APRIL 2 0 0 1 Inside

3 The New and

4 Kosovo Stories Vol. VII, No. 3 7 Confronting N I T E D TAT E S N S T I T U T E O F E A C E ■ A S H I N G T O N U S I P W , DC State Terror Ko s ovo Municipal Leaders Agree on Good-G ove r n a n c e I n i t i a t i ve s

Local leaders from Kosovo agree to initiate key measures in support of democratic governance in their municipalities during a recent Institute training workshop.

orty-four newly elected mayors, deputy mayors, municipal assembly members, and administrators repre- Top and center: senting a wide range of Kosovo’s eth- Kosovo leaders nic groups recently agreed to initiate key discuss gover- measures in support of good governance in nance issues in their province. The local leaders issued small and large three consensus reports at the conclusion of a groups. four-day training workshop organized by the U.S. Institute of Peace and held on February Bottom: David 25–March 1 in Airlie, Va. The training was Steele describes led by Theodore Feifer, program officer in cycles of vio- the Training Program, and George Ward, lence. director. Daniel Serwer, director of the Insti- tute’s Balkans Initiative, and David Steele of the Center for Strategic and International Studies completed the training team. The workshop, which focused on negotiation and mediation exercises to enhance cooperation at the municipal level, was held at the request of the State Department. The reports of the leaders’ agreements called for: See Kosovo Leaders, page 2 2

Top row: Kosovo leaders at Airlie, Va.

Bottom, left to right: Theodore Feifer, Chris Dell, Daniel Serwer, and George Ward. Ko s ovo Leaders Continued from page 1 ■ Adoption of a legal framework guaranteeing equal rights for minorities in Kosovo-wide gov- ernmental institutions and provid- ing a framework to guide the operation of municipal govern- ments. ■ Establishment of an indepen- dent ombudsman office with direct authority to investigate any suspicious activity at the munici- pal level. ■ Creation of a code of ethics for municipal officials and of civic watchdog organizations to dis- ing included four Serb leaders and left him scarred. “The scars are close and disseminate information representatives of the Ashkalli, reflected in this face and in my on candidates for municipal office Bosniak, Egyptian, Gora, Roma, poor health and in many other prior to elections. and Turkish minorities. ways,” he said. “We knew we were To help implement these deci- Among the participants, a good either going to die or we had to do sions, the local leaders agreed to number had been imprisoned at something,” said another. pursue the formation of a Kosovo- various times for working on During the 1998–99 war with wide association of mayors. The behalf of Albanian rights in Koso- Serbia, a number of the reports are available in Albanian, vo or opposing the Milosevic had joined the Kosovo Liberation English, and Serbian on the Insti- regime. “I went through hell in Army (KLA) and other workshop tute’s web site at www.usip.org. Serb jails,” said one man. “The participants had fled to the moun- treatment of Albanian prisoners tains—sometimes with their entire Personal Stories was brutal, medieval. There wasn’t villages—surviving on dried bread, enough food, and food poisoning grass, and roots for up to three In small group sessions that was common. The challenge was months. Their homes were ran- helped to launch the workshop, staying alive.” Others spoke of sacked and burned, their agricul- participants were asked to discuss physical and psychological abuses. tural equipment stolen or vandal- the most significant things that One man recounted how, like the ized. Children died from a lack of had happened to them in recent others, he had suffered regular nutrition and medical care. One years and the resources that helped beatings, “and when my wife came child was shot by a sniper while them deal with those experiences. to the police station, they beat her being held in her mother’s arms. While the majority of participants in front of me, too.” A young man “My niece still not recuperated,” were ethnic Albanians, the meet- said that his time in prison had See Kosovo Leaders, page 6 3 Relations between the New Serbia and Ko s ovo

