CIVIL - MILITARY FUSION CEN TRE The Mediterranean Team Presents Monthly Review Comprehensive Information on Complex Crises May 2012

INSIDE THIS ISSUE This document provides an overview of developments in Kosovo from 01—31 May with hyperlinks to source material highlighted and underlined in the text. For more information on the topics below or other Governance issues pertaining to the region, please contact the members of the Mediterranean Basin Team, or visit our Security website at www.cimicweb.org. Economic Development Humanitarian Affairs Governance Socio-Cultural Development

Serbian Elections ABOUT THE CFC Tomislav Nikolic, the leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and former ultranationalist, won the runoff presidential election held 20 May with 50.21% of the vote over incumbent Presi- The Civil-Military Fusion Centre (CFC) is an information and dent Boris Tadic’s 46.77%, reports EurActive. SNS also won the most seats in the parliamentary knowledge management election on 06 May with 24%, or 73 of 250 seats, whereas Tadic’s Democratic Party won 67 organisation focused on improving seats and the Socialist Party of ’s (SPS) won 44 seats. The 06 May election led to a contin- civil-military interaction, facilitating uance of the coalition between the Democratic Party and SPS, Southeast European Times information sharing and enhancing (SETimes) writes. SPS increased its representation by nearly 16%, becoming an important bloc situational awareness through the in the creation of a new and stable pro-EU government, in which Nikolic is committed to select- CimicWeb portal and our weekly ing Tadic as prime minister, as Tadic’s Democratic Party and party allies have managed to domi- and monthly publications. nate the new cabinet. AP writes that the position of prime minister holds more power than the

CFC products link to and are based president; even so, Nikolic commented that he and Tadic “have one common goal and that is for on open-source information from a Serbia to move forward so that its citizens can live better,” further commenting that “I think that wide variety of organisations, you can view Serbia’s political stability in the future with much more optimism”. Nikolic added research centres and media sources. that “[t]here are no longer any bad guys in Serbia,” noting that Serbia is no longer a country of However, the CFC does not endorse political extremism, AP reports. and cannot necessarily guarantee the accuracy or objectivity of these Nikolic and Putin in Addressing parliament after taking his oath of sources. office, Nikolic made clear that Kosovo will not CFC publications are be abandoned, even though Nikolic will seek independently produced by further action into EU membership, reported the Desk Officers and do not source B92. On 26 May, during his first reflect NATO policies or official visit to , Nikolic emphasised in an positions of any other interview with Russia Today “Europe is a very organisation. attractive partner for Serbia and our country should fulfil almost all the conditions that the The CFC is part of NATO Allied EU imposes. This process should stop only if Command Operations. they ask us to renounce a part of our territory: I’m referring to Kosovo.” Nevertheless, Nikolic

is open to a potential referendum giving autono- my to northern Kosovo, in order to receive an Source: /RIA Novosti EU membership, as some EU diplomats have proposed. The EUobserver reported Nikolic will only accept the proposal if a Serbian majority CONTACT THE CFC vote backs a referendum.

For further information, contact: Rule of Law EULEX reports that during the visit of Danish Minister for European Affairs, Nicolai Wammen, Ida Benfield, Asst. Desk Officer to the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) Headquarters, the acting head of EU-

Linda Lavender, Team Lead LEX, Andy Sparks, emphasised that preferential treatment in the judicial system continues to be Mediterranean Team of concern in Kosovo. Mr. Sparks expressed, however, that Kosovo has seen improvement in its [email protected] police and customs sectors and aims to promote justice “through our mentoring, monitoring and advising the judges and prosecutors”. Beginning in June 2012, EULEX will begin decreasing its Kosovo Monthly Review

total staff by 25% to 30%, including reductions in the number of EULEX police officers from 1,250 from 1,700 and local staff from 1,200 to 1,000 to prepare for complete withdrawal, reports the EUobserver. EULEX is withdrawing from Kosovo, as its mission to train local officials seems to have been a success. In a press conference on 25 May, EU Civilian Operations Commander Hansjoerg stated that “[i]t is time for Kosovo to take responsibility for themselves” going further to state “EULEX needs to adapt and needs to prepare its own disengagement from Kosovo”. Instead, EULEX will take on special investigations in the future, focusing on organ- ised crime, corruption, war crimes, and missing people, while NATO upholds security, reports EUobserver.

The Albanian government approved a bill on 02 May giving EULEX teams unprecedented access into to investigate the (KLA)’s alleged harvesting of Serbian war prisoners’ organs, Balkan Insight reports. Albanian leadership expressed its support of a thorough investigation into allegations.

Israeli citizen Moshe Harel has been arrested in Israel and charged with illegal organ trafficking in Kosovo, according to Adnkronos International. In 2008, Mr. Harel fled Kosovo after being arrested on suspicions that he organised an international ring for the illegal trafficking of organs. A Turkish doctor, Yusuf Sonmz, and the owner of the Pristina-based Medicus clinic, Lufto Dervishi, have also been indicted for their involvement in about 30 illegal organ transplants carried out at the clinic and are currently on trial. Adnkronos International reports that although some organ recipients paid up to EUR 100,000 for organs, donors who are primarily impover- ished Eastern Europeans, were often not paid although promised EUR 15,000.

