at the site on the Danube for at which was a requirement for original contract cost, from a new least three months pending a re- Bulgaria’s European Union acces- deal involving a partner taking examination of the plant’s cost, sion. The shutdown was deeply RWE’s 49 per cent stake. viability and safety issues. unpopular in Bulgaria at the time. Meanwhile, Rosatom has Nonetheless, there are clear As the Belene project gained appointed Valentin Zlatev, chair of signs that the government wishes momentum, RWE won the con- Lukoil Bulgaria, considered a to persevere with the project and tract to be the government’s close confidant to Borisov, as a that a new accommodation with investment partner, taking a 49 per consultant on the negotiations. contractors and investors may be cent stake in the project. For his part, Russia’s ambassador reached. Atomstroyexport started con- in Bulgaria, Yuriy Izakov, has said With a planned installed capaci- struction. However, the German he is “100 per cent sure that Belene ty of 2000MW, Belene would be a firm’s involvement lasted only a will be constructed”. major contributor to Bulgaria’s year, as concerns about the costs This has all been grist to the power output and could substan- mounted. Some estimates went as mill of Belene’s opponents, who tially increase the country’s elec- high as 10bn euro and questions include environmentalists, renew- tricity export potential. were raised about the plant’s via- able power lobbyists and a number Work on the plant was de facto bility in a more difficult economic of critics of the project’s cost to The Belene nuclear power plant stopped in October 2009, when environment, with investments in Bulgaria. Bulgaria’s strategic investment power being made elsewhere. There have been renewed firm Areva, which was involved in Despite vocal and articulate partner RWE, a German power Since RWE’s withdrawal, not protests about safety, given upgrading Kozloduy’s two current- opposition, surveys continue to firm, withdrew. only has work effectively stopped Belene’s location in a seismically ly operating reactors, for consul- find that only a small minority of The decision to back out reflect- but Rosatom has demanded a active region, especially in the tancy on Belene’s safety. around 15 per cent of Bulgarians ed RWE’s continued concerns revaluation of its contract to 6.3bn wake of the crisis at Japan’s In the past, Sofia has suggested are opposed to the plant, according about the cost of the project, a sub- euro, from which it is apparently Fukushima nuclear plant. that it might be willing to see an to a recent Gallup poll, with 48 per ject of dispute between the refusing to budge, while the Questions continue to be asked investor take a controlling stake in cent actively in favour. Bulgarian government and the Bulgarian government, now led by about the plant’s viability at a time the plant, reducing the burden on Given Bulgaria’s need to boost contractor, Russia’s the rightist Boyko Borisov, is stick- of general fiscal cutbacks. Finally, the strained national budgets, a its export-oriented sectors in the Atomstroyexport, majority-owned ing to its own new estimate of 5bn the role of Rosatom remains con- possibility that may be raised long term, as well as to provide for by Russia’s state nuclear power euro. troversial, as Bulgaria’s official again. Borisov has pointed out its domestic demand, the momen- firm Rosatom. It is ostensibly due to this policy is to reduce Russian influ- that Rosatom has the right to tum behind Belene is likely to In 2008, the then Socialist-led impasse that on April 13 Sofia ence over its energy resources. appoint whomever it wishes as a remain significant. Ongoing government signed a 4bn-euro deal finalised a 2m-euro contract with The government’s response has consultant, and he might have investments in Bulgaria by power with Atomstroyexport to con- British bank HSBC, which will been to declare the feasibility added that HSBC and Areva are companies including US-based struct the nuclear plant, which undertake a cost feasibility study study objective and to sign an major and reputable international AEG are indicative of its appeal to was to be Bulgaria’s second on Belene. agreement with French energy firms. international energy companies. Croatia Blocks Trading in INA Shares Again

MOL of attempting to increase its owner- make INA “a regional champion”. ship of INA through private investors, alle- MOL said it had made two offers in the gations the Hungarian firm denies. past for the purchase of INA shares from By Prishtina Insight The Croatian government holds 44.84 per small and private shareholders and that a cent of INA, and recently put forward a bill vast majority of the small shareholders had to cap ownership in INA at below 50 per seized those opportunities. It noted that the cent. offers had been completed in line with the roatia's market regulator, HANFA, Meanwhile, MOL issued a statement on applicable laws. has again ordered the Zagreb Stock Thursday saying it had purchased shares of “MOL also followed the guidance of CExchange to suspend trading in the Croatian oil and gas group INA from pri- HANFA not to buy shares on the market shares of the country's oil and gas company vate investors whenever the conditions met during the latest offer, even though we dis- INA until May 6. MOL's investment criteria. As regards its puted such guidance from the first moment. HANFA, which made the request on stake in INA, it said it had not yet reached a At that same time MOL also called Thursday, said that it had detected consider- level that would have required it to make HANFA's attention to the speculative pur- able trading in INA shares by foreign any stock exchange announcements. chases experienced on the market. MOL investors and had requested information “Outside the offer period there is no believes it is not in the interest of INA if from foreign regulators and investors to agreement - neither formal nor informal - speculative investors build positions with establish facts and ensure transparent trad- no regulation or law that would restrict the possible aim to challenge the unity of ing and investor protection. MOL from buying additional INA shares. the shareholding partners in INA,” the INA closed trading on Wednesday at a Indeed, there were private investors who statement said. record price of 4,200 kuna [570 euro] per offered their shares to MOL which we The first suspension of trading came in share. accepted and purchased provided that the March, just days after INA’s CEO, Bojan HANFA said that it had asked Hungarian conditions met MOL's investment criteria,” Milkovic, was arrested on corruption oil group MOL, which owns a 47.26 per cent the Hungarian company said. charges. An investigative judge ordered INA shares have been suspended stake in INA, for information on how it had It said that “there have been many misin- Milkovic, who was detained on March 25, to acquired INA shares, on financial resources and the offer intensified trading in INA terpretations and allegations recently in be held for 30 days, as the probe continues. it had secured for another entity to pur- shares on the Zagreb Stock Exchange. the Croatian media on INA share-buying, Milkovic became the chief of INA in June chase INA shares, and on a possible agree- The Hungarian company had hoped to where MOL faced many unfair attacks caus- 2009. Y ment with another entity to purchase INA become the majority owner of INA through ing damage to its reputation”, adding that In December MOL attempted to increase shares, but had not yet received a response. its offer to buy stock, but did not manage to M MOL always believed in a strong alliance its ownership of INA with an offer to pur- Croatian media has recently accused buy enough to significantly increase its C with the Republic of Croatia and aimed to chase INA shares from small shareholders, ownership share. K 8 May 6 - 19, 2011 neighbourhood news Bosnian Serbs May Leave State Institutions, Reports Say Bosnian Serbs are reportedly planning to withdraw from state institutions if they are sanctioned by the international community over their plans to hold a referendum on the state court.

“Of course, I am the representative of Republika Srpska in the state Council of Ministers. If a decision on withdrawal from By Eldin Hadzovic the state institutions is passed in RS, I will withdraw too,” Novic said. Novic said he read about the possibility of Serbs leaving state institutions in the news- hile print media from Bosnia's pre- papers. dominantly Serb entity, Republika “We didn't receive any official instruction WSrpska, have quoted anonymous sources saying that Bosnian Serb officials on that,” Novic said. “But, generally,” he plan to leave state bodies if High added, “I am not much of an optimist.” Representative Valentin Inzko introduces A decision to withdraw could affect the sanctions against Serb leaders, officials told Serb member of the tripartite presidency, as Prishtina Insight that such a move is possi- well as a number of Serb ministers and ble. lower-level elected and appointed officials in Bosnian Serbs could withdraw from state institutions Inzko, who is the top foreign official in the state bodies. country, is set to announce the international This latest row between Republika Srpska, Inkzo warned that he would use the authori- Mladen Ivanic, president of the leading commmunity's response to Republika RS, and the international community comes ty of his office to stop the referendum. Serb opposition in RS, the Party of Srpska's planned referendum on the state after the RS National Assembly adopted on Inzko repeated on Tuesday night that his Democratic Progress, PDP, told Prishtina court on Thursday. April 13 a decision to hold a referendum on office will annul the parliamentary decision Insight that it is hard to predict what the Sredoje Novic, Bosnia's Minister of Civil support for the state court and prosecutor's on the referendum if the National Assembly SNSD will do. doesn't do so itself. Affairs and a member of the strongest Serb office, and to challenge the laws imposed by “It is early to speculate on whether they Milorad Dodik, president of RS and SNSD, party, the Alliance of Independent Social the High Representative. will leave the state institutions or not, but it recently stated that the RS would respond to Democrats, SNSD, told Prishtina Insight that The decision was condemned by the other looks to me that SNSD doesn’t have the sanctions, but declined to elaborate on the while he hoped Inzko would not impose sanc- ethnic groups in the country and the interna- capacity at this point to fulfil such a threat,” planned measures. tions, he would withdraw if asked to do so. tional community, and High Representative Ivanic said.

Poll Predicts VMRO-DPMNE Victory in Macedonia

ruling party on double the support of the Asked why they would not vote, 39 per the Social Democratic candidate for the post main opposition Social Democrats. cent of the abstainers said they felt disap- of Prime Minister. Just over 22 per cent of respondents said pointed with all political parties, while 11 Of the rest, Rufi Osmani, mayor of By Sinisa Jakov Marusic they would vote for VMRO-DPMNE while per cent said they were simply not interest- Gostivar and head of a newly formed only 10 per cent said they would support the ed in politics. Albanian party, National Democratic main opposition party. According to the survey, Prime Minister Rebirth, got 2.3 per cent, Imer Selmani of Another 5 per cent said they would vote Nikola Gruevski remains by far the most the New Democracy party got 1.7 per cent overning VMRO-DPMNE party of for the junior ruling party, the ethnic trusted politician in the country. Almost 20 and Menduh Thaci of the DPA got 1.6 per Nikola Gruevski looks set win the Albanian Democratic Union for Integration, percent of respondents said they trusted cent. GJune 5 early general election, accord- DUI, while another 1.9 per cent said they him the most, while only 4.6 per cent said Some 47 per cent of respondents said they ing to a local survey. would support the ethnic Albanian opposi- they most trusted the Social Democrat trusted no one, while over 13 per cent did not The poll, carried out by a Skopje-based Y tion party, the Democratic Party of leader, Branko Crvenkovsk. know who they trusted, or refused to think tank, the Institute for Democracy, and M Albanians, DPA. Another 4.3 percent opted for Ali Ahmeti, answer. The telephone survey was carried a civil association, the Macedonian Center C A total of 28.1 per cent said they would not the head of the DUI, and 2.9 per cent out in late April on a representative sample for International Cooperation, shows the K vote at all, while 16.4 had not decided. expressed trust in Radmila Shekerisnka, of some 1,100 respondents albania elections May 6 - 19, 2011 9

Campaign Tapes Fuel Media Freedom Row in Albania Broadcasters are again coming under pressure to air pre-packaged campaign tapes, prompting renewed concern about the blurring of the line between news and propaganda.

