Ban on British Cars to Be Challenged in Court
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News: EULEX Officers Caught ‘Smuggling’ Out of Kosovo April 23 - May 6, 2010 Issue No. 38 www.prishtinainsight.com Now on sale for € 1 Pacolli Builds NEWS Poor Mansion Infrastructure Outside Keeps Kosovo Off Prishtina Tourist Map Pacolli’s large villa is sur- > page 4 rounded by a two metre high wall. It is being built by his construction com- pany Mabetex, which has been involved in a number of high profile contracts in BUSINESS the former Soviet Union Kosovo Failing and Kosovo. See Page 6 to Meet Green Energy Targets Ban on British Cars to be > page 5 GUIDE Get the Paintball Challenged in Court Rolling The people of a village where a third of locals own right-hand-drive UK cars have mounted a legal challenge to a July > page 10 2009 ruling which banned such vehicles from the roads. already have a Kosovo-registered 2008, and in 2009 another 1,006 According to article three of the FOOD & DRINK By Petrit Collaku right-hand-drive car have been were brought in, despite the ban Constitution, the principle of Cantina AM-PM: required to make the modification, being introduced halfway though equality before the law was being ban on right-hand-dive cars which can cost up to 7,000 euro, the year. British second-hand cars violated, “because the people I rep- Stylish Mexican in in Kosovo is being chal- when they carry out their yearly are popular in Kosovo as they are resent have paid all the necessary lenged in the constitutional A registration of the car. British reg- sold at a fraction of the price of payments, as everyone else has, a Refined Setting court, Prishtina Insight can istered cars driven by non- vehicles in the region. but with this instruction they are reveal. The ban relates to a > page 10 Ministry of Transport order, Kosovars are still allowed on the Lawyer Naser Gashi has taken not equal before the law”, Gashi roads. up the case of 40 people from the said. issued in July 2009, barring vehi- FEATURE cles imported from Britain, The Ministry of Transport village of Llugaxhi, who are now The ministry’s reply to the Cyprus and Malta from Kosovo’s argues that the ban was intro- unable to use their cars. Gashi Constitutional Court, seen by roads. duced for safety reasons, although argues that the order violates arti- Prishtina Insight, says the deci- Women Sacrifice To register a right-hand-drive Kosovo Police told Prishtina cle 46 of the constitution, which sion has no retroactive legal basis. Inheritance car in Kosovo, the owner must first Insight that they have no statistics says that “no one shall be arbitrar- But Gashi claims that the ministry carry out expensive, and potential- showing that right-hand-drive cars ily deprived of property. This cate- is arguing over semantics, as forc- for Tradition ly dangerous, changes to the vehi- are involved in more crashes than gory of people is being arbitrarily ing cars to switch before their cle before they can receive a cer- any others. deprived,” Gashi said. “next registration”, which hap- > page 7 tificate at a government-licensed It is not known how many such He added that the act was pens yearly, is equivalent to a test centre. vehicles are in Kosovo, but accord- retroactive, drawing all the right- retroactive order. The order applies retroactively, ing to customs 439 cars were hand-drive vehicles into the ban, NGO FOCUS meaning that even those who imported from the UK to Kosovo in also violating the constitution. continues page 2 Giving the Blind Roma Boxing Club Aims Minister Limaj Calls for Hope to End the Fighting Better Road Quality > page 14 osovo’s Minister of Transport The president of the Kosovo Boxing Fatmir Limaj has called on road Federation said that sports would lead to Kbuilders to improve the quality way to reconciliation between commu- of, and commitment to, their work. nites. The comments were made to the The remarks came as seven boxing clubs Association of Road Builders last week, from Kosovo participated in an event following the signing... city marking International... page 6 business page 5 Y M is supported by: C K 2 April 23 - May 6, 2010 Right-Hand-Drive Ban Goes to Constitutional Court from page 1 news “What about the previous cars that were registered in Kosovo? Now they have to pay extra to make the switch from their family budget,” Gashi said. He said it is now up to the Constitutional Court to decide, but called on the government to com- pensate those being forced to make the changes. “It’s