Eight people were arrested by Serbian Police in predominantly ethnic Albanian towns near Kosovo’s border with southern Serbia on 04 May, according to AP. Five of those arrested are suspected of committing war crimes against Serbian civilians during a 2001 con- flict. A source tells AP that two leading suspects, also accused of war crimes, are still free and assumed to reside in Kosovo. Further- more, AFP reports that Kosovo police and EULEX have arrested four former and current special police officers for their connection to the 2007 “Bill Clinton Boulevard bombing” of a café in Pristina, which killed two and wounded 12 others. It was widely under- stood that the bombing was an act of revenge against the café owner, a mob boss assumed to have killed a police officer. On 18 May, Balkan Insight reports that Kosovo police arrested J. Miljkovic of Serbian ethnicity in connection with the sabotage of a police checkpoint at the site of last month’s deadly bombing in Mitrovica. Approximately 50 Serbs protesting the arrests blocked a street to an ethnically-diverse neighbourhood in north Mitrovica. During the week of 21 May, six people were arrested, charged with petrol smuggling, Balkan Insight reports. EULEX suspects Zvinko Veselinovic, a Kosovo Serb businessman, is part of the smuggling scheme; Veselinovic and his brother are wanted for murder and have nine pending charges. According to Balkan Insight, the smug- gling extended from northern to southern Kosovo. Jeta Xharra, “Life in Kosovo” The prosecutor from the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office (SPRK), working under EU- LEX, confirmed on 04 May that Infopress was indicted for making threatening statements on behalf of Mayor Lushtaku, who is also facing charges, writes Balkan Insight. In 2009, both the newspaper and the mayor allegedly made threats and defamatory comments to- wards BIRN Kosovo Director Jeta Xharra, who aired a controversial programme called “Life in Kosovo”. The programme reported on the problems of freedom of speech in the country. In the aftermath, Balkan Insight reports that an article in Infopress claimed “Jeta has herself chosen not to live a long life” further stating that Ms. Xharra is a “servant of the Serbian police.” Many news agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) had de- manded a criminal investigation into the harassments of Ms. Xharra by Infopress. Source: BIRN Kosovo politician Fatmir Limaj, an ethnic Albanian and former KLA commander, has been exonerated of torture and killing of Serb detainees in 1999 by a Kosovo court under the supervision of EULEX, reports BBC. According to BBC, the verdict came after a key witness committed suicide while under witness protection in Germany. Mr. Limaj was also acquitted of war crimes in 2005 by a UN court. The Serbian prosecutor called the verdict “shameful and unjust”, and questioned whether anyone in Kosovo will ever be con- victed for crimes against the Serbs.

Recognition of Kosovo Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci recently stated to a newspaper that Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) should recognise Kosovo as an independent state to promote “regional stability,” reports SETimes. However, the President of Republika Srpska1 Mi- lorad Dodik disagrees, arguing that “Kosovo is a source of a long-lasting instability in the region” and comments that “[t]he recogni- tion has been supported by great powers wanting to punish Serbia and the Serbian people” and as such, “Kosovo cannot get a legiti- mate recognition form .” In 2011, Kosovo applied customs fees on Serbian and BiH merchandise to counter Serbia

1According to the U.S. Department of State, Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided into two regions, Republika Srpska which is predominantly Serb and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina which is predominantly Bosniak and Croat in composition.

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and BiH non-recognition of Kosovo’s customs seal, SETimes writes. In consequence, BiH’s Foreign Export and Economic Relations Ministry stated that BiH and Serbia had “a loss worth millions” since “Kosovo is the only country with which Bosnia and Herze- govina had surplus.”

Security

Peacekeeping In a deal brokered by regional peacekeepers, ethnic Serbs living in northern Kosovo had the opportunity to vote in the Serbian Par- liamentary elections on 06 May, United Press International (UPI) reports. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) workers and EU-sponsored police administered the elections. According to the agreement, OSCE controlled mobile polling stations and the ballots were transported across the Kosovo border to Serbia by EULEX international police. NATO Secretary Gen- eral Anders Fogh Rasmussen “strongly urge[d] all leaders and all communities to show restraint during the voting process. In this critical period, it is important to avoid any unilateral actions or statements that can raise tensions,” the North Atlantic Treaty Organi- zation’s (NATO) Newsroom reported on 04 May. Mr. Rasmussen reiterated that NATO’s mission in Kosovo (KFOR) is to ensure a “nonviolent and safe milieu” for all people of Kosovo. Despite concerns of violence, voting occurred in a calm environment, Balkan Investigate Reporting Network (BIRN) reports. Voter turnout was measured at 32.17%. Likewise, the Serbian presidential election on 20 May was without any violent incidents, according to OSCE.