By Besar Likmeta

decision by the Central Electoral Commission, ACEC, ordering broadcasters to air pre-packaged campaign tapes produced by candidates ahead of the May 8 local elections, has stirred fresh debate over media freedom and political pressure on the media in Albania. The CEC reached its decision following a recommendation from the Media Monitoring Board, a commission comprised of representatives of both ruling and opposition parties and which controls the airtime allocated by broadcasters in the 30-day campaign period. The campaign for the ruling party’s candidate for Tirana, Albania’s media is being told to air pre-packaged party political stories Lulzim Basha, had complained ences in editorial policy from May 8 ballot has expressed concern coverage of the campaign,” the TV which means that the media should that several TV stations were not politicians and business interests, about the coverage of the cam- station said. follow all pre-election activities and airing the pre-packaged tapes and it has had a clear impact on the paign in the media. Top-Channel, the country’s report on what’s positive and so were not balancing the airtime Albanian media’s independence. “Election staff send texts and largest broadcaster, and part of the wrong in the views of all parties allocated to him and Edi Rama, the Albania ranked 88 out of 173 the photos for publication to the powerful Top Media group, is per- and politicians,” he added. incumbent mayor and opposition countries in the 2009 Reporters print media and send already pro- ceived as favouring the opposition Lutfi Dervishi, executive direc- leader. without Borders “Freedom of the duced stories shot by campaign in its coverage. It has thus come tor of Transparency International Broadcasters describe the tapes Press Index”. This rating repre- staff to the broadcast media, which under fire from the ruling Albania, agrees, but warns that as political propaganda and say the sents a significant downgrade from is against the journalists’ mission, Democratic Party, which has Albania’s broadcasters have react- lack of coverage of Basha’s cam- 2003, when Albania ranked 34 and truth and the objectivity of the accused it of placing an “informa- ed far too late, considering that paign is down to the fact that the was the best performer in the news that is transmitted,” the tion blackout” on their candidate they have broadcasted such pre- candidate has refused to publish Western Balkans. report said. in Tirana. packaged tapes for years and some the agenda of his campaign events, While the decline in the inde- “Media outlets are not only fail- Oliver Vujovic, general secretary candidates are so used to it that making it impossible to report on pendence of the media is a broad ing to meet their informative role of the South East Media they now feel an injustice is being them. phenomenon in the Balkans, but are also contributing to the dis- Organization, based in Vienna says done to them. The latest dispute represents the Albania has remained the worst information of citizens by creating forcing the media to broadcast PR “The public does not receive its tip of an iceberg, experts warn. performer since 2006. a virtual reality, which influences material violates the rules of pro- information from the media but They say that the media is increas- Pre-packaged tapes of political and manipulates the citizens’ fessional reporting; the media from political parties, which is ingly being used as a propaganda events in Albania have been vote,” the report added. should work independently and pure propaganda and political tool by rival political groups, as a around for almost a decade, but Since the start of the campaign, without any pressure. advertising,” said Dervishi. “This result of which it is failing to fulfil they have taken a prominent role three television stations, including “Especially if we are speaking the worst thing that can happen, its watchdog mission. in the last two election campaigns, Top-Channel TV, Ora News and about the election period it is when the media does not do its job Albania has a large number of with editors increasingly feeling Vision Plus, have announced that important that the media respects and does not control information broadcast and print media, which under pressure to air them and not they will not air pre-packed cam- all professional standards – not but only reflects it like a mirror,” compete fiercely for limited adver- provide independent coverage of paign tapes in order to better safe- respecting them can have fatal he added tising revenues and generally campaign events. guard their editorial independence. results for democratic development This article was made possible depend on businesses to subsidize In its interim report, published “With this decision, Top-Channel in any country,” Vujovic said. through the support of the them. on the eve of the campaign, a local believes that is fulfilling its obliga- “News aired before elections National Endowment for Combined with other interfer- coalition of NGOs monitoring the tion to citizens to provide impartial must be professional and critical, Democracy. Blast Hits Albania Opposition Gathering

the re-election campaign of the explosive material was placed. Katragjini. which has been the source of a Socialist leader and current “It was a loud blast and dozens of Monday’s blast is the latest in a heated dispute between the opposi- Tirana mayor Edi Rama have gath- young people were gathered at the series violent incidents that have tion and the ruling party. By Besar Likmeta ered in the evenings to dance to the tent,” said Nyrja another witness. marked Albania’s electoral cam- The ruling Democrats and the beat of DJs mixing house music “The music was so loud that the paign for the May 8 elections. opposition have blamed each other rhythms. youngsters did not immediately The clashes, which range from for the riots, adding to already n explosion hit a gathering “We heard a loud explosion and realise what happened,” he added. minor scuffles to exchanges of tense relations between Edi of young supporters of the then a young man came across the Police said in a statement that gunfire between supporters and Rama’s Socialists and Prime Socialist Party in central A the wounded person was a 29-year- the bombing of the home of an Minister Sali Berisha's Democrats. street bleeding from his foot,” said Tirana on Monday at 8.15 pm, only Nexhmi, a taxi driver who wit- old passerby, named Armando opposition candidate in Tirana, Berisha’s Democrats and metres from the prime minister’s Dyrmishi, who is currently recov- will have negative effect on voter Rama's Socialists have been locked office, leaving one person lightly nessed the blast. “He hailed a taxi wounded. that was passing by and went to the ering at the hospital. turnout, experts warn. in a power struggle since the last The explosive material is hospital,” Nexhmi added. “During the investigation at the The May 8 vote is seen as a key general election in June 2009. believed to have been placed in a A dozen officers and investiga- scene parts of a gas can were test of Albania’s democratic cre- This article was made possible trash can behind an opposition tors were present at the blast site found inside the trash can where dentials following a violent anti- through the support of the tent, where young supporters for on Monday evening, poring over the explosion originated,” said government rally on January 21 National Endowment for the trash can where it is believed Tirana police spokesperson Alma that left four protestors dead and Democracy. 10 May 6 - 19, 2011 albania elections OSCE Accused of Ignoring Albania PM’s Campaign Abuses OSCE/ODIHR observers may be turning a blind eye to the Prime Minister’s party political use of public events ahead of May 8 elections. Albania’s May 8 local elections are consid- Use of official inaugurations as campaign ered as key to the country’s democratic cre- rallies, blurring the distinction between state Albanian PM Sali Berisha has been accused of using dentials, following January 21 riots in which and party activities, have been considered by public events for electioneering four opposition protestors died, and nearly past ODIHR missions as a violation of para- By Besar Likmeta two years of political deadlock over the con- graph 5.4 of the OSCE Copenhagen Document. inaugurated, detail Berisha’s use of election tested June 2009 general election results. The document is a far-reaching set of com- rhetoric. Since it emerged from Enver Hoxha’s mitments agreed by OSCE member states on The press releases are illustrated by pic- review by Prishtina Insight of recent tures showing him among supporters who public events and inaugurations in Stalinist regime in 1991, Albania has yet to how to conduct democratic elections, and lays hold an election that fully met internationally the groundwork for the organization's activi- are waving Democratic Party flags. AAlbania - “We have considered this campaign with recognized standards. ties in the area of election observation. based on press releases and photos issued by you at the centre, as we as a government Sali Berisha’s own press office - The last general election, narrowly won by The Albanian translation of the ODIHR want to learn about all your problems and shows the Prime Minister avidly campaigning Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party, has been interim report covering the period March possibilities,” Berisha is reported as having at these nominally national events. widely contested, with the Socialist opposi- 17–April 11, published on April 15, included a told supporters in the village of Dais on The press releases show the ruling tion complaining that it was marred by fraud. sentence that referred to Berisha’s use of offi- April 1, inaugurating a revamped middle Democratic Party’s logo and flags on display The feud has fuelled a crisis that has poi- cial events for political purposes. school. while Berisha calls on crowds, gathered to soned the political climate and stopped But the sentence was not found in the offi- Neither the government nor Berisha him- celebrate new public works, to vote for his reforms dead in their tracks. cial English copy of the report, prompting self are running for office on May 8. party in the May 8 local elections and attacks Albanian election results are often contest- accusations of falsification in the local “Apart from this alternative, which is opposition leader Edi Rama. ed – with the loser crying foul and accusing media. the winning party of having resorted to elec- After the discrepancy was spotted by the based entirely on your problems, potential The ODHIR’s mission spokesperson possibilities and your community as whole, Giuseppe Milazzo told Prishtina Insight that toral fraud. The quarrels have highlighted daily Gazeta Shqiptare, Milazzo told the the key role of the OSCE monitoring mis- newspaper that the sentence had appeared in there is also another alternative, based on its assessment of candidates’ compliance accusations and slander,” the Prime Minister with OSCE commitments in the election, sions as an arbiter. the Albanian translation by mistake. The ODIHR mission for the May 8 local “It was included in earlier draft of the is quoted as saying, in what appears a clear including the political use of official events, elections has come under particular scrutiny interim report; however it was not consid- broadside aimed at the Socialist opposition. will not come until May 10, when it releases its in the local media since one of its officials ered sufficiently appropriate”, Milazzo told Milazzo of the ODIHR maintains that the official Statement of Preliminary Findings told Prishtina Insight that two ambassadors the newspaper. mission continues to monitor the use of such and Conclusions. allegedly advised it to sugarcoat its report to “Only the English language versions of events for political activities; but local “The mission will not draw conclusions safeguard the country’s stability. OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission observers note that the mission will have to about the [election] process before that time,” “They [the two unnamed diplomats] don’t reports are official; unofficial translations dance on a tightrope with its reports, consid- Milazzo said. want us to write what we see,” the unnamed are provided as a courtesy,” Milazzo told ering Albania’s highly polarized political The mission’s interim report highlights official from the OSCE Office for Democratic Prishtina Insight. landscape. dozens of problems related to the election Institutions and Human Rights, ODIHR, said Although the ODIHR seems to have had “In a tense and polarized political situation campaign, including the behaviour of politi- April 5, noting that the advice would not be second thoughts on whether to report the use there is little space for voices that are not on cal parties, violent incidents and the use of followed. of official inaugurations by Berisha as politi- one side or the other,” political analyst Lutfi public funds as campaign adverts. But the offi- The allegations have since been dismissed. cal events, Berisha’s press office appears less Dervishi said. cial English language version of the report - The head of the mission, Jonathan troubled. “In this extreme [political] situation they in contrast to an Albanian language version - Stonestreet, and the OSCE ambassador in Recent press releases on the Prime [the mission]… have to be careful, because fails to mention Berisha’s use of official Tirana, Eugen Wolfarth, both said they were Minister’s speeches in at least six villages the abuse of their statements has reached a events for campaign activities. untrue. and towns, where public works have been scale not seen before,” he added. Lulzim Basha, Tirana’s Would-Be Mayor The controversial ex-minister, who has strong ties to the Berisha family, is bidding to take over the capital - but even if his gambit fails, it’s unlikely to ruin his political career. Berisha, who worked in the same tion. In March 2007 the General department as a legal adviser. Prosecutor launched a probe. This Basha returned to Albania before led to Basha’s indictment for abuse of the 2005 general elections as head of power, which had allegedly cost the By Dardan Malaj the Democratic Party’s committee state about 230 million euros. for policy orientation and as After the investigation was n his six years of political life, spokesperson of the party’s election launched, Berisha reshuffled his cab- Lulzim Basha has always been campaign, which brought the inet, moving Basha to the foreign Ia minister. Part of a group of Democrats back to power on an anti- ministry. Although the government young professionals who joined corruption platform after eight years accepted the general prosecutor’s the ruling Democratic Party in opposition. request to lift Basha’s immunity, it before the 2005 elections, he has Although previously unknown on launched a public campaign against been selected as the Berisha’s man the local political scene, with the justice system, putting pressure to gain control of the capital, Berisha’s support Basha was swiftly on the investigation. which has been run by the opposi- elected to the Democratic Party’s top In April 2009, the Albanian tion Socialist leader Edi Rama for posts and secured a seat in parlia- Supreme Court closed the case the past 11 years. ment. against Basha, arguing that the pros- Born in 1974, Basha was trained as After the elections, Berisha made ecutors had exceeded the investiga- Lulzim Basha meeting Condoleezza Rise, former US Secretary of State a lawyer at the University of Utrecht Basha his transport and telecommu- tion’s time limits. The protest turned into a riot will try to achieve what three of his in the Netherlands, specializing in nications minister, where he set out to As foreign minister from 2007 to when several hundred of the demon- former ministerial colleagues have EU law and international relations. negotiate construction of the Albania- 2009, Basha led Albania’s negotia- stators attacked the police barricade failed to do - unseat Rama as Tirana After finishing his studies in 1998, Kosovo highway, the country’s largest tions with the EU and with NATO. protecting the Prime Minister’s mayor. he worked as member of the UN public works project in decades. Tirana joined the Atlantic alliance in office with sticks, stones and Molotov To achieve this goal, the former Hague Tribunal team investigating The road has been dubbed the April 2009. war crimes committed in Kosovo “patriotic highway”, reflecting the After the contested 2009 general cocktails. Police responded with tear minister has resigned from the cabi- during the conflict between ethnic widely perceived geo-political elections, which Berisha’s coalition gas, water cannons and later with net and is betting on his record in Albanian fighters and forces loyal to motives behind the project – and the won with a slim majority, Basha was live ammunition fire. government, which for many Serbian president Slobodan fact that no feasibility study was ever made interior minister, where he Prosecutors are currently investi- remains a topic of heated debate. Milosevic. undertaken into whether it would worked on supervising Albania’s ful- gating the deaths, the organisers of If he wins, he would most likely After the war he worked as an ever return the money invested in it. fillment of the roadmap towards visa the protest and the violent demon- become the second most powerful fig- adviser to the UN Mission in Kosovo, The 61km-long Rreshen-Kalimash liberalization with the EU. strators who attacked the police. ure in the Democratic Party after UNMIK, and in 2001 became the section, built by the Turkish- Tipped early on as a possible candi- Prime Minister Berisha claims his Berisha. deputy chef-de-cabinet for UNMIK’s American consortium Bechtel- Enka date for the municipality of Tirana, government was the victim of a Failure to win Tirana won’t neces- justice director. at a cost of over a billion euros, drew he was still heading the interior min- failed coup attempt. sarily derail his career in the Y Working for UNMIK, the future particular attention. istry during the violent January 21 Opposition leader Rama blames Democratic Party. Berisha has shown M minister struck up a close relation- Corruption allegations and cost anti-government protests in which Basha and the Republican Guard for leniency before to those who have C ship with Argita Malltezi, daughter overruns led many to question the four opposition protesters died and turning a protest into a bloodbath. tried and failed to unseat the mayor K of Albania’s Prime Minister Sali value of the motorway’s construc- dozens were wounded. In the May 8 local elections, Basha of Tirana. special report May 6 - 19, 2011 11

