Prishtina Insight That Investigations Into Alleged NEWS KLA Organ Trafficking Have Uncovered Nothing So Far Serbian Phone Ket
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
News: Praise and Anger Follow Raids on Kosovo Minister May 7 - 20, 2010 Issue No. 39 www.prishtinainsight.com Now on sale for € 1 Arms Raid Raises NEWS New Conflict Fears EU Nudges in Macedonia Kosovo, Serbia Discovery of weapons on Towards Sarajevo both sides of the Summit Macedonia-Kosovo > page 4 border raises concerns about renewed destabili- sation of the country, and the potential resur- rection of disbanded eth- nic Albanian militant group. See Page 2 FEATURE Kosovo’s Battered EULEX: No Evidence of Wives Still Suffer in Silence KLA Organ Trafficking > page 7 Matti Raatikainen, chief war crimes investigator for the EU mission, tells Prishtina Insight that investigations into alleged NEWS KLA organ trafficking have uncovered nothing so far Serbian Phone ket. Former KLA fighters strenu- Out of these are 50 cases in which cials have helped with witnesses By Jeta Xharra & Lawrence Marzouk ously denied the claims. there are more than 10 victims.” and evidence. Service ‘Restored in Last year EULEX revealed it was He said that looking at all the And according to a EULEX Most Areas’ ccusations that the Kosovo looking into the claims, but speak- war crimes cases in Kosovo, 70 per source, an organ harvesting opera- Liberation Army, KLA, was ing to Prishtina Insight, cent of the victims were Albanians, tion would have required sophisti- > page 10 Ainvolved in organ traffick- Raatikainen said enquiries by the 25 per cent Serbs and the remain- cated logistics beyond what a small ing from the so-called “Yellow EU rule-of-law mission had uncov- ing 5 per cent involved Roma and farmhouse in remote northern FOOD & DRINK House” in Albania are not support- ered no evidence to back them up. other ethnic groups. Albania could have provided. ed by evidence, Matti Raatikainen, “We have investigated the Yellow The case has gained further trac- In 2003, an UNMIK and ICTY mis- chief of war crimes investigations Puro Exclusivity House case but to date our prosecu- tion internationally over the past sion visited a house 40 minutes at EULEX, said. tors have found absolutely no evi- year following claims by the from the village of Rribe to investi- > page 10 The allegations, which first sur- dence or intelligence that would Serbian war crime prosecutor’s gate the allegations that organs faced in the book Madame lead us to believe this happened,” office that it has evidence of organ from Serbs abducted from Kosovo Prosecutor, by Carla del Ponte, for- he said. “We followed the clues but trafficking, and the launch of an had been “harvested” there. The FEATURE mer chief prosecutor for the no evidence or intelligence about investigation into the matter by inquiry did not proceed further. International Criminal Tribunal this case ever materialised.” Dick Marty, a Swiss senator repre- Kosovo and Albanian authori- International for former Yugoslavia, ICTY, are He added that while the case was senting the Council of Europe. ties argue that the investigation Artists arguably the most shocking lev- not closed, it was no longer a prior- Prishtina Insight understands never went anywhere because the elled at the KLA. Del Ponte said the ity: “Of about 900 cases we inherit- that EULEX’s war crime unit has allegations were “cooked up by Showcase KLA might have kidnapped several ed from UNMIK, we are working on asked to see the evidence held by Belgrade” to undermine the legiti- hundred Serb civilians in 1999 and about 60, as this is what we have the Serbian prosecutor but has macy of Kosovo’s war for inde- Work in taken them to northern Albania, capacities for. received no positive answer. This is pendence. where their vital organs were “We have prioritised them main- in contrast to other investigations Prishtina removed and sold on the black mar- ly on the seriousness of the case. by EULEX in which Belgrade offi- continues page 2 > page 10 Gracanica Mayor Confident Kosovo Unions Fear Labour NGO FOCUS on ‘Marigona Complex’ Deal Law May Meet Delays The International Civilian Office, ICO, Trade unions in Kosovo say they fear leg- Youth Initiative for last week criticised Prishtina Municipality islation aimed at bolstering workers’ Human Rights: for issuing planning permission for a rights may never see the light of day on 100million residential complex in the account of vested interests. Broadening neighbouring district of Gracanica. At the moment, they say, too many But Prishtina Municipality has defended employees work without contracts, which Horizons its decision to Prishtina Insight and the means they have few or none of rights that most workers take... city mayor of Gracanica... page 6 business page 5 > page 14 Y M is supported by: C K 2 May 7- 20, 2010 news Arms Raid Raises New Conflict Fears in Macedonia Discovery of weapons on both sides of the Macedonia-Kosovo border raises concerns about renewed destabilisation of the country, and the potential resurrection of disbanded ethnic Albanian militant group. which then spread across most Albanians make up about a quar- northern and northwestern parts ter of Macedonia’s population. One of the country. political demand that has become a By Sinisa-Jakov Six months of clashes in 2001 source of bitter arguments con- Marusic ended with the signing of the cerns state pensions for NLA veter- Ohrid Peace Accord, which envis- ans and the families of killed and acedonia’s security situation aged greater rights for ethnic wounded NLA fighters. has the potential to deterio- Albanians. Among others points, it The DUI head, Ali Ahmeti, has Mrate, analysts have told envisaged proportional employ- promised to resolve this issue ever Prishtina Insight, though the chances ment of Albanians in the security since the party joined the govern- of an escalation into a repetition of forces and in administration in ment with VMRO DPMNE in 2008 vast revamp project for the capital, serious effort at demilitarization,” the armed conflict of 2001 are slim. return for dissolution of the NLA but has yet to reach a deal. He also dubbed “Skopje 2014”, which she says, arguing that “the prolif- Last week’s police discovery of a whose leadership subsequently promised Macedonia’s swift involves erecting large monu- eration of weapons is a fact. large weapons stash hidden in the formed what is now the country’s entrance into NATO and EU, which ments linked only with the history “The international factor has a mountains near the Macedonian biggest Albanian party, the have been slowed by VMRO of the Macedonian majority, and certain interest in controlled pres- border with Kosovo raised fears of Democratic Union for Integration, DPMNE’s failure to reach a com- last years’ controversy over a gov- sure on Macedonia, primarily renewed violence and of the resur- DUI. promise with Greece on the vexed ernment-sponsored encyclopedia because of the name issue, but not rection of the disbanded National The DUI, now part of the govern- issue of Macedonia’s name. which called Albanians “settlers” in its utter destabilization because Liberation Army, NLA, the ethnic ment led by the centre-right VMRO “Many people are discontented and used the derogatory term this will ruin all their efforts and Albanian insurgent force that DPMNE party, condemned the com- over the condition of the Albanians “Shiptari” for them, have raised successes in the region,” clashed for six months with muniqué as “false” and a “provoca- in Macedonia and are not as concern among many Albanians. Vankovska continues. Macedonian forces in 2001. tion”, saying it was aimed at patient as Ali Ahmeti,” Dulovi His refusal to settle the issue of She fears, however, that “those On Wednesday, NATO expressed spreading fear among the popula- said. NLA pensions and his govern- working on the ground might mis- concern following the recent case tion. One man considered an NLA ide- ment’s failed attempt to make understand the signals of foreign incident. “There is only one legitimate ologist, Fazli Veliu, recently Macedonian language classes com- factors and use the situation for “The quantity of seized ammuni- NLA leader,” the party said, nam- warned the authorities to settle the pulsory for Albanian first-graders their own lucrative or political tions was very large and this is ing its head, Ali Ahmeti, who led problem over state pensions for were also seen as provocative. goals”. very worrying for us,” Admiral the insurgency back in 2001. The NLA veterans. Speaking in the vil- Dulovi argues that although no Vankovska argues that NATO, Mark Fitzgerald, Commander of party condemned the use of vio- lage of Slupcane he said that if the local political players would open- as the biggest military force in the the Allied Joint Force Command in lence as means of accomplishing issue were not settled soon, the ly support violent destabilisation, region, with the widest intelli- Naples, said during his visit in political goals. Almost all political head of VMRO DPMNE, Prime some might hope to potentially gence assets at its disposal, should Kosovo. parties joined in condemning the Minister Nikola Gruevski, would benefit from such developments. help Macedonia in combating rad- “Such actions could destabilise a alleged communiqué, while the EU be responsible for any unrest that “Gruevski might see some form of icals. country like Macedonia, so we have office in Skopje denounced it as might follow. “Macedonia has two contained conflict as a good oppor- However, Blagoja Markovski, a to be concerned,” he told before “unacceptable”. options for its future, one is cohabi- tunity to excuse himself from the military analyst from the Balkan journalists. Police insisted matters were tation and the other is separation; responsibility of settling the name Security Forum, an NGO, argues During the bust the police came under control.