erbia and Kosovo need to Serbia’s democratic opposition, work together to establish a discussed issues facing the new Sgovernment that respects the Yugoslav government at a U.S. rights of all citizens, says M i l a n Institute of Peace Current Issues P r o t i c , the Federal Republic of Briefing on March 15. Yugoslavia’s new ambassador to The overwhelming political the United States. However, many objective of most Kosovar Alban- Kosovar Albanians seem unwilling ian leaders is the independence of to recognize that Serbia has under- Kosovo, Protic said. “They believe gone a democratization process, he independence will solve all of says. Leaders in and Bel- their problems. We in Serbia grade need to better understand know how difficult it is to take each other if they are to make responsibility for the future of a progress in stabilizing relations country. I’m not sure Albanian and resolving the status of Kosovo, leaders fully understand.” a province of Serbia that has been While the status of Kosovo the war remains unknown. Above: under UN administration since the remains unresolved, ethnic Alban- According to Protic, leaders of the Milan Protic end of the 1998–99 war. ian rebels from Kosovo and NATO forces in Kosovo (KFOR) Protic, a former mayor of Bel- fighting in southern and the UN Mission in Kosovo grade and longtime member of Serbia and western Macedonia are (UNMIK) admit off the record creating a “drastic and dangerous that the missing Serbs are pre- situation” that threatens the sta- sumed dead. Their families have bility of the region, Protic said. been demonstrating in , Although the militant Albanian demanding to know their where- leaders in Macedonia say they are abouts. They are angry that Peace Watch (ISSN 1080-9864) is pub- lished six times a year by the United States fighting to improve the status of UNMIK and KFOR are not Institute of Peace, an independent, nonpar- Albanians in Macedonia, Protic investigating the disappearances tisan federal institution created by Congress to promote research, education, and train- and other observers believe they and have not protected Serbs from ing on the peaceful resolution of interna- tional conflicts. The views expressed herein are trying to separate western attack by extremist ethnic Albani- do not necessarily reflect the views of the Macedonia and join it with an ans seeking to drive non-Albanians Institute or its board of directors. To receive Peace Watch, write to the Edi- independent Kosovo. from the province. “The missing tor, Peace Watch, United States Institute of Peace, 1200 17th Street NW, Suite 200, Protic said that with the contin- are all civilians—teachers, laborers, Washington, DC 20036-3011. For general ued fighting, it is unlikely that Serb people who trusted KFOR and information call 202-457-1700, fax 202- 429-6063, e-mail: [email protected], refugees from Kosovo now living in remained in Kosovo,” Protic said. or check our web site: www.usip.org. Serbia will return to their homes in The issue of missing Serbs has President: Richard H. Solomon Kosovo. “They escaped out of fear become entangled with the issue of Executive Vice President: Harriet Hentges Publications Director: Dan Snodderly or were expelled. They would have about 2,000 Albanians held in Serb Editor: Cynthia Roderick to get guarantees that they would prisons since the end of the war. Production Manager: Marie Marr Photo Credits: Staff be going back to a friendly envi- Members of the missing Serbs’ Board of Directors ronment, and that’s not the case. families argue that the prisoners Chairman: Chester A. Crocker. Vice Chair- Serbs in Kosovo are under daily should not be released until the man: Seymour Martin Lipset. Members: Betty F. Bumpers, Holly J. Burkhalter, pressure. Almost daily they are whereabouts of their relatives is Zalmay Khalilzad, Marc E. Leland, Mora L. being killed. That does not encour- known, Protic said. However, the McLean, María Otero, Barbara W. Snelling, Shibley Telhami, Harriet Zimmerman. age refugees to go back.” new Serbian government had Members ex officio: Paul G. Gaffney II, National Defense University; Colin L. Indeed, the fate of perhaps released about 1,600 Albanian Powell, Department of State; Donald H. 1,500 Serbs in Kosovo who have prisoners by the end of March and Rumsfeld, Department of Defense; Richard H. Solomon, Institute president (nonvoting). been kidnapped since the end of is expected to release others soon. 4 Desimir Petkovic is a proud man. A Serb and the mayor for the last nine years of Zvecan, a small municipality in northern Kosovo, he lists among his many accomplishments fostering harmony between local Serbs and ethnic Albanians. He mentions such Dthings not to boast, but to hold them up as examples of how he and his neighbors have lived honorably, especially during the last dozen troubled years under the autocratic regime of Serbia’s Slobodan Milosevic. Petkovic and the people of Zvecan always opposed the Milosevic regime, he says. “I’m still not sure how Kosovo I’ve managed to stay alive.” Petkovic was one of 44 mayors, deputy mayors, municipal assembly members, and administrators representing a wide range of Kosovo’s ethnic groups who attended a four-day training workshop orga- nized by the U.S. Institute of Peace and held on Feb- ruary 25–March 1 in Airlie, Va. (See the story on page 1.) Peace Watch interviewed several of the partic- ipants for this article. S t o r i e s Daniel Serwer, director of the Institute’s Balkans Kosovo’s Initiative, noted in an interview that Petkovic and other Serbs routinely risk their lives opposing the local Serb extremists in northern Kosovo, which includes leaders the ethnically divided and troubled city of Mitrovica, on the eastern border of Petkovic’s home region of face the Zvecan. The Serb extremists do not want to share hard political power with ethnic Albanians or to let them return to their homes north of the Ibar River. realities of Many parts of northern Kosovo are inhabited pri- marily but not exclusively by Serbs. Like municipali- post-war ties throughout Kosovo, Zvecan (with a population of conditions 17,000) comprises a town and surrounding villages. Some 5,000 people live in the town and the rest in its with a 36 villages. The municipality’s 350 Albanians, most mixture of of whom live in three of the villages, travel through- out the municipality without fear, Petkovic said. “No hope and one has ever touched them, nor has anyone any inter- d e t e r m i n a t i o n , est in harming them, and they have no fear that any- one ever will.” If Serbs and Albanians have been able despite to live together all these years—not just in Zvecan, setbacks but throughout Kosovo—“I don’t see any reason why we can’t live together peacefully again. We have to and ghosts live together,” Petkovic said. “The problems here have been made by filthy politicians—on both sides, from the Serb and Albanian.” past. However, should Kosovo gain independence from Serbia, Zvecan will hold a referendum to secede from Kosovo and join Serbia, Petkovic said. “I’m convinced that [Kosovo independence] is never going to hap- pen,” he added. Secession would be an answer only for Serbs living along the border with Serbia, but not for other Serbs in Kosovo. And it would not resolve the overriding need for peace and cooperation among 5 ethnic groups in the Balkans, he said. are power shortages. This is a common fate of the vil- While Petkovic is optimistic about both past and lages.” Most inhabitants are unemployed, except for future relations between Serbs and ethnic Albanians, teachers and a few who run small businesses. She is Daut , an ethnic Albanian member of the eager to resolve the political dispute and start working municipal assembly of Malisheve, has serious doubts. in the assembly to find investment capital from the A member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), international community to address economic prob- a political party founded by the Kosovo Liberation l e m s . Army (KLA) after the war, Krasniqi believes that the In Skenderaj, the birthplace of the KLA, the new regime in Belgrade will not behave any different- biggest problem is recovering from the war. ly toward ethnic Albanians than the Milosevic regime Ramadan , a lawyer who was the civil director did. “The Serbs have always done genocide against of the KLA during the war, now serves as mayor of the Albanians,” he said. They may “give in” on some the municipality, located 12 miles southwest of things only to gain favor