Serbia Makes Uneven Progress on Integrating Minorities From Sandzak to Southern Serbia, Belgrade is failing to turn its verbal pledges into action when it comes to guaranteeing ethnic Albanians and Bosniaks fair levels of state sector employment ethnic Albanians into Serbia’s political and economic system was By Pedja Obradovic in a key element of the international- Belgrade, Novi Pazar, ly brokered plan aimed at restor- Presevo and Bujanovac ing peace to this troubled border- land. n a café across the road from But progress remains uneven. The the local assembly in the town number of Albanians working in Iof Presevo, customers sit sip- the public sector in the three ping small coffees and teas. municipalities of Presevo, It is a pleasant, sunny day in the Bujanovac and Medvedja remains reconstructed central square in out of sync with the ethnic struc- the shadow of the town mosque, ture of the local population. which recently received a new Ethnic Albanians make up over 89 facade. Discussion turns to local per cent of the population of the news, one of which is the 60-plus total of 34,904 inhabitants, accord- new state jobs being created here ing to 2002 census in Presevo, and and in neighbouring Bujanovac. around 54 per cent in Bujanovac, Jobs in the civil service are big which is home to 43,302 people. In news in Presevo, bearing in mind Medvedja, Albanians are a signifi- the town’s high unemployment cant minority, at 26 per cent of the rate. Local politicians say around population of 10,760. 70 per cent of adults are jobless, Research carried out by BIRN con- although there is no agreement on firmed that the ethnic make-up in this. Serbia’s National most state institutions in the three Employment Service puts the fig- municipalities still does not reflect ure at 23.9 per cent. the ethnic structure of the popula- Regardless of the big difference in tion. figures, new jobs are needed. Ten Albanian newspapers for sale in southern Serbia Belgzim Kamberi, a journalist and years after the end of a brief “On the one hand, the government most votes went to the mufti’s line nationalist regime of president of the locally based armed conflict in ethnically mixed in Belgrade has not done much, Bosniak Cultural Community, the Slobodan Milosevic and the Committee For Human Rights, southern Serbia in 2000 and 2001, and on the other hand, the harsh tone of whose election cam- change to a more democratic sys- says multi-ethnicity, which began the process of normalisation is far Albanians remain internally paign was set by Zukorlic. tem, statements by Serbian offi- to be introduced as a concept after from complete. politically divided,” he says. With assistance from two council- cials about the need to employ the end of conflict in 2002, “has not The integration of the region’s “Some local leaders still see the men of the third-placed Bosniak greater numbers of Bosniaks, pri- taken root” to this day. region as a part of Kosovo and are Renaissance, the mufti’s ticket marily in the police, remain not interested in the concept [of “constituted” - that is, assumed unsupported by action. integration into Serbia],” he adds. control of - the council. But This prompts some Bosniak lead- a Some 200 kilometres southwest of Belgrade has never recognised it, ers to suspect that Belgrade still Presevo, the local political scene disputing the right of the two instinctively distrusts citizens of in Novi Pazar is equally compli- councilmen to give their mandates Bosniak nationality. % &'(( cated by the politics of ethnicity, to another party. Sandzak politicians have regular- although the conflict here An extra complicating factor was ly taken part in post-Milosevic involves Bosniaks [Bosnian the decision of Serbia’s Ministry governments but it hasn’t result- Muslims], not ethnic Albanians. of Human and Minority Rights to ed in the resolution of this issue - The leading local politician, a abruptly change the council’s con- or of other open issues left over controversial mufti, Muamer stitution by altering the threshold from the war in neighbouring Zukorlic, sees his main political for constituting the council from a Bosnia between 1992 and 1995. goal as “establishing the full simple majority to a two-thirds An overview of available data equality of Bosniaks in Serbia”, majority. paints a more positive picture of which among other things, means Battlefield memorials This last-minute manoeuvre fur- the participation of Bosniaks in ! "#$ greater participation by Bosniaks state institutions than is the case ther inflamed an already tense sit- Pristina’s cafés and in state institutions nationally among Albanians in southern bars uation in Sandzak - with Zukorlic and at local level as well. Serbia. But progress towards X and the Bosniak Cultural The Bosniak Cultural Bosniak inclusion in the police Community saying that it provid- Community, whose ticket was and judiciary remains halting. ed fresh proof that Belgrade dis- headlined by Zukorlic in last sum- In south Serbia, the change in the criminated against Bosniaks. mer’s elections to the National ethnic structure of employees in Semiha Kacar, president of the Council of Bosniaks, is vocal in state institutions - to the detri- Sandzak Committee for the presenting these demands to ment of Albanians - first became Protection of Human Rights, says Belgrade. noticeable at the end of the 1980s, political disputes over the council But the mufti is not alone in his matching the rise of Milosevic. have overshadowed the bigger criticism of the unequal represen- Official attitudes towards problem - employment levels tation of Bosniaks in state bodies. Albanians in southern Serbia among Bosniaks. It is shared by the region’s other deteriorated especially sharply Get the Pristina In Your Pocket and two leading political options, the “We have a problem with the after 1989, when Serbia formally Party of Democratic Action, led employment of Bosniaks who abolished the autonomy of the Prizren In Your Pocket by Sulejman Ugljanin, and the remain insufficiently represented province of Kosovo. city guides now, Sandzak Democratic Party, found- in bodies such as the judiciary, Violation of the right to labour at bookshops or via ed by Rasim Ljajic - both minis- the interior ministry, army and and the exclusion of ethnic ters in Serbia’s Democrat-led gov- the tax office,” he says, Albanians from public life, espe- www.kosovo.inyourpocket.com ernment. “[although]... in the judiciary cially from educational institu- In elections to the Bosniak there has been some progress”. tions, became routine. National Council on June 6, 2010, Ten years after the fall of hard- 12 May 6 - 19, 2011 special report

After armed conflict erupted in Coordination Body for Southern Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 and after Serbia, tasked with mediating NATO intervened against between local Albanians and Yugoslavia in 1999, an insurrec- Belgrade. tion broke out among ethnic The change to the ethnic structure Albanians across the border from of local courts and police in Kosovo in southern Serbia. Bosniak-majority parts of The conflict between the security Sandzak also occurred in the forces and the self-styled Milosevic era. Liberation Army of Presevo, Bosniaks were expelled from pub- Bujanovac and Medvedja in 2000 lic order bodies such the police, and 2001 additionally alienated state security, army, as well as local Albanians from the authori- from other state institutions, pub- ties. licly owned companies and the Matters did not start to improve judiciary. until an agreement on the disar- In part, this was a spillover of ten- mament of the rebel force was sions from across the border in signed at Konculj in 2001. To help Bosnia, where armed conflict stabilise the region, the govern- raged between Serbs and Bosniaks ment also formed the [and Croats] between 1992 and 1995. Monitoring the exact levels of the participation of ethnic minorities Key Political Parties in the civil service in Serbia today is difficult. in South Serbia Serbia’s 2006 constitution in theory guarantees the equality of all PRESEVO citizens in the conduct of public - Party for Democratic affairs. Article 77 says that “mem- Action Founded in December bers of national minorities have 1992. The first and current the right to participate in adminis- president is Riza Halimi. This tering public affairs and assume is the only Albanian party public positions, under the same South Serbia is home to the country's most youthful population that has committees and influ- conditions as other citizens.” bodies about the level of minority institution, we used an unofficial tion, providing some understand- ence in all three south Serbia The same article says that “when representation in state institu- working document used by some ing of how minorities are repre- municipalities taking up employment in state tions, agencies and services in the Albanian political parties. This sented in state institutions at local - Democratic Party of bodies… the ethnic structure of municipalities of Presevo, tracked the ethnic structure of level as well as in certain publicly Albanians Established in the population and appropriate Bujanovac, Medvedja and Vranje employees in state institutions, owned companies. August 1993. President Ragmi representation of members of in southern Serbia, and in Tutin, local authorities and publicly The research was done between Mustafa national minorities shall be taken Novi Pazar and Sjenica in owned companies until the end of February and April 2010, creating - Democratic Union of the into consideration.” Sandzak. 2008. the possibility that slight changes Valley Established in Participation of minorities in pub- The queries were sent to the As most state institutions say they happened in the meantime. December 2003. President lic affairs is also defined by the Interior, Justice, Economy and possess no records on the ethnic Skender Destani “Framework Convention for the Trade ministries, the Supreme structure of their employees, Southern Serbia: - Albanian National Protection of National Court Council, the Institute of questions remain about which Movement Established in Minorities” of the Council of Health Insurance, the National data have been used as the basis No consensus on 2006. President Orhan Europe, which has an obligatory Employment Service and the for political polemics on the par- need to integrate Rexhepi character, as well as an OSCE doc- Geodetic Authority. ticipation of minorities in state - Democratic Alliance ument, “The Lund Beside the Ministry of Finance - bodies. In the basement flat of a residen- Established in June 2007. Recommendations on the Effective more precisely, the Customs One official from an ethnic tial building in downtown Presevo President Basra Memeti Participation of National Administration and Tax Albanian party in southern Serbia is the office of the Party of Minorities in Public Life”, which Administration - and the Ministry maintains it is easy to get an BUJANOVAC Democratic Action, the most influ- has the character of a desirable of Interior, which submitted part overview of the situation, irre- ential party among Albanians in - Movement for Democratic framework for action. of the requested data, and the spective of the lack of official southern Serbia. Progress Established in 2002. However, just as the constitution Supreme Court Council, which data. Party leader Riza Halimi, the only President Jonuz Musliu guarantees the participation of submitted data on magistrates, all “It is obvious from looking at the ethnic Albanian MP in the Serbian - National Democratic Party minorities in public affairs, the other institutions cited the names on the list of [public] parliament, talks constantly on his NDP, Established in 2006 Article 47 says that “no person said constitutional and legal pro- employees,” he said. mobile phone, which seems glued President Nedzemedin Sacipi shall be obliged to declare his visions and said they not keep Obvious differences in names and to his ear. - Democratic Union of national affiliation”. Serbia’s Law such records. surnames is also the way used to “Sloppily,” says Halimi, looking at Albanians, Established in on Personal Data Protection also At the same time, BIRN collected acquire rough information on the his phone and shaking his head, 2008 President Mejdi Zeciri treats national affiliation as sensi- its own data, by sending queries to participation of Bosniaks in the responding to questions about how tive data. local authorities, as well as con- civil service in Sandzak, a source the competition is going for the 63 MEDVEDJA In consequence, no official records ducting journalistic investigations there said. new jobs opened by Tax monitor the ethnic background of on the ground. The sample chosen by BIRN, and - Movement for Democratic Administration, the Administra - employees in state institutions. Concerning the participation of the results that this produced, rep- Integration Established in tion of Public Revenues and 11 In the pursuit of its research, ethnic Albanians in local state resent an overview of the situa- 2006. President Rexhep Abazi. BIRN sent queries to a number of inspecting services. BIRN Conference Addresses Integration of South Serbia More than 100 people from Serbia and abroad have gathered in Belgrade at a high profile BIRN conference on the integration of minority communities from South Serbia into the country's wider society and institutions.

