Opinion: Let’s do it, Kosova – for the long term

May 25 - June 7, 2012 Issue No. 89 www.prishtinainsight.com Price € 1

NEWS The Football Wins amid Mysterious Political Row over Murder of > page 2-3 Salih Dukati NEWS Kosovo’s western city of Kosovo: has been rocked by Should Apologise murders, ransoms, for its Crimes allegations of rape and > page 4 police corruption, and the arrests of high NEWS profile figures from the Klecka Outcome business community. Embitters Both See Page 6-7 Serbs and Albanians Central Bank Board: > page 5 FEATURE New Secrets of A Licence to Print Money? Ancient Times The chairman of Kosovo’s Central Bank, Gazmend Luboteni, earns eight times the country’s average monthly salary for Emerge in Butrint each board meeting he attends, some of which involve just one decision, Prishtina Insight has discovered. > page 15 the board may no longer be illegi- board held 18 meetings that year, the number of meetings they multi- By Florina Hajdini ble to hold the post because of a well above the minimum of ten ply their compensation.” INSIDE PRISHTINA ten-year term limit placed on the required by law, which would have Some of the board meetings fea- n investigation by Putting the Pristine position. made him 16,000 euro after tax. In ture just one or two decisions, Prishtina Insight has 2011, the figure fell to just under according to the minutes provided Arevealed that board mem- back into Prishtina bers of the Central Bank of Minting Money 25,000 euro after tax. online by the bank. At a meeting in Kosovo receive up to eight times Luboteni also receives salaries February 2008, for example, the the country’s average monthly Prishtina Insight has discovered for his teaching commitments at the board made just one decision – to salary for each board meeting. that the chairman of the central University of Prishtina and the pri- confirm the appointment of an The figure has been branded “an bank board, Gazmend Luboteni, is vate Fama University totalling administration for an insurance unreasonable and unnecessary” paid 2,000 euro for each board meet- 35,000 euro in 2010 and 30,000 in 2011. company. > page 18 - 19 expense to the taxpayer by the for- ing that he attends – eight times the In total, the board cost the bank Luboteni told Prishtina Insight: mer head of the economics depart- national monthly average wage of 155,000 euro in 2010, including “Of course it may seem that it is a ment at the International Civilian 250 euro. The other two members of allowances and expenses. Figures high payment. Compensation Office, Andrea Capussela. the board – Mejdi Bektashi and are not yet available for 2011. should be as such as to recruit the The probe also uncovered how Sejdi Rexhepi – are paid 1,700 euro. Capussela told Prishtina Insight: best experts and keep them in bank. Kosovo’s only English-language the board spent 40,000 euro on In 2010, Luboteni took home just “I believe that the board compensa- The accountability and responsibil- newspaper is available: travel in 2010, members used offi- under 30,000 euro after tax, around tion is excessive, both because the ity is extremely demanding.” cial cars to travel to other work 36,000 euro before tax, for attending absolute amount is too much, and Delivered to commitments and the chairman of board meetings. This means the because by artificially increasing continues page 6 Your Door

Tomislav Nikolic - Stuck Foreign Soaps Push Out Kosovo From Newsstands Between Moscow and Brussels Productions across Kosovo

A former funeral parlour boss and con- Kosovo’s three main television stations – Sent To struction technician from Kragujavac, KTV, RTV 21 and the public broadcaster Your Inbox Nikolic has run the presidential race four RTK – have all but abandoned investing in times in eight years. Despite previous locally produced shows. defeats, he has remained on the scene, con- The only local show currently being From vinced his time was yet to come. With his aired on terrestrial television is “Kafeneja our partners surprise win in Sunday’s election run-off Jone”, Our Cafe, shown on RTK once a neighbourhod against outgoing... page 11 feature week... page 14 see page 16 for more info

is supported by: 2 May 25 - June 7, 2012 news Football Wins amid Political Kosovo’s strategy of entering European football through FIFA-sanctioned friendly match- es could create opportunities for talented players and point the way towards solving broader issues of its representation in international .

depends on other considerations.” home. They have starred for their FSS representatives have Swiss (famously ousting requested a meeting with FIFA Manchester United from this By Vladimir Novakovic officials, and this has been sched- year’s Champions League) and for uled for May 31. At the meeting, the Swiss national team, thus the implications and implementa- earning lucrative transfers to top tion of the decision will be dis- German Bundesliga sides. rofessional footballers from cussed. On Wednesday Shaqiri and Kosovo are making a name Those who follow football close- Xhaka played their last game for Pfor themselves in the top ly attribute considerable signifi- Swiss League and Cup winners FC European leagues but until now cance FIFA’s move, while the tim- Basel, Shaqiri moving to Bayern they have been unable to play for ing of FIFA’s decision has been a Munich, Xhaka to the country of their birth in the subject of speculation. Mönchengladbach. major European and World foot- In years to come these players ball competitions. are likely to be followed by more FIFA head Sepp Blatter this week agreed to allow Kosovo to play friendly matches. That could change, but first a Coming of age soccer stars from Kosovo who – series of tricky diplomatic and Vallon Behrami, Fiorentina's unable to play in international ble First Division. They produced has always been happy to speak to legal obstacles will have to be cir- star signing and member of the competitions as part of a Kosovo a number of fine players, both eth- the Serbian media, and has regu- cumvented. FIFA’s decision to Swiss national squad | Photo by: team – will accept invitations to nic Albanians and Serbs, who later larly proposed dialogue and coop- sanction international friendly Reto Stauffer, play for other countries instead. played successfully for top erative initiatives to the FSS, matches between a Kosovo nation- www.sportreporter.ch (Wikipedia) Over the past 15 years at least 18 Yugoslav clubs and won places in though these approaches have gen- al team and FIFA members could A distinguished generation of ethnic Albanian players from the national team. erally been ignored. open the way for Kosovo to gain players from Kosovo has already Kosovo have played for Albania, Perhaps the most prominent of Whatever the effect of the next world and European football made an impression right across with Cana being the Albanian these players was , a round of negotiations between the recognition over the long term. European soccer. national team’s current skipper. hero among Partizan supporters, FSS, FIFA and UEFA, it seems For the moment, though, UEFA is These players include Valon Others have played for Finland, who played 12 games and scored inevitable that some level of com- opposed to the move. Behrami at Fiorentina and former , Croatia and Montenegro, six goals for . munication between and FIFA’s decision on 22 May to Marseille captain , while is part of the Vokrri has been at the helm of Prishtina will be established, not allow member associations to play both of whom formerly played in Sweden team for Euro 2012. the Kosovo Football Federation, least because the whole issue is friendly games with the national the English Premier league (for The main beneficiary of the FFK, for four years now, and has about much more than just poli- team of Kosovo has sent shock- West Ham and Sunderland respec- Kosovo soccer Diaspora has been fought hard on two fronts. tics. waves across the Balkans. The tively), and veteran striker Shefki Switzerland, where most of the At home, he has sought to Giving all those talented Kosovo decision was particularly surpris- Kuqi, currently with Oldham, his Kosovo emigrants live, with four improve playing conditions on and players across an opportu- ing because UEFA members repre- 10th English club in 11 seasons being called up for the Swiss off the field, and has had some suc- nity to play for the land of their sented in FIFA had voted against (half of them in the Premiership). national squad in the past 12 cess, not least as a result of his birth is a matter of fairness. Even it. And this season a new genera- months (interestingly, they have personal charisma. more importantly, those who have FIFA Secretary-General Jérôme tion has come onto the scene, been joined by two Macedonia- Internationally his main task was remained in Kosovo must not be Valcke sent a letter to the Football spearheaded by FC Basel duo born ethnic Albanians, Blerim to put Kosovo on the world map, to forgotten, because football is an Association of Serbia (FSS) and Granit Xhemaili and Admir Mehmedi). gain UEFA and FIFA recognition integral part of Kosovo’s sporting explaining that the decision was Xhaka. An even higher proportion can be for the KFF and to see Kosovo life, as FIFA President Sepp made” following repeated written The pair were born in the east- found in youth squads. clubs and the national team enter Blatter pointed out on Wednesday. requests from the Football ern Kosovo town of and Since the break-up of European competitions. The way FIFA handled the situa- Federation of Kosovo over the last soon moved to Switzerland with Yugoslavia not a single Kosovo- He was quickly able to find tion may have been clumsy, but two years”, and that “such author- their families, following the pat- born ethnic Albanian has played influential friends, most notably then FIFA hasn’t been known for ization does not constitute a step tern of Kosovo emigrants escaping for Serbia. On the other hand, eth- in Turkey, who were willing to pro- acting wisely of late. The Blatter towards FIFA membership, which either violent unrest or poverty at nic Serbs and Gorani from Kosovo mote the FFK cause. With era has been marred by numerous have as a rule chosen to play for Tuesday’s FIFA decision, it seems blunders and affairs even though Serbia. Goran Djorovic was a reg- the project has taken a huge step the Swiss has somehow managed ular during the 90s, with Milos forward. to turn larger problems into per- Krasic of Italian giants Juventus sonal triumphs. and Miralem Sulejmani of Ajax in Where do we go from the current squad. here? Legal obstacles What FIFA basically offered A longstanding football Fadil Vokrri, head of the Kosovo on Tuesday was not full Football Federation of Kosovo, has tradition membership, but an opportunity been championing development to play friendly unofficial games and recognition of Kosovo's foot- Kosovo has a longstanding foot- with FIFA members. ball teams and competitions at ball tradition. Local players This is a similar arrangement to home and abroad for the last four gained broader prominence in the the one under which some Spanish years 1970s, when the Prekazi brothers regions, such as the Basque The decision to put Vokrri in (Luan and Xhevat, the latter going Country, Catalonia and Andalusia, charge was an excellent choice on to become a huge star in have played for a number of years. from the FFK point of view, albeit Turkey) moved to Partizan. Clubs These teams are made up of play- an obvious one. ers who can still play for current from Kosovo were on the verge of Unlike prominent Kosovo politi- FIFA members, in the abovemen- breaking into the top flight several cians who have been compromised tioned cases most often for Spain. times before Trepca (Mitrovica) by their conduct during and just The Serbian national team even made it in 1977. after the war, Vokrri remains a rel- played a friendly match against Trepca stayed up for just one atively well-liked figure in Serbia. the Basque Country in late 2006, season, but Prishtina proved to be With his open personality and prompting accusations of more consistent, spending most of his familiarity with Belgrade, hypocrisy over the Serbian posi- UEFA head Michel Platini has fallen out with Fifa chief Sep Blatter over the Kosovo move the 80s in the then quite formida- where he lived for three years, he

Y M C +381 38 602042, +377 44 243367, +386 49 243367 K news May 25 - June 7, 2012 3

