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NGO Focus: Tackling Rising Levels of Drug Abuse September 18 - October 1, 2009 Issue No. 23 prishtinainsight.com Free copy Exclusive: Pieter Feith OPINION and Roy Reeve on The World’s Third Most Beautiful EULEX-Serbia protocol Woman on After a tumultuous month of Kosovo and protests and negotiations over her Life the controversial policing proto- > page 13 col, the agreement was signed last Friday between EULEX and Serbia. Prishtina Insight brings you exclu- ARTE sive interviews with Pieter Feith, Film Festival Brings EU chief in Kosovo and ICO head, Stars to Prishtina and Roy Reeve, deputy head of EULEX, on the mistakes, success- > page 9 es and plans for future agree- ments with Serbia. GUIDE Turn to page 2 and 3 for the A Very Modern EULEX-Serbia protocol special Photo byPhoto Insight Prishtina for Rrahmani Petrit Turkish Delight Hope as Kosovo’s 6million Euro > page 8 FOOD & DRINK Collection: Seen but Image Makeover Starts... not Heard ...but the man who coined the phrase ‘nation brand’ tells Prishtina Insight that the > page 10 nation-branding campaign could be a waste of money NEIGHBORHOOD tious attempt to rebrand Kosovo. its new, 6 million euro campaign corrupt family networks.” By Lawrence Marzouk Kosovo declared independence will give Kosovo a makeover in the IKS reports that serious interna- Greek Poll Puts from Serbia in February last year, eyes of the world. tional publications from well- Macedonia ‘Name’ aatchi & Saatchi last weekend and has since been recognised by A recent report from Kosovar respected organisations have rein- embarked on perhaps its more than 60 countries, including think-tank IKS, Kosovo Stability forced this picture, sometimes with- Row on Hold Stoughest pitch yet - a 6 million most of the European Union and Initiative, laid bare the problems out providing substantial evidence euro plan to transform Kosovo’s the United States. faced by Saatchi & Saatchi in of its accuracy. > page 12 international image from “Europe’s It has also benefited from ten reforming the country’s interna- Saatchi & Saatchi will use the black hole” to “Europe’s fountain of years of relative stability, bar the tional persona. strapline “Kosovo: The Young youth”. inter-ethnic violence of March 2004. According to IKS: “Leading Europeans”, suggesting both its sta- In the forthcoming months, the But this small, landlocked corner European newspapers[…] describe tus as the world’s youngest country advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi of the Balkans has struggled to Kosovo as a mafia state, a haven for and Europe’s most youthful nation. will blitz international television shake off its war-torn image.. criminals and drug traffickers, with channels and newspapers in an ambi- The government now hopes that weak institutions in the hands of continues on page 4 News Business Traffic Cameras to Cut Kosovo to Start Highway without Road deaths Land or Price Tag FEATURE Cameras are to be installed at key junc- Just two months ahead of the start of tions in Prishtina to tackle rising levels construction of the Vermice-Merdare The Secret Life of road accidents. highway,concerns are growing about the Digital traffic cameras will monitor government’s preparedness to build of Kosovo’s Gay five spots, and police have revealed that Kosovo’s biggest road project to date. Community drivers who jump red lights or commit Work on the highway that will connect other infringements... Vermice... page 6 page 5 > page 7 is supported by: 2 • September 18 - October 1, 2009 protocol special Elections in Four New Kosovo Municipalities Kosovo EU nternational Civilian Representative Pieter Feith Chief: Iannounced on Tuesday that Kosovo’s November local elec- tions will also be held in four new, Serb-majority municipali- in brief News Protocol ties. New or enlarged local authori- ties are being created in Gracanica, Ranilug, Will Not Klokot/Vrbovc and Novo Brdo. According to Feith, more work is needed in North Mitrovica and Undermine Partes before they can be estab- lished as full local authorities. The elections there will be held no later then six months after the Sovereignty November poll. Kosovo Hackers As the storm rages around EULEX’s Deface 15 Serbian decision to sign a policing agreement Websites with Serbia’s interior ministry, Jeta Xharra of BIRN’s Life in Kosovo show, group of hackers from Kosovo defaced 15 Serbian speaks to Pieter Feith, the EU special Awebsites on Tuesday representative in Pristina and head of night, including those of high the International Civilian Office, ICO. profile firms, government departments and museums. there were objections from the govern- problem that Serbia will not engage in any Xharra: When did you first know about The hackers, known as Kosova ment, saying they did not accept this pro- negotiations with Kosovo. the protocol between EULEX and Serbia? Hackers Group, posted the same, tocol, while the speaker of parliament, Feith: I don’t