the government that allowed them to register those cars,” Gashi added. The Ministry of Transport claimed in their submission to the court that changing the steering wheel from right to left is a person- al financial matter, which the vehi- cle owner must arrange if he or she wants to carry on using a car in Kosovo. Point ten of the min- istry’s reply also states that legal- ising right-hand vehicles would endanger other drivers. Of the 1,200 people officially reg- istered in Llugaxhi, near Lipjan, 400 currently live in the UK and Photo by Petrit Collaku many have brought cars back to Selatin Retkoceri’s Mercedes remains in bits after workers started to switch the right-hand-drive car to the left, but couldn’t their families in the village. Of the on the right side, they may confis- 270 vehicles in the hamlet, 70 are cate it,” he added. right-hand-drive and none can be More then 40 people from the vil- of traffic accidents happen when legally driven on Kosovo’s roads. lage have brought a complaint cars overtake unsafely. “We have Renault mechanic said. find the parts Selatin Retkoceri said he has against the Ministry of all the statistics but we have not several such cars at home with looked to see if UK cars are A Peugeot garage said the Transport’s administrative order. requests he secured a “refusal Kosovo plates, which he could no involved in more accidents,” Baki changes are not affordable. “It is One is Hakif Selimi. He has two paper” from the test centre. “I longer use because of the ban. Kelani, Kosovo police spokesper- expensive because we offer origi- right-hand vehicles. He bought a was told by this centre in Prizren “Why have they allowed British son, told Prishtina Insight. nal parts,” Halil Elshani said. van for 3,000 euro to use for his orally that they cannot undertake cars into Kosovo and then decided A Volkswagen authorised dealer Elshani added that new cars are dairy company. The van is still reg- a technical test of British cars to make these changes?” he asked. and service centre in Prishtina almost fully computerised and istered legally until August but he because of the orders of the He bought a Mercedes in March said it had received few requests to detailed work is needed to make fears that he may go out of busi- Ministry of Transport,” 2009 for 12,000 euro and paid all switch the steering wheel because the switch. ness if he is forced to give up his Abdullahu said. necessary import duties and cus- vehicle, as he cannot afford the it was expensive. “People cannot The Constitutional Court has told Gashi that he needs to present Abdullahu, who owns a Ford toms of around 3,000 euro before switch. afford the price we ask for such the ban was introduced four proof that the cars have been Mondeo imported from UK, said “I bought this car because it was changes,” Haki Abdullahu, a tech- refused a certificate at test centres. that he checked with the Ford months later. cheaper than everywhere,” Selimi nician, told Prishtina Insight. To “My clients have told me that no office in Kosovo and was told that He paid a garage 4,000 euro to said. “There is no one in Kosovo to do a proper job would cost 6,000 to one from the centres issued such such changes were impossible. switch the steering wheel but the make these changes safely,” he 7,000 euro, depending on the type work has been halted because the of the vehicle, he explained. certificates of refusal, although He added that someone had added. “I don’t know how the min- offered him a car, which was in mechanics cannot find the right Abdullahu said one of the vehi- they requested them,” he added. istry can take such a harmful deci- parts, but he later found out that parts. “For the time being, the cles brought in for a service follow- But one man, Shukri sion. We have paid all necessary it was stolen. “This way, the gov- work is going really badly as it is ing a switch was in such a poor Abdullahu from Prizren, who has payments, customs, and now we ernment is encouraging more hard to find spare parts and if you state that they refused to work on joined the group fighting the min- have to pay additional expenses.” organised crime. I don’t want to find some they don’t fit,” he said. it. “When I saw the wheel welded istry, said that after numerous Selimi showed us another vehi- buy a stolen vehicle for spare He now believes the process is so badly, we could not continue the cle, a VW Passat. “I cannot drive it parts,” he said. unsafe as the work involves cut- but at least my drive looks beauti- service for him.