Editor’s Word Row over Kosovo Prishtina’s Osama Bin Laden Mosque

By Lawrence Marzouk

’d like to take you on a very modern journey – a stroll through the life of an internet lie. . IToday it is easier than ever to plant a fabrication in the mind of the public and watch it grow at terrifying speed, par- ticularly if this lie contains a grain of truth and its narrative fits snugly into a ready-made conspiracy. Take the extraordinary story in recent weeks that Kosovo has become a training base for the Syrian Opposition. The claim, which is almost comically absurd, made the extraordi- nary trip from internet rumour to the UN Security Council in a matter of days. has often been used a political football Many of my colleagues in the world’s most respected newspapers prefer to portray Kosovo as some sort of mafia- tion denying the Kosovo federation won’t be eligible to gain full member- with immediate results would be to state run by organ-traffickers, harbouring jihadists and the the right to organise similar games. ship in UEFA and, consequently, in recognize the FSS as its parent associ- biggest drug and prostitution rings in the world. It is not yet clear whether FIFA. ation for the time being, until Kosovo These stories sell newspapers; it’s much more interesting Tuesday’s decision means that, for For the time being it is difficult to itself fulfils preconditions to gain to focus on the negatives than provide a full, fair portrayal of example, Shaqiri will be able to play envisage Kosovo getting a UN seat, acceptance in FIFA and UEFA. The the reality: a country struggling, like many of its neigh- both for Switzerland in official com- with Russia and China seemingly question is whether this scenario is bours, with corruption, organised crime and some low-level petitions and for Kosovo in friendly determined to block this, and more realistic, given current bilateral rela- risks of terrorism. matches, or whether all the players than half of current UN members, tions and Kosovo’s desire to affirm its These plausible but flawed stories are then stretched far will have to choose one national including five EU states, still not rec- status as an independent country. squad and play only for that squad. ognizing Kosovo more than four years beyond the truth online by the bizarre ranting of thousands It is understood that once Kosovo is after its declaration of independence. On the ground of websites offering extreme opinions, rumour masquerad- a full FIFA member, any eligible play- The key problem for Kosovo diplo- ing as fact and recycled stories edited to look like news. ers will have a window of opportuni- macy has always been that its own Kosovo is currently one of 80 foot- The negative stories from credible sources unfortunately ty in which to switch allegiances from position appears to set precedents for ball nations or micro-nations across also provide both cover and fuel for the nutcases. their current teams to Kosovo. other countries. As a striking exam- the world that has no affiliation with For example, type “Osama Bin Laden Mosque Kosovo” However, even if Blatter’s proposal ple of this, within 24 hours of FIFA’s FIFA. More than half of these come into Google, and you are provided with more than 3,000 refer- stands, the road to full membership decision on Kosovo, representatives from Europe, most of them regions ences. Apparently such a mosque was built in 2007. will be a long one. On the surface, the of Republika Srpska’s Football of Spain, and the United It is almost impossible to trace the origin of this lie and FIFA Statute itself is not an obstacle, Association demanded that Article 79 Kingdom. Only six sovereign will be impossible to ever erase or refute it fully. Despite since Article 10.1 simply states that of the FIFA Statute (banning mem- nations are not FIFA members. being ludicrous, the claim will circulate in perpetuity, dam- any country recognized as independ- bers from playing with non-FIFA There have been various attempts aging Kosovo’s reputation in the wacky world of online con- ent by the international community associations) be lifted for the RS FA to organise semi-official and unoffi- spiracies. Stories like these often have elements of truth can become a FIFA member. too. cial games between Kosovo and for- woven in, making it difficult for the untrained eye to sepa- The 90 countries that recognize Yet, a solution may lie in the fact eign teams, or between Kosovo clubs rate fabrication from fact. Kosovo’s independence can clearly be that both statutes allow an interna- and foreign clubs, but when the KFF What makes the Syrian training camp story particular considered as the international com- tionally unrecognized FA to take part gains UEFA and FIFA recognition interesting is how this damaging rumour became a matter of munity. However, Article 10.2 states in any game if it has the permission none of these would count in their record in the Security Council, the world’s that an Association can become a of the Football Association that has official football statistics and histo- foremost political arena. member of FIFA only after spending official jurisdiction over the territory ry. The original story began as an Associated Press report of two years with provisional status on which the fixture is played. Six other international fed- the visit of three Syrian dissidents to Prishtina. within its Confederation, in the case In terms of current international erations have incorporated Kosovo Ammar Abdulhamid, an exiled anti-Assad activist, told of Kosovo within UEFA. relations in football, the Serbian associations as full members, begin- AP that he had travelled to Prishtina to learn. "Kosovo has Article 5:1 of the UEFA Statute Football Association officially still ning with ITTU’s (table tennis) gone through an experience that I think will be very useful states that “Membership of UEFA is has jurisdiction over Kosovo. acceptance of the Table Tennis to us in terms of how the different armed groups that formed open to national football associations Therefore, the FSS could give permis- Federation of Kosovo (FPK) in 2003, situated in the continent of Europe, sion to the KFF to play under the and with attracting the the KLA [] organised themselves.'' based in a country which is recog- Kosovo banner. most attention. The visit was noteworthy and therefore widely covered by nized by the United Nations as an However, beyond this it gets compli- Six years ago, even before Kosovo the international media. independent state”. cated since the UN, which has been declared independence, Kosovo But then this “exchange of ideas” was twisted and This is in line with statutes of vari- necessary in more or less every bilat- handball teams within the Handball stretched to become... the creation of terrorist training ous international organizations, eral arrangement between Belgrade Federation of Kosovo were allowed camps in Kosovo. including the International Olympic and Prishtina, has no jurisdiction to play in European competitions by As with the case of the “Osama Bin Laden” mosque, it is Committee. These provisions imply over football matters. European Handball Federation almost impossible to know who started the rumour, although that until Kosovo is a UN member, it For the KFF, a possible solution (EHF), albeit not the national team. Russia Today, the Kremlin’s international mouthpiece, In 2007 Vllaznimi of was appears to have been instrumental in spreading the message. drawn against Serbia’s Kikinda, but Here is what they wrote on May 4: “Syrian opposition is the Government of Serbia forbade sending militants to Kosovo for adopting tactics and being the club to play against teams from trained to oust President Bashar Assad’s regime.” “non-existent countries”. Kikinda They provide no evidence for this; there is none to provide. was expelled from the competition, “The training camp on the Albanian-Kosovo border that has receiving a heavy fine and a two- welcomed Syrian attendees was originally organised by the year ban from Europe. US to help the KLA train its fighters,” Russia Today adds. Vllaznimi was later drawn against And then the nonsense became a matter of fact when another Serbian club, Naisa. To add Russian ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin raised the insult to Kikinda’s injury, the team issue at the UN. He condemned what he called "disturbing from Nis was allowed to play on neu- information" that Kosovo authorities had been "establishing tral ground in . Naisa contacts with the Syrian opposition to train insurgents" in thrashed Vlaznimi by a 50-goal mar- Kosovo. gin over two matches. It is incredibly difficult to police the web and Kosovo faces Meanwhile, in parts of Kosovo a huge challenge in countering such claims. still inhabited by ethnic Serbs most clubs take part in Serbian competi- But Kosovo’s government could, and should, develop a tions, although there have been credible online strategy to quickly tackle such claims and some attempts at integration, partic- spread positive messages about the country. ularly in . This would certainly be more effective and cheaper than Vladimir Novakovic is a journalists set-piece interviews with international media and multimil- Fadil Vokrri, head of Kosovo’s Football Federation with B92 and former sports reporter. lion euro TV ads. 4 May 25 - June 7, 2012 news EU Grants for Serb Kosovo: Serbia Should Apologise for its Crimes Refugees’ Start Ups The government in Prishtina says it is ready to address the past and reconcile with Serbia, but wants Belgrade to apologise for The EU is giving almost a half million Euros to 93 refugee families in Serbia to help the crimes it committed in Kosovo, ahead of such a process. them start and develop their own businesses. ers unilateral. Gnjilane to the Serbian town their products more competi- Kuci, who is also the Justice Minister, of Nis during the tive on the market. said that most of the obstacles in initiat- in the 1999, invested his grant According to the Vesna By Fatmir Aliu ing the reconciliation process come in the family farm, where he Jovanovic from the CARE By Marija Ristic from Serbia, which continues to act grows several types of vegeta- organization, business aggressively towards the Kosovo bles. experts will closely monitor he Kosovo authorities authorities and their sovereignty. A refugee from Croatia, and provide advice to the announced the creation of an “Serbia needs to recognise the inde- ccording to the Deputy Jelena Kresovic, who escaped project over its two year run. Tinclusive body that will deal pendence of Kosovo, the territorial Head of the EU from the town of Knin as a The EU is the biggest donor with transitional justice and reconcil- integrity of our country, which will ease ADelegation in Serbia, child, before the Croatian to refugees in Serbia, donat- iation, and called upon Serbia to apol- Adriano Martins, the aim of the our efforts in the reconciliation process. army took over the area, has ing 71 million Euros over the ogize for the crimes it committed grant is to bring financial inde- At least apologize, as a moral act, since decided to start her first busi- last ten years. before and during the war in Kosovo. pendence to refugees and inter- any other approach from Serbia makes ness, independently from her Jelena Maric, an advisor in Reconciliation, according to the nally displaced persons in south inter-ethnic reconciliation impossible,” parents. the Serbian Commissariat for authorities in Prishtina, is a process Serbia. he said. “I decided to run my busi- Refugees, said that 20 years that will take decades, and as such “We already helped 1,600 peo- The International Civilian Represe- ness on my own. It is still too on from the conflict in former requires an environment that will ple through similar projects. ntative, Pieter Feith, noted that Kosovo is early for me to have employ- Yugoslavia, and 13 years after accommodate all sections of society And the businesses were vari- far away from reconciliation process, as ees, since I’ve only just begun the Kosovo war, Serbia is still who suffered under past regimes. ous. I remember we gave a memories of the 1999 war are still fresh. to farm fish. I bought a fish dealing with a large number “The will cre- grant to Jovanka, a refugee But he insists that reconciliation pool from the grant money, of refugees, taking the coun- ate a national working group for transi- from Croatia, to open a bakery. needs to be offered to individuals, who and I’m hoping for the best,” try to the top of the league tional justice, which will be composed of Then there is Dragan, who need to decide themselves whether or explains Jelena. table in Europe in terms of all actors from the society, including the bought pigs and sheep for his not they want to deal with the past. “Jelena, Randjel and the number of refugees. families of missing persons, war veter- farm and now produces meat, Feith commended the government Ivanka are just a few exam- “Our latest data shows that ans, and political prisoners associa- milk and cheese of great qual- initiative to establish the working ples of how great ideas can be 74,000 people are still listed as tions, which we hope will produce the ity,” said Martins. group, and said that owing to current brought to reality. We refugees, while 210,000 are desired effects,” says the Deputy Prime “I hope that this year’s Kosovo-Serbia relations, the process is received lots of applications, internally displaced people Minister Hajredin Kuci. grant recipients will make the not going to be easy. and our experts decided from Kosovo. Almost 20,000 of He made the announcement at the best of it. There are people “We are aware that in the current cir- which business plans were them live in extremely hard international conference “Dealing with from the vulnerable groups cumstances, and based on the actual the best and the most sustain- social and economic condi- the past - What kind of truth mecha- who need just a little to make relations with Serbia, this process will able,” said Dejan Milosevic tions,” Maric said. nisms does Kosovo need?” and pledged their life better,” added not be easy. One cannot expect quick from the NGO, Protecta, “Ten percent of them are that the future Transitional Justice Martins. results, as it may take generations, but which is implementing the surviving on refugee benefits working group would be free of political Ivanka Ilic, who came from it’s important that the government has project. alone, which means just 80 influence, and would work towards a Kosovo to south Serbia almost expressed its willingness to commence Each grant is worth 2,000 Euros. We don’t just need to “national strategy” by documenting all a decade ago, used her grant to this process,” he said. Euros, and the organizations give them rights, provide the damage caused by the war. open a pastry shop with her “Victims remain victims, the past that are running the project them with homes, we need to Kosovo declared independence from parents. cannot be undone, and the truth needs plan to create clusters of make their life decent as Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade refuses to “This means a lot to us, to be told,” Feith added. grant recipients, making well,” she concluded. recognise the secession, which it consid- since it is the only secure income we currently have. We even employ two people and hope to develop our busi- ness further,” said Ilic. Thaci Laments EU's 'Coldness' Randjel Stojanovic, who fled from the Kosovo town of Towards Kosovo Prime Minister says Brussels is not responding with much enthusiasm to Kosovo's attempts to expedite its www.prishtinainsight.com path of integration towards the EU. Publisher: BIRN Balkan Investigative Reporting Network By Fatmir Aliu Mensa e Studenteve, first floor 10000, Prishtina Kosovo osovo’s Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, has complained about Brussels' Phone: +381 (0) 38 24 33 58 Kapproach towards the country's Fax: +381 (0) 38 22 44 98 European Union aspirations, saying that [email protected] Kosovo is not being judged by the same stan- dards used with other countries in the region. Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci has been critical of the EU in recent weeks. Editor-in-Chief: Thaci said that EU delays and the non-recog- Lawrence Marzouk nition of the country by five EU member states 450 questions from the EU for the Feasibility All Western Balkans countries, except [email protected] - Spain, Romania, Greece, Slovakia and Cyprus Study. He asked them to answer the questions Kosovo, have been granted visa-free travel to the by May 21, so they can be handed over to the EU. But when launching the EU-Kosovo visa-lib- Editorial Team: - were not justifiable. “The delays by Brussels are unjustifiable," he European Commission by June 8. eralization dialogue, Enlargement Ana Petruseva, Gordana Igric, said. "Kosovo is not asking for a privileged Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in Commissioner Stephan Fuele said that the suc- Jeta Xharra, Marcus Tanner, treatment or for an accelerated processes [of 2008 and has been recognised by 89 countries, cess of the process depended on Kosovo's per- Petrit Collaku, Shengjyl Osmani, EU integration]. We simply ask for equal treat- including the US and 22 EU member states. formance in the areas of trade, reform of public Artan Mustafa, Florina Hajdini, Bujar ment to the rest of the Western Balkans coun- Thaci said that since the country declared administration, rule of law, and the integra- Arucaj and Donjeta Demolli. tries,” Thaci said. independence, Kosovo had worked hard to tions of the Serbian minority in the north. On March 27 the EU launched a study to approach European structures but “unfortu- The European Commission will send a team determine whether Kosovo is ready to sign a Marketing, Sales & Distribution: nately the response of Brussels was cold and to Prishtina on June 18 on a fact-finding mis- Stabilization and Association Agreement, the the processes have been lengthy. sion to verify the answers it received from the [email protected] first step on the long road to Brussels. “The EU should not tolerate any black holes questionnaire it handed to Kosovo. The study will make an inventory of where Design & Layout: “Rrjeti” in the European continent. The principle of European Union Special Representative Kosovo stands in terms of its political, econom- Arben Grajqevci freedom of movement is an asset upon which Samuel Zbogar responded to the claims by Y ic and legal environment, and will assess what the EU has been built, and we are not asking for pointing out that the EU shows its commitment Kosovo needs to achieve to negotiate and imple- M Printing: Lindi Printing Center anything other than the free movement of peo- through financial support and political guid- C ment an SAA. ple, goods and ideas and equal treatment,” he ance. He added that it was up to Kosovo author- Copyright © BIRN K Thaci on Monday handed ministers a set of said. ities to deliver. news May 25 - June 7, 2012 5

Both communities in Kosovo blame politics for the trial of Fatmir Limaj - KleckaKlecka OutcomeOutcome EmbittersEmbitters though from diametrically opposing points of view. BothBoth SerbsSerbs andand AlbaniansAlbanians