know the exact date but… it from the same party, was saying the proto- Q: And has EULEX signed cooperation Albanian double-headed eagle was in July. and message on each website, col was all right and the government had agreements with these countries as well? been rushing out declarations. What PF: It has signed them, or there have been calling for justice for those miss- Q: When do you think our government should the public make of this? arrangements. Yves de Kermabon [head of ing from the conflict with Serbia learned about the protocol? PF: It is clear what the government has stat- EULEX] has been visiting the capitals in the in the 90s. The targets included PF: You will have to ask EULEX. I was not ed – that this is a technical document that region, so these arrangements are in place, the Serbian Ministry of Defence. involved, because this is a technical matter EULEX has signed on behalf of EULEX, and and they also need to be in place with Serbia, The group also hacked into the and I was not involved since I am providing therefore the government is not involved. I and since there is no official contact between only political guidance. As long as this was website of EULEX, the European think that is an important clarification. Serbia and Kosovo this is the arrangement seen as a technical, relatively low-level effort, I rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, that we have in consultation with the authori- was not that informed. last month in protest against Q: What about the information from the ties. plans to sign a policing protocol Kosovo police which is needed to imple- Q: But have you asked EULEX whether with Serbia’s interior ministry. ment this protocol? they consulted the Kosovo government at PF: The Serbs in the Kosovo Police will be the same time they were consulting Feith: perhaps we should have done fully involved in the implementation of this. Mothers of Missing Serbia? better in terms of explanations PF: I have, and the answer was that there Q: But the Kosovo government will be End Protest were contacts with the government, so I involved because the Kosovo ministry of Q: Some of the criticisms aired in the thought that things were moving in the right interior will be involved. recent demonstration against the protocol others whose sons have direction. been missing since the PF: Well, the involvement of the Kosovo were that the protocol was aimed at Police is beneficial and necessary and under- removing an obstacle blocking Serbia’s M1999 conflict in Kosovo Q: You met the Kosovo Prime Minister scores the point that the sovereignty of Kosovo plans for visa-free travel to Europe – a ended their protest on Tuesday. and President regarding the protocol. is not in jeopardy. We in the European Union process from which the EU has barred Six women, who spent more Where are their main objections? see regional cooperation as absolutely essen- Kosovo completely. Isn’t this unfair? than a fortnight in a tent outside PF: That it was seen as harming, or having a tial to bring the region closer to our institu- PF: I don’t think the EU bosses are speeding bearing on, Kosovo’s sovereignty. the Kosovo Forensic Institute in tions. That goes for both Kosovo and Serbia. up any process only to please Serbia and in Is that concern legitimate? We did a thor- Pristina, ended the protest after The problem is that Kosovo and Serbia have no order to give it visa liberalisation. Visa liberal- ough legal check-up with our legal advisors… promises from President Fatmir diplomatic relations because they don’t recog- isation depends on objective benchmarks and and our assessment was that this [protocol] is Sejdiu that the government will nise each other. In that situation, we have to we have seen over recent years that a country not harmful to Kosovo’s sovereignty. work to identify more than 400 find ways and arrangements to overcome the like Macedonia can make important strides, obstacle of that lack of contact. which was why it was among the first to obtain remains. Q: Although it mentions UN resolution visa liberalisation. 1244 [which refers to Kosovo as part of Kosovo is also in the process, but Kosovo Parties Make Election Serbia]? only started a year-and-a-half ago to develop PF: It does mention Resolution 1244, but Feith: We are talking about borders. its institutional structure in issuing passports, Deal Kosovo’s declaration of independence also Isn’t there something positive and and in working on border management togeth- refers to Resolution 1244. wo opposition parties, the beneficial in all of this, since it is in the er with EULEX. Kosovo is a little behind, but at some point, and this is the objective of the New Kosovo Alliance, Q: We signed up to Resolution 1244 even way implying that there is new reality European Union, we will hopefully profit from TAKR, and Democratic before this protocol? on the ground here? visa liberalisation in the regional aspect.

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