an international forum that aims BIRN Regional Director, opened increased integration of ethnic ities of Presevo, Bujanovac, and to serve as a platform for the the debate. Albanians into Serbian state Medvedja are home to the coun- domestic and foreign public to The forum, organised under the institutions was organised by try's largest ethnic Albanian pop- By Bojana Barlovac gain insight into current develop- auspices of the British Embassy BIRN Serbia in April 2010 in ulation and are among the least ments in the region, and for those in Belgrade and the Balkan Fund Belgrade on the occasion of the developed in Serbia. High unem- involved in initiatives in the area. for Democracy, featured two pan- first anniversary of the reinstate- ployment rates and an average ducation Minister Zarko Ivica Dacic, Deputy Prime els. The first focused on education ment of the Coordinating Body wage lower than the state average Obradovic and Interior Minister in the Serbian as the cornerstone of successful for South Serbia. of about 350 euro are two of the EMinister Ivica Dacic at Government, Bill Longhurst, integration. Participants in the The conference was entitled many challenges facing the area. BIRN Serbia conference on South Charge d'Affaires of the UK second panel discussed the effec- 'South Serbia: From Frozen In 2000 and 2001, the region was Serbia embassy in Serbia, Riza Haljimi, tiveness of international aid sent Conflict to Sustainable Solutions: the scene of an armed conflict Under the name ’Integration: Member of the Serbian to the region. Opportunities for Long-Term between state security forces and Y Combining Ethnic and Parliament, Thomas Moore, The first international forum Integration and Development of local ethnic Albanian militants in M Democratic Principles’, BIRN Acting Head of the OSCE Mission on the development of South the Region'. the Liberation Army of Presevo, C Serbia organised on Wednesday to Serbia and Gordana Igric, Serbia and possibilities for the The southern Serbia municipal- Bujanovac and Medvedja. K special report May 6 - 19, 2011 13

“Competitions are being can- would imagine that great and celled, the conditions are inappro- important affairs are underway. priate... essentially, the problems But for southern Serbia, the cre- are not being solved,” an obviously ation of over 60 public service jobs discontented Halimi says. is certainly important business. “So, what happened? Over 300 peo- “A lot of people are applying to ple applied to the open competi- compete but there are a lot of prob- tion for the Customs lems because many people do not Administration but only five peo- know what they have to do when ple from Presevo got an interview they apply,” explains Nenad and only two got the job,” he Djurdjevic, who was, at the time explains. this interview was conducted, the “Only three Albanians from director of the Service of the Bujanovac were hired and at the Coordination Body, which is same time they hired seven tasked with carrying out the deci- Serbs,” Halimi adds, noting that sions of the body’s presidency. he went there to inquire in person He says the competitions for the about this. jobs in the Customs and Public “They told me that many people Revenue services are a prime did not meet the conditions, or example of the problems involved they had no practical experience in integrating Albanians from because the condition was six southern Serbia. months’ work experience,” he con- “In the competition for the tinues. Customs Administration, only 55 “Well, so many people round here of around 400 candidates met the didn’t have a job for years, so who formal conditions, a third of is going to have six months’ work whom were Albanians,” he experience?” he asks. explains, adding that seven “The conditions are even stricter Albanians and seven Serbs had got for the competition to join the jobs so far. Administration of Public It was much the same with the Revenues – they want two years of competition for the Public work experience. Revenues jobs, he says. Only eight “The problem is that Coordination of the 167 candidates who applied Graffiti in Bujanovac, southern Serbia, one of the poorest areas of the country Body did not coordinate the whole for eight jobs met the conditions, thing, because if it had, the compe- which included two or three years cy,” Halimi complained, explain- “In Presevo we have are only heard they plan to hire 30 Serbs tition could have been called for of working experience. All were ing that his radical stance goes around 1,000 Serb voters, which is and 35 Albanians but I don’t know trainees and then previous work Serbs. down well in southern Serbia, a small number,” Mustafa contin- whether a job in customs is any experience would not have been a “Besides lacking work experience where people feel alienated by ues, explaining why ethnic power kind of long-term solution condition,” Halimi concludes. in both competitions, many candi- their dire economic situation. sharing has not been extended to because the borders will disappear The offices of the Coordination dates applied with incomplete The Agreement on the the town hall in Presevo. once we join the EU,” he says, “so Body, the body set up in 2002 to forms, documentation was lack- Reconstruction of the Mustafa says he has no faith in those people will once again lose mediate between Albanians and ing; many did not know how to Coordination Body contained official pledges about the integra- their jobs. Belgrade, are located at the end of apply for the job,” he continues. three broad elements. tion of Albanians into state insti- “Inspectors are not the solution a long hallway in the Palace of Djurdjevic says many candidates Firstly, Albanian leaders agreed to tutions. Nor does he think much of either, because I believe those jobs Serbia in New Belgrade. clearly did not grasp the difference return to the work of the body. the latest public sector jobs on will be also cancelled once the gov- In this silence atmosphere, where between relevant work experience Secondly, ethnic power sharing offer. ernment changes,” he adds. people are rarely encountered, few and “years in work”. These prob- was to be established in all three “They are offering 65 jobs, and I’ve Belgzim Kamberi says the mayor lems had since been presented to ethnically mixed municipalities of South Serbia Demographics local Albanian political leaders. southern Serbia. The third ele- Facts and figures on the “That’s why we’re preparing a ment of the deal was the greater manual and a series of seminars, inclusion of ethnic Albanians in Marketing population, ethnic com- where we can explain to people the work of state institutions. position and geography what they have to do and how to But Halimi says that only parts of prepare themselves for competi- this deal have since worked out. of South Serbia tions,” Djurdjevic goes on. Albanians rejoined the But he adds that the Coordination Coordination Body and Serbs Map of South Serbia Body cannot change public sector joined the work of the Albanian- Area, all three municipalities - employment criteria, just to fit the led local authority in Bujanovac 267 km2 capacities of candidates coming but the other part of the equation, Bujanovac: 461 km2 from southern Serbia. the inclusion of Albanians in the Presevo: 264 km2 MP Riza Halimi says the disap- work of state institutions, has pro- Medvedja: 542 km2 pointing outcome of these compe- ceeded only haphazardly. titions poses an additional politi- Meanwhile, in Presevo, “people Kosovo's only real Irish Pub... Population cal burden for him, as a signatory are not interested in the whole to a deal on reviving the process,” Halimi admitted. (2002 census) - 88,966 Coordination Body. Presevo’s mayor, Ragmi Mustafa, After signing an agreement in 2009 leader of the Democratic Party of Bujanovac: 43,302 on the reconstruction of Albanians, freely admits he takes Presevo: 35,191 Coordination Body, which stipulat- no interest in the open competi- Medvedja: 10,759 ed the establishment of multieth- tion for state jobs in Presevo. “I Every Thursday Ethnic Composition nic local authorities in Bujanovac, don’t know much about it,” he (2002. census) Presevo and Medvedja, and the says. “It’s an agreement between at 7.30pm the [ruling Serbian] Democratic greater inclusion of ethnic For 20% off all bar food! Bujanovac: Total 43,302 Albanians in state institutions Party and [Halimi’s] Party of charity 1.Serbs: 14,782 (34.14 per cent) throughout southern Serbia, his Democratic Action. 2.Albanians: 23,681 (54.69 per Party of Democratic Action had “I am not informed about it, nor cent) lost credibility. did they ask me anything,” he 3.Roma: 3,867 (7.25 per cent) “We who signed the agreement adds. made a mistake because these Mayor Mustafa describes the Presevo: Total 35,191 problems haven’t been solved,” he agreement between Albanian lead- 1.Albanians: 31,089 (89.1 per says. ers and the government on the cent) “Because of that signature, the inclusion of Albanians in state 2.Serbs: 2984 (8.55 per cent) Party of Democratic Action lost institutions and in local govern- 3.Roma: 1,118 (4.72 per cent) power in Presevo in April 2009, ment as a deal between the author- three weeks after agreement was ities and Party of Democratic Medvedja: Total 10,759 signed, to the Democratic Party of Action, which does not concern 1.Serbs 7363 (66.57 per cent) Albanians under Ragmi Mustafa,” him, or Presevo. He claims pres- 2.Albanians 2916 (26.17 per cent) sure was brought to bear on he adds. Y 3.Montenegrins 373 (3.46 per Mayor Mustafa “boycotts the Albanians to reach the agreement, M cent) Coordination Body and scores conditioned on “money and C 4.Roma 107 (1 per cent) political points with such a poli- employment.” K 14 May 6 - 19, 2011 special report

of Presevo’s disinterest springs internal Albanian political scene from the fact that his party advo- in the south. cates the long-term inclusion of Officials dismiss Mustafa’s alleged Education and Culture in South Serbia mainly Albanian municipalities in ignorance of the jobs competition, Resources and institutions of South Serbia Serbia into Albanian-ruled Kosovo noting that the Body regularly – therefore issues of integration informs all municipalities of all lthough South Serbia is into Serbia do not engage them. important matters, including the well outside the cultural “The agreement was accepted by competitions. Amainstream, it would be the parties that have agreed to “The Presidency of the overstating the case to conclude fight for Albanian rights within Coordination Body… informs all that there is no cultural life in the [Serbian] system, which are in presidents of municipalities and Presevo, Bujanovac and power in Bujanovac [but not they are getting all the informa- Medvedja. Most events concen- Presevo],” he explains. tion on the competitions,” insists trate on the regions cultural her- Kamberi says the agreement Djurdjevic. itage and its rural way of life. remains worthwhile for practical The new civil service jobs project Cultural centres are the focus reasons. Where Albanians are in is the first major joint action of of cultural life, providing the power in southern Serbia, Serbs the Belgrade authorities and local necessary resources for the have difficulties in getting a job, leaders since a project for a multi- organisation of events. while in places where Serbs are ethnic police force was launched Education is, in theory provid- hiring, Albanians have trouble ten years ago in cooperation with ed in both Albanian and Serbian, finding jobs. the OSCE. but in practice not all schools “That’s why in local government The project, begun in 2001, shortly have classes in both languages. and companies in Presevo there after the end of the conflict in Albanian language higher educa- are almost no Serbs, while in southern Serbia, aimed to create a in Serbian and in Albanian. Presevo Bujanovac, there are still more police structure that would win tion establishments are in devel- - One secondary school where - High school, technical stud- Serbs than Albanians [in state the confidence of both Albanians opment, with a faculty opened in classes are taught in Serbian, ies. jobs] because Serbian parties were and Serbs. The program was seen 2010 and new facilities with translation in Albanian. - Two secondary schools, bilin- in power there until 2002. as successful and Albanians today announced for Bujanovac, and gual. “All this will remain difficult until make up a little over 50 per cent of later, Presevo. Bujanovac progress in relations with Kosovo the police force in Presevo, close to - Two secondary schools with Culture is made. Until then, this region, as 35 per cent in Bujanovac, and close Medvedja total of about 1,000 students. - All three municipalities have well as the process of the integra- to 5 per cent in Medvedja. - University of Nis, Classes in both Serbian and cultural centres and tion of Albanians, will remain However, both MP Riza Halimi and Department of Law and Albanian languages. libraries, but cultural life is hostage to these unresolved Mayor Ragmi Mustafa express Economics, classes are held - Higher Technical School very under-developed. issues.” deep reservations about the future Kamberi is referring to the ongo- of the police project. ing dispute between Serbia and “The number of Albanians in the organised a new open competition tination for ambassadors, repre- around 50 or more per cent of Kosovo over the latter’s self-pro- police has fallen in the last ten for ten applicants for the police sentatives of international organi- employees in the majority of insti- claimed independence in 2008. years - some left, others were dis- station in Medvedja, and for 20 sations and local representatives of tutions in Novi Pazar, such as Serbia maintains that Kosovo missed for violations,” Halimi applicants each for the police sta- civil society groups. courts and prosecutor’s offices, the remains a Serbian province. says. “We need to find a way to tions in Bujanovac and Presevo. Mufti Zukorlic has wound all the National Employment Service, the Meanwhile, problems for the eth- resume training courses and These 50 new jobs in the police various discontents of the local Pension and Diability Insurance nic Albanian community in south- admit new people.” have the potential to change the Bosniaks into a political agenda, Fund, the inspecting services, as ern Serbia continue to multiply. Mustafa also doubts the multieth- statistical ethnic make-up of the based round the thesis that well as in publicly owned compa- “Lots of educated people have left nic police project will survive. force, which may then more close- Bosniaks in Serbia are “discrimi- nies such as the Electric Power the region for European countries “The international representa- ly resemble the population struc- nated against”. Company or Telecom. and for Macedonia and Kosovo,” tives left the project and the jobs ture in the municipalities of With often inflammatory speeches The percentage is greater in Kamberi explains. “Graduates vacancies were never filled,” he southern Serbia. and open verbal conflicts with municipalities such as Tutin, with diplomas from Kosovo find says. “I think there are 30 open authorities in Belgrade, the mufti where Bosniaks make almost 95 they’re not recognised in Serbia,” jobs both in Presevo and Sandzak: the problem is has caught the attention of the per cent of population. public in Novi Pazar and Sandzak Representatives of three main polit- he adds. “Many young Albanians Bujanovac right now. the police also don’t speak Serbian well.” “The idea of a multiethnic police, as a whole, which is why Sandzak ical options in Sandzak emphasise When it comes to competitions, which was well-received here, is has again become a centre of atten- the police as the one state institu- the Coordination Body does not not a long term solution and I Sandzak, or Raska, as the region in tion for the local and international tion in which the absence of want to enter into political don’t believe it will survive,” southwest Serbia is called, depend- public. Bosniaks is most visible. polemics, although it admits it is Mustafa adds. ing on whether you are a Bosniak According to data obtained by According to Serbian police date aware of the complexities of the However, the Serbian police have or Serb, has become a popular des- BIRN Serbia, Bosniaks make up submitted in response to BIRN’s The Economy of South Serbia A snapshot of South Serbia's business and industry erbia’s south is among the Key companies least developed regions in Sthe country. It faces a tough Bujanovac: social and economic situation and - Heba - mineral water and juice company. Since 2009 it has been the population struggle with high owned by the Nectar company from Backa Palanka. Heba is unemployment and low incomes. among the five largest producers of mineral water in Serbia. Most of the businesses consid- - Bi-voda – mineral water and juice company. Owned by the ered 'industrial giants' in the for- Jumko textile company from Vranje. mer Yugoslavia and which - DIB, Duvanska industrija Bujanovac - Tobacco factory in employed thousands of workers, Bujanovac, owned by the state. The only factory in the have gone and the small and Balkans, which produces tobacco foil a product incorporating medium business sector is still cellulose often used in locally manufactured cigarettes. underdeveloped. - Heba, Bi-voda and the Tobacco industry employe a total of Based on 2010 official data, around 600 people. some 40,000 employed people in - Bujanovacka banja - Spring water from Bujanovacka banja is Pcinja district, which includes used in the treatment of rheumatic and gynecological illnesses Presevo and Bujanovac, received salaries averaging 250 per month. Presevo Incomes for the 33,500 people - Simpo – a Vranje based furniture factory. employed in Medvedja and the - Fluidi - privately owned factory that produces soft drinks. wider Jablanica district, were roughly similar. Medvedja The official unemployment rate - Lece mine – gold mine, reopened in 2010. now owned by is estimated to be well above 20 Farmakom from Sabac. per cent, but unofficially some Y Natural Resources: ethnic Albanian political leaders M - Mineral water sources in Bujanovac and Presevo claim the rate is closer to 70 per C - Gold mine in Medvedja. cent. K special report May 6 - 19, 2011 15