By Fatmir Aliu

ustice in Kosovo is decided by people in power, not by inde- Jpendent courts, which instead apply selective justice, one for Albanians and another for Serbs, Rade Spasic says. The 39-year-old Kosovo Serb from the Serb enclave of Gracanica cites the example of ten The now collapsed war crimes trial against Fatmir Limaj for his involvement in the Klecka prison has been among the most high profile cases taken on by EULEX. former Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers cleared recently of 1999 but survives from occasional September in before the vinced that no former KLA com- flict”. charges in the so-called Klecka trades and businesses with trial started. Months later, on batants committed war crimes in EULEX, and the UN mission, Case. Albanian friends whom he knows March 21, the court ruled his testi- the conflict, in spite of which they UNMIK, have used such terminolo- A court in Prishtina on May 2 from childhood. mony and diaries inadmissible. are grilled relentlessly. gy to try KLA commanders and sol- cleared them on the grounds that He says he does not know how to Some also “Since the end of the war in 1999 diers for war crimes. the statements of the key witness - explain the outcome of the case to think the Klecka case was politi- there’s not been one KLA fighter But in this context, he adds, the who had since died - were inadmis- his children, aged 15 and 13, as cally motivated. But they feel the whose home has not been raided EU mission didn’t have enough sible as evidence. there was so much talk at school trial should never have started - and some families have been raid- arguments to proceed with the “We feel justice in some cases is about it. and that politics alone led to a ver- ed dozens of times,” he said. case, since what happened in the selective,” Spasic says. “I don’t dict being raised. “On the other hand, illegal par- “It’s difficult to explain it to the war did not suffice to indict Limaj believe that those institutions [the Muharrem Xhemajli, chair of allel Serb structures are allowed to kids or to ourselves… all kinds of and the other co-fighters. courts] should release someone crimes happened during the war, the KLA War Veterans function in Kosovo and no one because he or she is important.” “In the Klecka case, they pre- and no one can forget that,” Spasic Organization, told Prishtina does anything about it. This is The court cleared Fatmir Limaj, sented evidence of two murdered says. Insight that most trials of former double standards,” Xhemajli a former KLA commander and Serbs. But these were not civilians, According to the indictment, the KLA-fighters were set-ups. added. nine other ex-KLA fighters, of all and they were not in Kosovo on ten men “violated the bodily He accuses the EU law mission Limaj, who remains a popular charges of war crimes against holiday - they were there to kill integrity and health of an unspec- to Kosovo, EULEX, of conducting figure in Kosovo, has already faced civilians and prisoners-of-war dur- Albanians,” he says. ified number of Serb and “witch hunts” against former a trial for war crimes before the ing the Kosovo war. As for the legal aspect, he says Albanian civilians and Serb pris- guerilla fighters. International Criminal Tribunal Serbs received the verdict with that the decision was clear, as the oners-of-war held in a detention “The case against Limaj and the for former Yugoslavia, ICTY. consternation and Spasic says his evidence of the prosecution was all centre in the village of Klecka.” other combatants was a set-up, Along with Isak Musliu and community believes the case was based on the testimony of Witness Prisoners were held in “inhu- which was proven by their release Haradin Bala, he was accused of dropped because of Limaj’s politi- after they were cleared of all committing war crimes against X, which the court found inadmis- cal influence. mane conditions, which included keeping prisoners chained, cold charges,” he said. Serbs and Albanians suspected of sible. The former transport minister “This can be also be seen from collaborating with Serbia during and hungry, in insanitary condi- “No judge who respects criminal is vice-president of the ruling the way the process went, relying the Kosovo war. In November 2005 tions, and frequent beatings,” the procedures would have made a dif- Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, on protected witnesses who in the the ICTY acquitted him. indictment added. ferent ruling from this one,” he and a member of the Kosovo par- end got what they deserved - they Azem Vllasi, a lawyer, was a for- But almost all the charges were continued, referring to the verdict. liament. committed suicide,” Xhemajli mer head of the League of based on the testimony of one key Many observers in both Serbia “If he has innocent blood on his added. Communists of Kosovo in the witness, Agim Zogaj, codenamed and Kosovo have called the col- hands, regardless of who he is, he “All those who testify falsely will Yugoslav era. “Witness X”, who is understood to lapse of the Klecka case a major should account for what he did,” have the same fate because their Forced out of office by Serbian have been a former KLA fighter failure for EULEX’s approach to he says. conscience will not let them live,” leader Slobodan Milosevic in 1989, under Limaj’s command. justice. “What should people who lost he continued. for resisting Serbia’s plans to His diaries about events in the But Vllasi does not agree. He family members and are still EULEX was established in 2008, scrap Kosovo’s autonomy, he was Klecka detention centre in central says that the authorities in Serbia searching for their remains think after Kosovo declared independ- arrested and put on trial. were crucial to the prose- think that every Albanian in about such rulings?” he asks. ence from Serbia, and is the He says that EULEX and the Spasic has been largely unem- cution. largest civilian crisis management international community have Kosovo in the war who carried a ployed since the end of the war in But Zogaj killed himself last mission in the EU’s history. created a muddle about the KLA’s weapon and fought Serb forces With more than 2,000 interna- role in the conflict with Serbia. committed crimes. tional police officers, judges and “Throughout the former “This is the logic in Serbia, and prosecutors, supported by about Yugoslavia the international com- I’m pretty sure that if Limaj or any 1,200 local staff, its mission is to munity has tended to confuse mat- other KLA fighter would have been help Kosovo develop independent ters,” he said. tried in Serbia, they would have and multi-ethnic justice, police “They have all started from the had been found guilty,” he said. and customs services. notion that in Yugoslavia, every- “But we learned good practices But Xhemajli maintains that one took part in the tragedy, so from EULEX. And it would be EULEX is not carrying out its true everyone is equally guilty for the wrong to give a general assessment mission and relies on double stan- conflicts. Therefore everyone is that EULEX has failed. It’s not fair dards. guilty by default, but it’s a com- either to say that the prosecution He says it is strange that the pletely wrong approach to the raised the indictment just to please mission has not indicted any war,” he added. Serbia,” Vllasi continued. Kosovo Serbs for crimes commit- Vlassi says that the internation- While the legal arguments con- ted in Kosovo in the war while al community has been too reluc- tinue to rage, ordinary Kosovo apparently holding Albanians tant to identify victims and aggres- Serbs in Gracanica and elsewhere accountable for everything that sors in the wars of the former say the failure of the case has happened. Yugoslavia. inflicted further damage on tense “They are trying to say that Everyone knows that Albanians, relations between the communi- Limaj’s Return to Frontline Politics: With the collapse Albanians also committed crimes, Bosnian Muslims and Croats were of the war crimes charges against him and no sign of and then they want to reconcile us, the defendants while the Serbs ties. if I can call it that,” he said. were the aggressors in the conflict, “We have hit the bottom with an indictment over corruption allegations, Limaj is “It’s a sort of act, that both par- he says. Serb-Albanians relations and it returning to frontline politics. He held a meeting with ties carried out crimes. But you The Klecka Case, he says, has can’t be worse than it currently supporters in this week during which he avoid- don’t achieve real reconciliation two dimensions, the political and is,” Spasic says. that way; you only increase the legal. “I don’t want to believe that it Y ed discussing his rift with Prime Minister and PDK hostility between the nations,” he He notes that that the interna- can get even worse, but that we can M party leader Hashim Thaci. added. tional missions refer to the 1999 improve our relationship,” he con- C Xhemajli says he remains con- period as a “period of military con- cludes. K 6 May 25 - June 7, 2012 economy Central Bank Board: Licence to Print Money The Mysterious from page 1 According to Luboteni’s declaration of assets for 2012, published this week, Kosovo’s western city of Peja has been rocked by mur- Foreign Trips he is the owner of a Lexus LS 430 ders, ransoms, allegations of rape and police corruption, worth 15,000 euro and a VW Golf and the arrests of high profile figures from the business According to figures released by the worth 11,000 euro. Central Bank, the board also travelled He owns two flats – one in Prishtina community. extensively in past years. and the other in Albania – although he In 2009, the board spent 27,000 euro lives in his family home in the Aktash on travel, in 2010 38,000 euro and for neighbourhood of Kosovo’s capital. All he Touched Turned to the first nine months of 2011, some Questions have also been raised By Ukë Selimaj Gold 20,000 euro was spent. about the expense involved in building According to Capussela, whose job the board’s new offices within the Salih Kastrati started up his included monitoring the work of the Central Bank headquarters. business in the 80s, by opening a bank, as well as two other sources A former senior member of the alih Kastrati was once a shop called ‘Te Salihi’. He was a with intimate knowledge of the bank, bank told Prishtina Insight: “As if the powerful member of his professional silversmith, pro- many of these trips were unnecessary. per-meeting-cheque, the travelling, the Strade, known to all in Peja. viding inscriptions. And “On top of this, you have the trips, hotels, the official cars, the petrol and His skills as a silversmith requests for carvings were pour- which typically have no institutional ing in, especially those for all that isn’t enough, they go ahead brought him prosperity and a Kastriot Kastrati, 29 justification, if you look at the board's eagles. and make themselves a ridiculous reputation throughout the coun- competencies,” said Capussela. try. In Peja, they called him Everything was going well, office that doesn’t even look like an was stopped because of Another source within the Central “Golden Salih”, “Salih Dukati” until after the war. Then, he office, and for what? They don’t have threats,” he added. Bank told Prishtina Insight that board in Albanian. became a target of ransom-seek- Kastrati knew businessman members had travelled to meetings enough work to fill a half-day at their On March 15 this year he was ers. Family members say he was Tahir Daci from a former busi- mainly aimed at junior bank staff, new palace.” badly wounded when a booby- pursued by 12 different people ness they had led together, sometimes flying business class. This The board has a relatively limited trapped door exploded on his who “destroyed his business”. Kastriot says. They had an was denied by Chairman Luboteni. number of decisions that it is required doorstep. He was returning Finally, they killed him, they agreement among them for But Prishtina Insight has discov- to take as it is complemented by an from court, where he was fined claim. Salih Kastrati to pledge his shop ered that one of the trips carried out “executive board”, which is responsi- 800 euro for illegal possession of Kastriot Kastrati, 29, the son ‘Te Salihi’ to Tahir Daci, until by Luboteni was to Malaysia. During ble for the day-to-day running. The weapons and shooting in the air. of the deceased businessman, he returned 195,000 euro which the trip, the senior bank figure had governor, the most senior figure at the After spending a month in a first understood about the ran- he owed to the latter. time to meet his son, who was study- bank, sits on both boards. coma, the 63-year old passed soms being paid in 2000. Kastriot did not know much ing in the South East Asian country. Luboteni, however, defended the away in mid April. He found it troubling that peo- about this business. But, he Luboteni told Prishtina Insight that spending saying that the renovation of His daughter, Besarta, who ple would come to ask for his knew that the deadline for the Malaysian government had paid his offices was part of an overall had returned from the US to be father’s money “if he wanted to returning the money was three for the trip, although he failed to pro- makeover of the building. by his side, has since been continue in his business”. months. After two months his vide the newspaper with any proof of “Expenses on the offices were not arrested for the murder of 20- Those making these request father went to Tahir Daci to this, despite our requests for informa- expenses made for the board’s offices year-old Fidan Shabi, a suspect were powerful people then, return the money owed, howev- tion. but for a whole part of the building. in her father’s murder. She has Kastriot recalls. But, according er, the latter did not receive him In the summer of 2011, Prishtina “Even work on the toilets and the claimed to police that he had to Kastriot, the purchase of a “as a business partner”. Insight submitted a request for a full main entrance to CBK were foreseen raped her. parcel of 1,120 square meters in He was now requesting breakdown of the trips carried out by with this project.” He added that as a And in another strange central Peja was the main rea- 500,000 euro, saying that the board members, but the bank has result of the improvements the twists, a minor, from a powerful son for his father’s troubles, and debtor had missed his deadline. repeatedly refused to release this entrance now met international secu- business family in Peja, has also subsequently his murder. information. The difference between these rity standards. since been arrested in connec- This property was bought in two figures was accrued inter- In one trip in 2011, Governor tion with both Shabi and Salih 1980 by Salih Kastrati’s family est. “He had even threatened his Gerguri travelled alongside board Kastrati’s death. from the Rajevics, a Serb family End of the term? life and my life if the money was member Rexhepi to for a confer- The family claims that the from Peja. On this land, for not paid back,” Kastriot says. ence in on “Italy and the world gold trader was subject to black- which the family claims legal According to the Law on the Central According to Kastriot, Salih economy 1861 - 2011”. mail and ransom from powerful ownership, Salih tore down Luboteni travelled in August 2011 to Bank, a board member is not allowed Kastrati was unable to pay the political and business figures. some old shops in order to build the luxury ski resort of Cran-Montana to serve for more than ten years, in two debt and, faced with the said They say he was once forced a shopping mall. for a dinner at the “Council on World five year terms. threats, was forced to give him to pay 25,000 euro ransom by a “However, he was hindered by Public Affairs”, described as “the Luboteni has, however, been a mem- the shop in 2010. This marked top politician’s family; and that his former business acquain- most exclusive and inter-active event ber of the board or chairman of the the end of Salih Dukati’s domi- he later had problems with busi- tances Tahir Daci and Hajrie organized by the Crans Montana board for 13 years, with only a short nance in the nationally nessmen who forced him to Rama,” Kastriot said. According Forum in the resort of Crans-Montana gap while he was in the United States. to him, these two individuals renowned Peja gold market. hand over his shop, which had (Switzerland) itself”. He told Prishtina Insight: “I am wanted to take over this proper- The businessman Tahir Daci made him king of the gold mar- Luboteni told Prishtina Insight: Chairman of the Board since 2007 but ty, and in this they were support- told Prishtina Insight that he ket. “The conference in Malaysia was com- since 1999 I am member of this board.” ed by Peja police. “Work there had, in fact, bought the shop ‘Te pletely paid by the Malaysian govern- But he added that because he had spent ment and I was there presenting some time in America, and the law had Kosovo, at the highest level, as a VIP, changed in 2006, he had not breached as well as in all other international the law and was coming to the end of forums and gatherings. his second term. “At the same place there were also Capussela questioned the explana- other international forums when col- tion and the record of the board. leagues who were invited participated “Another point I would make is that there. this board is not just too expensive, but “In fact every trip represents a great very bad: on the most important occa- sacrifice, a load, stress, and you can sion on which they had to act – when imagine how difficult it is to represent the governor was arrested – they did the country in these international the opposite of what they should have forums and what lobbying is to be done and broke the law,” he said, refer- made there for our country.” ring to the arrest of Hashim Rexhepi in 2010. Taken for a Ride? “While he[Rexhepi] was in jail, the board of the central bank – which is Chairman Luboteni confirmed to supposed to protect the bank's integri- Prishtina Insight that he used official ty and independence – first tried to CBK cars to travel to and from his other, university jobs, claiming that hand over to the political institutions this was within the bank’s guidelines. the power to dismiss the governor, an “The use of vehicles is regulated illegal move which was stopped by with the internal politics of the CBK,” ICO,” Capussela wrote in an opinion he said. “For the board we are allowed piece. “The board then proceeded to dismiss him itself, on a false pretext. Y to use the cars even out of the official “In short, these people are an unrea- M working schedule by paying compen- sonable and unnecessary cost to the C sation for each kilometer. taxpayer; and one of them, the chair- K “For your information, the previous head of the board had a car and a per- man, shouldn't even sit there because sonal driver during his whole man- there's a 10-year limit to sitting in the date, whereas I don’t.” board.” economy May 25 - June 7, 2012 7 Murder of Salih Dukati Salihi’ and denied all accusations According to information from of threats. Also, he said that after law enforcement agencies, he was the war he and Hajrije Rama had first assaulted by Sh. Sh. a boxer bought land in the city centre. In from Peja. He is thought to have 2010, Daci says, he and Rama had waited for him in front of his entered a land-swap agreement house and to have beaten him with with Peja Municipality. According a metal bar. In the second assault, to him, they and Salih Kastrati Kastrati was shot with a firearm. were co-owners of the 1,120 square According to the family, on the meter parcel, on which the latter morning of that day, he received dreamt of constructing his shop- threats. In January of this year, he ping centre was injured by an explosive “I don’t know how Salih Kastrati device, close to his land in the city manipulated the documents, but centre. he had placed the entire property The last assault, which ended up under his name, without our being fatal for Salih Kastrati knowledge,” said Hajrije Rama. occurred on his doorstep, as his It was for this reason, she con- door had been boobytrapped. He tinued, that she and Tahir Daci was sent to Prishtina’s main hospi- had last year brought a civil law- tal for treatment. But after a suit against Kastrati. month, his health deteriorated and “Moreover, the Kastrati family he passed away. still owes us some 500,000 euro,” Kastriot also speaks of the suf- said Daci. “He manipulated many fering and fear his family faced people, taking from them money during this time. “We were never for constructing a large shopping safe going out of our office. We centre and never returning the were scared of being shot at, and money or adhering to his obliga- we continue to feel unsafe today,” Salih Dukati’s old shop in central Peja tions.” he says. However, Kastriot Kastrati Problems of Kastrati family She is suspected of the abduc- Shabi. Kastrati’s death, but that it has claims that Daci and Rama had have continued after Salih’s death. tion and murder of Fidan Shabi, Kastriot Kastrati alleges that since ruled out any involvement. requested from his father 1.5 mil- His daughter, Besarta Harxhi, who was found dead in Peja after even the police are involved in the One person has already been lion euro as compensation for had returned from the USA, where being declared missing for days. events surrounding his father’s arrested in relation to this case. withdrawing all judicial proce- she lives with her family, to be by A minor, and a member of one of demise. Memli Pajaziti has been held in dures in relation to the property in her father’s bedside to the end of the most powerful business fami- Peja police told Prishtina Insight detention until investigations are 2012. This allegation was denied by his days. lies of Peja, has also been arrested that its officers had “made a pre- concluded. the two businessmen. On Tuesday, May 8, her home in in connection with the murder of liminary inquiry” into the head of The Kastrati family believe that Kastrati Senior was assaulted Peja was raided; she was arrested Kastrati and disappearance of its investigation unit related to many more will follow. four times in the last decade. and remanded for 30-day detention. PTK Sale Promoted in marketing London and Istanbul

By Parim Olluri

he sale of Kosovo’s most lucrative public company, PTK, is being pro- Tmoted in London and Istanbul this month. The Ministry of Economic Development said that the selection of locations were centres to which gravitate most of the made based on recommendations of trans- world's largest companies," said a public action advisors. relations officer for the Ministry. "These two world capitals were selected The sale of PTK collapsed last year after on the recommendation of the the withdrawal of Croatia Telecoms. This Transaction Advisor, as the two business had left just one bidder, Telecom. Bidders for Electricity Network Announced wo international firms have submitted KEDS, part of KEK, serves 400,000 cus- bids to buy Kosovo’s state-owned elec- tomers and operates Kosovo's entire distri- Ttricity network. bution network, but has faced years of Egypt’s El Sewedy and a consortium financial losses due to technical problems, between Turkey’s Calik Holding and Limak theft and poor collection of bills. are the two entities in the race to buy up The network's new owner will be respon- Kosovo’s ailing power distribution system. sible for collecting unpaid bills of 400 mil- Minister for Economic Development lion euros, of which it will be able to take 20 Besim Beqaj said the process had been per cent from each bill. transparent and met all international stan- The news came as it emerged that the dards. Complaints Advisor Office at the World “The documentation is now located in a Bank, reporting to the President of the safe, in a room that is monitored 24 hours a World Bank Group, has launched an audit day by video recordings,” he said. to verify if that the Kosovo government has According to the minister, the evaluation been well advised on the privatization proj- Y commission began work this week. The ect. M bids are to be judged purely on the basis of The audit followed a complaint by KEK’s C the financial offer. workers’ union, SPEK. K 8 May 25 - June 7, 2012 neighbourhood business Euro Crisis Sapping Balkan Recovery, EBRD Warns European Bank for Reconstruction and Development report predicts that eurozone crisis will buffet Balkan economies, slowing growth in 2012. a significant role in many coun- the statutory limit of 60 per cent of tries in emerging Europe continue GDP, limiting the room for fiscal to strengthen their balances manoeuvre,” the bank said. By Besar Likmeta sheets, partly by reducing lending Bosnia and Herzegovina’s econ- and selling off assets,” the report omy has been relatively static in added. the past couple of years, as domes- The report underlines that the tic consumption has remained The euro-area crisis will con- short-term economic prospects for subdued, largely due to fiscal aus- tinue to negatively impact the SEE region remain weak and terity measures and falling remit- “those economies in the transi- vulnerabilities have increased as tances; a downturn in the euro- tion region that are the most inter- a result of the eurozone crisis. zone, Bosnia’s key trading partner, twined with those of the euro- “While some recovery seemed will continue to threaten the coun- zone,” the EBRD report said. evident in the first half of 2011, try’s economic outlook. According to the bank, the euro- economic activity weakened in Recovery is expected to continue zone slowdown will affect South the second part of the year and to be modest in Bulgaria into 2012, East Europe via both trade and the first three months of 2012,” in contrast to earlier projections of financial channels. the EBRD said. “Growth in 2012 is vigorous growth, due to the pro- “As European parent banks con- Clouds are gathering over the Balkans because of trouble in the Euro zone likely to be minimal at best,” it jected downturn in demand for tinue to deleverage, subsidiaries added. exports. to decline from 3 per cent in 2011 to dampening effect on Romania’s in the transition countries will see The bank notes that Albania’s Macedonia experienced surpris- 1.5 per cent in 2012,” the bank said. exports, and further weakening is reduced cross-border funding and economy continued to grow faster ingly strong growth in the first Montenegro’s economy is strug- likely in the coming months. will therefore extend less credit,” than other countries in the region half of 2011, spurred by high gling to recover from the effects of Serbia’s economy has stabilized the report warned. in 2011 but experienced a slow- exports and FDI, but growth the crisis. The current account after bracing the shocks of the eco- These bank-related capital out- down in the second half of 2011 slowed down substantially in the deficit remains high, industrial nomic crisis but growth remains flows are expected to continue in and early 2012, largely due to the second half of the year and the production is volatile and credit low. Growth is estimated at around the coming months, notwithstand- weak performance of its key EU beginning of 2012 due to growth is still negative on a year- 2 per cent in 2011 but is likely to be ing signs that equity and bond markets, Greece and Italy. unfavourable developments in the on-year basis. lower in 2012. inflows may have returned to the “Albania’s strong trade, invest- eurozone. Until recently, Romania’s econo- “Major risks remain, mainly region in the first quarter of this ment and remittance ties to these “The weak external environ- my was on track for robust growth from exposure to the eurozone, year. countries are likely to continue to ment will continue to negatively in 2012, after a recovery in 2011. while inflation remains above lev- “The transition region will also hold back growth in the coming impact the economy of Macedonia However, the slowdown in the els in regional peers,” the report suffer as Western banks that play year, while public debt is close to this year – GDP growth is forecast eurozone is having a significant concluded. Romania's Bosnia Takes Small Step Recession Boosts in Motorway Construction Bosnia's Federation government has signed an agreement worth 115 million euros with a Grey Economy Turkish company to build five kilometres of motorway. Despite legislation adopted last year to repress the phe- nomenon, about one third of the working population in Romania is now invisible to the tax authorities. By Elvira Jukic Unregistered workers work mainly in the hotel and restaurant he Turkish company Cengiz sector and in the construction and Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret will clothing industries. Tbuild five kilometres of By Marian Chiriac Corridor 5c, the projected Bosnia As Romania's recession has and Herzegovina motorway net- deepened in the last three years, work, according to an agreement more people have been forced to signed by company director Kemal ver 2.3 million people are seek work in the "grey" economy. Unluer on May 21 in . The working unofficially in A year ago, Romania changed agreement is with the Federation Romania, up by around Bosnia’s European Corridors are currently mostly single-lane. O the law to crack down on the grey Motorway public corporation. 900,000 compared to four years ago economy. The new labour legisla- The motorway section will ceeded at a snail's pace, with only a west of Bosnia, runs around 30 kilo- and representing a third of work- tion, supported by the IMF, allows include the 2,800 metre Suhodol small amount of the 340 kilometres metres to Gradiska near the border ing people in the country, the inde- for more flexible work contracts Tunnel, the 400-metre Tarcin projected just for the Federation with Croatia. pendent Fiscal Council said on and part-time employment and Tunnel, the 90-metere Bijela Bridge constructed so far. Although international funding Friday. imposes fines on employers who and the Tarcin bypass. Motorway construction on has already been secured, construc- Evasion of social contributions, hire people without signing con- Work should be completed within Corridor 5 started in 1998. The tion has been slow due to problems VAT and income tax stood at 10.3 tracts or who employ people living 28 months. The Bosnian company object is to connect the Bosnian net- involving bureaucracy, land expro- per cent of the country’s GDP in illegally in Romania. Euroasfalt will also take part in the work to the Corridor 5 that runs priation, construction company 2010, Fiscal Council data say. But critics say the government construction work. The project's 115 from Venice, Italy, through Trieste, bankruptcies and disputes over the Officials describe the number of would have done better to lower million-euro funding has been pro- in Slovenia, Budapest in motorway route. people who work but don't official- income tax, as that would had help vided by the European Bank for Hungary and on to the Ukrainian The current Federation govern- ly exist on the labour market as businesses to create new jobs Reconstruction and Development. capital of Kiev. ment has promised to push motor- unacceptably high. “Reform of tax collection is dire- The planned Corridor 5c of Currently there is only around 70 way construction for another 80 Romania’s hidden labour force ly needed. If Romania collected all which some 37 kilometers were kilometres of motorway in the kilometres by the end of its man- rose from 1.7 million people in 2006 its taxes, its budget revenues built from Sarajevo half-way to whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina. date in the autumn of 2014. to 1.4 million in 2008, only to rise to would be close to the European Zenica So far, around 40 kilometres has Around half a billion euros are 1.8 million in 2009 and 2.2 million average,” the Fiscal Council said. The five kilometres from Suhodol been built from Sarajevo to the mid- available for construction work, in 2010, according to many esti- The Fiscal Council is an inde- to Tarcin, going south from Bosnia town of Kakanj while the according to the Bosnia and mates. pendent authority, which aims to Sarajevo, is part of a 20 kilometre construction of a tunnel near Herzegovina Transport and Analysts say most people support the government and par- section that will start to connect Zenica, further to the north, is Communications Ministry, but Y involved in this hidden economy liament in designing and imple- Sarajevo to Tarcin and Konjic ongoing. progress until now suggests that M work without contracts or paying menting fiscal policy and promot- before continuing to Mostar and the In the other Entity, Republika completing the promised construc- C any tax. Others receive part of ing transparency and sustainabili- Adriatic coast. Srpska, the motorway from Banja tion within the timeframe is K their wages under the table. ty in public finances. But the overall project has pro- Luka, the biggest town in the north- unlikely. neighbourhood news May 25 - June 7, 2012 9 Thirteen Killed in Albania Bus Crash A bus carrying university students returning from a trip to the Albanian Riviera crashed into a ravine killing 13 and injuring 20 others on Monday afternoon.