with the European Union. Mitrovica and 36 miles northwest of Pristina. But after every negotiation with Serbs, there remain Skenderaj is home to 70,000 people, mostly ethnic “a hundred hidden things,” he said. “We have proof Albanians who live in the town and 50 surrounding that Serbia is not democratic. They are still keeping villages. Two other villages are home to some 300 Albanian prisoners in jail. In the Balkans, the Serbs. During the war, 1,200 residents of Skenderaj stronger ethnic group wants to destroy the weaker. were killed, 1,300 children orphaned, and 8,000 We have history, experience to prove this. Every 30 houses destroyed, Gashi said. or 50 years there has been a program to destroy the Most villagers used to farm on one- to two-acre Albanians in Kosovo.” For this reason autonomy for plots, which were destroyed during the war along Kosovo inside Serbia instead of outright indepen- with their homes. The three local factories were also dence “is absolutely not acceptable,” he said. destroyed—one manufactured plastics, another hunt- While Krasniqi and many other ethnic Albanians ing ammunition, and a third construction materials. continue to distrust Serbs generally, violent tensions Skenderaj has a reputation for fighting oppression have erupted in Malisheve between Albanians locked over hundreds of years, Gashi said. During the recent in a power struggle. In Kosovo’s October 2000 elec- war, “we were targeted because of our activism.” tion, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Now Skenderaj has received less help than other headed by moderate ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim municipalities because investors prefer to invest in , won 50.2 percent of the vote in Malisheve, places that have suffered less damage, he said. Never- Opposite page, and Krasniqi’s party, the PDK, headed by Hashim theless, in the spring, a Japanese construction com- top, left to Thaci, former head of the KLA, 49.8 percent. pany and the European Agency for Reconstruction right: Ramadan The parties have been feuding bitterly over the are slated to begin work on rebuilding Skenderaj’s Gashi, Daut distribution of council and administrative positions. infrastructure. Krasniqi. Shortly after the election, an LDK assembly member The town has no funds of its own for such work. was seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting. The The new municipal government has just started Center: Remzie PDK has boycotted the assembly meetings, and the assessing taxes, and new laws, created in line with Thaci. parties are trying to negotiate a power-sharing com- UN administration suggestions, await ratification at promise. Meanwhile, the people of Malisheve, a an upcoming public hearing. Bottom, left to municipality that suffered severe damage during the Gashi said that trying to get the destroyed town right: Desimir 1998–99 war with Serbia, struggle to get by. and villages on their feet is more daunting than his Petkovic, Agim Remzie Thaci, deputy mayor of Malisheve and work during the war, when he oversaw logistics such Hyseni. member of the LDK (and no relation to Hashim as providing housing, food, and clothing for the rebel Thaci), says the feud between the two political parties army. Still, he says he is definitely happy the war is has been costly to Malisheve, whose town and 43 sur- over. The people of Skenderaj are optimistic about the rounding villages are home to 62,000 ethnic Albani- future, especially because they trust that the United ans. Malisheve is about 30 miles southwest of Pristina, States and the rest of the international community will Kosovo’s capital city. “In my village, not one house help them. “People here appreciate the international was left intact. Malisheve was more than 90 percent community, in particular the United States,” Gashi destroyed in the war,” she said. “But even before the said. “At a critical moment, you helped for the hum- war we had only agriculture, vineyards, and even that anity of the people. You helped people who were was destroyed. There is no investment, the economy fighting for their rights. We appreciate this very much.” is not functioning, there is no infrastructure, no water Agim Hyseni has a happy story to tell about his pipes, no sewage, the electric wires are bad, and there See Kosovo Stories, page 6 6 a woman said. “Each time she hears a Ko s ovo Leaders loud crack, she’s afraid and says, ’I don’t Continued from page 2 want to go to the mountains.’ ” Grenades had been lobbed into the midst of fleeing villagers, injuring and killing some. They had all buried somebody: broth- ers, cousins, nephews, friends, and neighbors. “I cannot forget those who were murdered,” said one man. “Everything else can be replaced.” What kept them going during those difficult times? The Albanians all agreed with the man who said, “My source of strength was that the Albanian people and I were determined that some day we would see jus- tice happen, that we would have freedom in Kosovo as our country.” The Serbs in the group understandably found listening to the stories difficult. “I have deep respect toward all victims in Kosovo,” said one Serb. “I would like to point out that there have been victims on all sides, though more on the Albanian side.” He mentioned the 1,500 or more innocent Serbs who have been kidnapped since the end of the war and Reconciliation in are presumed dead. “They are never coming back,” he said. “The last 10 years have not been years of Serb Rwa n d a repression, they have been years of N e xt Steps on repression by the repressive regime Ethnic conflict in Rwanda, as in of Slobodan Milosevic.” many other countries, has in the North Ko r e a Albanian participants said at past been stirred up by various times throughout the meet- unscrupulous political leaders Wendy R. Sherman, the ing that only the guilty should be who set one group against Clinton administration’s punished. They said they were another to advance their own senior policy coordinator determined to create a multi- political agendas, says Rwandan on North Korea, dis- ethnic society in Kosovo, one that president Paul Kagame. Under cussed “North Korea: Past would respect everyone’s rights, his leadership, Rwanda has Progress and Next Steps” including those of Serbs. The group focused on uniting ethnic at a U.S. Institute of reports reflect and support these groups, and “our efforts have Peace Current Issues goals on the part of all participants. shown that a reunification pro- Briefing on March 6. gram can work,” he said. Kagame discussed “The Chal- municipality, Podujeve, which is located lenge of Reconciliation, Justice, Ko s ovo Stories on the border with Serbia, east of Mitro- and Renewal in Rwanda” at a Continued from page 5 vica and about 18 miles north of Pristina. U.S. Institute of Peace Current Podujeve has a population of about Issues Briefing on February 2. 130,000 in its town and 28 villages. While most inhabitants are ethnic While there are still people in Albanian, perhaps 1,000 are Ashkalli and about 65 Roma. Hyseni—one Rwanda who are stuck in the of 13,000 Ashkalli Kosovo-wide—has served for two years as an Inde- past and need time to heal, edu- pendent in Podujeve’s municipal assembly. cation and programs that get Podujeve suffered severe damage during the war. Its agriculture was people to work together are suc- destroyed, as well as its three small factories that produced shingles for ceeding, Kagame said. That suc- roofs, plastics, and lumber. After the war, Hyseni founded the Democ- cess is evident, for example, in ratic Hope of Ashkalli of Kosovo, which, in conjunction with local local elections where citizens Albanians and with help from international organizations, rebuilt homes have voted for leaders regardless and roads in his part of the municipality. “More than 90 percent of the of their ethnic backgrounds. homes have been rebuilt. This is a good example for others. We should “People are looking for the per- live together and build our future together to have a democratic society.” son who can solve their prob- But right after the war, Hyseni had a hard time convincing nine lems,” Kagame concluded. Ashkalli families with 65 members to leave the mountains where they had been hiding. With the help of local Albanians, Hyseni organized 13 meetings with family elders in their village. “After long discussions, we calmed people down,” he said, smiling broadly. “They have returned to their homes where they belong.” 7 Confronting State Te r r o r