Major General Erhard Drews On 02 May, German officials moved to prolong the German forces’ mandate in Kosovo as a part of the UN-authorised mission in Kosovo. Of the current 5,700 KFOR troops, 900 are German soldiers. Germany will maintain the same level of participation in the mission. In a Joint Implementation Commission (JIC) meeting on 30 May, German KFOR Major General Erhard Drews and Serbian Army Lt. General Ljubisa Dikovic determined that “the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija is sensitive, but stable and that it is necessary to maintain the high level of cooperation between security forces”, Tanjug re- ported.

Ethnic Tension According to International Radio Serbia, brochures emerged which stated that Serbs are “criminals, di- rectly or indirectly” and “invited” Serbs residing in the province of Kosmet to leave the region. It is be- Source: Tanjug lieved that the leaflets were distributed by the so called People’s Army of . KFOR deputy spokesperson Mark Stimmler’s response to the incident was guarded, but expressed that KFOR would act on any evidence of a real threat.

A Serbian police base in the Gnjilane municipality on the Kosovo border was attacked on 17 May with heavy artillery coming from Kosovo, BIRN reported. An investigative judge argues the attack was an attempt “not to intimidate but to liquidate the police patrol made up of four policemen”. Serbian Police Minister Ivica Dacic suspects a Kosovo Albanian terrorist group is behind the attack, calling it a fracture of the peace agreements, and demands that the international community react.

Humanitarian Affairs

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has condemned articles 37 and 28 in Kosovo’s new draft criminal code, which was approved by the National Assembly on 20 April. These articles prohibit slander and demand that journalists submit their news sources. Failing to do so could lead to more than three years imprisonment, according to the report. Lydia Gall, an Eastern European and Balkan research- er for HRW, argued that “[t]hese provisions unjustifiably interfere with journalists and undermine media freedom in Kosovo” and says that the draft criminal codes “threaten the public’s right to know.” According to HRW, “[f]reedom of expression and of the media are guaranteed by article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 10 of the European Con- vention on Human Rights, international standards Kosovo has pledged to respect.” On 08 May, Kosovo President Jahjaga returned the draft legislation to the National Assembly for reconsideration.

The relatives of those who “went missing” in 1999, during the , protested on 15 May in front of parliament demanding that lawmakers keep the issue of the whereabouts of the missing persons as a precondition for talks with Serbia, according to BIRN.

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Accounts indicate that 1,400 people are reported missing and are presumed to have been killed by Serb security forces. The precon- dition stipulates that in the event Serbia does not release this information, Kosovo mediators would not be authorised to engage in talks. Although parliament initially voted to remove the precondition, the ruling PDK party reversed its position, included the provi- sion and announced that the issue would be dropped until “a larger political consensus is reached” regarding the sensitive issue.

Economic Development

On 03 May, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a grant of EUR 23 million for the Kosovo Second Sustaina- ble Employment Development Policy Operation (SEDPO-2). Ten bilateral and multilateral donors supplemented the World Bank’s funding with EUR 12.1 million and the added USD 1.8 million. The SEDPO-2 supports policy reforms focused on strengthening investment, financial management, labour market and vocational institutions, and streamlining the civil service, the World Bank reports.

KEK Electricity Distribution and Supply (KEDS), an outgrowth of Kosovo’s state-owned power distributor, Kosovo Energy Coop- eration (KEK), has been put up for sale, according to . The Egyptian El Sewedy Electric and the Turkish Calik Holding and Limak have showed interest “for a 100% stake in KEDS.” Currently, 400,000 people receive energy from KEDS, which also dis- tributes power to Kosovo’s overall network. The eventual buyer will be accountable for collecting unpaid bills worth USD 509 mil- lion and, in return, receives 20% of every paid bill. Reuters reports that the sale is part of Kosovo’s energy sector liberalisation plan. Even though Kosovo has massive amounts of lignite reserves that could make Kosovo energy self-sufficient, the lack of investment in the energy sector means citizens experience frequent power shortages.

Socio-Cultural Development

Olympics Majlinda “Kosovo’s favourite child”, Majlinda Kelmendi is ranked as the world’s sixth best fighter in the under 52 kg-class by the International Judo Federation (IJF), according to the Financial Times. In 2009, Kelmendi won the gold medal in the World Junior Championship in and is the only athlete from Kosovo in the 2012 Olympics. However, because of a Serbian campaign, backed by Spain, Russia, and China, Ko- sovo has been excluded from most international sports associations. Consequently, Financial Times reports, Kosovo athletes are prohibited from competing for Kosovo in the Olympics. According to AP, the Interna- tional Olympic Committee has determined that Kelmendi is not able to compete for either Kosovo or inde- pendently in London, arguing Kosovo does not hold a membership. Instead, Kelmendi has chosen to represent Albania in London. The decision has angered Kelmendi’s coach, Driton Kuka, who claims “the ICO took a decision that was politically influenced by the Great Powers”. She further stated that “it was Russia that lobbied so much against us, and changed the ICO stance”, Balkan Insight reported. Kuka also expressed that “[t]he refusal to let Majlinda [Kelmendi] compete under Kosovo’s flag is unexpected bad news for other Kosovo sports”. Source: Steve Ryan

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