The 55-year-old driver of the bus is among the dead. The cause of the accident is unclear and an By Besar Likmeta investigation has been launched. In a statement from Chicago, where he is attending the NATO olice said in a statement that summit, Albanian Prime Minister the bus carrying 32 litera- Sali Berisha offered his condo- Pture students from the lences to the victims’ families. The Aleksander Xhuvani University in government has declared Tuesday Elbasan, drove off a cliff near the a day of national mourning. town of Himara, 170 kilometres Visiting the injured at the mili- from the capital . tary hospital, President Bamir Fourteen of the injured students Topi said the government is doing who were in serious condition everything possible to provide spe- were airlifted to Tirana’s military cialized care for those injured in hospital. One died on the way and the accident. another died on Monday evening, Dozens of students gathered in bringing the number of fatalities the university campus in Elbasan to 13.The others are receiving care lighting candles to honour the in the regional hospital in the city memory of their classmates killed of Vlora. in the crash. The wreckage of the bus, which left the mountainous road near Himare, southern Albania, killing at least 13. (AP) Symbols Row Holds Montenegrin Reforms Hostage Six years after the referendum on independence, Montenegro has consolidated itself as a state, but dispute over symbols still dominates politics, overshadowing more important priorities. Supreme Court and Supreme State Daliborka Uljarevic, head of Prosecutor should be elected by Centre for Civic Education, CGO, two-thirds of parliaments and that an NGO, says that flags and sym- By Milena Milosevic all judges should be re-elected - bols have become a mask for the raises less public debate than the lack of engagement by politicians negotiations about changes to the and experts in such issues as the s Montenegro celebrates its constitution and laws on state reorganization of the judiciary. sixth year of independence, symbols and official language. “The insistence on an excessive Anot everyone in the country presence of national–identity has accepted, let alone embraced, issues is slowing down the pace of its national symbols. Reforms and Symbols reforms in Montenegro,” she says. All opposition parties have now The 2007 constitution designat- accepted Montenegro as an inde- pendent state, although some ini- ed Montenegrin the official lan- Different views of patriot- tially questioned the 2006 referen- guage instead of Serbian, which ism: dum results. was the official language prior to But they say that the independence. Goran Danilovic, of NOVA, how- Montenegrin constitution dis- However, the results of 2011 pop- ever, says that there is a big differ- criminates against the Serbian- ulation census revealed that a plu- ence between what his party seeks speaking majority by naming sole- rality of people, over 40 per cent, and the way others interpret their ly Montenegrin as the official lan- say they speak Serbian, even demands. guage. though less than 30 per cent “The is not an The two biggest opposition par- declared Serbian as their ethnici- issue only for Serbian people, ties, the Socialist People’s Party, ty. because it also belongs to SNP, and New Serbian Democracy, The implications of this result Montenegrins and Bosniaks,” he NOVA, also want to exclude verses soon spilled over into daily poli- says. from the national anthem written tics. So-called identity issues, as “It's not an identity issue, but a by Sekula Drljevic, a controversial local media call them, emerged as question of human rights and free- historical figure. a sticking point in negotiations on doms,” he adds, explaining that his Questions of Montenegro’s state symbols continue to dog the countrys They further want the old tri- changes to the electoral law last party is not blackmailing anyone colour to become the national flag. summer, soon after the census but only opposes discrimination. more critical view. of the state, such politicians don’t Unless the authorities meet results were released. Montenegro’s anthem is indeed “As an antifascist party which recognize the state itself. these demands, they say they The electoral law could only be controversial. The President him- fights for a free society, we don’t Danilovic, however, thinks that won’t support for constitutional changed with a two-thirds majori- self, Filip Vujanovic, in September agree with an anthem that con- such remarks are a red herring. changes in the field of judiciary ty in parliament. So, NOVA and 2011, created a stir when he said he tains Drljevic's verses,” Danilovic “We merely advocate the democra- that Montenegro must adopt if it the SNP conditioned their support listened to two verses of the says. tization of Montenegro, which is wants to join the EU. for changes on changes to the anthem only because he was Others think differently, like internationally recognized To change the constitution, the name of the language taught in obliged to. Aleksandar Damjanovic, chair- already,” he says. government needs the votes of school. Those two verses were written man of NGO Montenegrin He says it is insulting for some two-thirds of MPs in parliament. The new election law was adopt- by Sekula Drljevic, a Montenegrin Cultural Network, CKM, founded people to imagine that they have a The votes of NOVA and the SNP ed only last September after publicist, politician and lawyer in 2009 to spread loyalty and monopoly on the way Montenegro are thus crucial. months of negotiations, when it from the first half of the last centu- respect for the country’s state sym- should be loved. As a result of this dispute, ques- was agreed that pupils would in ry. bols. A change of state symbols thus tions about the national language, future be studying “Montenegrin – Drljevic, who was declared a war “Thirty per cent of our MPs seems inevitable. anthem and flag are overshadow- Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian criminal by the new Communist don’t stand up while the anthem is However, unless it can reconcile ing the issue of an independent language and literature”. authorities in Yugoslavia in 1946, being played but it’s no obstacle for people’s very different views, the judiciary. Now, a similar scenario is being is seen by some as a valiant fighter them to receive a salary from the danger is that at the next independ- The proposal of another opposi- repeated with the equally urgently for Montenegrin independence. state that they don’t recognise,” ence-day anniversary, not every- tion party, Movement for Changes, needed constitutional changes in But most of the opposition par- Damjanovic complaints, adding one will be singing the same PzP - that the chairman of the field of the judiciary. ties share President Vujanovic's that by not recognizing the identity national anthem, once again. 10 May 25 - June 7, 2012 neighbourhood Igor Mandic: Serbs and Croats Belong Together The unrepentant advocate of Yugoslavia and Socialism says time’s up for the independence projects of the ex- Yugoslav republics - none of whom have made a go of it. again throughout the former Yugoslavia. In May almost 30 round tables, presentations and By Andrej Klemencic theatre performances took place in Belgrade, Serbia, for a festival ded- icated to his work and legacy. Sharing his pro-Yugoslav views, t 72 Igor Mandic still refus- Mandic argues that Krleza was es to identify himself with politically a dualistic figure, criti- Athe new political map of cising and embracing the former Yugoslavia. Communist regime while writing His views keep him in constant from an angle that was much wider conflict with the Croatian public than just Croatian or just Serbian. but at the same time make him a “Krleza’s entire opus is integral- star among people who still view ly Yugoslav and his views, from Yugoslavia as their homeland. perspective of the current politics Mandic, author of 30 books of of the former Yugoslav republics, reviews, polemics and essays, is are like dynamite,” he says. used to being in frequent conflict “They require the de-composi- with the mainstream. tion of everything created by the When he wrote in a review in break apart of Yugoslavia. 1974 that “Tchaikovsky’s is the “The prevalence of the free mar- kitschiest opus in the history of ket, of nationalist parties, and of music,“ his editors at the Croatian capital over the working class, is daily Vijesnik battled a public out- something that Krleza fought cry, demanding that Mandic stop against,” he adds. The faded words of Tito: "Protect brotherhood and unity like the pupil of your eye", writing. “To advocate his views would Once Mandic started incorporat- mean undoing all of the achieve- “Even Serbia, which has a ing into their work, but that the bring the people of former ing his bold views into political top- ments of these mini-states, which longer tradition of statehood than work itself has never been less of a Yugoslavia closer together. ics, he was banned from Croatian would be devastating”, Mandic the others, has little chance of suc- public commodity. Asked if someone of some party literary life. argues. cess. Same goes for Croatia and “Today liberties are undoubted- should assume such a task, he says In 1977 he published a sympa- When Mandic speaks of Slovenia,” he says. ly bigger. But ironically they are that “Yugoslavs themselves should thetic review of a book stamped by Yugoslavia, his short sentences, Mandic’s affirmative views of perhaps irrelevant. That is the true the then regime as nationalist. As assume responsibility for their spoken with almost military strict- the old Tito-era concept of irony of our achievements,” he Mandic was deemed insufficiently political existence.” ness, elongate and his voice soft- “Brotherhood and Unity” make says. critical of author Petar Segedin, In the early 1990s, he recalls, a ens. him a loner among the intellectual “The liberties today are over- Croatian publications stopped political party called the UJDI [the He blames the politicians for not elites of the Balkan countries. whelming, yet unnecessary, void of working with him until the fall of Association for a Yugoslav being able to recognise the true Most intellectuals now either the charge and intensity given by the Communist system. Democratic Initiative] tried to ingeniousness of Yugoslavia as promote or accept the cultural and revolution. Since the beginning of Yugoslav unite those who still felt Yugoslav. political project and the numerous political independence of their “Earlier, when you knew that wars, however, Mandic has “But, you know, as soon as you possibilities it offered. individual nations. you were fighting against an switched tack, focusing on what he have a party things tend to go “Socialist Yugoslavia was the But not Mandic. “I believe Serbs authoritarian regime, this craving sees as the inability of the newly only successful political project of and Croats should live in the same for other shores made sense. wrong. However, this kind of col- created republics to justify their the Southern Slavic nations. It was country because they are in fact Utopia made sense then. Today, laboration might be a good refer- independence. a concept that was well developed one nation. If the Slovenes join in utopia has turned into dystopia,” ence point for future political Mandic is one of the few surviv- and accepted by all its nations,” he we have a tri-tribal nation,” he he says. actions of Yugoslavs,” he con- ing authors who knew Miroslav maintains. says, with a touch of irony in his Despite being an advocate of cludes. Krleza, one of the foremost writers “The break-up has shown that smile. Yugoslavia, Mandic was never This article is funded under the in Croatia in the Yugoslav era. Yugoslav republics are too imma- He believes that intellectuals can associated with any particular BICCED project, supported by the Krleza’s popularity is growing ture to live independently. now employ much more free think- political structure designed to Swiss Cultural Programme. Globe to Globe

hree Balkan theatres per- Part 3 is the province of the formed the three parts of National Theatre Bitola, TShakespeare’s complex trilo- Macedonia. gy in London – and with very differ- While no doubts that throwing ent results. three national theatres together on Shakespeare’s Globe in London is what is effectively one story is the arena for an unusual exercise in brave, audiences and reviewers Balkan cooperation on a foreign have questioned whether the trio stage - with national theatres from successfully pull it off. Serbia, Albania and Macedonia sep- Not only do the same kings, dukes arately undertaking the three parts and others look – for obvious rea- of Shakespeare’s Henry VI – each in sons – entirely different in the three its own language. sections, each theatre has naturally Set during the lifetime of King placed its own interpretation on the Henry VI of England, in the 15th text and come up with radically dif- century, Part 1 deals with the loss of ferent approaches. England’s French lands and the The Guardian had most praise for political machinations leading up to the Serbian and Macedonian compa- the dynastic feud known as the Wars nies, the Serbs for investing Part I of the Roses. Part 2 deals with the with real English historic reso- King’s inability to quell the bicker- nance while the Macedonians have ing of his nobles, and the inevitabil- won plaudits for taking the most ity of armed conflict, and Part 3 modern and interesting approach of deals with the horrors of that con- the three. flict. As one reviewer wrote, “It was Part 1, seen by many as the weak- interesting to see the progress of Y est of Shakespeare’s work, is in the Henry VI as he wound his way: con- M hands of the National Theatre ceited in Serbian, conflicted in C Belgrade, Part 2 is the work of the Albanian and finally mad in K National Theatre of Albania and Macedonian.” neighbourhood May 25 - June 7, 2012 11 Tomislav Nikolic - Stuck Between Moscow and Brussels The leader of the Progressives won the Serbian presidency after serenading the EU - but his hardline supporters still wish he was singing Chetnik anthems. made by the party, rarely speaking he still struck a nationalist note and when he did speak it was usual- worrying to Serbia's neighbours. He ly in harsh language. And of said he party had a future goal of By Marija Ristic course, he was the one who always Serbia "forming a union with laughed at Seselj's jokes,” Republika Srpska" (the Serb-domi- Djordjevic recalls. nated part of Bosnia). “Even when he was a deputy pre- Over time, the SNS has become former funeral parlour boss mier of the government formed by more EU-oriented and therefore and construction techni- Milosevic’s Socialists and Radicals, closer to Tadic's Democratic party Acian from Kragujavac, in terms of its policy profile. Nikolic has run the presidential his role was formal, since all the race four times in eight years. decisions were made in Milosevic’s Djordje Vukadinovic, an analyst Despite previous defeats, he has cabinet,” she told BIRN. and politician, says that 2008 was remained on the scene, convinced Nikolic and his party withdrew the right time for Nikolic to leave Nikolica supporters celebrate his surprise victory in the presidential elections. his time was yet to come. With his from the government when the Radicals as Seselj’s influence surprise win in Sunday’s election Milosevic signed an agreement in had waned significantly during will represent the country abroad, are guided by the government of run-off against outgoing president the Macedonian town of more than a five years in prison. will appoint and recall ambassa- Serbia and not the president. Boris Tadic, he has been proven Kumanovo in 1999 to end NATO's “If he had done it earlier, he dors, can veto a proposed law from Popovic expects Serbian foreign right. war with Serbia over Kosovo. would not be as successful as he now the parliament, and has the right to policy may now shift closer to Nikolic entered Serbian politi- Nikolic described the move as a is,” Vukadinovic added. recall the parliament and schedule Russia, the destination for cal life in the late 1980s as a mem- ”shameful decision which allowed Maja Gojkovic, a former party parliamentary elections. The Nikolic's first official presidential ber of the People’s Radical Party. foreign troops to enter the Serbian colleague of Nikolic and Seselj, says Serbian president is also the visit. As he stated later, he was inspired territory of Kosovo.” the two leaders were never true Supreme Commander of the Army “So far, military cooperation by the nationalistic ideology of Even though he was a military friends, only political allies, and of Serbia. with Russia has been very low, but Nikola Pasic, a former Serbian and volunteer for four months during that eventually led to their split. Even though world and regional I would recall that Yugoslav diplomat and prime min- the war in Croatia, allegations by Political analysts agree that leaders were often cautious in con- Nikolic has promised to change ister of the Kingdom of Croats, human right activists that he has Nikolic made his move partly gratulating Nikolic on his victory this if he becomes the president, Serbs and Slovenes, from the early blood on his hands have never been because he no longer wanted to be a out of concern that it may harm and since he chose Russia to visit 20th century. proved. number two but also because he relations among Balkan states, first, this is a clear sign that the Dissatisfied with his first politi- When Seselj left for The Hague to realised that a shift towards the EU Djordje Popovic from the Belgrade East will be his priority,” he added. cal engagement, Nikolic founded stand trial on war crimes charges was inevitable for Serbia. Center for Security Policy says that However, the true importance of the Serbian Radical Party in 1991 in 2003, Nikolic took over the party “In the 2008 elections, Nikolic lost the new president will not be a mili- Nikolic’s role as the president will together with the ultranationalist but decisions were still made in to Tadic because citizens were tary threat to the regional security be known only after a new govern- Vojislav Seselj, and became Seselj's consultation with Seselj. choosing between pro and contra- despite his nationalist past. ment has been formed. If the right-hand man. He was elected Nikolic has often referred to EU politicians, and people widely “I believe that he will continue Socialist party -- the kingmaker deputy president of the Radicals Seselj as "political father". For his supported the EU option, believing Serbia’s current military policy of after the last round of parliamen- three times and was also elected to part, Seselj said in 2003 that he was it could bring them a safer future,” neutrality. He will be the command- tary elections -- keeps its promise parliament several times but he leaving the party “in the hands of Ljiljana Djordjevic said. er of the Army, but he will not be to form an administration with the has never held a leading position in the most prominent intellectual “Nikolic than realised he could able to make significant decisions Democrats, Serbia will have a form the state. and honest politician in Serbia”. not gain power unless he accepted a without the parliament and gov- of political cohabitation. Ljiljana Djordjevic, a journalist But the party run from both policy of European integration. At ernment,” Popovic told BIRN. Many experts see this outcome who has written for several Belgrade and The Hague fell apart the same time, he also dropped the “The bigger problem that could as a good thing for Serbian democ- Belgrade-based newspapers and in 2008 when Nikolic decided to hard nationalistic rhetoric and put harm regional cooperation is his racy as the various organs of state witnessed Nikolic's political evolu- leave the Radicals because they on the suit of a moderate politi- reputation as a nationalist, espe- would scrutinise each other. tion, describes him as someone refused to moderate their national- cian,” she added. cially in Croatia,” he added. An alternative scenario is that who was in Seselj’s shadow for a ist image and embrace the The new Progressives' policy On Kosovo, Nikolic has previ- Nikolic’s Progressives form a gov- long time. European Union. proved successful, allowing Nikolic ously said he would not accept ernment with the Socialists. That “He was always the second one. At the founding assembly of the to defeat Tadic in the presidential agreements concluded by the last would give Nikolic a bigger influ- We journalists remember him from Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), election this time around. Serbian government. But Popovic ence on policy, even though he has the Serbian parliament, where he Nikolic said his party would be "a As the new president, according said Nikolic could not significantly said he would resign as party usually just supported decisions bridge between East and West". But the Serbian constitution, Nikolic influence those decisions as they leader on becoming president. Serbian Parties Hold Secret Talks on Government Serbian parties are holding informal talks on forming a gov- ernment but the Progressives say that official talks will start after Tomislav Nikolic's inauguration. same source from the Democrats said. Both Tadic and Djilas have By Bojana Barlovac recently said they are not interest- ed in the post of prime minister. The Socialists, with whom the he leadership of the Democrats have unofficially Democratic Party is expect- agreed to form the government, Ted to announce whether have said that they are fine with their party leader Boris Tadic has either candidate being the coun- made a final decision over their try's PM. proposal to be the new prime min- The Democrats have remained Boris Tadic is still in the running to become Prime Minister of Serbia. ister. silent on the issue, not addressing If Tadic declines, top party offi- media following the Tadic's loss in in Belgrade. countries are asking for this will start after Tomislav Nikolic's cials would propose Dragan Djilas, the presidential runoff when Meanwhile, Ivica Dacic, the through their ambassadors and inauguration. the outgoing mayor of Belgrade, nationalist Tomislav Nikolic of leader of the Socialists said that other diplomats,” Dacic told the "Of course there are informal for the position, as Prishtina the Progressives won by 2 per cent. some Western countries would Serbian daily newspaper 'Press'. contacts among the parties, but Insight had already learned. Tadic was last seen on like for Democrats and However, Aleksandar Vucic, who we are talking to I must keep This would however mean that Wednesday, when he made a pri- Progressives to form the govern- Deputy Leader of the to myself, because there have been Tadic would have to withdraw vate visit to Patriarch Irinej, Head ment. Progressives, said that official no concrete agreements yet," he from the helm of the party, the of the Serbian Orthodox Church “Some very powerful Western talks on forming a government told the daily newspaper Danas. 12 May 25 - June 7, 2012 feature

Profile: : Beating the Odds

Quiet but steely, Majlinda Kelmendi is in person as she per- forms on the mat. The 20-year-old is already an interna- tional success story, rising up from her humble background in Peja, western Kosovo , but she still dreams of Olympic gold.

have reported Majlinda’s plight, who were ten years older than and judo mat when she feels com- such as BBC and Eurosport, who her. pletely in her element. highlited her “dream for the Given the recent political prob- She says that she has inherited Olympiad, which is threatened by lems in Kosovo, the talented judo the love for sports from her moth- Balkan politics”. fighter has had to compete under er, who use to do without Majlinda’s only now hope to the flag of the International Judo telling her father – as she was the compete in London 2012 is under Federation for most of her carri- only woman practising the mar- the Olympic flag, or by competing er. tial art at that time. for another country. Nevertheless, after her victory Driton Kuka, her trainer and before and to bring home a medal A considerable number of in last year, she was award- her “rock” in these preparations for the new-born state, even if the states have offered her citizen- ed the gold medal and declared for the Olympiad, said that he odds are looking increasingly long ship, but she says that she does world champion in the category asked her to forget about for Majlinda. The International not want to take that path. “It of under-52 kg, under the boyfriends in order to be com- By Bujar Arucaj Olympic Committee continues to would be wonderful if I could Kosovar flag and the Kosovar pletely dedicated to the martial reject Kosovo’s calls for member- compete at the Olympiad, but I anthem, after a promise made to art. “Where we live in Peja, most ship, stating that it cannot join really hope that I will not be there her by the chief of the of the guys would not agree with ajlinda Kelmendi is the until it gains a seat at the United because of an Olympic invita- International Judo Federation, the many travels Majlinda has to ultimate role model for Nations. tion, or because I am represent- Marius Vizer. “It was unbeliev- do in order to achieve these suc- Myoung Kosovars, demon- “Of course it is my aim to win ing another country. I want to able, because more than the victo- cesses”. strating the values of determina- medals in European and world compete like all other athletes, ry for myself, I did it for all Until today, the economics stu- tion and courage. championship,” she said, “but my for my country, under my flag.” Albanians,” she said. dent has shown strength in judo She has dedicated 12 of 20 years biggest dream is to compete at the She was eight years old when In a senior match at the World and also in overcoming many to the sport of Judo. Now, she in London, by rep- she first left the country for a Championship at the beginning stereotypes in Kosovo society. hopes to compete for Kosovo at the resenting Kosovo.” judo competition in Sarajevo. of this year in , she was Her trainer, Driton Kuka, ex Olympic Games in London, which In 2010, Majlinda won a gold Since then she has won more ranked ninth and successfully champion of Yugoslavia, has also will be held between July 27 and medal at the Grand Prix in Tunis, than 100 titles, including the gold defended her title as European been her mentor for her whole August 12. the opening round of the qualifica- medal at the European Judo champion. life. It is the chance for the blue and tion process for the Olympic championship for juniors in Majlinda is not known for talk- Majlinda, he says, has become yellow of the Kosovo flag to be Games, London 2012. Armenia. In some cases she has ing a lot. She says that it is only “the most powerful ambassador raised where it has never been Notable international media had to fight and defeat opponents when in the sports hall, the arena of our country”. Culture Watch Award Announced he Balkan Initiative for through the online application The total prize money is 3,700 Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo Cultural Cooperation form. Swiss Franks (CHF) less applica- have obtained new skills in TExchange and Development, Newspaper, online, television ble taxes under the law in Bosnia reporting on policy and manage- BICCED, funded by the Swiss or radio journalists from these and Herzegovina; this will be ment in the area of culture in the Cultural Programme in the countries are expected to submit divided among the three winners region. Western Balkans, is announcing one serious, investigative and as follows: The Culture Watch Award is the the launch of the first Culture analytical article together with First prize: 2,000 CHF next step in strengthening analyt- Watch Award. their professional CVs and details Second prize: 1,200 CHF ical and investigative approaches Journalists from Albania, of the article’s subsequent Third prize: 500 CHF to reporting on cultural policy. Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia and impact. The evaluation board may Applications will be evaluated Serbia are encouraged to submit For detailed information on eli- decide not to award a first prize by a jury comprised of six experts stories on any issue related to cul- gibility for the Culture Watch and instead allocate more second on cultural policy in the region tural policy and management Award, application and the selec- or third prizes depending on the and one internationally awarded All interested candidates can published between September 1, tion procedure, please read the quality of submitted articles. journalist. apply through online application 2011 and August 31, 2012. full Guidelines before completing Over the three years of the The winners will be announced form, or ask additional question Applications must be received no the Application Form, available BICCED project, more than 30 at a ceremony in the second half by sending an email to later than September 30, 2012 here. journalists from Albania, Bosnia, of November 2012. [email protected]. neighbourhood May 25 - June 7, 2012 13 Giant Statue of Philip of

Macedon Erected in Report Corruption A giant 29-metre tall bronze statue of the ancient warrior king, Philip of Macedon, was erected on Tuesday in the heart of the Macedonian capital Skopje amidst a cheering crowd of spectators.

By Sinisa Jakov Marusic

he statue is located in the Macedonia middle of what will be a lav- implies terri- Tish complex of four foun- torial claims tains, currently under construc- over its own north- tion, and faces a similarly sized ern province of the statue of Alexander the Great on same name. the other side of Skopje’s land- In an interview this mark Stone Bridge. weekend Macedonian Prime Philip is depicted in a stand- Minister Nikola Gruevski was ing position, unlike his son, asked whether he thinks he pro- Alexander, who is on a horse. voked Greece last year with his The new statue is formally decision to go ahead and have the entitled “Warrior with accom- statue of Alexander installed in panying elements”, a rather the centre of Skopje. vague description apparently “If we irritate them, what word designed to avoid further upset- can be used for the things they ting opinion in neighbouring are doing to us?” he said. “There Greece, which claims Philip and is no greater irritation than 20 Alexander as Greek heroes. years of blocking, denial, under- The statue of Alexander is estimation, financial damage to formally entitled "an equestrian the people and the country, even warrior". tension. This is not irritation, but The statues, albeit with inof- a crime against a nation and a fensive titles, are unlikely to state.” help Macedonia's efforts to set- The statues of Philip and tle the name dispute with Alexander are centrepieces of Greece. Last year, Athens sent a “Skopje 2014”, a massive govern- protest note after the Alexander ment-funded revamp of the capi- statue was unveiled, character- tal, which the government says ising the government-funded will beautify the shabby-looking sculpture as a provocation. city. “Philip’s 13-metre statue was Drawing inspiration from the placed on top of a 16-metre The bronze statue of Philip of Macedon is estimated to have cost 9million euro architectural styles of Classical pedestal,” Skopje’s Centar Antiquity, the project envisages Municipality said in a press public, the price tag is estimat- is soon to be upgraded with Chicago where Macedonia once the construction of almost 20 release. The pedestal will be ed at around 9 million Euros, additional floors and its facade again failed to receive an invita- buildings, including, museums, covered in marble and bronze about the sum spent on the stat- revamped in classical styles. tion to join the alliance because theatres, concert halls, hotels and reliefs, closely copying the com- ue of Alexander. More bronze statues are also Greece is blocking the move as a administrative offices. position of the Alexander stat- The entire square and the planned. result of the name dispute A number of bronze and mar- ue. buildings around the statue are The placing of the new statue between the two countries. ble statues are also being erected Although the cost of the stat- being comprehensively remod- in the square was unannounced, Greece has blocked Macedonia’s to adorn the surroundings, Euro-Atlantic aspirations since ue and fountain pedestal elled, and the nearby shabby- and came just one day after the including a triumphant arch and 2008, insisting that the name beneath it has not been made looking Ministry of Transport end of the NATO summit in an obelisk. Macedonian PM Criticised Over NATO Remarks

acedonian opposition parties have accused Prime Minister MNikola Gruevski of damaging the national interest by unnec- essarily antagonizing NATO in a recent interview. Opposition politicians have called on Prime Minister Gruevski to explain his failure to make progress on Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic objective in the face of Greece's continuing blockade. In an interview for the Macedonian News Agency, MIA, on Sunday, Gruevski strongly criticized NATO for practising what he described as "double standards" and "selective respect of international law" when it comes to the country's accession. The interview was published at the weekend just hours before the start of the two-day NATO summit in Chicago where Macedonia, as expected, again failed to secure an invitation to join the alliance, because of the Greek blockade over the name dispute. "Gruevski went against the interests of Macedonian citizens and personally placed the country in confrontation with NATO," said Igor Y Ivanovski, parliamentary coordinator of the biggest opposition party, M C the Social Democrats. The statue’s creator putting the finishing touches to its feet. K 14 May 25 - June 7, 2012 feature Foreign Soaps Push Out Kosovo Productions Kosovo’s domestic soaps are falling victim to cheap imports from Turkey and Latin America.

By Besiana Xharra

osovo’s three main televi- sion stations – KTV, RTV 21 Kand the public broadcaster RTK – have all but abandoned investing in locally produced shows. The only local show currently being aired on terrestrial televi- sion is “Kafeneja Jone”, Our Cafe, shown on RTK once a week. Even a show with a huge audi- ence, such as RTK’s Familja Moderne, Modern Family in English, was dropped in the sum- mer of 2011. RTK said this was due to a lack of funding. “RTK cut our broadcast without warning,” Visare Aliu, director of Modern Family, said. Kosovo-produced soaps are being dropped for cheap foreign imports. Kafeneja Jone, above, is one of last shows on terrestrial television. “They just told us that because of the lack of a budget they could Blerim Ajeti, who is responsible with the budget being cut by 2.7 economic crisis that Kosovo is this show,” he says. “They love no longer support the series.” for shows at RTV 21, also claims million euro,” Bekim Hasani, dealing with,” he said. also ‘Sulltan, on RTV-21.” While television executives that the public prefers foreign programme director at RTK, “Kafeneja Jone”, broadcast on argue that foreign shows are series, as is the case across the recalled. Audience figures absent: RTK, remains the most popular cheaper and more popular than region. Ilir Kabashi, director of locally produced show. local productions, Kosovar “We haven’t received any good “Qyteti pa Lum”, who produced Blerim Ajeti, from RTV 21, says scriptwriters suspect the profit offers from any local producers to 27 episodes, says the problem was his station hasn’t conducted mar- Light at the end of the motive is the only factor at play. encourage us to finance their work not only financial; Kosovo televi- ket research on the sizes of audi- and, in addition, audiences like sion producers don’t really want ences of shows. cable: Turkish delight: foreign serials more,” Ajeti said. to support local production, he “But we know that the public On the other hand, local maintains. wants more foreign shows because But while terrestrial TV is Meanwhile, Latin American and scriptwriter Arian Krasniqi “These television stations of the advertising that we get dur- pulling out, Kujtesa, one of the Turkish soaps are invading the believes that audiences are being should be promoting and support- ing their transmission time,” Ajeti country’s main cable providers, is schedules, offering cheaper alter- forced to watch foreign soaps, ing local shows,” he says. added. stepping in. “It would be better to present Kastriot Sahatqija, of KTV, said natives to home-grown shows and, rather than there being an espe- This year it launched three our [Albanian] good and bad that his station also has no audi- according to TV executives, cially strong demand for them. Albanian series, “Kombinati”, aspects through such series rather ence figures. attracting more advertising. “Andrrat”, and “Akademiku”. The Among the invaders is Turkish than promoting unimportant cul- “We haven’t done any surveys Shows commissioned - cast of “Kombinati” are mostly serial “Sulltani i Madherishem”, tural aspects of various other but there are two reasons why we from the now defunct “Familija Sultan the Magnificent, broadcast- and then axed: countries,” Kabashi adds. don’t transmit local series,” he ed on RTV 21, and “Lala”, broad- Lirak Qelaj, a scriptwriter for says. “One is that local series are Moderne”. At the beginning of 2011, RTK cast on KTV. “Lagja e Re”, believes that local more expensive than foreign ones, Arber Arifi, director of Kutjesa opened a public tender to find new “The main reason why we don’t productions are more popular and other is that KTV gets more in Kosovo, said that he is interested locally produced programmes. broadcast local serials is to do with than they are given credit for. benefits more from foreign series, in local shows, as audiences still Three series - two dramas and a finances,” Kastriot Sahatqija of He has never received any view- because during transmission we love them. comedy - were picked, “Qyteti pa KTV said. ing figures for his show, but says get more advertising, which He admits they can be costly. Lum”, City without a River, “We don’t have enough money to that when it was broadcast the means profits.” “It is expensive, because you need “Shtepia Ime”, My House, and support those shows. Maybe RTK feedback was excellent. Luan Morina, who runs website to finance a large group,” he says. “Lagjia e Re”, New “The main problem here has to called telekomanda.com, which can, because the government funds “There are not just actors; there Neighbourhood. do with money,” he said. “To make monitors , its budget.” are a lot of staff working on a He added that the public general- But when their first contracts a local series is completely differ- agrees. series. But it’s worth it because we ly prefers foreign series anyway: with RTK ran out the shows were ent from buying a series from He carries out surveys based on see that our clients love these “Viewers are more interested in axed. In the meantime, in late abroad. the number of comments he shows.” foreign shows from Turkey and 2011 the government had cut the “The Kosovo TV budget cannot receives on a particular pro- elsewhere. We know this because RTK budget. support us financially and we gramme. This article is funded under the we get more advertising for them.” “The reason why we didn’t con- have can’t find other sponsors, “Turkey’s ‘Lala’, on KTV, is very BICCED project, supported by the tinue with the series had to do which may have to do with the popular with audience. People love Swiss Cultural Programme. Pirate Bay Founder Visits Kosovo A co-founder of one of the world’s most visited website – the controversial Pirate Bay file-sharing system – was due to speak in Prishtina last night. Open Software group FLOSSK last of Flattr, the first real social Times, Pirate Bay is "one of the night. micropayment and money sharing world's largest facilitators of ille- This is his second visit to service. gal downloading" and "the most By Lawrence Marzouk Kosovo to attend the Innovation Pirate Bay is currently ranked visible member of a burgeoning Centre’s Startup Weekend, during as the 71st most visited website in international anti-copyright or which digital entrepreneurs are the world and 12th in Sweden, pro-piracy movement". given the chance to turn their according to Alexa Internet. It has The Pirate Bay website has been eter Sunde Kolmisoppi, the ideas into real businesses. over five million registered users blocked by many governments, Y co-founder of the controver- Sunde will share his experience and as of May 2012 hosts over four despite the relative ease by which M Psial “The Pirate Bay”, was with the participants and offer million torrents. such censorship can be circum- C due to speak at an event organised them advice. He is also the founder According to the Los Angeles vented in most countries. K by Innovation Centre Kosovo and Peter Sunde is visiting Kosovo culture May 25 - June 7, 2012 15 New Secrets of Ancient Times Emerge in Butrint Archeologists are unearthing an important new building in the UNESCO-protected ancient city in Albania, which could shed fresh light on the life of the Roman colony. visited Butrint in 2011. The 24-metre-long building that is now being excavated occupies By Besar Likmeta the western end of the Roman forum, which in the Antique peri- od was the centre of the Roman ime travel might normally colony. be the theme of science fic- Because of its size and location, Ttion novels - but walks in the Hernandez believes that the build- ancient city of Butrint, from the ing is most likely a basilica or tem- Hellenistic theater, built in the 4th ple dedicated to the Jupiter, June century BC, to the Roman basilica and Minerva. located only metres away, certain- In all likelihood it was the most ly come close. important structure of the city dur- Dating back as far as the 10th century BC, Butrint was a Greek ing the Roman period, comparable Remains of the 6th-century baptistery colony, a Roman city and a only to the theatre, which was built Byzantine bishopric before being Albanian archeologist Dhimiter Condi during the Hellenistic period. library for Butrint because they because Butrint is located in an If the building turns out to be a tell us about the toponomy of the area that was uninhabited for cen- deserted in the late Middle Ages, “What we are looking at is not Capitoline temple, it is likely to city, the name of the military com- turies, it is almost unique and very after which its magnificent build- just the Roman forum although have been built by the colonists to mander - its prefect,” Condi says. different from most other archeo- ings sank into the marshes. that’s the central complex, but mimic or recreate the Capitoline “Most importantly [their study] logical sites. Located on a bluff overlooking rather the Mediterranean during the Vivari canal, which connects temple in Rome, in a similar fash- has delineated the distinction “What we witness is the death this period of time,” he added, Lake Butrint with the Ionian Sea, ion to the city of Pompeii. between the Hellenistic and the while standing on the edge of a near Albania’s southern border The basilica would have had mul- Epirus culture,” he adds. new excavation where the ruins of with Greece, the city is one the tiple functions, but the most impor- According to Hernandez the dig a new building are emerging from most significant Classical archae- tant was judicial, where the magis- will provide important answers ological sites in the the ground. trates of the city would have dis- concerning the nature of Roman Mediterranean. Excavations in Butrint began in pensed judgments and held courts. colonization of Epirus. “The fact that the city was unin- the late 1920s, under the auspices “Given the dimensions of the Colonists came from Rome to habited during the modern period, Italian Archeologist Luigi Maria building, as they are merging from Butrint in 44BC, occupied it and from the 16th century at the time Ugolini. the ground, it’s a very long build- came to dominate the city. But, ing; it seems to occupy one end of of the Venetians, means that what Still largely unknown to the out- over time, archeologists have the forum all the way to the other, we have is an example of what side world before the fall of the noticed that they merged with the and starts to look to me at this happened in the Mediterranean on Stalinist regime of Enver Hoxha, indigenous population into a sin- stage like a basilica,” Hernandez the course of 2,500 years,” says Butrint was designated as World gle community. says. David Hernandez, an archeologist Heritage site by UNESCO in 1992. “It is interesting to witness this “Basilicas became the frame- from the University of Notre According to Rajmond Kola, phenomenon, because it was one work for the construction of Dame, who has been digging in Director of the Butrint that involves cultural integration, churches in late Antiquity, so this Butrint for ten years. Archeological Park, 82,000 tourists where Roman ideals and ideals building might have been a central David Hernandez that existed here kind of fused,” church as well and could also be one of the earlier churches at Hernandez says. and destruction of a city, which we Butrint,” he explains. “In terms of the development of are now trying to piece together, “This could give us insight into the forum over time and the kind and [at the same time] we are sur- the conversion of the city from a of information we get, we want to rounded by intense vegetations, pagan Roman centre to one cen- know what happened to the Roman tered on the Christian religion,” colony and what was the nature of birds and trees,” Hernandez notes. he adds. the relationship between these two “There is that contrast between Dhimiter Condi, an Albanian groups,” he adds. life and death that you really don’t archeologist who has worked in Butrint was an important port see in many other archeological Butrint for four decades, says that in Antiquity and the materials sites, creating a magical environ- even the famous inscriptions archeologist have found during ment for the visitor,” he con- found in Butrint, which are in the their excavation came from all cludes. form of decrees, may have come across the Mediterranean, serving from the building currently under as a form of time capsule about the This article is funded under the excavation. nature of trade interconnectivity. BICCED project, supported by the Archeologist unearthing a new building “These inscriptions are a sort of According to Hernandez, Swiss Cultural Programme. UK's Grimshaw Architects Wins Major Project in Tirana The London-based architecture studio Grimshaw has won the urban planning competi- tion for the expansion of Tirana’s main boulevard, one of the city’s most ambitious plans in decades. construction would also create zens,” he added. much-needed jobs. Albania’s capital has become a “The project for the new boule- victim of its own phenomenal vard and the Tirana River is the growth in the past two decades By Besar Likmeta most important implemented in with the construction boom the city in the past 80 years in restricting public space and Grimshaw’s design for Tirana, Albania view of the challenges it faces and imposing increasing traffic prob- resenting the new expansion that it aims to overcome,” Basha lems on the city. over 150 international design hood with green technologies for project of the city on said. Founded in 1980, Grimshaw’s awards including the prestigious transportation and energy, was Y PMonday, Mayor Lulzim “The project will have an imme- international portfolio covers all Lubetkin Prize. the winner among six other bids M Basha said that the project was diate impact in creating thou- major sectors of architecture and The project, which foresees the from international architecture key to the city’s development and C sands of jobs for Tirana’s citi- the firm has been honoured with construction of a new neighbour- studios. K 16 May 25 - June 7, 2012 Prishtina Insight

Where to pick up Prishtina Insight?

A taste of Napoli in Prishtina. Hotel Prishtina Prishtina Insight has After ten years of Hotel Prishtina’s teamed up with these making pizza in 43 charming guest excellent venues to Napoli, and only rooms and suites with love to blame, are reminiscent of offer a limited num- Fatmir the chef a small hotel in the returned to European tradi- ber of complimentary Prishtina. His piz- tion. You'll immedi- copies of Kosovo’s zas, made in a ately feel at home woodburn stove, in our living room, only English-lan- are definitely gen- sipping a glass of guage newspaper. uine napolitanas. wine in our fine For those who con- restaurant sur- Grab a copy of the sider pizza to be rounded by a publication and settle boring, Fatmir has gallery of paint- several pastas on ings by local down with a drink or offer, also a true joy for the taste buds. Napoli has an excellent selec- artists. a meal to read it. tion of red and white wines or, for the more ambitious, one of the The hotel offers region's best quince raki. Napoli makes for delicious lunch, dinner or free, fast wifi inter- even after-theatre time out in the centre of Prishtina. net, complimentary breakfast, confer- Pizzeria Napoli ence room, swim- off Luan Haradinaj, opposite Newborn ming pool, sauna 044/409-402402 and laundry service.

Hotel AFA Te Komiteti Located in a quiet neighbourhood just Te Komiteti’s large trees and a beauti- outside the city centre, Hotel Afa can fully garden, which surround the small guarantee guests a peaceful night while outdoor terrace, give you an impression being within walking distance of all the of an exclusive place for ordinary peo- action. The venue has won a host of ple. And this is exactly what it is. From awards for its excellent service to cus- brunch to lunch-time snacks and special tomers and offers a good range of facili- evening meals, this restaurant offers ties, from an exclusive restaurant and dishes comprising quality, varied ingredi- VIP bar to pretty, tranquil gardens. ents, combined to perfection. Alongside Rooms start at 45 euro for a single, and one of Prishtina’s best ‘modern luxury rooms and apartments are avail- European’ style menus, you’ll also find a able. The hotel’s rooms are well appoint- good selection of wine, and great san- ed and comfortable. gria and cocktails . 15, Rr Ali Kelmendi, Te Komiteti Sunny Hill, Prishtina Qamil Hoxha Street +381 38/225 226 Prishtina www. hotelafa. com +381 38 24 96 63

Restorant Brasserie Lura Paddy O’Brien’s Papillon Bistro Bar At 450-metres squared Restaurant Lura is as spacious as The staff at Newly reopened bar in Prishtina, you get in Prishtina. It’s also surrounded by the towering Paddy O’Brien’s Papillon, offers more than 60 types of wines trees of Germia and offers a pleasant garden where, in the have a saying: “It’s from France, Italy, Spain, and Kosovo with summer, this eatery prepares food al fresco. It’s large meet- easy to walk in, but ideal prices and delicious dishes. ing room is also ideal for that private lunch or dinner. very hard to leave.” They serve pasta, sandwiches, salads and The combined style of classical and modern interior And with its different appetizers. leaves you with an impression of refined taste. warm atmosphere, You can also try different types of local or The newly opened restaurant is already famous for its fantastic range of international beers. Mediterranean specialties, exquisite seafood and fine drinks and excel- The bar, with it’s stunning, new design, is selections of Italian, French and local wines. But that’s not lent food, it is easy located in the centre of Prishtina, near all, for music lovers, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to see why. ProCredit Bank headquarter, RTK radio night dinners are accompanied by jazz, whereas on There have been centre, and the Mother Teresa cathedral. Saturdays local patriots can enjoy live traditional many attempts to Albanian music. establish a proper Papillon Lura Restaurant Irish pub in Mother Teresa Str. Nr. 51 A Str. Nazmi Gaffuri • 10 000 Prishtina • +381 (0)38 763 763 ; Prishtina, but this [email protected] +386 (0)49 763 763 • www.lurarestaurant.com is the only one to 044 103 310 [email protected] hit the spot. From classic coffees to cocktails, via, of course, Guinness, you really wont find it difficult to select the perfect drink. A mouth-watering menu of Irish specialties is also on offer, spanning from all-day breakfasts to Irish stews at night. Options include shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash, fish ‘n chips, and whopping great burgers. Thursday is pub quiz night, but there is always something going on at the pub, whether it is sport screenings or just a good shindig. Paddy O’Brien’s Y Tringe Smajli Street, by the Illyria Hotel M Prishtina: 045-420900 C K By Yllka Hoxha May 25 - June 7, 2012 17 in Prishtina Timeout Contact Prishtina Insight if you would like your event to feature or to advertise your venue. Email [email protected]

Oda Theatre

Every Tuesday at 8 pm Tre Gjermanët e Trashë II In The Land Of Blood and Honey Men in Black 3 (Three Fat Germans II) Every day at 6 pm Every day at 8 pm and 10 pm Thanks to this play you will understand Kino ABC is continuing From May 24 ABC “What did Brigel say when he asked for a screening the movie “In Cinema has started drink?”; “Why Hans didn’t let him drink the land of blood and Mojito?”; “How did Gani experience his 21st honey” by the director screening the movie snow?”; “Is Vukashin really Ukshin?”; “Does Angelina Jolie. “Men in Black 3”, direct- KFOR-ja still work for KFOR or she just During the Bosnian War, ed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Danijel, a soldier fight- This comedy is about loves him?”; “How did Hekuran boil eggs in the middle of the North ing for the Serbs, re- agents J and K who go Pole?”; These and other events you can see in the play “Tre encounters Ajla, a back in time. J had seen Gjermanët e Trashë II”. Bosnian who's now a many strange things, but Author: Lirak Celaj; Producer: Florent Mehmeti; Roles: Naser captive in his camp he nothing irritates him Rafuna, Adrian Morina, Kushtrim Sheremeti, Lirak Celaj, Fisnik oversees. Their once more than his partner. Ademi, Ard Islami, Arta Selimi, Florent Mehmeti. promising connection But, when K’s life and has become ambiguous the planet are in danger, If It Was a Play - Every Thursday 8pm as their motives have J must go back in time, changed. and put everything back in its own place. Based on the drama by Almir Imshireviq. Director: Agon Myftari. On bus number 4, during wartime in Prishtina, a 26 years old, wearing jeans, is near Hotel Union, when a sniper bullet breaks the For any further questions or reservations call at 038 243 238 or visit them at www.kinoabc.com glass and shoots the youngster in the neck. A lady wearing white, who was next to him starts to scream. When she sees the blood in her shirt she faints. Two hours later she is seen again at the Great Festival of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Culture Mosque, near caffe “Romantika”, but this time in the company of a younger friend who tells her “I sometimes do it even fourteen times!” Friday, May 25, 2012 Starring Rebeka Qena, Adrian Morina, Armend Ismajli, Besnik Krapi. 12:00 – 14:00 Debate: Kosovo, the EU and the inte- For more information call +381 (0)38 246 555 or write gration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians – [email protected]. Achievements, shortcomings and the way forward, Sheshi 21, Prishtina 20:00 – 22:00 Concert: Esma Redzepova and Teodosievski Orchestra, Emerald Hotel, Prishtina National Theatre Saturday, May 26, 2012 18:00 – 19:00 Improvised theatre performance, Friday, May 25, 2012 “Adriana Abdullahu” Theatre, /Uroševac Ballet “Dasma” [The Wedding] 19:00 – 21:00 Theatre performance: The dream not Choreography by Mehmet Ballkan 18:00 – 20:00 Short movie projections, Community to be reality, Dodona Theatre, Prishtina The play will be repeated on Saturday, May 26, 2012, 8 pm, and Center Brekoc, Gjakovë/Djakovica Sunday, May 27, 2012 Thursday, May 31, 2012. Monday, May 28, 2012 “Lisistrata” a play by Aristofanes, directed by Elmaze Nura Lisistrata is one of the few surviving plays written by following the Startup Weekend Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 Kosova Art Gallery Prishtina Diary Prishtina. BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission http://prishtina.startupweeken to end The Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata persuades the women Friday, May 25, 2012 May 30, 2012 – July 30, 2012 d.org/ of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands @Te Veni, Pejton Area Saturday, June 2, 2012 Muslim Mulliqi Prize Genc Salihu with Visar Kuci and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace — a International Exhibition 2012 / TELEX Group Concert in strategy, however, that inflames the battle between the sexes. playing unplugged music Prishtina 9th Edition / by Galit Eilat & Tuesday, May 29, 2012 For reservations call 045 36 12 10 Square 21, from 11 pm Charles Esche Friday, May 25, 2012 “Art” a play by Yasmina Reza, directed by Saranda Elshani. Well-known rock band from Wednesday, May 30, 2012 No school like old school! Skopje Telex is returning to “House for Auction” [Shtëpia në ankand] written and direct- Visit the gallery and you will CREME DE LA CREME Prishtina with a live perform- ed by Fadil Hysaj. have the opportunity to see the starts at: 21:00 ance, after 25 years. music: Dagg & Taste 2 works of the artists: Adrian Paci The Concert will be held at All plays are in , and tickets cost 3 euro; Creme de la Creme are back (AL/IT), Albert Heta (KOS), Arben Square 21. Tickets cost only 4 for students and retired people tickets are only 1 euro. with hip hop! Besides hip hop euro and you can buy them at For any further questions or reservations call them at 044 430 Elshani (KOS), there's an after party going on Aya Ben Ron (IL), Bert Theis Square 21. 693 visit them at www.teatrikombetar.eu (LU/IT), Danica Daki (BiH/DE), Deimantas Narcevicius (LT), Dren Maliqi (KOS), Driton Hajredini THIS IS (AN) A FRONT: Henry cussions, drag shows, punk con- duction. First rehearsal for smARTpower program, an initia- (KOS), Edi Hila (AL), Fatos certs, and more. Houseboat Summit production. tive of the U.S. Department of In late 1969 the San Francisco, State's Bureau of Educational and Kabashi (KOS), Joanna Billing Friday, May 25, 2012, Sunday, May 27, 2012, California based periodical The Cultural Affairs that is adminis- (SE), Josef Darbenig (AT), 7:00 - 9:00 pm at Stacion – - 7:00 - 9:00 pm SF Oracle brought together Allen tered by the Bronx Museum of the Laurent Mareschal (FR), Luan Center for Contemporary Art Skype Presentation with Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Timothy Arts. Bajraktari (KOS), Majlinda Hoxha Prishtina Gabriel Mindel Saloman on Leary, and Alan Watt for a discus- (KOS), Mark Lewis (CA/UK), Harry Hay and the Radical sion on Watts houseboat to consid- What do you have to bring to Mehmet Behluli (KOS), Orhan YTSSP / Dylan Gauthier A member of the American Fairies. er the present psychic and politi- this conversation? Kurtolli (KOS), Özlem Günol and artist collaborative Red76, Dylan A long time member of Red76, cal enclaves of the American Left. The space is yours. Mustafa Kunt (TR), Petrit Halilaj Gauthier is also a professor, sailor, and member of the now defunct smARTpower is an initiative of (KOS/DE), Praneet Soi (IN/NL), boat builder, peripatetic activist, seminal noise duo Yellow Swans, HENRY will be open from 3 pm the U.S. Department of State's Qëndrese Deda (KOS), Šejla and along with his partner, Gabriel Mindel Saloman is an Friday - Monday. Bureau of Educational and Kameri (BiH/DE), Shpend Havolli Kendra Sullivan, a publisher of artist, writer, activist, lecturer, This is (An) a Front - Henry Cultural Affairs, administered by (KOS), Tanja Lažeti (SLO), Vadim contemporary avant-garde poetry. and accomplished musician. For Ongoing from May 13 until June the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Fishkin (RU/SLO), Vangelis Gauthier and Sullivan reside in his talk Mindel Saloman will 15, 2012 with additional support from the Gokas (GR), Yael Bartana (IL) Greenpoint, a Polish enclave of expand upon a recent essay, which Where does power reside? What Robert Sterling Clark Foundation; Brooklyn, New York. has appeared in different forms do we do when confronted by and Lori Schiff Chemla and within the Journal of Radical power? How do we react? Do we ALTOUR. Shimming and the Journal of address these inequities directly Saturday, May 26, 2012, Stacion - Center for 6:00 - 8:00 pm Aesthetics and Protest, on the or retreat? Is retreating running queer activist Harry Hay, his phi- away, or could we consider new Contemporary Art Prishtina Skype Presentation from Zija Prishtina Street Madame and Birthday Party losophy, and its effects. spaces and relationships, autonomous zones, in which to 10000 Prishtine for Cece MacDonald Tel.: +381-(0)38-222-576 Monday, May 28, 2012, realize a more equitable way to Y Madame is a collectively run Fax: +381-(0)38-544-472 radical gay space located in south 7:00 -9:00 pm coexist? M Reading group and book pro- This project is a part of the E-mail: [email protected] Minneapolis, Minnesota for dis- www.stacion.org C K 18 May 25 - June 7, 2012 inside prishtina Concert Held in Prishtina’s Orthodox Church

The first concert to be held at the St Ethno duet the Teofilovic Brothers Around fifty young Serbs and repre- to return to Prishtina. In 1999, about Nicholas Church, Prishtina, since the played at the partially restored church, sentatives of the international commu- 40,000 Serbs lived in the Kosovo capi- March 2004 riots, took place this which was badly damaged in the nity were present. Pastor Darko tal while the figure is estimated today week. unrest. Marinkovic called for displaced Serbs in the low hundreds. Putting the Pristine back Prishtina often fails to live up to its pristine name, but one neighbour- hood is setting an example for cleanliness in the city.

sewage system and more were installed by the family since they moved to Prishtina from Podujeva in the 50s. By Bujar Aruqaj “We have done it all ourselves,” said Muharrem Aliu, one of the seven broth- er. “The municipality did nothing here, except for the road, and even the road housands of people took to the was ready, they just had to put the streets yesterday as part of the asphalt on top of it.” T“Let’s do it Kosovo” initiative to He added: “It does not matter if you clean up the country. live in the countryside or in the middle But for the Aliu neighborhood, in the of the centre. A clean environment is “Kodra e Trimit” suburb of Prishtina, or necessary and it is the citizens’ duty to the so called “Lagjia e Artistëve”, this clean their place, not only the institu- kind of action is a daily occurrence. tion.” Flowers and grass abound, the streets During the harsh last winter, many of are lit properly and the roads are spot- the nearby roads were blocked so the less. family stepped in to clean up. “Since we The six houses along one of the streets have heavy vehicles, we decided to clean are owned by seven brothers, one of the whole neighborhood and the main whom lives in Germany and the other in street as well,” said Nexhip Aliu, one of Great Britain. the older brothers. Y All work in the construction industry For more than nine years the family and the family has put their profession M has contributed with their own money, to good use in transforming the area - the C but most importantly with their time, to street lights, phone cables, internet, K make this neighborhood look good. inside prishtina May 25 - June 7, 2012 19 Dana Landau volunteer at UNDP Office Prishtina through the Eyes of: the Eyes through Prishtina

Papillon: Prishtina’s

What surprised you most about Prishtina? Phoenix from the Ashes How many languages the waiters, taxi drivers and cleaners speak (especially compared to all the terfly. included a dinner menu adding “educated people”). Now a modern Bistro bar, pasta, pizza, steaks and fish. By Donjeta Demolli Papillon offers a comfortable, fresh Behind the long bar, you can pick What's your favourite hangout? and quiet environment. up many famous international The metal chairs and an urban wines such as Barollo, Amarone, Dit'e'Nat in winter, City Park in summer. interior give it a feel unlike any Primitivo, as well as the Kosovo other café in Prishtina. varieties. What is the best thing about Prishtina? apillon has reopened its doors For those who are nostalgic for Food prices range from 2 to 5 after the fire which gutted the the old place, an installation of the euro. Its people. And how the city has an entirely dif- restaurant last year. P old chairs has been created in the ferent character in each season, which makes me The venue has now emerged corner. Mother Teresa Str. Nr. 51 A appreciate nature much more than I did before. from its cocoon as, its name in Papillon has expanded its lunch [email protected] French suggests, a beautiful but- menu since its relaunch and has 044 103 310 What is the most annoying thing about Prishtina?

Indoor smoking. Indoor smoking around chil- dren. Pregnant women smoking. into Prishtina If you were mayor of Prishtina for the day what would you change?

I would enforce the Gender Equality Law in the municipality and in all businesses operating in Prishtina. Having more women in the work force would not only be good for women, but also for the running of the institutions and companies. I'd also try to ensure proper building standards for new constructions, build cycle lanes on the roads, work on a reliable public transportation system, build more playgrounds, provide free and confidential reproductive health information and free contra- ceptives to all. Sounds ambitious? Ok, I'll settle for enforcing the smoking ban.

How many macchiatos do you drink a day?

One or two - trying to quit.

What's your favourite Albanian word and why?

I like that people call each other my heart and my “This place was completely in the family business and every- family and now the cleaning com- eyes and my spirit when they want to show affec- destroyed during the war. There body helps with the cleaning, he pany comes every Monday and pick tion. was an economics high school said. Muharrem admits that there up the rubbish. here, but it was completely dam- is still work to be done, like the “Clean like in Switzerland” says What landmark do you use to tell taxi driv- aged and we had to rebuild all of garden of one of his brothers who Muharrem Aliu, “ why can’t it be ers where you live? our houses and the yards,” said does not live in Kosovo, but says possible here as well. They are also Muharem. that overall he is proud of the area. only people. We are people as well, “ For some reason all the taxi drivers know the The whole neighborhood works Even the bins were bought by the he said, name of my street, but no one else does. 20 May 25 - June 7, 2012 opinion Macedonians German Remembrance of Behave! Tourists are coming Besar Likmeta ithout a culture of one to a open market trader. To top remembrance of the vic- it all, the final video is of a Wtims who perished during “Training centre for tourists head- the Balkans wars or withered in By Ana Petruseva ing to Macedonia”, which features communist gulags, our recent and what looks like a military training painful history is doomed to kin- centre, where people wearing T- dle hatred in the future. shirts reading Survive Macedonia he Macedonian government When Ratko Mladic, the former are awoken at 3am by brass bands is into massive campaigns. Bosnian Serb military leader was and told they need to get used to TSometimes it is to advertise arrested on May 26, 2011 in the the noise in Macedonia. how hard it is working, which we small village of Lazarevo near all know it does 24/7, but mostly it Each video, after it portrays Zrenjanin, I remember Serbia’s is to tell its humble citizens the dif- Macedonians as rude, thieving, President Boris Tadic appearing ference between right and wrong, aggressive and lazy, is followed by on television in a press conference and most importantly educate a message from the almighty gov- that was broadcast across the Macedonians how to behave, as ernment: We must not allow this to world with a message for its neigh- they don’t seem to fit the high stan- be the picture of Macedonia. bors with whom Serbia fought dards of the government. You think? One, it is completely bloody wars in the 1990s. They range from messages to unclear who this message is for in “Today we close one chapter of help a girl in your neighbourhood the first place. our recent history which will who is attacked, (as if that would- The videos are in English, with bring us closer to full reconcilia- n’t occur to anyone prior to seeing subtitles in Macedonian and the tion in the region,” Tadic said, this video) to videos about how end messages from the govern- after announcing Mladic had been you should not throw out garbage ment are again in Macedonian. So, arrested. bags from your terrace on the 5th is the government in fact telling “I believe every other country floor, how you should greet your Macedonians that they are rude, must be responsible for closing its neighbours, to elaborate, grue- aggressive and lazy thieves, or are own chapters,” he added. some videos about the effects of they addressing potential tourists? The arrest of one of the world’s different kinds of drugs, to puz- Come to Macedonia - we won’t most wanted fugitives for over a zling videos with massive scenes allow you to have a shower, you’ll decade, indicted by the UN war Holocaust Memorial in Berlin showing the might of Alexander never be able to catch a waiter, crimes tribunal for genocide and the Great and what happens to you’ll get ripped off at the mar- crimes against humanity, was 1995, Europe’s worst massacre Democratic Republic, the former traitors who question his strategy. ket?! greeted across the region. since the Second World War. concentration camp was present- Dozens of promotional videos How such messages could have But the fact that many Serbs do A poll conducted in the eve of ed as the centre of a fight by and different campaigns have been any positive impact is beyond me. not view him as a war criminal but Mladic’s arrest said 51 per cent of Communist prisoners against done since 2006. They include: We have all had our fair share of as a hero underscores the fact that Serbs would oppose the extradi- Nazi Fascism, with the message “Open your heart” (basic social “experiences” in Ohrid but that is the prospects of lasting reconcilia- tion of Mladic to the that imperialism was not over. skills surely?) “Say no to drugs” not the entire picture for Ohrid, or tion in the Balkans remain cloudy. International Criminal Tribunal In the framework of this Cold (five videos about four different The dissolution of the former the entire country for that matter. for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, if War ideology, no space was left to drugs and one that shows you’ll Yugoslavia was marked by gross To generalize like this, and con- he was arrested. Only 7 per cent remember the fate of the Jews, have a lovely life if you don’t take human rights violations. More centrate on a few bad apples is out- said they would tip off the author- [as well as homosexuals and drugs) “Macedonia Timeless” than 20 years after the start of the Roma] who made up the bulk of rageous and unfair. ities as to his whereabouts and (campaign for CNN, advertising Bosnian Serb siege of Sarajevo, € the camp victims. However, I doubt that the cre- take the 10 million reward. Macedonian wine, food etc) and a the legacy of this violent past In West Germany, meanwhile, ators of this campaign put any “Our recent history is unpleas- campaign to inspire people to start lingers, endangering the full ant and is full of the questions economic progress and integra- businesses etc. serious thought into this or enjoyment of human rights, that don’t have answers and obvi- tion into Europe was deemed Countless euros later we come to realised the true damage they are democracy and the rule of law. ously they [young people] are not more important than dealing the icing of the cake. Many of the doing. As the “creative” minds The return to normalcy has provided with the answers,” Olga with the past and bringing perpe- aforementioned promotional behind this campaign had no clue been too slow and some societies Pintar, a History Professor at trators of war crimes to trial. videos have been ill-thought, about what they were up to, the in the Balkans remain polarised Belgrade University, said. A memorial site like absurd and offensive but none has government had a duty to step in along ethnic lines. Far from being According to Pintar, most of the Buchenwald would not exist in been as disturbing as the govern- and prevent this embarrassing, a closed chapter, as some Balkan information that young Serbs West Germany for many years ment campaign on tourism that insulting and foolish adventure. politicians would like to think, the obtain about Serbia’s recent past after Buchenwald was opened. went viral on Thursday. Or did they just transfer yet anoth- need for justice as well as reconcil- comes from schools, where they Thomas Isensee, a history In six one-minute videos, an er business to a friendly company, iation remains pressing. learn only the basic facts, because teacher in one of Berlin’s public "Australian", a mockery of the late no questions asked? All paid by As Germany’s example shows, historians both lack new interpre- schools, says teaching the young Steve Irwin, presents viewers with taxpayers’ money, of course. delays in dealing with one’s vio- tations and also quarrel about about Nazi crimes started too late several Macedonian endemic Now these videos are out there. lent totalitarian past shows serve what happened. in Germany. species such as a bed and break- The government should not be sur- no purpose, while a carefully craft- The void in interpretation It took the student revolt of fast owner, a Macedonian alpha prised if they have only ended up ed culture of remembrance can about the past is filled by the 1968 before traditional values male and a taxi driver. Two videos feeding the same stereotypes they teach lessons to future generations media and their families in a pub- were questioned and difficult are devoted to a lakeside waiter, attempted to stigmatise. and serve as the best remedy to lic space that remains polarized, questions placed in the forefront thwart future conflicts. often spilt among ethnic lines. of public debate. “Young people are always the “There were no prosecutions Ignorant of Recent Past most successful part of the socie- for war crimes until the late ty to be manipulated because with Fifties, when the first big A 2009 survey conducted by the wrong vision of the past you Auschwitz trial in Frankfurt was IPSOS, the Belgrade Centre for will certainly have a wrong held,” Insensee said. Human Rights and the OSCE, future,” Pintar warned. “In many other cases it was demonstrates how little young clear that the state attorneys and Serbs know about their country’s Teaching the Nazi Past in bureaucracy did everything to recent past. slow things down, so people died According to this survey, only Germany and all the papers got lost,” he roughly half of 16-23-year-old added. Serbs are aware that Serbian In Germany it is very different. “They could have been tried snipers killed many civilians in After the Nuremberg trials of top much earlier but the higher-ups the siege of Sarajevo. Only 27 per Nazi officials held immediately in the administration covered up cent of those surveyed knew after the end of the war, it took for them.” about the rape of women by decades for Germany to start Insensee remembers that dur- Serbian forces in Foca, eastern prosecuting other ex-members of ing the height of the Nazi trails Bosnia, in 1992. the SS or the Nazi party accused in Germany in the Seventies, Y Almost a quarter of the same of war crimes. many of his students would come M age group had never heard of the When the Buchenwald memori- up in class with questions about C massacre of some 8,000 Bosniaks, al was opened in 1958, in what their families’ versions of histo- K [Muslims] in Srebrenica in July was then the Communist German ry. opinion May 25 - June 7, 2012 21 Dark Past Holds Lessons for Balkans

“Sigurimi.” wherever you dig you find authentic sites Auschwitz. Years after the regime collapsed in 1991, about the first and second dictatorship,” The character played in the movie by thousands of former political prisoners Klemke added, referring to the Third Ryszard Ronczewski, is based loosely on remain in the dark about the people and Reich and the GDR. Kazimirz Smolin, the former Auschwitz forces who orchestrated their imprison- Berlin it’s not the only city in the world museum’s director, who was one of the ment. who profits from its war-torn past. A boom prisoners who founded it and still lives Albania is one of the few former Iron in ‘war tourism’ in the former Yugoslavia there today in the former SS barracks. Curtain countries that has yet to open the is seeing regional travel agencies in recent “Mr Smolin and other prisoners really Communist-era archives of its security years draw up nifty ways of how to profit help built this museum and in the begin- services. Despite several attempts in the from interest in the bloody conflicts of the ning and they really had to watch out that past two decades, measures to shed light on 1990s. nobody took stuff from the campground,” one of the darkest chapters of the coun- Hundreds of tours are drawn up every said Thalheim. try’s history have been plague by political year in Sarajevo, for western tourists who “They just stayed there their whole lives infighting. want a glimpse on how Sarajevans sur- and raised their families there and built As in Communist , where vived the siege of the Bosnian capital – up the museum on the camp ground,” he 250,000 people out of the population of 17 one of the longest in modern history. added. million cooperated with the “Stasi” secret Srebrenica and the Croatian city of Thalheim says that by spending time police, countless Albanians for a variety of Vukovar also feature in itineraries. with Smolin while at the youth center he reasons cooperated with the Sigurimi German film director Robert Thalheim, got a deeper view than the tourists who whose files were conveniently destroyed as explored the paradox between commemo- visited the camp and listened to one of the the regime collapsed in 1991. rating past crimes and the tourists indus- guided tours given by former prisoners The rest of the papers gather dust in try in its 2007 autobiographical drama, usually get. archives, unlike the position in unified Along Came a Tourist, which follows the “You have to see them as humans and Germany, which has opened its files to the fate of the former prisoner of the not as testimonials and this is the only public so that everyone can access their Auschwitz extermination camp, in Poland. way to come a little bit closer to them and personal files, and see who was spying on “It’s a dilemma, it has both sides and we their history, not only seeing what hap- them in the past. to have deal with the dilemma,” Thalheim pened to them in the camp but also seeing Like the fate of the secret police files, said speaking of the former extermina- their life,” said Thalheim, while underlin- Albania’s former prison camps or gulags tion camp. “It’s important that we don’t ing that films can play an important role either lie in ruins or have been trans- act as if it is not a tourist place, it is one to help us understand the past. formed into modern detention centres, and it is ok and it becomes just a problem “We can ask questions in art and that’s erasing the memory of the thousand of if you don’t admit,” he added. why it is such an important part of deal- detainees that were incarcerated during Thalheim’s film, which is based on the ing with history,” he added. Hoxha’s regime. time he spent on the town of Oswiecim as Reporting for this blog was done during However, in Germany some sites, like a volunteer in its youth meeting center, a ‘Commemorative Cultures Study Tour to “They would say, ‘My grandpa had been the former Stasi detention centre follows up close a former Polish political Germany’ in June 2011, organized by the in the army and he was not a criminal but Hohenschönhausen in Berlin, made prisoner, now in his 80's, who still lives at Robert Bosch Foundation. a hero… and had fought the Russians in famous in the 2006 film The Lives of defence of the motherland, for civilization Others, have been transformed into memo- against the Red Army,’” he recalled. rials. Insensee says questions about the past Lutz Hildebrandt, who now gives guided marketing need to be discussed in an exact way and tours of the prison, which had been previ- debate in society is crucial. ously used by the Nazi’s and the Soviet Red The last case of Nazi war crimes case to Army, before the Stasi took over, is a for- be brought before the German court was mer prisoner arrested in 1967. that of John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian for- Pulled directly from the street from Stasi mer prison guard who died on March 17. officers for ripping a propaganda poster, he On May 12, 2011 aged 91, Demjanjuk was United States Agency for International Development is recruiting to fill the following position in would serve fourteen months in the prison found guilty of being an accessory to the SOLICITATION NUMBER: SOL 167-PSC-FY12-05 with no idea where he was and little com- ISSUED BY: Executive Office, USAID/Kosovo murder of 27,900 Jews while acting as a munication with the outside world. SUBJECT: Solicitation for Resident Hire: U.S. Personal Services Contractor (USPSC) – guard at the Sobibor Nazi extermination DEPUTY EXECUTIVE OFFICER “The interrogators were normally the MARKET VALUE: ($60,274 – $78,355) per annum (equivalent to GS-12 pay range). Salary to be paid within this camp. grade will depend on experience, qualifications and salary history. only people you would meet during the PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Two years However, since his conviction was pend- time in prison,” Hildebrand said. The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is seeking applications (Optional Form 612) ing appeal at the time of his death, from qualified individuals interested in providing Personal Service Contractor services for the Deputy Executive Officer position as described below. Hildebrandt recalls that the prisoners Demjanjuk remains "presumed innocent" BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION: were called by the number of their cells under German law. and the guards would not call them by This position is located in USAID/Kosovo. The Deputy Executive Officer (D/EXO) shall serve as the Deputy Executive Officer for the USAID Thomas Steinkraus-Koch, the case pros- Regional Services Center/Regional Management Services Office (RSC/RMSO) in Pristina, Kosovo. The DEXO will be under the direct supervision name, while the only communications of the USAID Regional Executive Officer or his/her designee and shall be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations for the full range of ecutor, admitted that convicting Administrative and Management Services Operations. The DEXO may be required to perform travel throughout Europe and Eurasia (E&E) in support with other prisoners came by tapping in of E&E Mission’s as needed and requested. Demjanjuk was not easy “because the the walls of their cells. Books, mostly of Full job description is posted at the USAID’s webpage http://www.usaid.gov/kosovo/eng/jobOpportunities.html and at the USAID’s Office in Arbëria actions were very far in the past.” (Dragodan), Ismail Qemali Street, House No.1, Pristina. communist propaganda, were the only way Although Steinkraus-Koch says that REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: to pass the detention time. they are still working on new cases, “Once angry with one of the books I was EDUCATION: A bachelor’s degree is required, preferably in business administration, science or other technical field. Margarete Notzel, head of the Munich given to read I wrote with my fingernails PRIOR RELEVANT AND OVERSEAS WORK EXPERIENCE: A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in the field of Court press office admits time is running administrative management or a similar field is required. Demonstrated successful experience in the field of management and administration involving ‘bullshit’ in its cover,” Hildebrandt remem- personnel administration, management analysis and planning, general services and travel, with a demonstrated knowledge of the commodity out. purchasing and management, procurement, budgeting, planning and contract management aspects of administrative management operations. In bers. “When the Berlin Wall fell and I was addition a thorough knowledge of the interagency foreign affairs manuals, budgeting, contracting and supply management procedures is desired. A “On a deadline is the right word because thorough knowledge of USG personnel management is preferred. allowed to view my Stasi file, there was a they are dying,” she said, referring to the picture of that book in the file with my KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES: Work requires mastery of the management principles, concepts, practices, methods, and techniques of suspects. business management sufficient to apply new developments and theories to major problems that may not be susceptible to treatment by previously inscription on it,” he added. accepted methods. A comprehensive knowledge of USG laws and regulations dealing with procurement, management and operations in a foreign setting is required. A basic familiarity with host-government laws and regulations, documentation, and reporting requirements sufficient to make recommendations or decisions impacting on important aspects of conducting USAID activities and programs in Kosovo is required. The ability to The Lives of Others exercise tact and diplomacy and the ability to maintain strict confidentiality and high ethical standards relating to all areas of acquisition and assistance Tourists in Others People’s Pain matters are required. The ability to independently organize, prioritize and follow through on all assignments is required.

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: Must have excellent English communication skills, both oral and in written form. Candidate must have the ability to Albania was spared the ethnic conflicts present analysis and recommendations in clear written and oral formats. With hundreds of museum and art gal- that engulfed the former Yugoslavia in the leries, a rich history and nightlife, the city OTHER REQUIREMENTS: Nineties. In addition, the incumbent must be: of Berlin draws millions of tourists every  A U.S. Citizen; (A person holding a valid Green Card is eligible to apply for this position) Despite being spared the ravages of eth-  Able to obtain US Government medical and security clearances; year. Many of these tourists are drawn to  Willing to travel to work sites and other offices as/when requested. nic warfare, the tiny Balkan state of 3 mil- memorial sites connected with Nazi APPLYING: Qualified individuals are requested to submit a U.S. Government Optional Form 612. This form is available at the USAID website, lion has its own difficulties in addressing http://www.info.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/forms or http://fillform.gsa.gov or USAID/Kosovo website Germany, the Holocaust or the GDR. http://www.usaid.gov/kosovo/eng/jobOpportunities.html the legacy of the most repressive Rainer Klemke, speaker for museums Email submissions should be sent to: [email protected]. Communist regime in the Eastern block. with state contributions, memorials and LIST OF REQUIRED FORMS FOR PSCs Under the Stalinist dictator Enver For initial consideration: contemporary history at the office of the Hoxha – who ruled from the end of World 1. Optional Form 612. Resume or CV must be attached. Berlin Senate, says that history sells, 2. Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheet (AID 1420-17) War II until his death in 1985 – thousands being these tragic or cheerful. of Albanians vanished or were executed “History sites are very important to us Closing date for this position is June 4, 2012 - BY COB (CLOSE OF BUSINESS) and tens of thousands were imprisoned in because they draw nearly five million SUBJECT TO FUNDS AVAILABILITY concentration camps. tourists every year,” Klemke said. “Berlin Hoxha ruled Albania with an iron fist USAID in Pristina provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard is the Rome of the twentieth century and to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, or sexual orientation. with the help of his secret police the feared

If you would like your NGO to appear in our Making a Difference feature, please email [email protected] 22 May 25 - June 7, 2012 Community Focus Ecosovo Let’s do it, Kosova – for the long term because I grapple with this ethical als we responsibly dispose of litter and practical problem myself on a in bins (not throw it out of car win- regular basis as a result of our dows or toss it down on the street), By Elizabeth Gowing NGO’s work in Neighbourhood 29 in and the municipal authorities can Fushe Kosove. This is another such make sure that collections are community with no municipal organized. y the time you read this, the garbage collection but we do what But what about the third item in big Kosovo clean-up day – we can to implement the motto of this green trinity; how can individ- B‘Let’s do it Kosova’ – will be REDUCE-RECYCLE-RESPONSI- ual organisations manage their over. Hopefully, on your way into BLY DISPOSE. recycling? Would you like to keep work, your walk around the city or We are trying to reduce the waste your plastic bottles, cans and used driving around the countryside it generated by the activities we office paper out of landfill? will be immediately apparent that organise – we’ve cut out things like There are eleven men from things have changed. And hopeful- disposable plastic cups and replaced Fushe Kosove who would like to Diversity Among ly on the same journeys in a week, them with reusable glasses. We help you do so. These eleven were a month, a year’s time, the impact recycle what we can (we have selected in a heartbreaking process of the work done on 24 May 2012 arranged, as you can too, for a col- from 85 applicants from the Roma, will still be evident. Hopefully. lection of recyclable plastic bottles, Ashkali and Egyptian community Muslims Should Cleaning up Kosovo is of course a aluminium and office paper. Plastic in Fushe Kosove to be a part of The wonderful idea, and the people bottle tops go to the Kosovo Cap Ideas Partnership’s recycling behind the ‘Let’s do it Kosova’ ini- Project – as featured in a previous income-generating project funded tiative (the launch included be Respected Ecosovo column. We’re working on by a KFOS grant. The income of endorsement from the Norwegian composting some time soon). many families in this community Ambassador, and a video message is based on collecting recyclable The Muslim community of the world is no monolith. from Ulrike Lunacek) are to be con- And as for responsibly disposing garbage, and for the 85 heads of gratulated. A cleaned-up Kosovo of the rest? When we left the stuff to Differences in the histories in Kosovo, Bosnia and Albania families who applied, their only has implications for health, for be thrown ‘away’ (where is ‘away’?) equipment for gathering and trans- compared to other parts of the globe have shaped religion, national pride, for tourism, and in black bags just inside the door, porting what they find in the bins thus for the economy, as well as for one of our local volunteers kindly a senior US official on Muslim communities has said. was a wheelbarrow. If you live deep the environment at a number of took the bags out – and burned them respected. in Fushe Kosove and you only have levels including river pollution and on the wasteland opposite our cen- “There is no monolith. And cele- a wheelbarrow, you can’t reach the water quality, biodiversity and air tre. Revolting black smoke and the brating that diversity is extremely richer garbage pastures of quality (if alternatives are offered smell of melting yoghurt pots important, because there is a lot of Pristina, and your collection of By Artan Mustafa to burning of rubbish). The initia- wreathed around the children play- pride in the heritage of many of recyclables goes at the painfully tive in Kosovo draws on the 2008 suc- ing nearby. Not my proudest hour as these communities. And let’s be slow pace of your wheelbarrow’s cess of Let’s Do It Estonia; the an environmentalist. arah Pandith, the State very clear, even within a region, wonky front wheel. biggest mobilization of civil society Department Special even within a country, there is so The recycling project therefore there in a generation, which So what is the alternative? FRepresentative for Muslim much history - in terms of differ- offered each of the eleven selected Communities, has told Prishtina involved 50 000 Estonians (4 per cent ences on what people eat, what men a bike and a trailer so they can Insight that she has visited 62 of the population) removing more Well, the honest truth is that they drink, what they think,” she cover more ground and have a kick- states with Muslim population than 10,000 tonnes of garbage from whenever someone comes out to added. “In Bosnia, in Albania and start to their small recycling busi- since she was appointed to the the country's forest in about 5 hours, our centre in Fushe Kosove with a certainly in Kosovo and other nesses. Even so, their work is dan- position in June 2009 and saw only for less than 500,000 euros. The 4x4 or other car with enough space, places, there is a different experi- gerous (think what else you find one common ingredient – that movement claims that ‘under nor- bags of our rubbish are piled into ence, and you have to understand when you sort through the bins) young Muslim’s are struggling to mal circumstances it would have the back for their return journey to that experience in terms of how and poorly paid (plastic, for exam- define their identity. taken the government 3 years and Pristina. When the car approaches people have lived for hundreds of ple, is bought at 17 cents a kilo, and “It is brought up in the form of 22.5 million euros to accomplish a the skips by the municipal build- years.” you need a lot of plastic bottles to the questions on what is different similar feat.’ ing, we hop out and dump the rub- She also said that the State make one kilo), and the aim is to between culture and religion? Just reading that gives you the bish there. Department is working to create make it easier and more efficient – “How can we be “modern” and cathartic feeling you get when Needless to say, most of the resi- networks of young people who can and at the same time give Pristina “Muslim’’?” Pandith said in an you’ve cleaned out your fridge. Or – dents of Neighbourhood 29, and of discuss these issues online. organisations a chance to recycle interview with the newspaper. to make the analogy more accurate the 70 per cent of villages without “Internet is a phenomenon with- more of their rubbish. “The very answer to these ques- – when you’ve cleaned out your rubbish collection do not have a 4x4 out borders. You can use it for good Individual recyclers from this tions means that some of them neighbour’s fridge. Because it handy so they can’t do what we do. or for bad. It is up to the individ- group in Fushe Kosove are paired become more conservative and the seems likely to me that most of the For one day this month, however, ual. Are there voices online that up with Pristina-based offices (a others more liberal.” people who generate the garbage in the 4x4s will come to them, in the school, a company, international Pandith visited Kosovo last preach violence and extremism? Kosovo are not those who’ll have form of KFOR trucks (I wish all organizations etc). At a set time week to meet President Atifete Of course there are. But there is cleaned it up on the 24th. For municipalities had offered their each week, the nominated man from Jahjaga, as well as students from an increase of voices, credible instance, garbage in Kosovo is dis- trucks to make the clean-up work our project turns up with his new the American University of voices, that are in the space, push- proportionately in the villages, and sustainably) and the unsightly, bike and trailer and takes away all Kosovo and “Aludin” Madrasah. ing back against radicalism,” she the volunteers are disproportionate- unhealthy rubbish will disappear. separated plastic bottles, cans and “It is important that we can said. ly from the towns. And I’m hoping that 24 May will office paper that the organization speak about these issues,” Pandith “If the loudest megaphone is the The reason that the unsightly have been a wonderful success. But has set aside for recycling. It’s easy said. “In Kosovo there is pride in one that preaches extremism, garbage piles up in the villages is – in now let’s think about 25 May, and for the organization, and for the the respect that people have of dif- that’s the only thing that people part – because of a lack of municipal all the days after that; for a sustain- men it beats rummaging through ferent religious heritage, but it will hear. But we’re seeing more services for collecting it. One survey ably clean Kosovo, individual citi- the nappies and broken glass of the doesn’t mean that I was not asked and more places online where recently concluded that 70 per cent of zens/ consumers and the munici- skips in their search for individual difficult questions from the stu- Muslim people are showing differ- Kosovo’s villages are without munic- pal and national authorities need to items that can be recycled. dents.” ent narratives. It is important to ipal garbage collection. What does start working on the REDUCE- shine a light on these issues”. The Ideas Partnership still The envoy said that in every even the most responsible citizen do RECYCLE-RESPONSIBLY DIS- The envoy said that the needs more organizations to offer country she has visited the young with their waste under such circum- POSE approach. We can all use less American administration is very their recyclable waste for collec- have told her that they are seeing stances? packaging (particularly reducing committed to engaging Muslim tion. If you think you and your col- attempts to shape Islam from the I can tell you some of the things our non-recyclable packaging), we communities based on the princi- leagues can help with the next “outside”. you do under such circumstances, can all make sure that as individu- ple launched by President Barcak phase of Kosovo’s clean-up then “They’ve begun to see external Obama in Cairo, June 2009, when please get in touch on theideas- voices coming in,” Pandith said. he said “there is no ‘us’ and [email protected] or 044 “But it is important to know that ‘them’”. 661797. Let’s Do It not just on 24 when one sees changes that hap- May but every day. “Islam is part of the West. The pen, debates on who you are and idea that there is a West and then Elizabeth Gowing is a founder of what your identity is, it’s up to the there is Islam is not true. Islam The Ideas Partnership, a Kosovan population, community to commu- exists in every part of the world NGO working on educational, cultur- nity, to decide to accept or not and it is very important that our Y al and environmental projects. She is accept what its taking place.” government understands this. M also the author of the recently-pub- The senior American diplomat “We give the same respect to a C lished, Travels in Blood and Honey; said that there is diversity among Muslim that lives in Australia to K becoming a beekeeper in Kosovo. the Muslims and that should be the one that lives in Jordan.” May 25 - June 7, 2012 23 Classified Contact Prishtina Insight if you would like to advertise Email [email protected]

Embassies and Liaison Offices in Prishtina

American Address: "Nazim Hikmet" no. 30 Arbëria/Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 549 516 Austrian Address: "Ahmet Krasniqi" no. 22 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 249 284 Belgian Address: "Taslixhe" I, 23 A 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 734 734 British Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 6 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 254 700 Bulgarian Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 12 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 038 245 540 Dutch Address:" Xhemal Berisha" no. 12 Velania, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 224 61 Finnish Str. Perandori Justinian No. 19 Pejton 10 000 Prishtina Phone: +386 43 737 000 French Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 67 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 22 45 88 00 Greek Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 68 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 243 013 German Adress: "Azem Jashanica" no. 17 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 254 500 Italian Address: "Azem Jashanica" no.5 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 244 925 Japanese Address: "Rexhep Malaj" no. 43 10000 Prishtina Alcoholics Anonymous Personal Trainer Phone: +381 (0) 38 249 995 (English speaking) will meet every Luxemburg Classified Ads Thursday at 20.00hrs. Address: "Metush Krasniqi" no. 14 Mentor Azemi - 044 811 921 Do you have a flat to rent? Position to fill? Students to find for a language NGO LABYRINTH Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina course? Why not speak directly to Kosovo’s international community Personal attention and Phone: +381 (0) 38 226 787 Str. Gazmend Zajmi (former Dubrovnik through Prishtina Insight’ classified ads. training schedule Malaysian street) no:42, Almost every international organisation, embassy, NGO and many oth- Time and place of your Address: "Bedri Shala" no. 48 (along the street where Iliria College ers subscribe to Kosovo’s only English language newspaper, which is also choice 10000 Prishtina is.Opposite to Innovations Lab 3 per week = 150 month Phone: +381 (0) 38 243 467 on sale at newsstands in seven cities and received in electronic format by (UNICEF) Office) scores of paying clients across the world. 5 per week = 200 month Norwegian Contact : Erik - tel nr. : 044937397 (Other schedules possible) Address: "Sejdi Kryeziu" no. 6 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 232 111 00 Saudia Arabian Easy Medium Hard Address: Dardania SU 7, building 2, #1 y| y |y | 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 549 203 15 5 4 967 Slovenian Address: "Anton Ceta" no. 6 376 8973 59 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 244 886 792 4 42 9584Swedish Str. Perandori Justinian No. 19 849 5 697 159 Pejton 10 000 Prishtina 28 72 86 38 96Phone: +381 38 24 57 95 Swiss 8 639 23 5 743 Address: "Adrian Krasniqi" no. 11 10000 Prishtina 6 594 26472 1Phone: +381 (0) 38 248 088 92 5 195 8 36 Turkish Y Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 59 M Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina C 47 6 938 4 Phone: +381 (0) 38 226 044 K 24 May 25 - June 7, 2012 advert

AMAZINGLY AFFORDABLE PRICES

Prishtina ››› Stuttgart › München › Hamburg › Köln › Berlin › Düsseldorf › Hannover › Frankfurt ›

Prishtina ››› Zürich › Genève › Vienna

Skopje ››› Zürich › Düsseldorf

www.flyksa.com Y 038 220 220 M C K