Newly democratic countries face conflicting goals when dealing with past atrocities, say two Institute grantees.

ountries dealing with past out as a matter of state policy and ticular needs, a truth commission atrocities must balance com- the universally recognized prohi- can help promote justice in the Cplex and sometimes con- bition against prosecuting indi- courts and encourage the use of flicting goals: seeking the truth, viduals for acts that were not reparations as a tool of transition- pursuing justice, upholding the crimes at the time they were com- al justice. Most of all, truth com- rule of law, and holding the soci- mitted. Indeed, many states seek- missions shift how individuals and ety together during a time of tran- ing to prosecute the perpetrators society understand and speak sition and rebuilding. Ruti Teitel, of past abuses confront the danger about the past by bringing forth the author of Transitional Justice that doing so may require them to the facts so that they cannot be (Oxford University Press, 2000), abdicate the very rule of law prin- denied. and Priscilla Hayner, the author ciples that the new government is Hayner emphasized the of Unspeakable Truths: Confronting trying to introduce and uphold. importance of a cooperative rela- State Terror and Atrocity (Rout- However, Teitel stresses, there is tionship between seeking truth ledge, 2000), addressed these significant value in trying even a through non-judicial mechanisms challenges in a discussion at the U.S. Institute of Peace on January Left to 25, sponsored by the Rule of Law right: Program, headed by Neil Kritz. Priscilla Both books were funded by Insti- Hayner, tute grants. (The books are avail- Ruti able from your local bookseller.) Teitel, and In Transitional Justice, Teitel Neil Kritz analyzes how law enables transi- tions to democracy from a prior abusive regime through a variety of legal mechanisms. These mechanisms may include tradi- tional criminal punishment for perpetrators, reparations to vic- tims, and administrative justice small number of perpetrators. such as truth commissions and such as purges of perpetrators Such trials demonstrate that some seeking justice in the courts. She from positions in the government, punishment has been meted out, decried the misconception that police, and military and screening and they isolate and stigmatize truth commissions interfere in the out perpetrators from new jobs. the perpetrators, thus liberating work of the courts and are there- Also, historical inquiries and truth the collective from guilt and rele- fore used only as a second-best commissions serve to examine the gating the abuses to the previous alternative when trials are not an facts surrounding abuses and regime. option. In fact, she concluded, make them publicly known, creat- In Unspeakable Truths, Hayner truth commissions can provide ing a reliable and indisputable examines 20 truth commissions, critical support to judicial trials historical record. analyzing the impact such com- through the development and Teitel examines the fundamen- missions have on the victims, the preservation of evidence, such as tal dilemmas that traditional investigators, and society, and in Argentina, where the commis- criminal justice encounters in capturing lessons for future exer- sion provided files to the prosecu- times of transition, including the cises about how to discover the tion. The prosecution used those emphasis on individual responsi- truth. As a flexible body that can files to build its case against the bility in the face of crimes carried be crafted to meet a country’s par- army generals on trial. Jennings Randolph Pro g ra m for International Pe a c e invites applications for

