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Decentralization Should Not Imply Enclavization

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Decentralization Should Not Imply Enclavization Decentralization should not imply enclavization Bajram Kosumi1 Kosovo is in the process of an assessment standards as required by both the UN Security Council of and the Contact Group. We expect that the assessment will show that Kosovo has made major progress. In other words, we expect this assessment to be realistic and to open the door to starting a discussion on the final status of Kosovo. As is known, there have been several political and technical assessments so far, and all of them have been positive. There were some difficulties at the beginning. However, the Kosovo government and its agencies have relied on all their potential and have managed to make an initial breakthrough. These are the arguments that guarantee ongoing assessment. We do not see standards as something which the international community imposes on Kosovo. I have said many times that those were the standards of freedom and human rights, and that is how we perceive them. We will build a better democracy and show more respect for human rights and freedoms not because the international community required this, but because of our future. We want to create a democratic society, a free society that guarantees equality among all its citizens. Kosovo has established democratic institutions invested with new powers. With their four years experience, these institutions have proved that they are up to the Kosovo challenge, even in difficult times such as in the past several months. Both the Kosovo institutions and politicians have demonstrated wisdom and resoluteness in making decisions and taking over responsibility. A positive evaluation by international political factors testifies to this. Kosovo’s institutions are responsible, modern and democratic and they are ready to lead our country and our society towards new goals. They are illustrative of Kosovo’s society as they are multiethnic. The government insists that these institutions should mirror a civil society, and we are satisfied with what has been done so far. The Kosovo government mostly focuses on drafting of legislation. The Kosovo Assembly has to pass many laws that will be harmonized with European legislation. That is our duty. An agency tasked with legislative drafting has been established within the Premier’s office. Thus British or German businessmen may find in Kosovo laws that are similar to their national legislation. That brings Kosovo closer to Europe, its society and legislation. Among the most difficult issues which the government is faced with is the one related to ethnic communities. Here I want to underline the basic principles that guide our work. 1 Bajram Kosumi is Prime Minister of Kosovo. 320 Bajram Kosumi The Kosovo government develops a policy that integrates all ethnic communities, especially small ones. We want to create a favorable atmosphere for the integration of all communities. We want to emphasize the message that Kosovo is a community for all citizens regardless of their national, religious or political backgrounds, rather than a country of only one ethnic community, Albanian. This is our vision of the Kosovo state for which we aspire and we are attempting to make all citizens of Kosovo accept this as reality. We have been successful in many domains and most ethnic communities have so far been integrated. But not all of them. We are faced with major problems when it comes to the integration of the Serbian ethnic community. However, the government of Kosovo has taken concrete measures to enable the Serbian ethnic community to consider itself as an important part of our society and to join in Kosovo governance. More than 10 percent of all civil servants in Kosovo come from minority communities, and most of them are Serbs. Major governmental and administrative agencies in Kosovo alone recruit about 2,600 people from minority communities. Most of them are Serbs — they come to their workplaces day in, day out, work together with their colleagues, and go back home in the evenings. And all that comes as a logical sequence that reflects the normal functioning of democratic structures. However, Belgrade’s discouraging messages to the Serbian community generate enormous problems. Kosovo is certainly not a hell for anyone, including Serbs, but such propaganda discourages refugees and Kosovo Serbs who do not partake in our society and refuse to integrate. We would like to see Belgrade sending more optimistic, more favorable messages. The Government of Kosovo has drafted the Law on the Official Use of Languages in Kosovo. Apart from English, there are two official languages, Serbian and Albanian. All these languages are used at all levels of the administration. The names of all towns and public institutions are written in both languages. Some may argue that this is not the case, but I say it is in 90 percent of cases at least. The Law on Education provides that all communities can obtain education in their mother tongue, and that is a true accomplishment. According to this law — which I have personally signed — experts in minority issues participate in the drafting of every law in Kosovo, from the beginning to the end. Each and every law that is passed in Kosovo can be reviewed by ethnic groups, they can participate in their adoption, and that is usually the case unless it is regulated differently by law. The use of national flags and other emblems is not question in Kosovo. Now, I will address decentralization, which is my main topic at this conference. We have to reform local self-government. We have inherited communist local administration and the reform needs to reflect huge democratic and demographic changes in Kosovo. Pristina, with thousands of citizens, can no longer be a municipality. Decentralization forms a part of the overall reform that Helsinki Monitor 2005 no. 4.
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