queries, Bosniaks comprise 30.2 per Milosevic era. Hodzovic says many of his co-job- cent of the police administration in “At the time, Bosniaks were being seekers had parents who already Novi Pazar, where Bosniaks make up sacked, because, among other worked in the police or army, but over 75 per cent of the total popula- things, they refused to go to [fight they still failed to get the jobs, Key Figures in South Serbia tions and 10.06 per cent in Prijepolje, in] Kosovo, while at the same time although they had all the necessary town in which Bosniaks make up the overall numbers of police were qualifications. Profiles of main political leaders in South Serbia around 40 per cent of the local popu- increasing,” he says. “After a while, we didn’t care what lation, according to 2002 census. “The problem, however, is that job we got any more. Even with high Riza Halimi “It’s very important to say that these police here are not popular, and even school diploma, we were ready to The only Albanian MP in the Parliament of are relative data on representation if someone finds the courage to work as ordinary officers, court Serbia, and leader of the Party for of members of national minorities apply to join, he does not pass the guards, or prison guards,” he says, Democratic Action, the largest (by number of among employees in the Ministry, tests,” he adds. “and still we were rejected all the members) and most influential political party because according to Article 47 of His party boss, Rasim Ljajic, today time. in the region. Halimi, before entering politics, the Constitution… ‘no person shall is a prominent member of the “I applied from the time I graduated taught physics in high school. be obliged to declare his national Democrat-led government, one of almost to the time I reached the age affiliation’,” the written reply adds. whose coalition partners is the limit, and now I don’t have the right Elmir Elfic, leader of the newly Socialist Party of Serbia. Its presi- to apply anymore,” he adds. Shaip Kamberi founded Bosniak Democratic Union dent, Ivica Dacic, is the minister of “They always returned my forms As a member of the Party for Democratic and vice-president of the unrecog- police. with the explanation that they didn’t Action, Kamberi is now mayor of Bujanovac nised Bosniak National Council, Asked why more local Bosniaks do have a budget for new staff, or they and Riza Halimi`s “right arm”. Kamberi was from the ranks of the Bosniak not get hired, Jusufovic replies that had enough staff.” founder and, for many years, leader of the Cultural Community, describes the this is not the result of “bad inten- Asked why he and his colleagues local Committee on Human Rights. percentage of Bosniaks in the state tions” on the part of anyone – but studied in Sarajevo, not in Belgrade, sector, primarily in the police and the data underscore the nature of Hodzovic says the choice was dictat- judiciary, as “inadmissible“. the problem. ed by the circumstances of the time, Jonuz Musliu “In Novi Pazar, which is always an “We believe Dacic has good inten- when non-Serbian students could President of the local parliament in indicator of the situation in the tions, but the data shows this [prob- expect a grim reception in the Bujanovac and one of the commanders of eth- whole of Sandzak, the unemploy- lem],” he says. Serbian capital. nic Albanian Liberation Army of Presevo, ment rate is over 50 per cent and… Dacic himself, on several occasions “People went to Sarajevo until 2002, Bujanovac and Medvedja during 2000. – 2001. we estimate that in the police and in December 2009 and May 2010 in but now there is a course at the armed conflict in souther Serbia. Musliu is judiciary only 20 to 30 per cent are Novi Pazar, publicly pledged to International University in Novi the president of the Movement for Bosniaks,” he says. increase the number of Bosniaks in Pazar,” he notes. “People rarely go Democratic Progress. He is a biology teacher. “The effect of this is to increase the police, but there hasn’t been [from here] to Belgrade.” In the nineties, during the reign of Slobodan Bosniak distrust in state institu- much progress. Semiha Kacar, from the Sandzak Milosevic, Musliu spent four years in prison tions - with their greater participa- The Serbian police did not reply to Committee for Human Rights, says in Nis, sentenced for "hostile activity". tion, that lost trust would be BIRN’s query as to whether there people have an impression that the reclaimed,” he believes. were any plans to include a greater police routinely wait for Bosniak Muamer Smailbegovic, president of numbers of Bosniaks in the force. candidates to cross the age limit, Stojanca Arsic the local SDA council in Novi Pazar, They also did not reply to queries after which they lose the right to be Local Serb leader, as a first on citizen group says the situation with the represen- about the problems experienced by admitted into the service. ticket. By education, Arsic is a doctor, spe- tation of Bosniaks in state institu- students who studied criminology “That group from Sarajevo cialised physiotherapy and rheumatology. In tions is not generally alarming, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and who have addressed everyone but they did not times of conflict in southern Serbia, he was though it is not “as it should be”. failed to get jobs in the Serbian manage to solve the problem. They the mayor of Bujanovac, as the candidate of However, he describes the situation police. addressed us, we passed it on to the the Yugoslav Left, led by Mirjana Markovic, in the police as “drastic”. “The issue One such is Emir Hodzovic who ombudsman, but the police only say wife of Slobodan Milosevic, former president has been dealt with by Bosniak MPs claims that for several years, togeth- they acted in accordance with the of Yugoslavia and Serbia. in parliament and by ministers but I er with a group of his colleagues, he law,” she adds. “We addressed min- don’t see any progress,” he says. regularly submitted job applications ister Dacic, but we did not get any Mirsad Jusufovic agrees. The chef- for the police in Novi Pazar, but was answers.” Ragmi Mustafa de-cabinet of Novi Pazar mayor rejected every time until he was Kacar says the Rights Committee Mayor of Presevo and leader of the Meho Mahmutovic, from the ranks over the age limit of 30. have looked at what was happening Democratic Party of Albanians. Before enter- of the Sandzak Democratic Party, “We are urban boys, from downtown with the levels of Bosniak employ- ing politics, Mustafa worked as a professor in the ruling party in town, he recalls Pazar, from good families. We all had ment in the prosecutors’ offices in Presevo High School, where he was teaching that the number of Bosniaks in the ambitions to work here, to deal with Sjenica, Prijepolje, Priboj and Nova Computer Science. local police dropped sharply in the crime, drugs...” he says. Varos - but in the last two to three years the situation in the judiciary Skender Destani has been slowly changing for the Leader of the Democratic Union of the Valley. better. By education, Destani is a doctor in pedi- South Serbia Politics after 2000 “Only the police remained [as a atrics. problem], and only under great A timeline of South Serbia politics since the turn of the century pressure from the OSCE have there been some small, small steps for- Mid-2000 - the first armed clashes take place. ward,” she says. Orhan Rexhepi December 2000 - the Serbian government establishes the Mirsad Jusufovic, however, adds President of the Albanian National Coordination Body for Presevo, Medvedja, and that while the problem of employ- Movement, a graphic designer by profession. Bujanovac (in Bujanovac), to address the security sit- ment of Bosniaks in the police is During the conflict in southern Serbia, uation in South Serbia. regularly highlighted, there are Rexhepi was one of the commanders of eth- May 2001 - the Yugoslav army begins a phased reoccupation of other problem areas. nic Albanian Liberation Army of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja during 2000. – 2001. the Ground Safety Zone, GSZ. “The branch of the electric power armed conflict in southern Serbia. May 2001 - the Konculj peace agreement is signed. company [covering Novi Pazar] is in May 2001 - the Covic plan is launched (This is a detailed blue- Kraljevo, not in Novi Pazar, for print for the development of Presevo, Bujanovac and example, and so is the branch office Slobodan Draskovic Medvedja, written by the then Deputy Premier and of the Institute of Health Mayor of Medvedja, economist by profession. President of the Coordination Body Nebojsa Covic. Insurance… and the Institute for Before entering politics, he worked as a The Coordination Body took the lead in coordinating the Protection of Monuments in teacher in elementary school. the implementation of the plan.). Kraljevo is also in charge of the protection of monuments over here,” August 2001 - the first group of trained multi-ethnic police he says. becomes operational in the municipalities of Milan Markovic “Opening branch offices [for these Presevo, Bujanovac, and Medvedja. Minister for human rights and Local Self- organisations] in Novi Pazar would August 2002 - an ethnic Albanian is elected mayor of Bujanovac. Government, and also President of the mean decisions on Novi Pazar being February 2006 - an ethnic Albanian judge is appointed to the Coordinating Body for Presevo, Bujanovac made here, and it would also mean and Medvedja. Milan Markovic is a member of Bujanovac municipal court. new jobs, and for people with higher September 2008 - ethnic Abanian leaders boycott Coordination Body Democratic party and, by education, graduate education to boot,” he says. lawyer. over Kosovo faculty diploma dispute. “That would mean a lot to us,” he March 2009 - ethnic Albanian representatives rejoin Coordination adds, “because right now it’s very Galip Beqiri Body. difficult for people who have invest- President of Albanian National Council. June 2010 - Elections for national minority councils. ed in their education for years to get Under a law adopted in 2009, all of Serbia’s July 2010 - Albanian national council established. jobs here.” ethnic minorities are empowered to elect Y December 2010 - Municipality of Bujanovac gets first multi-ethnic national councils, which are bestowed with a M government. Nikola Lazic and Amela Bajrovic number of competences in education, culture, C contributed to this article use of symbols and the media. K 16 May 6 - 19, 2011 Prishtina Insight

Where to pick up Prishtina Insight? Hotel AFA Located in a quiet neighbourhood Prishtina Insight has teamed up with these six excellent venues to offer a limited number of complimentary copies of Kosovo’s just outside the city centre, Hotel Afa can guarantee guests a peaceful only English-language newspaper. Grab a copy of the publication and settle down with a drink or a meal to read it. night while being within walking distance of all the action. The venue Jinglebells A taste of Napoli in Prishtina. has won a host of awards for its Cavallero Mexican Restaurant excellent service to customers and If your soul is affected by the grey sea- After ten years of making pizza in Napoli, and offers a good range of facilities, You can almost transport yourself to the son then pay a visit to Jinglebells, where only with love to blame, Fatmir the chef from an exclusive restaurant and Mexican coast, with soaring palm trees and an you will find all the colours that you’ve returned to Prishtina. His pizzas, made in a VIP bar to pretty, tranquil garden. immaculate five star resort, while dining at been missing. woodburn stove, are definitely genuine napoli- Rooms start at 45 euro for a single, Cavallero Mexican Cantina. Mouth-watering Jinglebells is a perfect one-stop-shop tanas. For those who consider pizza to be bor- and luxury rooms and apartments appetizers and savoury main dishes are nicely for internationals offering a selection of ing, Fatmir has several pastas on offer, also a are available. The hotel’s rooms are washed down with countless cocktail options books in various languages and the true joy for the taste buds. Napoli has an excel- well appoint- and even imported Mexican beer. Skopje-based quickest supply of international newspa- lent selection of red and white wines or, for the ed and com- ‘Los Ritmos’ entertain diners every Friday pers in town. It also offers souvenirs and more ambitious, one of the region's best Quint's fortable. and Saturday with their latin beats. For more gifts, such as raki. Napoli makes for 15, Rr Ali information, visit local handicrafts. delicious lunch, dinner Kelmendi, their facebook page, or even after-theatre Sunny or contact them. Jinglebells. time out in the centre Hill, Cavallero, Bookstore and of Prishtina. Prishtina Located next to the ex- more. +381 UNMIK building Ernest Koliqi Pizzeria Napoli 38/225 226 Prishtina 12, opposite off Luan Haradinaj, www. hote- +386 49 619 375 EULEX HQ opposite Newborn lafa. com Facebook page +386(0)49 741 170 044/409-402402

Cantina am-pm Restaurant Hotel Prishtina Hotel Victory Te Komiteti

Cantina AM-PM, formerly known as Hotel Prishtina’s 43 charm- But Victory is more than a place to meet and do Te Komiteti’s large trees and a beauti- Mexican Cantina, recently went ing guest rooms and suites are business. Its doors are always open for guests to fully garden, which surround the small through a transfer to new management, reminiscent of a small hotel in enjoy the tranquility of our guest rooms and lob- outdoor terrace, give you an impression and although hardly noticeable from a the European tradition. You'll bies, and the finest cuisine in the region. The only of an exclusive place for ordinary peo- distance, the new owners have trans- immediately feel at home in hotel in the region where real plants, original art ple. And this is exactly what it is. From formed the venue into a more grown-up our living room, sipping a glass and fine solid furniture decorate the space and brunch to lunch-time snacks and special affair with good, cheap food. Cantina of wine in our fine restaurant turn it into a homelike environment. Hotel evening meals, this restaurant offers offers Mexican dishes at reasonable surrounded by a gallery of Victory is established to offer travelers the most dishes comprising quality, varied ingre- prices, starting from less than 5 euro. paintings complete, comfortable accommodation available dients, combined to perfection. Although the majority of the food is by local in Kosovo and the region. Our professional staff Alongside one Mexican-influenced, Cesar salad and artists. will offer guests the highest standard of service of Prishtina’s pizza have been included too. Mexican The hotel and support, and we will use our resources to best ‘modern favourites served up at Cantina include offers free, greater lengths to make your stay as complete as European’ style tortilla, thicker fast wifi possible. menus, you’ll pan-friend tortilla, internet, Hotel Victory also find a good nacho chips and complimen- Mother Teresa selection of burrito. Cantina’s tary break- Prishtina, Kosovo wine, and great also offers a very fast, confer- Tel: +381 38 543 277 sangria and pleasant area for al ence room, +381 38 543 267 cocktails . fresco dining. swimming Email: Te Komiteti Cantina AM-PM pool, sauna info@hotel-victo- Qamil Hoxha Rr Qamil Hoxha and laun- ry.com Street Prishtina dry service. http://www.hotel- Prishtina +377 49 710 710 victory.com/ +381 38 24 96 63

Friends Bar Odyssea Bistro Paddy O’Brien’s

Friends Bar is owned by a Swiss-Albanian couple. Odyssea Bistro Bar is a beautiful bistro locat- The staff at Paddy O’Brien’s have a saying: “It’s easy to walk in, The modern interior and the calm terrace behind the ed in the heart of Prishtina, offering a combina- but very hard to leave.” bar will make your stay comfortable. They offer a tion of a quality menu with inspiring dishes and And with its warm atmosphere, fantastic range of drinks and wide range of beers, including Dark Lasko and a modern bar with a large variety of drinks and excellent food, it is easy to see why. Murphy’s Irish Red, which can rarely be found in exotic cocktails. There have been many attempts to establish a proper Irish pub Kosovo. You can also Odyssea Bistro Bar's unique design is a mix- in Prishtina, but this is the only one to hit the spot. try eight different ture of classic French influence and a modern From classic coffees to cocktails, via, of course, Guinness, you tastes and colours of touch. really wont find it difficult to select the perfect drink. vodka. Starting from Busy during lunch breaks, romantic for din- A mouth-watering menu of Irish specialties is also on offer, May 14 there will be ners and classy for evening drinks, Bistro is a spanning from all-day break- barbeques every great place to visit at any time of the day. fasts to Irish stews at night. Saturday from 5pm Sample Bistro’s brunch on Sundays, or enjoy Options include shep- to 9pm, and brunch live music on Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays herd’s pie, bangers and every Sunday from mash, fish ‘n chips, and 9am to 1pm. BBQ Bistro, whopping great burgers. and brunch will be Sejdi Kryeziu, Pejton, Prishtina Thursday is pub quiz offered with a wide 045402095 and 049333959 night, but there is always choice of local and something going on at the international food. pub, whether it is sport screenings or just a good 17, Rr.Fehmi shindig. Agani 045244 498 Paddy O’Brien’s Facebook Page: Tringe Smajli Street, by the Illyria Hotel Y Friends Bar - Prishtine Prishtina: 045-420900 M C K By Shengjyl Osmani May 6 - 19, 2011 17 in Prishtina Timeout Contact Prishtina Insight if you would like your event to feature or to advertise your venue. Email [email protected] Prishtina Diary:

Every day, at 4pm and 6 pm, ABC Cinema will screen the animated movie Rio. Blu, a rare macaw who believes National Theatre of Kosovo, that he is the last of his kind, shortly discovers there’s another macaw out Monday, May 9, 2011 there, a girl named as Jewel. ‘Pergjuesi,’ [peeping], a stand-up Then, to set up a life with her, he comedy with Adem Mikullovci, a leaves his cage in small town successful actor and director from Minnesota and heads to Rio de Mitrovica. Janeiro. Blu is domesticated and flight- Wednesday, May 11, 2011 challenged, and Jewel is the fiercely ‘Klubi I Kokurrecit’ [Tripe’s independent, high-flying female. Club] a play by Rushit Ramabaj They embark on an adventure of a directed by Iliriana Arifi. lifetime, where they find out about friendship, love, courage, and being open to life’s many wonders as The play is also repeated on unpredictably thrown mutually. Saturday, May 21, 2011 Rio also brings collectively a menagerie of bright characters, a heart-warming story, colorful backdrops, stimulating Latin & modern Friday, May 13, 2011 Prishtina International Half-Marathon music, and family-friendly song & dance. ‘Rock’n’Roll,” a play by the Sunday, May 8, 2011 ABC cinema is also screening the brand new film The Roommate, famous British author Tom The Athletic Federation of Kosova, Sports Department and every day from 8pm and 10 pm. Stoppard, is on stage again. The Directory of Sport and Youth is organising the eighth Prishtina The Roommate is a 2011 thriller play is directed by the Albanian- film directed by Christian E. International Half-Marathon on May 8, 2011. Like last year’s event, Bosnian director, Dino Mustafic, a Christiansen and starring Minka this run will again promote the values of peace, co-existence and successful director in the region. excellence in sports. Kelly, Leighton Meester, Daneel Harris, Cam Gigandet, Sharon Leal, “Rock’n’Roll” is Stoppard’s last In 2010, 536 runners of many nations enjoyed the smooth organisa- text, written in 2006. This modern tion of the ninth edition of the Pristina International Half-Marathon, Katerina Graham, Nina Dobrev and play takes place in Prague and the international atmosphere and the colorful programme around the Alyson Michalka. Cambridge during the period race. An emotionally unstable college This year, the organisers hope that the positive experiences of last freshman (Leighton Meester) grows between the Prague Spring and the year will motivate even more athletes to join this event, which is at the obsessed with her unsuspecting Velvet Revolution (1989) and ends same time joyful and competitive. While all finishers will be awarded roommate, in Danish director with the concert of the band Rolling certificates with their names, ranking and finishing time, attractive Christian E. Christiansen's English- Stones in 1990 in Prague. prize money of a total of 12,000 euro will be waiting for the best finish- language debut. For detailed information, ticket ers in senior, veteran and disabled category for men and women, and Saturday, May 14, 2011 reservations or movie schedules con- the first three finishers in 5km run in the men and women category. “Majmuni I Diellit,” [Sun Visit www.prmaraton.com for more information. tact ABC on 038 243 117 or visit their web page www.kinoabc.info Monkey], by by Sofia Fredén, a Swedish dramaturge, directed by Olle Tornqvist, will be played at 12pm. ‘The Sun Monkey’ is a nervous monkey who likes to lead and take decisions on behalf of its friend, Trench Coat. Trench Coat is gentle, obedient and kind and feels fine with the Sun Monkey. It feels fine even when it is tied up to a tree. One day the Sun Monkey comes up with a golden cage she wants to put Trench Coat into. La Ni a, the grand-daughter of the north wind, decides to set Trench Coat free against his will, and then gives the Sun Monkey a lesson about friendship and life. A seducing story Exhibitions: about friendship, rivalry, freedom and power, about being afraid to be From Thursday, May 5, Kosova Art Gallery is hosting the exhibition of the great Hungarian artist Victor Vasarely. left with no friends. Vasarely is widely regarded as the father of Op-Art. He is a major master of 20th Century art. His paintings are in the permanent collections of many important museums around the world. During the 1960s and 70s his optical images became part of the popular culture, having a deep Friday, May 20, 2011 impact on architecture, computer science, fashion, and the way we now look at life. ‘Lidhje Gjaku,’ [blood relations], Even though he achieved great fame he insisted on making his art accessible to everyone. His motto was “Art for All”. a psychological murder mystery The breakthrough brought by his “kinetic” visual experiments transformed the flat surface into a world of unending possibilities, book mark- play by Sharon Pollock. The play is ing an era in the history of art and foreshadowing a new global reality shaped by programming and the Internet. Visit www.kosovaart.com/f2.html for more information. based on historical fact and specula- tion surrounding the life of Lizzie Borden and the murders of her father and stepmother, crimes for which Borden was charged. The play is directed by Fadil Hysaj. All the plays are in Albanian language, and start at 8 pm. Ticket cost 3 euro, and there is a discount for students and pensioners at just 1 euro per ticket. For reservations call 038 224 397 or 044 430 693, or visit the National Theatre from 10 am to Y 1 pm and 5pm to 8 pm; or email M [email protected] C K 18 May 6 - 19, 2011 Inside Prishtina Guerrilla Gardeners Spruce Up Town Centre

By Lawrence Marzouk

uerrilla Gardeners took to the streets Glast Monday in a bid to spruce up the city. Around 30 gardeners donned their overalls and gardening gloves to clean up three locations, including the area near Procredit Bank and the Liburnia Restaurant, on UCK Street. Jeff Fox, one of the organisers, said: “We had about 30 folks out and what was exciting for me was the fact that they were overwhelmingly Kosovars and young. “In each instance it drew really positive feed- back from those passing by and in a couple of instances they joined in to help “Everyone had a great time and felt really good about the experience and the statement their actions made.” The land that is guerrilla gardened is usually abandoned or neglected by its legal owner and the guerrilla gardeners take it over to grow plants. For more information visit the Facebook page Prishtina Guerrilla Gardening.

Shop Review VICKO 2 Greek Accessories for Modern Living

Greek retailer of household and dec- All their items are designed and produced orative items, newly opened in by Greek designers and all are reasonably APrishtina, is offering modern, luxuri- priced. ous and well priced products. For more information about their prod- From candles to clocks and saucepans to ucts and store locations, go to www.vicko.gr, suitcases, if you are looking for an attrac- and you can order any product shown online tive but useful item for your home, visit that is not in Prishtina’s stores. Perhaps VICKO, and for sure you will be amazed by more importantly, there are currently dis- choices available. counts on offer – spending more than 50 euro VICKO first opened in the Albi Shopping nets you a 10 per cent discount, for 100 euro Mall, and have now expanded their work you get 15 per cent discount, and for 200 euro with a shop in Prishtina city too. you get 20 per cent. In their stores you can find house and Visit them at www.vicko.gr, kitchen accessories made of crystal, ceram- at Albi Shopping Mall in Veternik, or in ics, metal, glass and bronze, electrical appli- ‘UCK’ street (in front of Bank for ances, furniture, paper items, plastic prod- Business), Prishtina ucts, linen, wall decorations and lamps. Open Monday-Saturday from 8 am – 8 pm

Y M C K 19 Inside Prishtina May 6 - 19, 2011 Restaurant Review Daniel Cosentino Professor at the American Te Komiteti: Sin University in Kosovo and Redemption at Suppertime

By Gravlax Prishtina through the Eyes of: the Eyes through Prishtina

What surprised you most about Prishtina? e Kometeti has a lot going for it. The smart bistro on the marks at least in description. It’s the safest city I’ve ever lived in. Qamil Hoxha restaurant row is the kind of place I could Faced with chicken breast with sautéed carrots and porcini Tsee frequenting with little pretense for simple, elegant sauce (7.60 euro) and a half-bird roasted in piri-piri — or chili What’s your favourite hangout? meals. — sauce, with mashed potatoes and piquant sauce (7.90 euro), This changes, but I like Tingell Tangell for It occupies that sadly lacking nexus of casual and class, and my decision was easy. Latter with came with promises juici- morning espresso or late night drink, Germia for a enjoys a well-deserved reputation as one of Prishtina’s best ness and heat from the piri piri. stroll and some secret places that keep me wander- lunch spots — with exceptional sandwiches. The chicken was a sight for sore eyes at it arrived slightly ing and wondering if I’m at the centre of humani- And if it weren’t for some rather basic execution issues, Te charred, resting on the potatoes and bright red piquant sauce. ty or off on a distant tangent. Kometeti would deserve an equally enthusiastic endorsement I struggled to cut into the meat, which I initially attributed to for dinner, too. dull cutlery. But in fact it was the chicken that was tough and Do you do anything cultural? On my visit, the single-page menu had just seven starters a bit dry, the telltale signs of overcooking. Also absent was the Art and music. If I’m out, usually I’m engaged and seven main courses. This was a refreshing departure from promised heat from the piri piri. with these. the common jack-of-all-trades, master of none menus that per- I found greener pastures in the velvety mashed potatoes and meate the local dining scene. I’m always more than happy to the spicy piquant sauce, which partially made up for the What is the most annoying thing about let the kitchen to handle as much decision-making as possible. chicken’s inadequacies. Prishtina? Most of the starters sounded a bit on the heavier side both At the waiter’s suggestion, I ordered “chocolate truffle” for I miss being anonymous. in price and substance, including options such as grilled king dessert. While most definitely not the confection known as a prawns (7.50 euro) and spinach and ricotta tortellini (4.90 truffle, what arrived was something special. If you were mayor of Prishtina for the day, euro). So I went with the mixed salad (3.50 euro), given that The large rectangle most closely resembled a torte: Creamy, what would you change? spring stood a good chance of yielding some excellent pro- held together with ground nuts and most importantly burst- I’d would speak with the citizens of Prishtina for duce. From a creativity and freshness standpoint, Te ing with deep chocolate flavor. their thoughts on change then report that to the Kometeti’s salad did not disappoint. I’ve come to expect very little from dessert in Kosovo let mayor the very next day. The components were largely separated, with sections of alone one involving chocolate, which usually is more of a cabbage slaw, green-leaf lettuce, kidney beans, topped with colour than a flavor. But this was damn good and an exception- How many macchiatos do you drink a day? slices of tomato and cucumber. Their deliciousness seemed to al finale to an uneven dinner. One, then several espresso. reflect care by the kitchen to pick top-notch vegetables. It’s a shame, however, that they were swimming in an exces- What’s the tastiest Kosovar food? sively oily dressing. I found some solace in glass of the light, Yummy yummy mixed meats. Also Burek. I have dependable Castillo de Liria white wine from Spain (2.50 Te Komiteti my favourite places. euro). Rr. Qamil Hoxha 5/2 I was immediately drawn to the chicken for the main event. 038 24 96 63 What landmark do you use to tell taxi driv- Eschewing the temptations a couple of fish specials and a Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m. – 11 p.m. ers where you live? pork chop, the two poultry dishes bore more creative hall- Sundays, 10 a.m – 11 p.m. Skenderbeg, of course.

Bar Review: ArtCaffe Grab a Cozy Coffee and Some Albanian History 1912, and Kosovo in 2008. Sipping your coffee you can sail though national history, yet from a mod- By Kanarina Shehu ern and very comfortable corner. In a cozy place, making you feel at home, ArtCaffe, serves many different dishes, including two tra- his newly opened bar in ditional ones. The chicken wings downtown Prishtina brings and chicken strips are cooked to a TAlbania and Kosovo togeth- traditional recipe, making this a er in one place – with good food unique and special bar in the and friendly staff. town. With a modern, carefully It also prepares food to order, designed interior, ArtCaffe takes and serves all kinds of drinks. you on a trip down memory lane, through Albanians’ history, tradition and culture. Located in front of ABC Cinema, On the walls hang beautiful next to Maxi store printed pictures of 20th century Str. “Rexhep Luci” No 6 Albanian and Kosovo cities, tradi- Y Tel: 044 377 707 tional clothing, and key moments Working hours: every day from M of state creation – the declarations 7am until midnight C of independence of Albania in K If you would like your NGO to appear in 20 May 6 - 19, 2011 our Making a Difference feature, please Opinion email [email protected]

Can Identity Cleansing be Negotiable? ed to work constructively in a social and cultural identity. between ‘identity documents’ and the United Nations Security mutually beneficial manner and Those particular acts have been the ‘registry books’ which serve as Council, which may pressure the make this endeavour successful. investigated by the International basis for issuing such documents, non-compliant state into fulfilling By Bella Murati They were both promised that a Criminal Tribunal for the former one may ask whether such an its obligations arising from an successful negotiation will enable Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the case issue requires a specific explana- order or verdict rendered by an them to move from a divided past involving Vlastimir Djordjevic, tion. Perhaps it simply leads to the international tribunal. to a shared future, namely the EU former Assistant Minister of the next questions: why was the issue Due to this limitation, the he long-awaited negotiations political structures. Serbian Ministry of Internal of confiscation of the collective Western democracies have made between the two remaining Apparently, Kosovo is seen as Affairs and Chief of its Public identity documents not addressed cooperation with the ICTY a sine T‘enemies’ of the former the biggest stumbling block on Security Department. He was by the ICTY? Is this only an unfor- qua non for some former Yugoslav Yugoslavia - Kosovo and Serbia - Serbia’s path to the EU, and as found guilty of participating in a tunate omission by the Tribunal states, and thereby recognised it as have finally begun. The two gov- such dialogue itself is one of the joint criminal enterprise in 1999, or one of those “purposeful omis- an imperative condition for EU ernments have embarked on a dia- preconditions of Serbia’s integra- through criminal means consist- sions” that were disclosed by the membership. Presently, the EU logue sponsored by the leading tion into the above structures. On ing of a widespread or systematic former ICTY spokesperson condition plays an instrumental Western democracies which is to the other hand, Kosovo is con- campaign of terror and violence Florence Hartman in her book role in bringing about Serbian take place every two weeks in Brussels. vinced that by participating in this against Kosovo Albanians which Peace and Punishment? cooperation with the ICTY. Interestingly, neither Kosovo dialogue, it shows itself ready to included crimes against humanity, These very acts of systematic Unfortunately, all successive nor Serbia seems to like the idea. fulfil its obligation to establish punishable under Article 5 of the identity document destruction Serbian governments have shown The egregious violations of good neighbouring relations with ICTY Statute. have come to be known as ‘identity an ambiguous attitude when it human rights which occurred in Serbia, a key precondition for EU cleansing’, a form of ethnic cleans- comes to fully cooperating with the past are deeply conserved in integration. Those who oppose In this regard, the ICTY ing which is carried out forcefully the ICTY and for this reason have the memory of the majority in such dialogue consider that Chamber noted that in most cases by the state machinery. been reported several times to the Kosovo, and unfortunately every Kosovo is doing Serbia a favour in identification documents and In the light of the above, defend- Security Council for non-compli- possible movement which leads speeding up its accession to the vehicle licence plates were seized ers of legal norms may find it dif- ance. towards Serbia is seen with mis- EU, because Kosovo itself will from the Kosovo Albanians by ficult to understand why such a In such circumstances, it is not trust and suspicion. The same need to wait quite long before it Serbian police and army. The matter has become the subject of difficult to receive the impression degree of suspicion appears to be obtains an entry ticket to join the judgement summary reads, negotiations at all. It is unaccept- that international criminal justice present among the Serbian popula- EU family. “Telling, in this respect, is the evi- able that the party who denies acts is negotiable, and that its enforce- tion as well, richly nourished with In the last round of talks, the dence of General Karol John of ‘identity cleansing’ committed ment depends upon external coer- the traditional way of understand- central issue on the negotiating Drewienkiewicz and Colonel by their predecessors is allowed to cion exercised by the relevant ing the concept of sovereign table was the return of the reg- Richard Ciaglinski, two British discuss such acts on the negotia- authorities. It remains to be seen rights. Yet, both parties have some- istry books (birth, marital and officers, who observed police offi- tion table instead of being subject whether ‘the actors bargaining thing in common: both consider death records) and cadastral cers burning tens of thousands of to justice. about justice’ will use their themselves to be ‘victims’ and feel records of Kosovan citizens, identification documents in a On the other hand, one should authority and remind the Serbian excessive nationalism towards seized by the Federal Republic of courtyard adjacent to the Ministry take into consideration that due to government that any further each other. One thing is crystal Yugoslavia machinery during the of Interior building in Prishtina the fragility of the international refusal to return those books clear: the outcome of this dialogue war. It is well known that during on 12 and 13 June 1999, just before criminal justice regime, there is amounts to continuation of ‘iden- will depend on how hard the this period, amid a widespread the cessation of hostilities in always a possibility for states and tity cleansing’, the aim of which Western democratic leaders have campaign of terror and violence Kosovo, and when Serbian forces individuals to politicise justice. was the elimination of an ethnic twisted the arms of the negotiat- against ethnic Albanians, which were about to leave Kosovo”. This First, it has been proven that group. ing parties. included deportations, murders, indicates the intention to change international criminal justice is However, one should bear in Initially, the dialogue is organ- forcible transfers and persecution the ethnic balance of Kosovo to the product of political compro- mind that, so far, the Serbian ised so as not to tackle the suffer- on racial grounds, the former state ensure Serbian dominance. mise and as such not immune from Government has proven rather ing that occurred in the past. machinery (both military and One may note that the very act political interests. Moreover, its resistant to external coercion. Instead, it will deal solely with police forces) were widely engaged of confiscating the registry and legal framework does not provide Y ‘technical matters which are to in acts of removing or destroying cadastral books was not specifical- a sufficient guarantee that it fulfils Bella Murati, Doctoral M facilitate life of the citizens’. In personal identification documents ly raised by the ICTY. However, the task of justice, since there are researcher in Public Law C this regard, both sides are expect- of ethnic Albanians with an taking into consideration that no specific legal sanctions, aside Department/Human Rights Centre K attempt to destroy their civic, there is no arcane distinction from reporting non-compliance to at Ghent University, Belgium 21 Opinion May 6 - 19, 2011

Skopje 2014: One small sad story

Property Guide in 2010, old house remained and he passed worked on the house if he didn’t furniture at any cost. Macedonia ranked among the ten them on passionately to his chil- get involve with gambling, drink- His wife cried, she begged him countries in Europe with the low- dren. ing and criminal activities. In 2006 to install heating, or put in the By Irena Jordanova est gross domestic product (GDP) Mr Y was fascinated by the he died and he left his unfinished windows, or at least to pay for per capita, more precisely with ruined house of his father. The small house to Mr. Z, his son. electricity with that money! Yet, 4,657 dollars per capita. bare ground and the dream of his Mr. Z and his family decided that she only got a slap in the face, Well, it’s impossible to escape father’s old house were left for Mr. he would behave the exact oppo- some of the older children who he project "Skopje 2014" has these two facts, which completely Y to pick up. site of his grandfather and father. were trying to reassure him got a become a source of frustra- marked the city. So I will just tell Mr. Y and his family started to So he immediately told off his Ttion among Macedonian similar response. one small and sad story: rebuild his father’s house in 1991. neighbour. intellectuals, particularly those Only the youngest children, Let’s say that in 1963 there was a This half-educated gentleman (of He decided that his wife and chil- born in Skopje. If you mention the who did not understand anything, bohemian gentleman who had his course because of the conditions dren must never interfere in his issue the conversation will imme- were delighted that they would diately become disturbing. own house. he was raised in) worked different decisions for their joint future. He have something to climb on. That The faces of the speakers quick- Let’s call him Mr. X. He came jobs to support his family. forced his wife to give birth to many was enough for Mr.Z - the ly become serious and there is a from an intellectual and educated He was rarely accepted in high children even though the children youngest are happy! He invested a reason for that. The words family and had a wonderful (albeit society and clubs. The rich almost they already had walked naked and large amount of money in furni- “Triumphal Arch “, “Lions” and of small) house. The house had a never cooperated with him, nor barefoot and had nothing. ture pieces by questionable landscaped yard, great facade, invested in his projects. He had He decided that he should invest course “Baroque” heat up the designers. He spent almost every- strong pillars, impressive wooden serious problems with his name in expensive suits and ties so that debate. To be clear, I will mention thing on terribly expensive Mona window frames, and rooms for him and his greatest enemy was a for- his relatives would think highly of just two things: Lisa reproductions and other and his children. mer neighbour who lived next to him, even though he was not • In 1963 Skopje was devastated works of art. He sadly hung the He had an excellent water sup- his father’s house (the neighbour’s accepted in high society circles by a catastrophic earthquake that pictures inside the unfinished ply, good sewage, toilets, electrici- house was not destroyed by the and had problems with his name. destroyed many monumental building. ty for every room and every home earthquake, and he was part of The house was still just a bare buildings. Since then only a few At last he sat down, dressed in appliance. He had some baroque high society in the city). external structure. There was no significant structures that mark one of his suits, to look at his the new post-earthquake Skopje style furniture, and a few valuable This neighbour stubbornly plumbing; they lived without elec- work, while his exhausted and have been built, which has left paintings. alleged that Mr.Y had false home tricity and heating. hungry wife, dressed in tatters, quite a poor architectural mark He earned enough to afford food, property documentation, and was He accused his father for his sat on the floor surrounded by her for a city that for 50 years has had clothing, and education for his convinced that Mr. Y had laid under-achievements and he was dirty and sick children. an entirely different community children and sometimes he could claim to the property by using not far from the truth, only that he Well, my dear, that is a sad fam- spirit than the old city that existed afford travel and vacation. Then another person’s name. also did not care for his children, before 1963. the earthquake struck Skopje and But Mr. Y somehow managed to they were left on their own, except ily history about a small country Of course this happened not his house was destroyed. survive. He borrowed money and they weren't given the right to called Macedonia. only because of the different Mr. X was forced to move with toiled under serious debt. He did decide about their own future. He architecture but also because of his family to a small, one bedroom not educate his children, he taught continued to raise his family the Irena Jordanova is a the overwhelming migration from apartment in a residential block them to cope by themselves. way his father did - by borrowing Macedonian writer. Her novels (In villages to cities. and the same year his son (let’s He did not have health care, but money. Between; Catalyst 33) have been • In 1991 Skopje became the capi- call him Mr. Y) was born. somehow managed to set the foun- One day he became fed up with met with excellent reviews from tal of independent Macedonia and Working very hard, Mr X man- dations of the house, he cleaned the beautiful homes of people critics and the public. She usually the centre of a 20-year-long transi- aged to feed his family, but since the yard and even erected the from high society circles that he writes urban fiction about modern tion that continues even today, the situation was difficult and he building's skeleton and put in a sometimes visited. He decided society. She also worked as a jour- with an unemployment rate of 33.8 gave only a partial education to his roof. that he too wanted such a home. nalist and was founder and owner per cent. children, as much as conditions He might have achieved much It's all about the furniture, he of the first Macedonian online According to the Global permitted. His memories of the more in the twenty years he thought; he must buy expensive lifestyle magazine, Dynamic. 22 May 6 - 19, 2011 community focus NGO Focus: Ecosovo Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians Join Me in the Explore Mainstream Media National Geographic’s theatre play, a concert closing the project, Energy ‘Diet’ music and dance performances, all repre- senting the RAE cultural heritage by RAE By Shengjyl Osmani artists,” explained Niksic. “Based on their difficult economic situa- The structure of the festival is to be tion, many children from the RAE commu- defined by KFOS together with the Ministry nity are forced to drop out of school at an By Elizabeth Gowing of Culture, Youth and Sports. It will take early age to become part of the labour force. or the first time in Kosovo, Roma, place in Prishtina for one week, starting on This week we will announce the names of Ashkali and Egyptian community May 23, 2011. 200 RAE high school students who have ecently I was selected by National Geographic to be Fmembers will be given the oppor- been selected to be given a scholarship, The RAE strategy covers several pack- one of their bloggers in the ‘360 degree energy diet’. tunity to speak for themselves about ages for young Roma, Ashkali and which is a monthly assistance of 30 euro, RBeginning this month, for eight weeks, I’m going to their problems in the media in a while attending high school,” said Niksic. be challenged to take steps to ‘diet’ and reduce not my bespoke project that includes attending Egyptians, including how to present their Undergraduate or university students waistline but my ‘wasteline’ - my carbon footprint. Each learning centres and protecting their cultural heritage in the best possible way, from the RAE community are also encour- challenge completed will gain me points and every week cultural heritage. and exploring representations of the com- aged to continue their education. I’ll blog about how it’s going on the National Geographic “The project aims to decrease by five munities in the mainstream media. It also site. You can see more at 360energydiet.com. per cent the number of RAE children who includes encouraging young community “As our public universities currently Looking through the suggested challenges in prepara- drop out of school, make the learning members not to drop out of school, and to don’t have many people from the RAE com- tion, I occasionally felt smug: vegetarian. Check. Buy car- process more interesting, and provide them motivate them to go on to university. munity enrolled in their academic curricu- bon offsets for plane travel. Check. Hang up clothes to dry with an opportunity to represent their cul- “We included a culture and media section la, this project also covers a scholarship for rather than using the machine. Oh yes, I am frequently in tural heritage,” said Muamer Niksic, project in the project because not many RAE com- them too,” said Niksic. slightly soggy jumpers and proud of it. manager of the EU-funded project for the munity problems have been covered by the He added that the scholarship is for 100 But there are other challenges for improving my implementation of the RAE strategy, imple- media, and we do believe that that’s a great euro per month, an encouraging amount to lifestyle which I found more needling. ‘Swap three chem- mented by the Kosovo Foundation for Open field for them to show and talk about their register with a university and cover basic ical housecleaning products for eco-friendly or natural Society, KFOS. “It should improve represen- problems, try to find solutions, and let oth- academic expenses. methods’. Hmm, I used to do that in the UK where you tation of RAE culture and coverage of RAE ers know more about who they are,” said The project began in September 2010 and could buy Ecover on the shelf just below the eye-watering problems in the mainstream media by train- Niksic. will last until September 2012. Niksic is look- products that mess up the ecosystem. But in Kosovo, I’ve ing young people to become part of the Moreover, this week, 200 high school RAE ing forward to any possible extension, since not found eco-friendly products available, and even if I mainstream media.” children will be given a scholarship for he says that until now the project has shown did, they would have been imported which would surely “The culture and media section of the monthly monetary assistance as a stimulus great results and high interest from the RAE cancel out most of their benefit. Our NGO is actually in project covers a festival, an art exhibition, a to continue their education. community. the process of setting up a vegetable soap-making project in the community we’re working with in Fushe Kosove, NGO News but in the meantime I can see that it’s going to be labour- intensive to switch to eco-friendly cleaning products. Somehow, I foresee lots of vinegar and bicarb of soda in Tree-mendous Work the weeks ahead. In this area and in others, the challenges are going to make me do more research - I’m going to be asked to recy- Turns Obilic Green cle my batteries, for example. Where is there a battery- recycling collection point in Kosovo? ferent, more efficient in absorbing the Another thing I’m being asked by National Geographic dust, type. to work on between now and July is to go vegan or raw for “The aim is to plant broadleaf hard- a certain number of days per week. Vegan? But that By Petrit Collaku wood species such as oak, ash, maple would mean no cheese… Ouch. and birch that would increase the effect But a raw food diet is something I’ve just got interested of gas absorption in this particular cessful planting,” Kryeziu said proudly. in. Thanks to a weekend away at a retreat in Andalucia area,” Kryeziu said. The project also involves other com- (yes, I know, and a carbon footprint bulging with every bilic, long Kosovo’s most painful Raising public awareness of the ini- munities such as religious locations, airmile) last month I experienced my first raw food feast. eyesore with its aged power plants tiative was also crucial, Kryeziu said. such as Orthodox Church in Babin It helped that the caterer for this banquet was the picture Obelching out dust and pollution, is Earlier planting of trees by the munici- Most and Mazgit Mosque, where trees of curvy, sun-tanned health, and enthusiastically told us becoming a model for community tree pality had been hit by vandalism, with planting efforts across the country, with were planted in yards. about the raw food diet she’d followed for the past three 60 fruit trees damaged a short time after some 10,000 trees being planted as part of InterSilva and its partner in Kosovo, years. Among other things she made us cold smoked trout planting. a five-year project run by a small Agro-Vet Development, are now seeking canapés and delicious carrot ‘spaghetti’ (made with a ‘spi- “It’s pity to see something like this. forestry-focused NGO. donations to continue the next stage of raliser’ instrument which carved out fine strips from the The trees were not able to survive The project, Kosovo Peace Trees, the project. carrot) in pesto sauce and a cheesecake where nothing because of Obilic’s own citizens,” said began in 2010, with strong support from had been cooked – not the pounded nut crust nor the Kryeziu. Kryeziu said that five municipalities the UK-based NGO InterSilva and the coconut milk and lime filling. She told us about sprouted Therefore, Kosovo Peace Trees began are included in the plan to start in the active involvement of various local seeds and about the way that heating kills the enzymes by preparing a campaign with students autumn. NGOs and volunteers. naturally present in food which are good for you. And of in town. Kryeziu said that the campaign “There is not a need to collect a lot of Over three to five years, the aim is to course she reminded us that cooking food uses energy. I had been received positively after train- money,” he said. “If we collect some plant 2.5 million trees in streets and still have the fabulous taste of that ‘cheese’ cake from last ing for around 40 local students, provid- 25,000 euro we can cover all five munic- school yards, near hospitals, in police month and am hoping that every mouthful of my raw food ing them with information on silvicul- ipalities decently.” station yards and near private homes - days could be as delicious. That’s a challenge to look for- ture, the science of growing trees. The price of seedlings varies from and of course the area around the ward to. “Those students were also volunteers one to ten euro. “Various locations such Kosovo Energy Corporation, KEK. I would love to have support within Kosovo over the to plant the trees. After some time, as school yards require expensive trees Sami Kryeziu, representative of next eight weeks as I try to reduce my carbon footprint. when we went back to the location, we because of decoration and other InterSilva for Kosovo, said that given its When I last did a ‘diet’ (a real one, for weight loss, using saw amazing results. Around 93 per effects.” proximity to KEK and the resultant those horrendous meal replacement shakes) some years cent of some 7,000 trees survived with- For more information visit the Kosovo environmental damage, Obilic town ago, I had an online ‘buddy’ who really helped. Mostly our out damage and also because of suc- Peace Trees Facebook site. was their first target. communication consisted of wistful nightly online con- According to ‘Thinking Green’, a 2009 versations about forbidden food, but just having someone study by the Kosovar Stability there helped with willpower and the occasional practical Initiative, IKS, on the state of environ- How it all started tips. If you’re interested in joining the National ment in Kosovo, the KEK power plants The whole mission began with an email Geographic’s challenge with me then please get in touch. at full capacity emit approximately 25 sent from the US Embassy to Prishtina to We could meet together for a coffee (or a slice of my tonnes of dust and ash per hour, 74 Richard Ince, founder of InterSilva in the extraordinary non-cook non-dairy cheesecake on the times what is allowed by European UK. Intersilva deals with sustainable week when we’re trying our raw food pledge) or we could standards. forestry projects that engage with, educate email supportively about the location of battery-recycling “This is sufficient reason to start and help transform developing communities. facilities. As Kosovo’s countryside blossoms around us, there, and again [what we are doing] is Richard Ince is a dirt forester specialising who is up for joining me in making May-July the greenest not enough,” Kryeziu told Prishtina in silviculture. His forestry experience spans months yet? Insight. 40 years, during which time he has worked for and owned a number of forestry Y Out of 10,000 trees planned for companies in the USA and UK and worked for the Pan-American Development Elizabeth Gowing is a founder of The Ideas M Obilic’s streets, Kryeziu says 7,000 are Foundation, Organisation of American States, New England Forestry Partnership, a Kosovan NGO working on educational, cul- C fruit trees but the organisation is seek- Foundation and International Tree Foundation. tural and environmental projects. She can be reached at K ing to plant the remaining trees of a dif- [email protected] May 6 - 19, 2011 23 Classified Contact Prishtina Insight if you would like to advertise Email [email protected]

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