S e n i o r Fellowships, 2002–2003 Practitioners and scholars working on research proj- The United States Institute of Peace invites you and ects concerning the sources and nature of interna- your students to explore complex issues in interna- tional conflict and ways of preventing, managing, tional peace and conflict resolution by partici- or resolving conflict pating in the 2001–2002 National Peace Essay Stipend up to $80,000 for 10 months Contest. The topic asks students to research Fellowship begins October 2002 the current debate about the role of the U.S. military in international peacekeeping and Application Deadline: September 17, 2001 peace enforcement missions. Students must analyze the pros and cons of using military Dissertation Fellowships, 2002–2003 forces for tasks not traditionally part of their Fellowships for dissertation research and writing at national defense mandate. U.S. universities College scholarships up to $10,000 $17,000 for 12 months beginning September 2002 Fascinating international issues Projects addressing international peace and conflict An all-expense-paid trip to Washington, resolution D . C . Open to citizens of any country Deadline: January 23, 2002 Application Deadline: November 1, 2001 To request a guidebook, contact: For further information and an application, please UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE download the application materials from the Institute’s National Peace Essay Contest web site or write to the address below. 1200 17th Street NW, Suite 200 UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE Washington, DC 20036-3011 Jennings Randolph Program for International Peace (202) 429-3854 1200 17th Street NW, Suite 200 essay [email protected] Washington, DC 20036–3011 www.usip.org/ed.html www.usip.org/fellows.html

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Washington, DC United States Institute of Peace Permit No. 2806 1200 17th Street NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036-3011 w w w . u s i p . o r g

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED