October 3 - 16, 2008 Issue No. 1 €1.50

COMPLIMENTARY COPY

POLITICS Minister Under Fire Over Kosovo Slams Belgrade's Serbian Offensive Partition Claims As Belgrade approaches General Assembly vote on Kosovo with confidence, opposition in Kosovo accuses foreign minister of presiding over a debacle.

he Kosovo issue will again preoccupy minds at the UN page 4 Tnext week – not at the Security Council, as it did a year ago, but at the General Assembly. COMMENT On October 8, the 192 member states will vote on Serbia’s bid to Echoes of the Balkans seek the opinion of the in the Georgia Crisis International Court of Justice, ICJ, on the legality of Kosovo’s independence. Only 47 of these countries have recognised Kosovo’s independ- ence, and it appears that not all of them will vote against the Serbian resolution. Sources in Brussels told Prishtina Insight that EU coun- page 5 tries had decided to abstain from the vote in a bloc “due to the fact that not all EU member states REAL ESTATE have recognised the independ- ence of Kosovo,” as one Brussels- Dangers Abound in based diplomat put it. Kosovo Building Boom So far, 21 EU countries have recognised Kosovo. Five oppose granting recognition and a sixth, Portugal, has neither recognised Kosovo nor publicly opposed it. Under the General Assembly rules, countries abstaining from the vote on October 8 will be counted as not voting. This means that for the case to go to page 7 the ICJ, Serbia needs the support of only a simple majority of countries that actually vote. INVESTIGATION Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Vuk Cartoon by Mentor Llapashtica Jeremic, last week appeared con- Smugglers Find Heaven fident of victory. “Most UN mem- cy,” one official told Prishtina ministry had “utterly failed in indeed been tardy in deploying in Kosovo's North bers stand behind it [Serbia’s ini- Insight. the process of getting independ- diplomats, adding that many had tiative],” he said. Albana Beqiri, an adviser to ence recognised.” not yet obtained visas for the “Certain countries have openly Hyseni, countered that the min- At a special session of parlia- countries in which they would be told us that if the Court rules that istry was treating the Serbian ment on September 18, Ibrahim residing. it [recognition] was not in line drive with urgency.“Our strategy Gashi, from the opposition New President Fatmir Sejdiu has with international law, they will is to have more recognitions, to Kosova Alliance, said the min- accredited ambassadors to ten withdraw their recognition of which end we’ve been working istry was guilty of “nepotism and countries but none has yet set off. Kosovo,” Jeremic added. mostly with countries that lack of professionalism.” Adem They are still being trained in Kosovo’s government disputes haven’t yet recognised Kosovo,” Salihaj, of the Democratic Prishtina, awaiting deployment this prognosis but officials in she said. League of Dardania, called on to their respective countries. page 9 Pristina do not conceal their dis- Opposition parties in Kosovo Hyseni to resign. Beqiri insisted this phase would may with the efforts of Foreign have bitterly attacked the foreign Some deputies say a cardinal soon be completed. “The foreign Minister Skender Hyseni. “If ministry, claiming it lacked com- error was the delay setting up ministry is about to finish the NEIGHBOURHOOD Serbia manages to send this case mitment. Besnik Tahiri, of the Kosovo’s embassies abroad. technical issues around the open- to the ICJ, this would be a signifi- Alliance for Future of Kosovo, led Official sources told Prishtina ing of the embassies. This will be Trade in Degrees Stuns cant failure for Kosovo’s diploma- by Ramush Haradinaj, said the Insight the government had concluded very soon,” she said. Croatia

Food & Drink Travel Guide Ronan Macnamara takes Asdren Rrahmani took his a look at what there is to eat camera to Prevalla to show us and drink in Prishtina this gorgeous national park page 11 page 12 page 18

Get Prishtina Insight delivered to your door! is supported by: 038 24 33 58 [email protected] 2 • October 3 - 16, 2008 promo JOIN OUR TEAM! The BIRN Kosovo team is looking for proactive, motivated candidates with a strong command of the English language to fill the following vacant positions:

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JOB SUMMARY: JOB SUMMARY: JOB SUMMARY: Responsible for day-to-day marketing operations as well as The Sales Agent is responsible for the sale of newspaper Writers needed to produce 300 - 1000 word articles on top- the overall, long term marketing strategy for Prishtina Insight. advertising targeting the English-speaking community of ics of interest to the English-speaking community of Kosovo Kosovo. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: • Develop newspaper-specific marketing campaigns • Use words and pictures to inspire and inform, to open dia- • Develop a complete prospect contact plan, from genera- • Build ad sales business working directly with clients logues, and to help people tackle everyday challenges tion of new prospects to conversion into customers • Promote Prishtina Insight as the top news source for the • Address situations and opportunities that are unique to • Generate leads for partnerships and develop relationships English-speaking community of Kosovo Kosovo with media and businesses • Work with Prishtina Insight management to ensure that • We are looking for those with a positive voice and an inter- • Supervise and maintain the outreach budget ensuring the all ads running in the paper are appropriate/approved est in Kosovo account is neither under nor overspent • Manage inventory and sales process for most effective • Supervise and assist in the record keeping of all marketing selling REQUIREMENTS: activities • Develop effective and inventive ways to promote brand REQUIREMENTS: • Must be willing to adhere to Prishtina Insight's guidelines, awareness in the territory deadlines and quality standards. • Extensive experience in sales • Experience in media is not mandatory but is an advantage REQUIREMENTS: • Excellent knowledge of English and Albanian languages • Photography skills a plus • Basic knowledge about work of the media a plus • Ability to write in English • Extensive experience in marketing • Energetic, hard working, self starter • Excellent knowledge of English and Albanian language • Must have excellent verbal communication and writing • Basic knowledge about the work of media skills • Proven management and leadership skills • A willingness to travel locally • Adaptability, resourcefulness and creative problem-solving skills • Superior written and oral communication skills, including public speaking • The ability to manage and balance a wide variety of Think you know Prishtina? responsibilities in a fast-paced environment under tight time constraints • Strong critical thinking, assessment, and analytical skill, and attention to detail Think again! • A willingness to travel locally news • October 3 - 16, 2008 3

Kosovo PM Vows New Partition Would Wipe Editor’s Word Spurt of Recognitions out Kosovo Serbs Prapë! BALKAN INSIGHT,PRISHTINA Gracanica, and the Pec (Peja) and osovo Serbs condemned the Decani Patriarchates,” claimed Serbian President’s claim Jaksic. Kthat Belgrade does not rule Gracanica, Peja and Decani are By Krenar Gashi out Kosovo’s partition, arguing the home to important Serbian move would wipe out Serb commu- Orthodox monasteries but they lie nities living in enclaves. in enclaves outside the overwhelm- Senior Kosovo Serb politicians ingly Serb-dominated regions of ere we go again. After a claimed President Boris Tadic’s northern Kosovo. few months of analysing declaration had sent a negative Meanwhile the Vice president of Hand enjoying the impact message to Serbs living in the the Serb National Council, moder- that the special edition of enclaves that are spread out across ate politician Rada Trajkovic Prishtina Insight had in June, Kosovo. claimed the partition of Kosovo we’re starting regular publica- Marko Jaksic, Vice President of would complete the ethnic cleans- tion of our newspaper, which the Parliament of Serb Munici- ing of Serbs from Kosovo. from now on will be in your palities in Kosovo, seen as illegal “Partition is against modern hands every second Friday. by Kosovo’s government, argued European values. Albanians may I must clear up one matter. We partition does not offer any alter- have such an option in exchanging have now intentionally correct- photo byphoto Insight Prishtina for Rrahmani Petrit native for local Serbs living in the northern Kosovo with the Presevo ed the spelling mistake that we BALKAN INSIGHT,PRISHTINA forwarded to the International other regions of the country. Valley,” added Trajkovic. made in the last edition. osovo’s Prime Minister Court of Justice for its opinion. “An opinion has been created The Presevo Valley is a small Prishtina will now be written as Hashim Thaci has dis- The United Nations’ 192 mem- that we are backing partition. region of Serbia proper where eth- it is supposed to be, and not as Kmissed the Serbian bers will vote on Serbia’s resolu- Nobody wants to leave out nic Albanians make up a majority. many international organisa- Foreign Minister’s claims that tion on October 8. If Belgrade tions, among them Kosovo’s own some countries may soon retract secures a simple majority, its res- government, write it. That their recognition of Kosovo’s olution will be forwarded to the Libya ‘Won’t Back means Prishtina being written independence. World Court. as it is pronounced – with a “sh”. “There will be new recogni- Jeremic said he expects some We will not try to change the tions for Kosovo that will sur- countries to retract their recogni- Serbia’s Kosovo Case’ constitution, where it is unfortu- prise Serbia,” Thaci said on tion of Kosovo if the World Court nately stated that “the capital of October 2. decides Prishtina’s independence BALKAN INSIGHT,PRISHTINA The vote will be held on October Kosovo is Pristina”, but we will His comments were a reply to was a breach of international he head of Kosovar diploma- 8. Earlier, Serbia’s Foreign Minister be using the standard spelling remarks by Serbia’s Foreign law. cy, Skender Hyseni, is cur- said he expected some countries to from now on. Minister, Vuk Jeremic, that some “There are certain countries Trently in New York trying to retract their recognitions if the bid This edition comes out in a states such as Costa Rica which that have very openly told us that counteract a Serbian diplomatic is successful. very hot week of October - hot have recognised Kosovo’s inde- if the Court rules that it was not offensive against the newborn Ettalhi told Hyseni that his coun- not only in the sense of the pendence may reverse their move in line with international law, country. try is carefully observing the devel- improved weather in the capi- if Serbia’s resolution on the legal- they will withdraw their recogni- Kosovo’s Foreign Minister says opments in Kosovo. tal, but also in connection with ity of Kosovo’s independence is tion of Kosovo,” Jeremic said. he was promised that Libya will not Aiming to raise awareness of many social and political devel- back Serbia in its bid to get the Kosovo, Hyseni also held a speech opments here and around the World Court’s opinion on the legali- at Columbia University in the world. In New York, an impor- Czech Republic Recognises ty of Kosovo’s independence. United States, arguing that Kosovo tant vote is about to take place Skender Hyseni said the Libyan is a ‘sui generis’ case, not only his- at the 63rd session of the UN ambassador to the United Nations, torically, but politically and judi- General Assembly. Here, mean- Kosovo Passports Giadalla Ettalhi, pledged to back cially as well. while, students from all around Kosovo’s independence while oppos- The Ministry of Foreign reports Kosovo have flooded back for ing Serbia’s initiative to contest this. the appearance featured a live the start of the new academic Serbia needs the backing of a debate in front of a large audience year. The Prime Minister, simple majority of 192 countries at for more than two hours. Hashim Thaci, is probably the United Nations General The Foreign Ministry has been about to announce the name of Assembly for its resolution on the enhancing its diplomatic offensive in the chief spy of our newborn legality of Kosovo’s independence the lobbying for Kosovo’s independ- country “very soon.” The same to be passed to the International ence, after coming under criticism timeline applies to the nomina- Court of Justice. from lawmakers and the public. tion of two deputy ministers, one for trade and industry and the other for foreign affairs. Macedonia to Decide With a woman deputy minis- ter, our foreign diplomacy might not look like a typical men-only on Kosovo ‘Soon’ club, or çajtore, as we call it in BALKAN INSIGHT,BRUSSELS Kosovo declared independence Albanian. However, not even a acedonia’s government on February 17 this year. woman may rescue our haphaz- photo byphoto FoNet will very soon announce Macedonia and Montenegro – both ard diplomatic efforts. Again, BALKAN INSIGHT,PRISHTINA Prague is also set to increase Mits decision on recognis- home to sizeable ethnic Albanian we may soon be feeling the dis- he Czech Republic has the number of its peacekeepers ing Kosovo’s independence, minorities – are mulling whether comforts of our poor diplomacy reportedly, on October 1, in Kosovo. Macedonia’s President Branko to recognise Kosovo’s independ- in our everyday life, such as Tofficially recognised A report issued by the Czech Crvenkovski says. ence. Serbia earlier this week being deprived of the freedom to Kosovo’s newly-issued passports, government on October 1 revealed Crvenkovski said in Brussels vowed a ‘response’ if Podgorica travel abroad and having to six months after having honoured that the Czech Republic is set to that the time for reflection and and Skopje recognise Kosovo’s cheer other nations’ football Prishtina’s declaration of inde- strengthen its military presence analysis regarding the independ- independence from Belgrade. teams rather than our own. pendence from Serbia. in Kosovo and Afghanistan, due to ence of Kosovo has passed and it is “I would not like this to sound as This word “again”, prapë in “The Czech Republic was the withdrawal of Czech troops time for decision. “I expect the a threat of any kind. We do not Albanian, is the title of this edi- added to the list of European from Iraq. government, which has the consti- threaten anyone, we simply want torial. Again, in Prishtina Union countries recognising Through this plan, the Defence tutional competence regarding to be partners with our neigh- Insight you will be able to read Kosovo passports,” the Interior Ministry is set to increase the this, to announce very soon the bours in safeguarding regional an investigative report and Ministry announced in a press number of Czech soldiers serving stance of our country concerning peace and stability,” Vuk Jeremic, many political and social pieces release. in foreign missions from the pres- the independence of Kosovo,” Serbia’s Foreign Minister, told of analysis produced by the Meanwhile due to the lack of a ent 900 to 1,386. Yet the plan still Crvenkovski said. Belgrade’s Beta news agency. Balkan Investigative Reporting Czech Liaison Office in Pristina, needs to be approved by both Earlier on Thursday he met the “But,” he added, “no act violating Network, BIRN. Besides that, visas for Kosovars will be provid- houses of Parliament. European Union’s Enlargement our sovereignty and territorial we’re also introducing an enter- ed in neighbouring countries. Kosovo declared its independ- Commissioner, Olli Rehn, who integrity can be tolerated.” tainment section for the news- Until now, Kosovars travelled ence on February 17, 2008. Swiftly praised Macedonian leaders for Montenegro’s hesitation in rec- paper, which we hope will con- to the Czech Republic with travel backed by the United States and their constructive approach ognizing Kosovo was mainly seen tinue improving. A special fun- documents issued by the United its main Western European towards Kosovo. “We count on under an ethnic lens. A large page is also introduced to this Nations Mission in Kosovo as allies, Kosovo has been recog- your continued support for region- Serbian minority, living in the for- edition, plus a page of restau- well as Yugoslav passports, after nised by 47 sovereign states but al cooperation and our joint work mer Yugoslav republic, has been rant and bars reviews. So having been supplied with the continuously opposed by Serbia for stability and progress in the quite loudly posing barriers for again, enjoy reading. necessary visas. and Russia. Western Balkans,” Rehn said. Kosovo’s recognition. 4 • October 3 - 16, 2008 politics Kosovo Slams Serb Leader’s Partition Claim

Kosovo Serbs Fear Sell Out Serbia’s diplomatic offensive over Kosovo cuts no ice with Kosovo Serbs, most of whom regard new centrist government with horror

By Nikola Krstic in Shterpce 10,000 Serbs, agreed. “Reinstating the ambassadors and removing enad Rakic, an art teacher the resolution on Kosovo from the in the northern, Serb-run, parliamentary agenda sends a bad Nhalf of Mitrovica, in signal to Kosovo Serbs,” he said. Kosovo, is too angry to follow the While officials say the discus- news. Now, he avoids reading sion on Kosovo was removed from newspapers and watching televi- the agenda with a view to reach- sion, so as not to upset himself. ing a broader consensus in parlia- “From now on I’m only follow- ment on the matter, Radical sup- ing sports and reading cartoons,” porters are unconvinced. photo byphoto FoNet he says. “I am too young to go To counter their suspicions, the Parliament speaker Jakup Krasniqi (left) and President Fatmir Sejdiu (right) insane.” government has undertaken other The object of Rakic’s anger is moves. The Coordination Centre By Vjosa Musliu in Prishtina Kosovo’s parliamentary speak- well as the northern half of the Serbia’s new centrist govern- for Kosovo, formerly located in er, Jakup Krasniqi, argued Kosovo flashpoint town of Mitrovica. ment, loyal to President Boris Belgrade, has now moved to osovo’s leaders have con- has its own internationally recog- This area in northern Kosovo Tadic. Although it has scored Gracanica, in Kosovo, for example. demned remarks by nised borders. is overwhelmingly ethnically diplomatic successes over Kosovo The body is now to be assigned KSerbia’s President, Boris “All of those who aim to divide Serb and Prishtina’s influence is in the world, mostly recently at control over the spending of gov- Tadic, that Belgrade would con- Kosovo, I want to say, it will end barely felt there. the UN, the Serb minority in ernment funds for Kosovo, which sider Kosovo’s partition if all in nothing. Serbs lost their right Serbia’s request for debating a Kosovo follows Belgrade’s actions the new government says was other options on its final status to Kosovo with the unjust war resolution on Kosovo at the with suspicion, fear and anger. misspent in the past. are exhausted. against the Albanian majority,” United Nations General Assembly What has angered them lately But Kosovo Serbs don’t like the “I don’t want to comment on he said. to seek the International Court of is the government’s decision to look of the new officials in over- this. You have already been The comments were a reaction Justice’s opinion on the legality of reinstate Serbian ambassadors to all charge of Serbian policy informed of our attitude towards to Tadic’s remarks on Serbian Kosovo’s independence was EU countries that have recog- towards Kosovo. Kosovo’s partition,” said Fatmir state television on Monday. accepted, and a vote will take nized Kosovo’s independence. Kosovo Serbs have been boy- Sejdiu, President of Kosovo. He said Kosovo’s partition along plance on October 8. A decision to remove discus- cotting country’s Albanian-led ethnic lines will be considered by Belgrade has said it hopes that sion on government policy institutions beside the first elec- Belgrade if all other options if the World Court rules in towards Kosovo from the agenda tions organized by UNMIK, and regarding the former province’s Serbia’s favour the move would of the first session of parliament have been organising parallel status have been exhausted. perhaps persuade other countries has also sparked protest. “I see institutions under the govern- www.prishtinainsight.com “I’m ready to think about that which have not yet recognised that as a direct attack against us,” ment in Belgrade. option (partition) as well if we Kosovo’s independence to refrain a Kosovo Serb taxi driver from Ivanovic says he sees the new Publisher: exhaust all other numerous alter- from doing so. Shterpce, southern Kosovo, said. ministry’s job as solving practi- BIRN natives. There are a lot of possibil- On the other hand, both Reiterating that Belgrade is not cal problems on the ground, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network ities to find a solution within sub- Prishtina and many internation- giving up its claim to Kosovo, while leaving “high politics” to stantial autonomy,” Tadic said. al leaders have reiterated that Serbian diplomacy has launched others. Mensa e Studenteve, first floor “But,” he added “if we drain all Kosovo’s independence, which an intensive diplomatic offensive “From now on, we will be more 10000, Prishtina choices, we can then take up that has so far been recognised by 47 aimed at halting recognition of present on the ground. We are Kosovo alternative (partition).” countries, including the United Kosovo’s independence. working on equipping offices in Phone: +381 (0) 38 24 33 58 While the idea of Kosovo’s par- States and the majority of the Belgrade’s efforts bore fruit towns with a Serbian population, Fax: +381 (0) 38 22 44 98 tition was vivid in marginal European Union member states, when the UN General Committee and that is where our main activ- [email protected] debates, this was the first official is irreversible. backed Serbia’s request to vote on ities will take place,” told comment. The Serbian President The international community a resolution from the Inter- Ivanovic Belgrade daily Danas. Editor in Chief: told national state television late and Prishtina authorities have national Court of Justice, ICJ, con- But that cuts no ice with Bojan Krenar Gashi on Monday that the partition of consistently warned that Kosovo’s testing Kosovo’s independence. Gvozdic, from Zvecan, in north- [email protected] Kosovo, which declared inde- partition is not acceptable and, At the same time, Belgrade has ern Kosovo. “Goran Bogdanovic pendence in February “is not on last week, a United Nations offi- assured Kosovo Serbs that closer and Oliver Ivanovic should not Editorial Team: the agenda” right now, and cial pledged that “Mitrovica will integration with the European have been appointed to those Ana Petruseva, David Labrador, Belgrade insists on “the broadest be united in the same way it was Union will not come at the price positions because they have Gordana Igric, Jeta Xharra, Marcus possible autonomy for Kosovo done with divided Berlin.” of conceding recognition of proven themselves traitors to the Tanner, Shiv Sharma, Vjosa Musliu within Serbia.” Since the end of the conflict Kosovo’s independence. Serbian people,” he said. However, just half of the 100,000 between Serbia and the ethnic But the majority of Kosovo Even more moderate Kosovo Marketing, Sales & Distribution: Serbs living in Kosovo actually Albanian majority in 1999, local Serbs do not take these assur- Serbs – who support the govern- [email protected] live in northern areas, while the Serbs have refused to integrate in ances seriously. ment – have little faith in its rest are in isolated enclaves that the institutions led by Albanians. Bojan Nakalamic, deputy diplomatic initiatives. Bogoljub Design & Layout: Artan Zeneli dot the former province. They constantly chose to look to mayor of Rahovec, told Balkan Redzic, an engineer from Although Tadic did not specify Belgrade for their problems, Insight “this initiative is only an Shterpce, says the initiative in Printing: Roto Print where the line of partition would arguing they cannot be represent- advertisement ploy of the new the UN might be a good idea - but run, it is most likely to include ed by authorities in Prishtina. government.” he doubts it will have any effect. Copyright © BIRN the municipalities of Zvecan, Zvonko Mihajlovic, Radical Leposavic and Zubin Potok as Source: BalkanInsight.com Party mayor of Shterpce, home to Source: BalkanInsight.com politics • October 3 - 16, 2008 5 Comment Echoes of the Balkans in the Georgia Crisis Georgia’s problems may echo those of the Balkans in the 1990s but geography alone means comparisons between the Caucasus and South-east Europe can only be taken so far

motion on Kosovo’s independence By Tim Judah tabled at the UN General Assembly, in Tbilisi which will ask the International Court of Justice in The Hague to give an advisory opinion on the ormally, when one talks of legality of Kosovo’s declaration of “diplomatic sources,” one independence. So, I put it to David Nis referring to the under- Bakradze, the speaker of Georgia’s stood rule of thumb by which you parliament, who is close to do not identify a diplomat who is Saakashvili, that Georgia would revealing something controver- have an interest in associating his sial or delicate. But I think the country with this motion, or British ambassador to Tbilisi will launching a parallel one on South not be cross with me for revealing Ossetia and Abkhazia. that it was he who told me: “I I know certain diplomats have have noticed more and more suggested the same thing. But the Balkan people turning up here.” Georgian speaker thought it a bad The ambassador did not mean idea. The Kosovars had come to large numbers of Serbs or independence, he said, though a Albanians, but rather diplomats, process in which they were the journalists, think-tankers, spies victims of ethnic cleansing. In and who knows who else? This Georgia’s case, he continued, became obvious to me on the Georgians are the ones who have night of September 8-9 in the café been ethnically cleansed. In 1990, of the Tbilisi Marriot, which only 17.8 per cent of the popula- serves as a hub for business and tion of Abkhazia was Abkhaz. diplomacy, where I was having a One could answer that with the drink with a diplomat who words, “Yes but the Abkhaz had

spends a lot of time in Serbia and byphoto Judah Tim been ‘cleansed’ previously by the now Georgia. “You know, Ivan Russian Checkpoint in Karlaleti Georgians” – and Serbs argue that Vojvoda was here,” he said, talk- since 1999 and before the era of ing of the head of the Balkan conference with Messrs, Saakash- responsible for South Ossetia”. few Balkans leaders now use this Slobodan Milosevic, it was they Trust for Democracy, who is from vili and Sarkozy. But I found There are obviously some compar- kind of language. Indeed, with the who were ethnically cleansed by Belgrade. At that same moment, myself thinking that Javier isons. South Ossetia, Abkhazia recent apparent demise of the Albanians in Kosovo. But what up wandered Dan Bilefsky, who Solana, the EU foreign policy and Kosovo were all “sub-republi- Serbian Radical Party, we may be would be the result? A lot of hot covers the Balkans for the New chief, who was also there, looked can” units of republics that in able to bury the era in which air. Georgia’s problem is simple. It York Times. much better than when I had last turn made up bigger federations. political dialogue was defined by is just in the wrong place. Had it The diplomat suggested that seen him in Pristina. Then he had However, the idea that Kosovo was the likes of the Radical leader, been the seventh Yugoslav repub- the agreement hammered out appeared rather old and evasive, the spark that lit the fire in Vojislav Seselj, who once infa- lic, it might have lost South that day by French President standing next to Hashim Thaci, Georgia is absurd. As Vladimir mously talked of gouging out Ossetia or Abkahzia, or even Nicholas Sarkozy in Moscow the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Putin, Russia’s Prime Minister, Croat eyes with rusty spoons. seized them back, as Croatia’s meant Georgia was taking “the just after Kosovo declared inde- said on Thursday, in a clear artic- But some comparisons are not Franjo Tudjman did with the Tadic option”. So, I mused, the pendence in February. ulation of the “Putin doctrine,” welcome, however appropriate. Krajina. But it would now be Balkans are even seeping into the As for Bernard Kouchner, Georgia just needed a good punch My impression is that Georgians heading to Brussels, and not torn diplomatic lexicon here. What he French Foreign Minister and for- “in the face.” don’t like to accept that their between Washington and Moscow, meant was that just as Boris mer UN chief in Kosovo, who was His words make one realise that country shares many problems seeking salvation in the “Tadic Tadic, the Serbian President, had also there, how does he do it? He in some areas the Balkans are and issues with the countries of option”. pledged not to use force over looks almost the same age as he now well “ahead” of the former the Balkans. Kosovo, he had also said Serbia did in November 1991, when, Soviet Union, in the sense that Serbia is now hoping to have its Source: BalkanInsight.com would never renounce its claim to under JNA shelling (and even then the territory. Meanwhile, he has a French minister!) he raced into made the economy and European Dubrovnik. He came on a hydro- integration the priorities. foil that had been shot at by the Yugoslav Navy and on his arm was TV Adverts To Push dashingly escorting Margherita South Ossetia, Abkhazia Bonniver, an Italian minister. and Kosovo were all I went to see Tamar Beru- chashvili, who is Deputy State Kosovo Independence “sub-republican” units Minister for European integra- of republics that in turn tion. She said that the silver lin- osovo’s government says tourism on the main internation- ly the foreign ministry, has been ing in the grey cloud of just hav- it will hire an internation- al television networks. at the centre of criticism by made up bigger federa- ing been stomped on by Russia is Kal public relations firm to According to Kuci, the aim ‘is members of the public in Kosovo tions. However, the idea that people in [the rest of] Europe promote Kosovo on global televi- to present Kosovo as a stable amid claims it is not doing were finally understanding that sion networks and push for country of possibilities, toler- enough to push for greater recog- that Kosovo was the spark Georgia is not just “in the neigh- greater recognition of its inde- ance and equal opportunities.” nition of its independence. that lit the fire in Georgia bourhood” but actually part of pendence. The new project will be sup- The United States and most Europe. “An international agency will be ported with complementary European Union countries are is absurd. So far, EU “twinning” has hired to promote Kosovo’s image activities led by the Presidency, among the 47 that have recog- meant, for example, sending in the prominent television net- the Foreign Ministry and our nised Prishtina's move. Dutch customs officers to share works around the world, such as international friends, Kuci told Members of Kosovo's parlia- Georgia then, is indeed taking their expertise in the Balkans. CNN, BBC and the like,” Kosovo’s Balkan Insight. ment argued in last week's ses- “the Tadic option.” Substitute But perhaps a strategy needs deputy prime minister Hajredin On Thursday the Kosovo gov- sion that nepotism, a lack of Tadic with Georgian President developing by which EU-spon- Kuci, told Balkan Insight. ernment announced it was set- expertise and vision in the Mikheil Saakashvili, and Kosovo sored twinning projects send The number two in Kosovo’s ting aside €3 million for a new Foreign Ministry have been with South Ossetia and experts from the Balkans to government said this new lobby- lobbying strategy to push for largely blamed by the public for Abkhazia, and the Balkan com- Georgia. ing initiative will resemble the more countries to recognise its the sluggish recognition of parison fits nicely. In the meantime, a few words way some countries such as February 17 declaration of inde- Kosovo's independence. An hour or so later I was at the are needed on the much-talked- Malaysia, India and Greece pendence. Georgian presidency for the press about theory that Kosovo “is broadcast adverts promoting Kosovo’s government, especial- Source: BalkanInsight.com 6 • October 3 - 16, 2008 society Dervishes Keep Whirling Profits Double at in Western Kosovo Prishtina Airport Many people think ‘whirling dervishes’ have all but disappeared from the Balkans but in Kosovo’s western towns these peaceful mystics are going strong

Prishtina International Airport

rishtina International Air- tions for both passengers and air- port has announced a lines, something that Prishtina P“record profit” for the busy airport lacked in the past,” he summer season of more than €5 added. million. A 2006 report by the UN Office “850,000 passengers have been of Internal Oversight Services, departing and flying from accused the United Nations Prishtina Airport while net profit Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, of for three months went up to € 5.4 allowing “systematic corruption” million,” a press release from the in Prishtina’s International airport reads. Airport.

photo byphoto Insight Prishtina for Rrahmani Petrit During the same period last The airport’s former managing Whirling dervishes during their performance in Prishtina year, the airport’s profit was director, Afrim Aziri, was sus- some €2.7 million. pended from his position after By Refki Alija in Prizren es were mendicant ascetics who “Dervishes have their own Agron Mustafa, the newly being indicted for corruption and lived off the charity of the pious place in the Islamic Community appointed managing director of mismanagement of company zbije Ceska enters the on their travels. The word of Kosovo, and acting on the pro- the airport, told Balkan Insight funds. Saracan Sufi Muslim dervish derived from Dari mean- posal of the various orders, the that the profit is the result of a The new management, besides Ashrine Saracan in Prizren ing “door”. A dervish, or darvish, mufti appoints individual shehs new business approach by this doubling its profit, says it has in southern Kosovo with her 12- was one “who goes from door to by giving mensura,” Resul public company. decreased the expenses of the year-old son and another woman door”. Rexhepi, secretary of the Islamic “The new, customer-oriented company by 10 percent compared from neighbouring Rahovec. She Community of Kosovo, told approach is the main reason for to previous years. has had a bad dream, she Balkan Insight. this success,” said Mustafa. Prishtina airport is the only explains, “which is why I have “Most dervishes in Kosovo But among ordinary believers, “We are creating better condi- international airport in Kosovo. come to pray”. differences are obvious. Zeqir Ceska, her son and her friend are ethnically Albanian, Shehu, 80, a dervish from are dervishes. In Kosovo, there though some are Bosniaks, Prizren, says the Sunni majority are as many as 12 orders of this Turks and even Roma” “often see us as something weird Sufi sect, all of which trace their at the very least, though we’ve EU Agrees Aid origins back to various saints and gotten used to it”. teachers and who unite in view- Adrihusein Shehu At the Saracan shrine, around ing Ali, nephew of the Prophet 70 believers have gathered in the Muhammad, as their founder. tekke by 10 pm for the weekly Package for At the shrine, or “tekke”, Adrihusein Shehu inherited zikr. After exchanging small talk Ceska makes her way towards the his title as “sheh” from his and pleasantries, the sheh taking eight grave headstones of recently deceased father, part dress up in colourful garb, deceased dervish clerics, known Xhemail. Under dervish tradi- bow, and begin the zikr. Aspirants as shehs, which are covered with tion, the calling is hereditary and green velvet. some titles have passed from he EU's executive arm has Ceska is one of thousands of father to son over the passage of “What hurts is that our agreed how to spend €4.5 dervishes in Kosovo. The exact centuries. Tbillion in aid to the bloc's number is unknown because, Shehu says that the “whirling library containing 1,500 candidate countries in 2008-10, according to Mumin Llama, a dervishes”, as the world knows books was set on fire” giving priority to improving gov- local sheh from Gjakova, “each them, are not performing an ordi- ernance and the rule of law. tariqah, or order of dervishes, nary dance. “It is something we The European Commission's takes account only of its own call majdhb, an ability to reach a Mumin Llama decision brings closer the release members”. certain state of mind. It is a of the European Union funds to Adrihusein Shehu, a sheh from secret which is passed on for gen- Croatia, Turkey, Macedonia, the order of Rifa’iyyah from erations,” he says. Led by the sheh, they start Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prizren, believes that before the Because of the pacifism of singing in rhythmic unison, with Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. wars of the 1990s about 50,000 Sufis, they took little part in the theme changing every 10 min- 'The road towards the EU is dervishes of all orders were Kosovo’s armed conflicts and utes. After around half an hour, paved with reforms to improve spread around the former most of the tekke in Kosovo sur- they begin standing up and the everyday lives of citizens and Yugoslavia, mainly in Bosnia, vived the devastation of the late whirling themselves into a to comply with the strict EU Kosovo and Macedonia. 1990s, Shehu says. trance. accession criteria,' EU Enlarge- Most dervishes in Kosovo are The Serbs left them largely Later, the dervishes take up ment Commissioner Olli Rehn ethnically Albanian, though alone in Prizren. “A part of their defs, shallow drums, which said in a statement. Olli Rehn some are Bosniaks, Turks and Prizren was set on fire but we produce a high-pitched sound, The Commission said the €1.8 even Roma. “Since the wars, the believe the downtown was pre- stepping up the pace of the dance. billion of aid for Turkey would up its accession talks next year, is number of dervishes in Kosovo served because of our tekke, and The prayer reaches its climax. focus on supporting the stability to receive €451 million. has remained roughly the same,” none of the local dervishes was As they leave the courtyard of of institutions so as to guarantee Its priorities include strength- Shehu says. murdered,” he notes. the tekke, they recite a last fundamental rights and free- ening state institutions, cross- Ismail Hasani, a Kosovar However, if people were often prayer over the graves of ancient doms, democracy, the rule of law, border cooperation and prepara- expert in religious studies, says spared, books were not. “What shehs and kiss the wooden fence human rights and respect for tions for the country's participa- most dervishes in Kosovo live in hurts is that our library,containing three times. Shehu is delighted. minorities. tion in the EU's regional rural Prizren, Gjakova, and Rahovec, 1,500 books, was set on fire,” Mumin “It was a good zikr,” he says, Turkey is an official EU candi- development policies. with smaller numbers in other Llama says. “The losses included 39 beaming. date, but its membership is seen Of the other candidates, all towns. scrolls dating from around 1719, as distant, if achievable at all. from the Western Balkans, Serbia As he explains, the first dervish- which are irreplaceable.” Source: BalkanInsight.com Croatia, which hopes to wrap is to receive €584 million in 2008. business • October 3 - 16, 2008 7

Real Estate Analysis Dangers Abound in Balkan Banks Kosovo Building Boom Feel Blessed Construction firms are transforming Kosovo’s skyline with one high-rise after another - but as most have no planning permission, buyers could lose in the end. By Isolation Financial Institutions in Southeast Europe remain bullish about growth prospects, despite the global downturn.

By Besar Likmeta in Tirana intermediation remains low, with the notable exception of he Balkan banking sector Croatia and Bulgaria”. has registered strong Further legal and institution- Tgrowth rates over the past al reforms, obligatory as part of year despite the financial crisis the EU integration process, hitting Wall Street, EU and should also have lasting positive Asian markets, a Raiffeissen effects on regional economies Bank report, CEE Banking 2008, and in banking. says. If anything, the region’s “Total banking assets in the economies now need more cor- region grew by more than 30 per porate lending. “Whereas in pre- cent in 2007, seemingly defying vious years the focus was on the impact of the US sub-prime maintaining business profitabil- mortgage crisis on the availabil- ity and diversifying the sources ity and pricing of external fund- of revenue, now it’s how to fund ing,” the report, published on lending growth,” Rushan September 28, states. Khvesyuk, head of Alpha Bank, “Although the contagion of said at a recent forum held by the crisis to other parts of the Euromoney Magazine. financial market and the global Because of the credit crunch economy, as well as its extended in international markets, busi- duration, have left their marks nesses in the region are increas- on the banking sector develop- ingly turning to local banks for ment in the first half of 2008, loans. In an increasing number growth dynamics for the region countries in the region mort- remained strong,” it adds. gage loans have become one of The CEE Banking Report the most dynamic products in offers in-depth coverage of the the retail segment. most vibrant banking markets Some of the legal and judicial

photo byphoto Insight Prishtina for Rrahmani Petrit in the region. requirements for EU entry, such Illegal builds are aconstant headache for those dabbling in real estate in Kosovo Low levels of regional expo- as the creation of a reliable land sure to international financial register, new legislation and By Besiana Xharra in Pristina of new builds. Most have no con- to save money by buying a new flat institutions, weak integration more efficient court procedures, struction permits. City hall in for 750 euro per square metre, or with international markets and have provided a framework for ahri Kumnova, from Pristina says 70 per cent of about play safe and pay 1,000 euro or the strong capitalization of banks to be able to grant mort- Gjakova in western Kosovo, a hundred new apartment build- more for an older property. “These international banks operating gage loans on a larger scale than Fis taking a good look at a ings erected since 1999 have no prices are very expensive,” he in the region, are some cited fac- before. new apartment block in Pristina. permission and do not form part laments. “It makes no sense that tors behind the region’s appar- Financial institutions were He wants to buy a flat in the capi- of the urban plan. old apartments are much more ent immunity to the economic able to sustain the strong growth tal but is worried the building “Some construction companies expensive than the new ones.” downturn. in deposits from recent years as may not have planning permis- were careful to secure permits but Municipal authorities advice to However, the region’s finan- confidence grew in the banking sion and does not know where to most of the buildings were built buyers is not to rush, and to check cial experts and top bankers sector, in tandem with the com- turn. without permission,” Muhamet up before putting down any warn against complacency. pletion of bank privatisation, “I have no clue what to do,” he Gashi, spokesperson for the City money. “If you buy a flat in a “We judge that there are risks other institutional reforms and says. “The construction company of Pristina, confirms. building that lacks planning per- that have a strong chance of rising income levels. tells me the building has permis- This is reflected in the price mission, you risk losing your materializing and inflicting Slovenia has the strongest sion, while the municipal author- tag. The cost of buying flats in property in future,” Muhamet heavy damage to our financial deposit base in the region with ity claims almost no new blocks new buildings is markedly lower Gashi warns. system,” Ardian Fullani, almost 108 per cent of GDP in have a licence.” than in the old housing stock dat- He says owners of illegal builds Albania’s Central Bank gover- 2007, following a significant For three months, Kumnova ing from the 1950s and 1960s. in Kosovo could suffer the same nor, notes. increase since joining the EU has toured many of the new build- Staff working in real estate fate as their counterparts in other The region remains heteroge- single currency area, the euro- ings that have shot up recently in accept that many clients are parts of Europe. neous economically and in zone. Pristina, crowding the city sky- afraid to buy new apartments In Spain, where illegal builds terms of EU integration. Slove- This already compares favour- line. because they know most have no on the south coast have become nia joined the EU in 2004. ably with the 144 per cent level But his worries about whether permits. especially rampant, owners of Romania and Bulgaria joined in recorded in the eurozone, the the buildings have any right to “Buyers are most interested in those properties have seen them 2007; Croatia is short-listed as report notes, adding that the exist are so great that he is think- apartments constructed before demolished, and received no com- next to join the club, having increased confidence and trust in ing of buying a pricier apartment the 1999 conflict, even those that pensation. commenced accession negotia- the banking sector in the in one of the city’s remaining are expensive than the new ones,” Gashi said Kosovo’s parliament tions in 2006. Balkans, boosted by privatisation older blocks, whose planning per- Muse Maloku, of Sazani real is now mulling a new law on Macedonia signed a Stabili- and the entry of foreign banks, mission was granted years ago. estate agency, says. building, which could have the sation and Association Agree- has been reflected in a steady Illegal builds and lack of urban Maloku says the price differen- same effect. “Once we have the ment in 2001, the first step increase of deposits as a percent- planning is a constant headache tial between the two is significant. new law, we will license only towards membership, and age of GDP. for those dabbling in real estate in The average price per square those buildings that pose no risk gained candidate status in 2005. “Many Western bankers have Kosovo. Development has been metre in an old building is about to the city’s layout, while all the But it has not started accession learnt a surprising lesson,” chaotic since the Serbian pullout 1,000 euro, while in new buildings others will be destroyed,” he says. talks like Croatia. Andrea Treichl, board chairman in 1999, since when construction it is only about 750 euro. Buyers like Fahri Kumnova say Albania, Serbia and Bosnia of Erste Bank, told the companies and entrepreneurs Safety is another consideration. it is up to the government and Herzegovina are further behind. Euromoney forum. “The view have built numerous high-rises, “New apartments don’t meet any local councils to sort the matter They have only signed Stabili- has always been that banking in transforming the urban profile particular construction stan- out as quickly as possible. “Ten sation and Association Agree- the West is safe and eastern mar- for good. dards, so people don’t want to risk years has been past since the end ments and have not obtained kets are risky,” he said. Many visitors say they no buying them,” Maloku notes. of war and it is high time they candidate status. “However, banks have had a very longer recognise Pristina when Fahri Kumnova is a buyer dealt with this issue,” he says. The report explains that responsible attitude of doing they return after an absence of a caught in the cleft stick of this despite high growth rates in the business in this part of the few years, thanks to the number dilemma. He is wondering whether Source: BalkanInsight.com region, “the degree of financial world.” 8 • October 3 - 16, 2008 chronicle Does Kosovo Need 70-year-old volunteer ziz Tahiri is an old man mending the potholed roads of from Mitrovica region. Bajgora. ABut at 70, he is still hard Not everyone is so helpful, an Opera House? at work every day, mending and however. Tahiri sadly noted that filling holes in Kosovo’s ruined someone recently stole his roads. spade. “I wonder who needed With so many Kosovars jobless, plans to build a national opera, named after the coun- The former employee of the it?” Tahiri asked, scratching his Trepca mine is not getting paid head. try’s first president, are proving controversial. for his labour. Unemployed and He aims to carry on working without a pension, he does it in winter, even when the roads By Arif Muharremi in Prishtina voluntarily. are covered with snow. “I also “Nobody pays me. I just can’t went to Pristina to fill in some onths after Kosovo stay in all day without work- of the holes in the streets, declared independence, ing,” Tahiri told BIRN’s TV there,” he explained. Mthe authorities are about show. People from other parts in to give the go-ahead to plans to He said his wife had urged Kosovo have increasingly build a new opera and national him not to do the work, as peo- heard of Tahiri’s voluntarily theatre. Named after Ibrahim ple might think he had gone efforts. Rugova, Kosovo’s first president, insane. But officials from Mitrovica the building will cost more than Halil Bajrami, driver of the Municipality said they could €20 million. Official enthusiasm bus that passes along the roads not offer the devoted old man a for the project is high, with the in Bajgora, where Tahiri is cur- job on account of his age ministry of culture insisting a rently working, brings Tahiri “Tahiri is not of working age temple for high art is a must-have some snacks from time to time. and deserves a pleasant and for the newborn country. “Whenever we bring him quiet retirement,” Rasim Veseli, But many disagree. With the some food, he is absolutely head of the local development population facing staggeringly The Opera House in Sydney delighted and carries on with department in Mitrovica, said. high levels of unemployment, crit- his voluntary work,” Bajrami But Tahiri said he needed a ics say an opera house is just not Bajri says the logic behind the tickets for 20, 30 or 50 euro, which said. job owing to his economic hard- the first priority.Kosovo’s existing project is faulty. “Such a struc- is reasonable”, Beqiri says. But The driver said he would give ships, adding that he would still National Theatre is undoubtedly ture is only needed when the pro- Muhaxhiri is unmoved by the Tahiri as many free rides as he want to work, even if he was in crisis. Staging only a few plays duction and cultural level is at promise of budget-priced entries wanted, so he could continue extremely rich. annually, the premises has such a high level that it requires a to Swan Lake. “There are higher increasingly become a location for better space,” he adds. priorities than building an opera, commemorative and political The large sum of money to be which it will be difficult to main- gatherings rather a home for plays spent on the opera has caused tain properly,” he insists. “It is a 65-year-old Takes to and dance. resentment among other members mistake to undertake such an ini- “We need an opera house,” of the artistic community, some of tiative, which just doesn’t corre- Valton Beqiri, minister for cul- whom fear their own departments spond with reality in Kosovo.” the Road ture, says. “Kosovo needs this may lose out. Members of Kosovo’s Ordinary Kosovars, who building, and Kosovo institutions struggling Philharmonic Orchestra receive an average monthly suf Muhaxheri, from the vil- past, driving without a license in need it, too.” are worried. They have difficulties salary of some €250, are also of lage of Sllatina, in Fushe my hand,” Muhaxheri said on But Artan Muhaxhiri, a cultur- meeting the high cost of hiring for- two minds. "Opera isn't sexy," IKosova municipality, has BIRN’s TV show. al sociologist, begs to differ. “The eign musicians for their concerts. Rina Meta, a local journalist says. gained record status in Kosovo. Muhaxheri’s score in his driv- fact that we have remained unde- Baki Jashari, the Philharmonic’s "The only time we listen to classi- He is the oldest person in ing test was above-average. veloped has nothing to do with director, says it’s a battle coming up cal music is when somebody Kosovo’s history to receive a He said both a car and a driv- the fact that we lack an opera with the 5,000 euros that it costs, on famous dies." driving license. ing license were necessary to per- house,” he maintains. average, to get a notable foreign But others are rallying to the The 65-year-old said he needed sons of his age, as they often Ilir Bajri, a musician and com- musician to play. idea, saying a proper opera house a license because he was sick and could not walk as well as they poser in Prishtina, is also scepti- To counter accusations that will proclaim Kosovo's European tired of other people driving him once did. cal. “The worst justification for opera is an elite pursuit, open identity to the world. "We must around. Born in the Second Muhaxheri urged everyone, building an opera house is to say only to the rich, Beqiri says the have an opera house," one World War in 1943, he said he felt regardless of age, to take the that we must have one because ministry will work to ensure ordi- Prishtina resident says, enthusi- confident now of taking to the same initiative. According to Berlin, London and Paris have nary people can see the perform- astically. "It's a must for Kosovo, roads. him, where there’s a will, there’s one,” he says. ances. “We will ensure there are as we want to join Europe." “I haven’t been confident in the a way. Running Out of Solutions for Water Shortage Fed up with not being able to take a shower? Be warned – unless more people pay bills on time, the erratic water supply is not going to get better.

By Besiana Xharra in Prishtina is quite simply a lack of water in rats move into the pipes, blocking Prishtina’s two reservoirs. them and coming into homes. f you are a resident of According to the water company, “When no water is circulating, Prishtina, you have probably levels in Badovc lake, which sup- rats invade the system, and this is Inoticed that the water supply plies about 30 per cent of the city, very dangerous,” he says. is as irregular as ever. The times are 11 metres lower than usual. Some homeowners say they when you must wait to take a The rest of the city, supplied don’t see why they should pay for shower, or do your laundry are, if from Batllava lake, is little better water they don’t get. Florije anything, even more limited than off. The level in this lake is about Ademi, who lives in the Ulpiana before. seven metres lower than usual, area, says she won’t pay her next According to the records of the despite recent heavy rain. water bill, until she sees it run- city water company, the Mat, Officials from the water compa- ning for 24 hours a day. Vreshta, Sofali and Bregu i Diellit ny say the frequent stoppages are “We have severe water reduc- districts enjoy a water supply for not going to change any time soon. tions for six or more hours per only two or three hours a day. This leaves many people in day, so why should I pay for water, Other neighbourhoods experi- Prishtina fearing for the conse- when I don’t have it?” Ademi encing severe reductions in sup- quences. Apart from the sheer asked. ply for six or more hours a day are inconvenience of not being able to Arjeta Mjeku, spokesperson for Misuse of water is leading to the poor supply Dardania, Ulpiana, Lakrishte and take bath when they want to, the city’s water company,counsels Arberia. In other words, most of domestic appliances are at risk. against taking that course, as it “It’s misuse of water by resi- But now the company is going the city is suffering. “Water deficiency causes a lot of will only make the situation dents that has caused water levels to start cutting off water to those “There is no worse feeling than damage,” says Viktor Lekaj, of worse. to fall, leading to the poor supply,” who do not pay. waking up and not having water Sunny Hill. “Water heaters can Apart from low water levels in she said. The problem is exacer- “During October, our company to take a shower, it’s driving me break if we forget to turn them off the reservoirs, non-payment of bated by consumers refusing to will discontinue water services to crazy,” complains Nexhmedin during the night, when there is no bills and misuse of water by resi- pay the company on time at the some entire apartment buildings Syla, of the Bregu i Diellit area, water at all.” dents are key reasons why the com- end of the month. Some 40 per as well as to individual homes,” known in English as Sunny Hill. Lekaj says rodents are another pany has problems supplying the cent of consumers do not pay Mjeku warned. “It’s the only way The reason for the frequent cuts threat. When there is no water, city with water, Mjeku explained. water bills at all. for us to collect our debts.” insight • October 3 - 16, 2008 9 Smugglers Find Haven in Kosovo’s North Ethnic tensions in Kosovo’s northern region, bordering Serbia, create an ideal environment for traders to smuggle goods into Europe’s newest state – to the detriment of local businesses

By Krenar Gashi and Muhamet Hajrullahu in Pristina and Mitrovica

lush Maloku, an Albanian from the divided Kosovo Atown of Mitrovica, prefers to buy fuel in the town’s north- ern, Serb-controlled part. Although ethnic hostility between Serbs and Albanians remains high in Mitrovica, follow- ing Kosovo’s declaration of inde- pendence from Serbia in February 17, it doesn’t stop Maloku from trading with the “other side”, when the goods are smuggled and on sale at a lower price. “A litre of fuel in the north… is up to 30 cents cheaper than in the south,” says Maloku, who is well aware that the fuel has been ille- gally smuggled into Kosovo from Serbia. An investigation by Balkan Insight can reveal that such trad-

ing in contraband goods in north- byphoto Insight Prishtina for Rrahmani Petrit ern Kosovo is rife, and that gaso- A litre of fuel in Kosovo's north is up to 30 cents cheaper than in the south line and many other goods are being smuggled in from Serbia The police – less than Besim Hoti, police spokesper- points is what happened in 10,000 euros from each truck,” and sold to clients on both sides of reliable: son in Mitrovica, says the March 17,” a senior UN official one official said. “This means we Kosovo’s ethnic divide. absence of customs officers on said, referring to burning down lose at least 3 million euros a Much of the trade involves Driving from the Kosovo capital the border crossings was the of the border points and the month.” Kosovo Albanians going to Serb- of Pristina to the northern town main reason why smuggling clashes withy local Serbs that left The Kosovo daily Koha Ditore, dominated areas to buy fuel and of Leposavic, it’s hard to miss the flourishes. Hoti described it is a UN police officers and KFOR sol- last month claimed the loss was other goods for which no import police checkpoint just outside eth- political issue and said it was not diers injured. higher. “Kosovo loses more than 5 tax or customs has been paid. nically divided Mitrovica, where up to the Kosovo police to solve it. “Seventeen soldiers lost their million euros [a month] from Citizens of the Republic of Serbia police flag down vehicles and “It is in KFOR’s mandate to guard arms and legs. We don’t want to imported oil alone,” the newspa- are also doing the same, however. warn Albanians not to proceed the borders”, Hoti said. see this happening again, which per concluded. The trade is depriving the cash- into Serb-dominated northern The Albanian mayor of is why we are not sending the Citaku, from the customs in strapped Kosovo state of desper- Kosovo “for your own security”. Mitrovica, Bajram Rexhepi, also customs back to the border,” he Mitrovica, insists the figure is ately needed funds. Tens of mil- A few miles further on, a mobile blamed Kosovo’s international said. lower. “It’s roughly 1.5 million lions of euros are lost annually as unit of the Kosovo customs serv- administration for the smuggling The reinstatement of the bor- euros per month”, he said. Bedri a result of tax evasion. Legal ice stops and checks trucks and boom. der points is one of six issues Hamza, deputy minister of econ- businesses also suffer. vehicles heading in other direc- “Until June 15, when Kosovo’s that UN Secretary General Ban omy, agreed. “We should refer to Kosovo’s authorities and the tion, which they assume are enter- constitution entered into force, Ki-moon mentioned in a letter on the statistics of the custom serv- UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, ing Kosovo from Serbia. the customs service belonged to June 12 to the presidents of ices,” Hamza said. “The current admit smuggling is booming and But Kosovo customs officials UNMIK,” he said. “UNMIK have Serbia and Kosovo. It is also one situation is not catastrophic, that the country is losing out, have not been present on the two allowed smuggling activities to of the items of negotiation though it is worrying,” he added. though calculations of the scale border points between Kosovo become established.” between Kosovo and Serbia, Naim Maloku, a deputy from the of the losses vary. and Serbia since Kosovo declared mediated by the UN mission. opposition Alliance for the Kosovo police and customs offi- independence in February. Alexander Ivanko, UNMIK Future of Kosovo, said the prob- cers say they cannot control the A police source told Balkan spokesperson, said the UN was lem will never be solved until the smuggling because they are not Insight that the smugglers often "We don't want our offi- doing everything possible. “We government comes up with an present on Kosovo’s two north- take advantage of links with cor- cers to loose hands and have put the mobile customs con- initiative to resolve the wider ernmost border crossings with rupt individual officers. trols in the area. [But] because of problem with the north. Serbia. “The smugglers initially check legs again" security, we need an agreement “They lack a concrete plan Because Kosovo Serbs in the whether our forces and customs A UN official on this, because Belgrade at least about what should be done,” north do not accept Kosovo’s are patrolling the highway. Once has to agree that customs needs Maloku said in a debate organ- independence, they have forced they clear that, they bring in the to be reinstated,” he said. ised by BIRN. police and customs to withdraw trucks with fuel. They also have Mayor Rexhepi meanwhile from the border crossings, leav- inside sources within the police,” However, the lack of any clear Local businesses suffer, insists that “in order to stop the ing management of the frontier the source said. division of competences between as does the budget smuggling, we need to establish to KFOR – the NATO-led peace- Veton Elshani, Kosovo police KFOR and the international an efficient rule of law… The keeping mission. spokesperson, told Balkan forces on one side, and the Eshref Latifi, who runs a informal economy was present in But KFOR is not controlling Insight a few officers were under Kosovo police on the other, has petrol station on the Vushtri- Mitrovica even before independ- the illegal import of goods effec- investigation regarding the aggravated the sense of muddle Mitrovica highway, complains ence.” tively. While they claim they are smuggling. and confusion. that smugglers are fast destroy- Many locals in Mitrovica doing everything to fight smug- But Elshani said most officers Herve Cozette, KFOR spokes- ing his business. agree, saying that is precisely gling, Balkan Insight can reveal were doing everything in their person, insisted that the Kosovo “During the same period of what lured them to the town in that smugglers operate freely in power to stop the smuggling. police was “in charge of all inves- time last year we would have had the first place. Aca, a Kosovo the area and that the “grey” trade When Balkan Insight visited a tigations regarding rule of law, a daily turnover of 3,000 euros Serb from western Kosovo, left is carried on more or less openly. police checkpoint, they were not KFOR”. Cozette said if KFOR and now it’s hardly 300,” he his village and moved to north- “Nobody prevents me from indeed confiscating all the fuel noticed smuggling activity, their lamented. ern Mitrovica just before inde- buying fuel in the north,” Maloku that they found, apart from what duty extended no further than “We’re losing costumers,” he pendence to open a cafe. says. “It’s all being done openly. was in the car petrol tanks. reporting the matter to the added. The smugglers “sell fuel “Mitrovica is a perfect place to Police don’t stop me and neither Angry drivers complained of police. with much lower prices from the run a business,” he said. “You do the customs.” harassment. In the meantime, Bashkim north, as it’s not taxed, and peo- don’t need to pay any taxes or Citaku, regional head of customs ple don’t buy it here any more”. any kind of bills.” No customs patrols on the in Mitrovica, says customs offi- Sources in Kosovo Customs In the meantime, the people of border cers are ready to resume their told Balkan Insight at least 10 Kosovo continue to buy their “UNMIK have allowed work on the border, but there is large trucks containing fuel smuggled oil and other goods in smuggling in Mitrovica” Police and crime experts blame no political will for their rein- enter Kosovo every day, crossing the north. “Why not,” asks Alush the tensions between the Kosovo statement. the two northern border points Maloku. “People do it all the Bajram Rexhepi, Mitrovica mayor government and the Serb-held The UN said this was not a sim- with Serbia. time, because they can.” north for the epidemic of smug- ple issue. “What stops us sending “If this fuel was taxed, the gling. the customs back in the border Kosovo budget would gain some Source: BalkanInsight.com 10 • October 3 - 16, 2008 review Tim Judah: Kosovo, What Everyone Needs to Know Small country, big dispute. So it’s ever been. Think of Israel, Lebanon, East Timor, Ulster. One could go on

Reviewed by Marcus Tanner as it has unfolded over the past most of the Balkan lands – few centuries, ending with the Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia and ewind the historical clock independence declaration of Bosnia in particular – must to the mid-19th century in February 2008 and its immediate therefore be counted as unique. REurope, and the continent aftermath. For that reason, his lightest word was torn in two over the two Writing an impartial guide to on the subject is heavy. small duchies of Schleswig and Kosovo is like writing an impar- Fortunately, though, possession Holstein and whether they should tial guide to the Israel/Palestine of an extensive body of knowl- go to Germany or Denmark. dispute. So contested and fought- edge has not led to ponderous- It’s a forgotten dispute now but over are even basic historical ness or a tendency to preach – the for a couple of years it was touch facts that ploughing an even fur- besetting sins of so many foreign and go whether the duchies row between them can seem writers on the Balkans. Instead, would drag several great powers, impossible. the facts, such as they can be Britain included, into a general But Judah, who will be well ascertained, are laid out with a war. Lord Palmerston quipped known to most readers of Balkan disarmingly light touch, along- famously that only three people Insight, prudently avoids being side often contrasting narratives, in Europe could get their head made hostage to either Serbian or and the reader left to judge for round this bitter quarrel, which Albanian versions of Kosovo’s him or herself. pitted the rights of the Danish history, often by the simple Anyone expecting a mass of crown against the new principle method of supplying the reader colourful anecdotes, along the of self-determination. “One was a with both accounts. He is careful lines of those contained in German professor who has gone to point out that many of the facts Judah’s other works on Serbia mad,” the British Liberal leader and figures used by either side, and Kosovo will be disappointed. declared, “the other was Prince such as the number of Serbian The title of the book in that Albert who is dead and the third colonists between the war, or the respect is quite self-explanatory. is myself – but I have forgotten all number of Serbian refugees after The purpose of this OUP series is about it.” 1999, are suspect; supposedly reli- avowedly educational – to inform Many might feel tempted to able data has always been a tool rather than to entertain. That it echo those words when it comes in the propaganda war. does very nicely, for which reason to Kosovo, a patch of land the Judah is now, surely, the Judah’s book should be an indis- same size as Jamaica, which has unchallenged doyen of foreign pensable addition to the library of generated a remarkable amount correspondents in the Balkans, every student of Balkan history of international heat compared which is one more reason to wel- as well as to every foreign diplo- to its size. come this book. He has criss- mat intending to head to the Fortunately, though, we have crossed the region countless Balkans, or wrestle with the com- Tim Judah as our guide through times since his debut there for plexities of the “Kosovo knot” at this particular dispute, and he The Times in the early 1990s. home. has neither gone mad, nor died, Long after most of us packed up Tim Judah is the author of nor forgotten the salient details of and left, he remains at his post, ‘Kosovo: War and Revenge’ and ‘The what Serbs used to call the for many years now the corre- Serbs, History, Myth and the “Kosovo knot”. On the contrary, spondent of The Economist, lis- Destruction of Yugoslavia’. ‘Kosovo, in this small, concise book, he tening, talking and interviewing. What Everyone Needs to Know’ is provides a detailed but very read- His experience on the ground, published by Oxford University able account of Kosovo’s history gathered over two decades in Press. See: www.oup.com

Kosovar Talent: Lorik Sylejmani Weird but true n every edition of Prishtina Although influenced by the Insight, we will promote one underground art of the 80’s, IKosovar artist and his work. such as Bauhaus and Joy This week, we chose to feature Division, Sylejmani’s work Lorik Sylejmani, a postmodern maintains its unique spirit. He artist from Prishtina. Sylejmani calls his style “neon, concrete is a radio and TV producer. His and rock’n’roll”. favourite multimedia artist is If you would like to purchase Laurie Anderson, although he any of the presented works, you confesses that he is so in love can contact the author directly at with Japan. [email protected]. My generation Banana

A Song O Superman My generation 4 food & drinks • October 3 - 16, 2008 11

Restaurant review Alegro

Reviewed by Ronan Macnamara

“Take me to the magic of the moment, On a glory night, Where the children of tomorrow dream away in the wind of change”

rilliant!, I thought upon hearing the legendary BScorpions hit as we entered Alegro, an Italian restau- rant tucked into Rexhep Mala lane on Aktash. This place, like so many others in Kosovo, has refused to turn its back on the glorious power-ballads of the early 1990s, and set the tone for things to come. Alegro opened its doors in 2001 and despite being a favourite haunt of the early UNMIK elite, byphoto Insight Prishtina for Rrahmani Petrit international patrons have which they dealt with a slightly For main courses my friend mented by a side of beautifully Chocolate Delight!’ Exciting (and thinned out in recent years. This inebriated, gate-crashing col- ordered the day’s special, grilled roasted vegetables though the slightly pornographic) as the is largely due to the plethora of league who had the audacity to trout, while I took the veal parmi- portions left us struggling to ‘DCD’ sounds I doubt there are establishments that compete pitch up equipped with his own giana, which I was told, is some- accommodate such trivialities many of us who can actually fit fiercely to feed Prishtina’s hun- burek! While your reviewer was what of a signature dish. like veggies! dessert into a belly-full of veal gry. Many of these eateries last suitably mortified (no really, I Given its location I am generally The main course was accompa- parmigiana. I was, of course, no longer than a few months but was), Dritan simply chuckled and sceptical of land-locked Kosovo’s nied by Michael Jackon’s tear- obliged to try dessert simply for Alegro has been around for a suggested the House Red to wash ability to produce fine fish. jerker You Are Not Alone and by the purposes of this review… remarkable eight years, and it’s it down. Classy. The trout was thus a pleasant the house wines. The white left a The final delight of the evening easy to see why. Alegro’s decor is not among surprise. It was cooked to a turn lot to be desired but the Red was- arrived with our coffee as the Alegro’s owner/chief chef, Fitim Prishtina’s most glamorous but and had that delicious smokey n’t bad. The wine list also has a soundtrack shifted abruptly from Kadriu (Fita to friends), cut his it’s comfortable and clean. taste that only a grill can pro- fairly impressive stock of more Whitney Houston singing what is teeth in the catering industry in Anyway, plush interiors count for duce. The veal was also superb than twenty-five reds and whites known in my family as ‘that Toronto, where he worked for fif- nought with highly trained food and consisted of the biggest slab from Italy and Spain. Alegro also f*$%ing song, to the Buena Vista teen years before returning to ply critics such as your reviewer! of veal I’ve ever seen (veal comes boasts a fully-stocked bar, if a Social Club. Not a bad way to end his trade in his native land. Currently Kadriu’s menu is not from a baby cow, right?), covered somewhat limited CD collection. the night, especially as Alegro’s Prishtina is flooded with Italian extensive, consisting simply of in golden breadcrumbs, smoth- Dessert was somewhat of a disap- strategic location allowed us to restaurants but what sets Alegro appetisers, salads, pasta and veal ered in a delicious tomato sauce pointment, with tiramisu being simply roll down Sunny Hill apart is its all-round quality. or chicken dishes. However, an and topped with molten parme- the only option. However, the after a colossal and quality The staff are friendly and profes- exclusive glimpse of the upcom- san. Both dishes were comple- new menu promises a ‘Double meal. sional, even by Kosovo’s high stan- ing brand-new menu suggests dards. You are made to feel wel- fish, steak and vegetarian delights come as soon as you enter and our are soon to grace the tables. Café / Bar review waiter, Driton, knew all the tricks Artery-clogging, cheese-topped, that set great waiters apart. He garlic bread started my meal also wields the biggest pepper mill while my friend went for that old you’re ever likely to see. Watching Italian reliable, ‘Bruschetta’, POSH him approach with what, from which proved to be far tastier afar, looked like a baseball bat, than its simple ingredients of … is one of the newest and brought on a nasty, acid-flashback tomatoes and bread suggest. Our most happening cafes in memory of Capone explaining his appetisers were accompanied by ‘enthusiasms’ in an infamous Brian Adams lyrically informing town. Ronan Macnamara scene from The Untouchables. us that everything he does; he takes a look at why the fact Alegro’s staff must also receive does (in fact) for us... Which was that it doesn’t quite live up extra credit for the manner in nice. to its name might prove to be its biggest draw. photo byphoto Insight Prishtina for Rrahmani Petrit

The bar of choice for Prishtina’s tures of luxury boats and golf In keeping with the irony of beautiful people this autumn courses; both of which undoubt- POSH’s theme, the owners have seems to be ‘POSH’ just off edly ooze with luxurious opu- decided not to charge posh Police/Luan Haradinaj Avenue. lence but neither of which can be prices. A beer costs the regular This new, flashy watering hole found in Kosovo. I even spotted a €1.50 typical of Prishtina’s mid- has already drawn a large con- life-saving ringdinghy hanging on range bars/cafes, a coffee costs tingent of regulars who can be the tree outside reading, €1 and a simple cocktail (whisky spotted loitering in the comfort ‘Welcome On Board’. Where did & coke, gin & tonic etc.) costs a of POSH’s squat terrace (they’ve they even get it? It’s hardly a reasonable €2. actually just commandeered the required health and safety meas- So POSH's name belies the fact footpath) sipping macchiatos by ure so I assume it’s part of that this hangout is actually very day and cool beers by night. POSH’s oh-so-weird decoration. much mid-range. While a certain Yes, POSH has quickly made a When it came to the interior percentage of Prishtina's great name for itself as the place to be design strategy for this trendy unwashed will still be intimidat- seen in Prishtina if you’re new hotspot I suspect someone ed by the name, enough will young and smoking hot/afflu- simply looked in a holiday show up that the real posh people ent. If Paris Hilton lived in brochure from 1980s Miami, saw a will be frightened off. They will Prishtina (I think we’re safe) photo of a bar, tried to recreate it retreat to the nearby Iliria where you can bet your hair extensions in Prishtina, thought it looked they can be with their own kind, she’d be hanging out at POSH. posh, and settled for the name, safe in the knowledge that the Perhaps the coolest/funniest ‘POSH.’ Having said that, I cannot rest of us are kept out by their thing about POSH is the decor. speculate as to where the owners clever defence of over-pricing. There are fake cheetah couches, may have gotten their notion of No loss I say,at least the rest of us fluorescent lights, life-size, man- posh, but their bar looks like it have the option to hang out in a shaped lamps and bizarre pic- was designed by Tony Montana. place that at least has the name. photo byphoto Insight Prishtina for Rrahmani Petrit 12 • October 3 - 16, 2008 guide A Long Journey for a Short Stay in Prevalla The mountainous terrain and fresh air of the Prevalla national park is a wonderful place to hike, ski and unwind. photo byphoto Rrahmani Asdren A small Glen sorrounded by pine trees, with the mountain in the background.A perfect place for a family picnic.

By Asdren Rrahmani

he national park of Prevalla is situated on the Troad to Prizren through Shterpce, passing by the Brezovica Ski Resort. Some 20 km from Prizren, Prevalla covers a series of mountains, near the Kosovo – Macedonia – Albania border and is home to the source of the Lepenci river. The roads are safe, and easily navigable with a small passenger vehicle. Numerous typical Balkan villages line the road on the way. photo byphoto Rrahmani Asdren I hit the road on a cloudy day, byphoto Rrahmani Asdren with occasional sunny spots. But A ski slope, which is popular for both professional and amateur skiers alike A view of the beautiful mountain creek making its way down the mountain this did not stop me from enjoy- ing my day out and looking for- that leads to Shterpce the up through the foothills of the could hear was the water flowing began to rain, but that did not ward to my next trip to Prevalla. scenery starts changing dramati- Sharr Mountains. down the creek, splashing stop me, as the sun would occa- As you pass the intersection cally and the road begins to wind Past Shterpce the scenery against the rocks. This was a per- sionally break through the becomes more picturesque, and fect time to sit on top of a nearby clouds and help dry my clothes. one cannot resist pulling over to rock and let my mind unwind. Prevalla is about 1,515 meters take a closer look. I parked my I took a couple more shots of above sea level. Its mountain- car and started to explore. the mountain creek and made my ous terrain, fresh air and pretty A bridge caught my eye. People way towards the car since I was surroundings have meant that were taking pictures from the top still some 10km from Prevalla. for a long time it has been a of it, which was more accessible On arriving in Prevalla, there favourite place for nature lovers from the other side. I decided to are motels and restaurants and people who suffer from res- climb down to the mountain stacked on the right-hand side of piratory problems. I saw some creek and take a picture from the the road. There is parking near- foreign cyclists climbing slowly other side of the mountain. I by. I took my hiking gear and on the mountain road along the made the right choice. The bridge made my way towards the slope, way. shows all its glory from that side, which in the winter time is used If you like hiking or taking nestled among trees growing on for skiing. pictures, Prevalla makes for a both sides of the road. I took some pictures of the wonderful break. Even if you

photo byphoto Rrahmani Asdren I then began to hike upstream, slope and made my way up the are unlucky and it rains, you can Ruins of a house damaged during the last conflict in Kosovo.These sights taking photos along the way. mountain on a road which is still enjoy the amazing and are becoming rarer as most of the destroyed houses are being rebuilt Silence was everywhere. All I accessible for vehicles, too. It unique landscapes. guide • October 3 - 16, 2008 13 Breathtaking Adventure in High Albania Lawrence Marzouk is wowed by northern Albania’s stunning landscape of pristine meadows, trout-filled rivers and soaring peaks – and finds talk of the areas ‘wild’ character much exaggerated.

he sun nudged the peaks of area’s former thriving tourist the Accursed Mountains trade. Tas we settled down for Alfred Selimaj, who runs the cheese and raki on our last night only restaurant in the area, just in northern Albania. outside of the Valbone, offers The map was not much use for comfortable rooms in his family planning the next stage of our home and acts as a guide. Balkan journey – those roads With his help, it is possible to that are marked are marked trek for days across this stun- wrongly, and the glossy new ning landscape of meadows, icy highway that would take us over rivers and towering peaks. the border to Kosovo the next We based ourselves at his day at Qafe Morine had been home, in walking distance of the built too recently for the cartog- Rilindja restaurant, which raphers to catch up. served enormous meals, includ- Three days earlier we had ing grilled kid, lamb and fish reached Valbone, in the north- and homemade cheese. ern Albanian district of Bajram My wife and I spent two days Curri, by the Komani-Fierze ambling across the lower reach- ferry. es of the mountains, stumbling Forested banks rise sharply across serene lakes and unsuc- from the still water of Lake cessfully fishing for red-spotted Komani, where farmsteads cling trout. to the cliffs above this manmade Warnings that this was wonder. Albania’s “wild north”, a dan- The four-hour chug is not a gerous medieval fiefdom of hon- pleasure-boat ride, but the our killings, proved, to the quickest route from Shkoder to tourists’ eye at least, groundless. Valbone. As the hospitable Alfred and It deserves, nonetheless to sit cousin Naim settled at our table at the captain’s table of cruises, with a second bottle of moon- next to the Norwegian fjords and shine on that last night, our the Nile. eulogy to Albania became Naively driving a Chevrolet increasingly – if less eloquently Spark with an engine measured – enthusiastic. in pony power, we’d covered the The conversation flowed com- 22km from Bajram Curri in fortably between politics, histo- “only” one hour and 40 minutes. ry and a Dutch missionary’s The route, dotted with water- plans to rename the area “The falls and haystacks drying in the Blessed Mountains”. sun, is a breathtaking, back- And then, to our surprise, the breaking, marriage-wrecking name of AA Gill – Sunday Times drive along a potholed track that food critic and caustic commen- criss-crosses the Valbone river tator – was mentioned. and heads north towards the Our hosts were livid at the Montenegrin border. deeply hurtful words of this jour- The policeman lazing under a nalist, and others, who had done tree, several locals sensibly on much to belittle their country. horseback, and the drivers of Gill had described Albania as three 4x4s had all, separately, “a Gilbert and Sullivan country, assured us that this was the a Ruritania of brigands and right road. Thank goodness we vendettas and pantomime royal- believed them. ty”, its students as the “worst- The track peters out in the vil- dressed kids in the western lage of Valbone, one of a string world” and the general popula- of picturesque hamlets that tion as “short and ferret-faced”. have fended off the concrete While the communist concrete byphoto Insight Prishtina Gashi for Krenar creep and preserved traditional bunkers peppering the country Lake Fierza architecture, bar the ubiquitous may be crumbling, Albanians satellite dishes. are struggling with a new, nebu- perated at the regurgitated, And they had a point. So here one of Europe’s last unblem- Don’t believe the Bradt lous, but very free-market superficial and inaccurate pic- is my pitch: Walk through the ished gems. Guide’s promise of a hotel. It enemy – public relations. ture of their homeland so often doors of the Rilindja restaurant Unless, of course, you happen remains in ruins – a sign of the Naim and Alfred were exas- paraded in front of the world. and you will be welcomed into to be AA Gill. Albania’s Tourism Industry ‘Unregulated’

lthough it employees more grown this year as well. ity to their hotels as they see fit. than 138,000 workers, However, while the government The majority of the rated hotels AAlbania’s tourism indus- points to statistics to show the suc- are in the Tirana area. try remains largely unregulated, cess of the tourism industry, tour Apart from these hotels, scaring off potential tourists who operators and lobby groups com- Albania also accounts for 908 are not familiar with the area. plain that the neglected infrastruc- other accommodation sites, with This is the warning from ture and lack of promotion are a total bed space of 33,943 units. Albania’s tourism agencies. leaving the Albanian market sev- Other figures present an even Tourism has experienced expo- eral steps behind its competitors. more downbeat view of Albania’s nential growth in the last few According to the data present- tourism reality. years as the country slowly ed by the National Tourism If the 2007 report of the World emerged from a difficult and often Organization out of 627 hotels in Economic Forum on the competi- tumultuous transitional period. the country, only 36 are certified tiveness in the travel and tourism More than 1.6 million tourists with a proper rating. industry is taken into account, visited Albanian in 2007 and the Owners often rate themselves Albania is ranked 90th in a list of byphoto Insight Prishtina Gashi for Krenar numbers are expected to have and assign as many stars of qual- 140 countries. The beach of Velipoja, Northern Albania 14 • October 3 - 16, 2008 small talks Dead Judge Fired in Kosovo Kosovo’s President

osovo’s Judicial Council has in Kosovo, the press release reads. recommended tha But Balkan Insight can reveal in Greek Gaffe KPresident Fatmir Sejdiu dis- that one of the judges, Anton charge three judges, one of whom Hila, actually died last week. is believed to be dead, Balkan Ismet Kabashi, a member of Insight has learnt. the council and a public prosecu- In a press release sent last tor, confirmed the death on week, the Council said it decided Tuesday. to recommend the discharge of “The council was not properly three municipal judges. informed by the Secretariat “After considering the report regarding this case,” Kabashi made by the Council’s told Balkan Insight. Disciplinary Commission, regard- This is the first decision the ing violations of the Code of Council’s Disciplinary Commission Conduct and unlawful actions,” has taken and the first public rec- the council decided to recommend ommendation made by the Council. the discharge of Anton Hila, Avdi Kosovo’s Judicial Council is Gashi and Teuta Vranica, all of the country’s top body managing them judges of Municipal Courts the justice system.

mix-up left Kosovo's about the change and Sejdiu pro- Bosnia Convicts Turn Presidential office red- ceeded with the meeting assum- Afaced last month, when ing he was meeting Athens' envoy President Fatmir Sejdiu met a to the OSCE. Pigeons into Drug Mules senior Greek official without "I would like to inform you that knowing who he was. I had a very friendly meeting The Koha Ditore daily reported with ambassador Christos Zacha- onvicts at Bosnia’s main that Sejdiu was supposed to meet rakis…," Sejdiu told reporters Zenica prison have been Christos Zacharakis, the special after meeting Kalantzianos. Ccaught using carrier representative of the Greek Embarrassed but not wishing to pigeons to smuggle drugs as a Foreign Ministry to the create a fuss, Kalantzianos was prison rehabilitation programme Organisation for Security and brief when he addressed reporters. yielded the wrong kind of results. Cooperation in Europe, OSCE. According to Koha Ditore, The prison administration But since Zacharakis was Kalantzianos was neither proper- allowed inmates to start breeding unable to make it to the meet- ly received nor walked out of the pigeons as a part of their “work ing, he was replaced by President's office by people from therapy.” Yet over the past few Nikolaos Kalantzianos, a senior his protocol staff. The daily days, authorities discovered that official from the Greek Foreign quotes anonymous sources say- four convicts have used pigeons Ministry. ing that Sejdiu realised whom he to smuggle drugs into the prison, However, the President's cabi- had really met only after the Banja Luka daily Nezavisne net were apparently not informed press conference. Novine reported on Thursday. “They have misused this in the worst possible way,” prison deputy director Josip Pojavnik, Marijuana Plants Found said. Pojavnik added that the carri- er pigeons have been smuggling by Bulgaria Govt HQ cocaine and heroin, packed in the four have kept the smuggled prison administration has shut little bags attached to their legs. drugs for themselves, or down the pigeon breeding pro- ulgaria’s campaign against been ruthlessly dealt with. All four inmates have been whether any drugs were sold to gramme, while the four inmates cannabis has gone literally “We have the pleasure to inform tested positive for the use of other prisoners. are facing new criminal Bto the doorstep of power, you that the problem was imme- drugs. It was unclear whether Following this revelation, the charges. after marijuana plants were diately and literally rooted out,” found growing amongst the flow- a government spokesman said, ers outside government head- not without humour. quarters. Police in Bulgaria are several Macedonia Ministers Face Photos of the plants appeared in weeks into a campaign against the Trud newspaper, prompting the illegal cultivation of cannabis the authorities Thursday to - seizing six tonnes of marijuana ‘Toilet Paper Fines’ acknowledge their presence, and from fields and private yards, to confirm that the problem has including a priest’s garden. acedonian Ministers vide enough toilet paper in the government as it introduced a would be fined up to ministry buildings they run. freshly-prepared bill on public M€1000 if they do not pro- The warning was issued by the hygiene. Heads of public institutions will also be held responsible and face fines climbing up to €500 if the buildings where they work lack waste bins or hand dryers in toilets. Penalties up to €150 are fore- seen for people caught throwing litter or spitting on the street. So-called ‘public sergeants’ will be recruited for monitoring hygiene in public properties, the government said. Police officers will also have the right to issue fines on the spot. People caught littering could replace their fines with commu- nity service, the bill envisages. The average salary in the country is roughly just over €250 so the Government hopes that the draconian fees will encour- age people to act more responsi- bly. feature • October 3 - 16, 2008 15 Kosovo Flag Takes Nation’s Thanks To The World From the peak of Mt Fuji to teeming Seoul, the first leg a mission to thank all the countries that have befriended Kosovo got off to a flying start

By Genc Kastrati in Tokyo and Seoul

ast month, the KosovoThanksYou.com Lteam embarked on an ambitious but historic trip to thank those countries that had recognized the continent’s newest republic and show the world Kosovo is here, and here to stay. The plan was for the team to take the Kosovo flag around the countries that had shown sup- port to the people of Kosovo, in an act of friendships signifying the hope that the Kosovo flag would continue to fly in those lands forever. The first stop was Mount Fuji, an important cultural symbol, a sacred mountain and the highest point in Japan. We took the sun- rise that many say can only be experienced on Mt Fuji, and the long climb to the summit, as a symbol of the struggle for Kosovo’s independence and of the hope that the journey and the future of the Republic will be bright and prosperous. The long climb was certainly challenging, as gusts of wind, rain, sub-zero temperatures and even lightning buffeted us. But

on reaching the top we not only byphoto kosovothanksyou.com witnessed a splendid sunrise and Kosovo’s flag reaching Japan’s highest mountain had a sense of fulfilling our mis- sion, but enjoyed a very friendly A group of Slovak geologists knew what this climb meant for us. tea and coffee offered by enthu- The first leg of this mission welcome. climbing Fuji that same evening After Japan, we continued to siastic Koreans who saw it as has, in short, shows us some- Our fellow Japanese climbers offered friendly support and con- South Korea, a country that has their duty to welcome us proper- thing valuable. Kosovo is not an were intrigued by the flag that gratulations to Kosovo and wished had its own share of wartime ly and hear all we had to tell unknown place in people’s was waving alongside theirs and us luck on our travels through experiences, but which has now about our mission. Presents, minds, and is daily becoming were wreathed in smiles on Europe. It was inspiring and heart- risen above that and is building handshakes, hugs and bows more real and present. We aim to learning it was the flag of warming to see how Kosovo had a solid future. Our flag travelled were exchanged and farewells continue our mission throughout Kosovo. Many cheered us on, become a part of the world in the streets of the metropolis of were wished. The warmth and Europe in the coming months. It while some shook our hands and which we live. Everyone we met on Seoul and climbed the highest welcome that Koreans showed may be years down the line, when others took photos. Tourists the way, whether Australian, point, the Seoul Tower. Our stay us was exhilarating. This is a this flag has waved alongside all looked on with surprise, and French, Belgian, German, in the tower lasted longer than land from which Kosovo can the flags of our allies, before it smiles. Japanese, Chinese, or Slovak, planned, mainly due to the cake, learn a great deal. finally returns home to Kosovo. photo byphoto kosovothanksyou.com photo byphoto kosovothanksyou.com A picture of glory in Seoul Kosovo’s flag at the Seoul Tower 16 • October 3 - 16, 2008 neighbourhood Local Polls Deepen Sense of Crisis in Bosnia As parties turn away from bread-and-butter issues and indulge in inflammatory rhetoric, ethnic tensions look set to worsen

By Srecko Latal in Gorazde

n the half-deserted, cold and wet streets of OGorazde, a Bosniak-dom- inated town in eastern Bosnia, there are few signs of the upcoming local elections. Occasional tattered posters with election promises go unno- ticed by the few passers-by. Most seem to have decided what par- ties to vote for in advance. “The strength and quality of the candidates does not matter,” sighs Slavko Klisura, local head of the Centre for Promotion of Civil Society, an NGO battling to introduce relevant local issues into the shallow public debates. “On the election day, people will still cast their vote along ethnic lines.” In most countries, elections heat up the political scene. But in Bosnia, the degree of heat is Sarajevo widely seen as out of control. Plagued by political tensions Few doubts among public accusations of corruption Wasting energy on struggles constant clashes between the other since the last general elections and misuse of office could affect among themselves, these parties two parties. in 2006, the country appears to Bosnian Serbs the SNSD’s ratings. have seriously weakened the Even the influential Islamic Com- be on the verge of collapse. In the Republika Srpska, and in But the likely beneficiary of this Bosniak community’s overall nego- munity and its leader Mustafa Ceric “We see only endless, fero- most Serb-populated areas in the will not be the SDS but the Party of tiating position, allowing Dodik to – whose direct or indirect support in cious political confrontations,” other entity, the BiH Federation, Democratic Progress, PDP, the become the strongest political force the past has helped to decide elec- laments Srdjan Dizdarevic, head the Party of Independent Social SNSD’s junior coalition partner. In in the country, says Sead tion winners – seem baffled by the of Bosnia’s Helsinki Human Democrats, SNSD, will win com- the last elections this party almost Numanovic, editor of the leading rift in the Bosniak camp, and have Rights Committee. “In this situa- fortably, according to Banja Luka- disappeared from the scene but has Sarajevo daily,Dnevni Avaz. so far failed to take anybody’s side. tion even ordinary people have based journalist Gordana Katana. since revived and remained afloat This infighting has blocked key In his traditional speech at the begun to think it may be better if Under the strong stewardship of thanks to its leader, Mladen Ivanic. economic and social reforms, as end of the Islamic festival of we divorce and separate.” its leader, Milorad Dodik, and well as important privatization Ramadan, on September 30, Ceric boosted by his tough confronta- Bosnian Croat opposition deals in the BiH Federation, allow- merely suggested Bosnia needed As always, ignoring local tions with local and international stirs ing salaries and industrial produc- new political leaders. Most local counterparts, the SNSD won in tion in the Repubika Srpska to sur- and international officials agree issues more than 30 per cent of Serb-pop- Ever since the first free elec- pass levels in the Federation for the current ones have certainly One common complaint about ulated municipalities in 2004. In tions in Bosnia in 1991, the the first time. outlived their usefulness. the local elections is that issues the 2006 general elections SNSD Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, The biggest clash within the crucial for local communities won over 40 per cent of Bosnian has reigned unchallenged over the Bosniak camp is between the rul- Will newcomers get their have, as ever, gone almost unno- Serb votes and became the single Bosnian Croat voting bloc. That ing Party of Democratic Action, ticed in the torrid debate. strongest party in the country. remained the case in the 2006 gen- SDA, and the Party for BiH, SzBH. turn? “Ordinary citizens cannot eral elections, even though the In the 2006 elections the SDA won Some moderate Bosnians of all influence politicians or set the party had split in two. most Bosniak votes but lost the nationalities hope this new alterna- theme of [election] debates,” "We see only endless, Whether the HDZ remains polit- Bosniak position in Bosnia’s presi- tive could be Nasa Stranka, meaning Demir Imamovic, of Aldi, a NGO ically ascendant in these elections dency to the SzBH candidate, Haris “Our Party”, the party established a in Gorazde, told Balkan Insight. ferocious political remains to be seen, however. Thus Silajdzic. But now the SzBH seems year ago by Bosnia’s Oscar-winning Instead, politics have stagnat- confrontations" far, its smaller, more moderate, to be losing ground to the much film director, Danis Tanovic. ed for the past three years as the rivals, such as the Croatian tougher and more aggressive cam- Without much of a budget or a parties get ever more embroiled Srdjan Dizdarevic Peasants Party, the People’s Party, paigns run by the SDA and the local infrastructure, Nasa Stranka in constant infighting. the New Croatian Initiative, and Social Democratic Party. has decided to forget expensive The main contest has pitted others, have had little success. jumbo posters and TV jingles, Bosnian Muslims, or Bosniaks, Since then, Dodik and the SNSD That could all change in these instead sending supporters on against Bosnian Serbs. While have consolidated power, influenc- elections, says Blanka Magas, "Democracy doesn't live tours round the country and talk- Bosniak leaders openly call for ing, if not directly controlling, Kupres-based correspondent for the ing to ordinary people. the abolition of the Bosnian much of the media in the Republika Croatian daily Slobodna Dalmacija. here" The question is whether many Serb entity, the Republika Srpska and presiding over several As the smallest of the three main Demir Imamovic ordinary people are ready to put Srpska, Bosnian Serbs have lucrative privatization deals. ethnic groups, the Bosnian Croats aside their national differences retaliated by blocking the work Dodik has left little to chance in feel marginalized. Increasingly, and vote for such a new and of key state institutions. these elections, personally running they see themselves outvoted at the Although Social Democrats are a untried political outfit, however. “Democracy doesn’t live as a candidate in his hometown of local, regional and state levels. declaredly multiethnic party, they According to a recent report here,” muses Demir Imamovic, Laktasi and attracting several The question is who will pay for rely mostly on Bosniak votes. issued by Transparency Inter- adding that one consequence famous Bosnian Serbs – like the this growing frustration whether Briefly the single strongest party in national, the anti-corruption watch- will be an increase in the num- rich businessmen Gavrilo Bobar – voters will blame HDZ and its split- the country after the 2000 general dog organization, about 70 per cent ber of Bosnians who don’t vote. to run on local SNSD tickets. Dodik off, HDZ 1990, and if so, to whom elections, they lost members and of Bosnians see their politicians as The last local elections in 2004 has also traveled across the country they will turn, Magas said. voters due to what was perceived as the most corrupt part of society. registered one of the lowest-ever to take part in big public rallies. The HDZ still looks likely to the dictatorial and arrogant leader- But Slavko Klisura, from turnout levels in Bosnia, of 45.52 His main rival for the hearts and win in the Croat western part of ship and behaviour of their presi- Gorazde, cautions against think- per cent. Analysts expect a simi- minds of Bosnian Serbs, the the southern city of Mostar. But dent, Zlatko Lagumdzija. ing that this mood of disillusion lar or lower turnout in October. Serbian Democratic Party,SDS, has most other municipalities could Mirroring the SDA’s maneuvers, will prompt Bosnians to vote for In the absence of concrete in the meantime crumbled, thanks see a tight race among the two the Social Democrats have an entirely new political option. debates and bread-and-butter to poor leadership and lack of a pro- HDZs and the other opposition approached the local elections Despite all their hardships and issues, many of those who do active political programme. The parties, Magas says. with an aggressive and expensive disappointment, most voters will vote in the elections will choose SDS, once led by Hague indictee campaign, concentrating on gener- either abstain from voting alto- the nationalist parties, which Radovan Karadzic, has tried to cap- Troubled Bosniaks al countrywide issues and prob- gether, or vote for their old nation- appear loudest in defending italize on growing complaints by lems, though with little local rele- alist parties, he says. “We are all their so-called communities. civil society groups and some inter- The biggest unknown in the vance. prisoners of our own ignorance,” Because of this, election expec- national organizations about coming vote is among Bosniak vot- Although some analysts see this he adds. “For many, the biggest tations are best viewed sepa- Dodik’s centralizing instincts but ers, as the main Bosniak parties as a weakness, their tactics may fear is fear of freedom.” rately for the three ethnically with little success. are widely seen as having lost pay off as they siphon off votes almost homogeneous areas. Analysts say that numerous their way in recent years. from Bosniaks irritated by the Source: BalkanInsight.com neighbourhood • October 3 - 16, 2008 17 Macedonia’s New Albanian Party Faces Tough Odds Imer Selmani, leader of the newly formed New Democracy party, will only become a serious political player if he can transcend his current local appeal FACTBOX Bosnia and Herzegovina By Sinisa-Jakov Marusic in Skopje key figure in the main Bosnians are heading to the polls on Sunday to elect representa- opposition ethnic Albanian tives to local councils. Here are some facts about Bosnia and Aparty in Macedonia, the Herzegovina and the key political figures from Bosnia’s three main Democratic Party of Albanians, ethnic groups. DPA, has formed a new party, pos- ing a threat to the Albanian politi- Basic data cal establishment in the country. Selmani is seen as a charismat- Population, (millions) 3.78 ic figure with the potential power Population growth (annual %) -0.11 to shake up the ethnic Albanian Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 77.28 political scene. He said he had Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 71.99 resigned as the DPA vice-presi- GDP (current US$) (billions) 12.26 dent and formed his own party, GDP growth (annual %) 5.5 New Democracy, following a dis- GNI, Atlas method (current US$) (billions) 12.57 pute with the DPA president, Inflation, consumer prices (annual %) 9.9 (measured in August) Menduh Thaci. Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) 3.45 The row allegedly escalated Unemployment, total (% of total labour force) estimated at 24 after Thaci refused to take respon- Internet users (per 100 people) 25.15 sibility for the party’s poor show- ing in the June general elections. Ethnic breakdown Selmani profiled New Democracy as a “constructive, According to the latest 1991 census, Bosnia and Herzegovina had centre-right oriented opposition 4.4 million inhabitants, of whom 43.7 per cent were Bosniaks, 31 party”, positioning it in direct per cent were Serbs, 17.3 per cent were Croats and 7.6 per cent were competition with the DPA on the other nationalities. The population is similarly split along reli- political landscape. gious lines: Bosniaks are Muslim, Serbs are Orthodox Christian, New Democracy has gained the and Croats, Roman Catholic. The remainder of the population is support of two of the other 11 made up of some 17 ethnic minorities, of which the largest are the DPA deputies in Macedonia’s par- Roma. No census has taken place since the 1992-995 war, therefore liament, and Selmani claims official statistics on the current ethnic make-up of the country are many local DPA branch members not available. are joining. Imer Selmani Selmani was a former health Constitution minister in Macedonia from 2006 The politicians that have so far is popular around Skopje, while until June of this year, when the joined Selmani do not have high Osmani is seen as a national hero The constitution, agreed as a part of the 1995 Dayton peace accord, DPA lost heavily to its Albanian profiles and cannot automatically in Gostivar, Kicevo, Debar and recognizes two “entities”: the BiH Federation and Republika Srpska. rival, the Democratic Union for attract voters, analysts say. As partially in Tetovo,” he said. The BiH Federation is divided into 10 cantons. The two entities are Integration, DUI. The DUI then matters stand, Selmani can win Analysts agree that the violent connected at state level. In addition, the northern town of Brcko replaced the DPA as the Albanian overwhelming support only in political clashes between the DUI enjoys separate status as a “district”, outside of the two entities. partner in Nikola Gruevski’s cen- his Saraj base. and DPA have alienated and dis- tre-right government. However, Albert Musliu, a appointed many Albanians, creat- Election statistics Selmani was a popular figure political observer, claims the new ing a potential vacuum that a new among some Albanians before he party may yet displace the DPA if party might exploit. With his A total of 3,024,127 citizens are entitled to vote in 4,985 polling sta- entered the government, after a Selmani can lure other Albanian milder image, Selmani could tions. A total of 80 political parties, alliances and independent lists successful term as mayor of heavyweights to his side. One appeal to these voters. are registered as participating in the ballot with 29,043 candidates, Saraj, near the capital, Skopje. would be Rufi Osmani, a respect- During recent elections, the who will compete for positions in 149 municipalities in the two ed former mayor of Gostivar. turnout among ethnic Albanian entities. The election silence starts on October 4 and voting takes Osmani has been out of politics voters has been low, at only place on October 5. “Osmani has political and focused on a university around 25 per cent. The clashes weight and is much career since being jailed for fly- between DUI and DPA supporters Main political parties ing the Albanian flag from the in the June elections only made respected among the town hall more than ten years things worse, Musliu said. Mainly Bosniak (Muslim) ago. Since then, Albanians have “Selmani has a constructive Party of Democratic Action, SDA; president, Sulejman Tihic, Albanians” seen him as a hero who took a vocabulary and proved a good Party for BiH, SzBH; president, Haris Silajdzic, Albert Musliu stand against the then-rigid laws manager during his terms as on state emblems. mayor and minister, which will Mainly Croat “Osmani has political weight contribute to his democratic pro- Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ; president, Dragan Covic However, the political analyst and is much respected among the file in the Albanian camp”, Croatian Democratic Union 1990, HDZ 1990; president, Bozo Ljubic Imer Ismaili told Balkan Insight Albanians; if he joins Selmani, Ismaili explained. Croatian Peasants Party and New Croatian Initiative; president, that Selmani needed to broaden this would definitely boost New At the moment, however, Ivan Krndelj his appeal in the country. “He Democracy’s ratings,” Musliu said. Selmani needs to prove he is not Peoples Party; president, Mladen Ivankovic enjoys great support among Ismaili noted reports of a meet- just a power-hungry marionette Albanians in Saraj and among ing between Selmani and Osmani, of Prime Minister Gruevski, as Mainly Serb some in Skopje, but other than fuelling rumours that the ex-mayor the DPA has implied. Party of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD; president, Milorad that he has no great influence in might join the new party and so Selmani denies any ambition to Dodik Tetovo or Gostivar,” he said, radically increase its appeal. be a potential plaything of the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS; president, Mladen Bosic, referring to the two western “In that case, maybe after local government, insisting his party Party of Democratic Progress, PDP; president, Mladen Ivanic strongholds of ethnic Albanians. elections next March, New will remain in opposition. “We Albanians make up roughly Democracy might seriously will act as an opposition”, Others one-quarter of Macedonia’s popu- endanger the DPA as the second Selmani told the media, “We do Social Democratic Party, SDP; president, Zlatko Lagumdzija lation, concentrated in the west largest Albanian party in not wish to be part of any govern- Nasa Stranka (“Our Party”); president, Bojan Bajic and north-west, on the borders Macedonia and become a worthy ment without first going into Liberal Democratic Party, LDS; president, Lamija Tanovic with Kosovo and Albania. opponent to the DUI,” Ismaili said. elections and gaining the support “Building a party from scratch Ismaili explained how this by the people,” he said. Source: BalkanInsight.com is a difficult thing that requires a might come about from a geo- lot of field work,” Ismaili added. graphical perspective. “Selmani Source: BalkanInsight.com 18 • October 3 - 16, 2008 neighbourhood Probe into Trade in My mystifying Degrees Stuns Croatia September Police roundup of corrupt professors hailed as progress in war on graft – but some believe timing of arrests anything but coincidental. By Vesa Sahatciu in Prishtina

feel utterly daunted and mystified by my generation – by those who though no older than 25 and who are well educated profes- Isionals, apparently live by checklists. A degree from an (or any) international university - tick, a degree in management, or diploma- cy - tick, NGO/Government job - tick, some project paper in hand - tick, girlfriend soon to be fiancé - tick. They seem to be keen on tick- ing off lists and on going by protocol, not on thinking critically, or asking questions. Very well, perhaps this really is what our dreams are about, and perhaps our generation will be remembered as the generation of mediocre list-tickers who reached 50 at the age of 25. But I am daunted by the prospect of such a blaze generation, one that believes in paper resolutions of all kinds without questioning, that is good only at filling in project forms and at reproducing utter- ances like “integration”, and “Transatlantic” without having the faintest idea what these words actually mean. Not that our govern- ment’s diplomatic corps would able to fill us in on those, either. It is surely not enough to know that we are speaking of deals and relations over the Atlantic when we say the word “Transatlantic”. There are politics behind these phrases - an accumulation of under- lined meanings, gained from years of political and economic manoeuvres and diplomacy.When one utters such words one should be aware of the political and ideological baggage that comes with them. In a similar vein, I feel equally mystified by recent events inside some of our cultural institutions. I did not know that the system of party political monopoly runs so deep as to decide who will be the next director of the national theatre. It is a grotesque state of affairs when an institution that should stand outside the political arena photo byphoto Albena Shkodrova becomes a subject of political squabbles. Zagreb “All the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare wrote. But here in Kosovo, the play goes on in the very office of the Prime Minister, or maybe By Drago Hedl in Osijek told the Zagreb daily Jutarnji say people should not expect the President. Good luck to artists! List. much change. Several similar wenty professors from The action, code-named Index - actions have taken place in Zagreb University – 11 after the cards on which student recent years, and all have been Tfrom the Faculty of Traffic grades are entered - is a spectacu- heralded as decisive evidence of Engineering and nine from the lar denouement to a months-long the success of the fight against Faculty of Economics and investigation that police corruption. During last week’s Business – were remanded in launched following numerous visit to Brussels, Prime Minister custody for a month on Monday, revelations in the media and in Sanader was again warned that after police detained 105 people response to claims by various Zagreb needed to show more in a spectacular action. All of students. It has fuelled specula- progress before important chap- them – the apprehended included tion about the existence about a ters in negotiations with the EU students – are suspected of veritable trade in the sale of could be opened. Target areas are involvement in a corruption exam passes at the Faculty of reform of the judiciary and the chain in which professors sold Traffic Engineering. The faculty fight against corruption. exam results to students. Exam has long had a questionable repu- Some analysts suspect the lat- passes were being sold for tation. It was there that a number est police roundup was timed to between €400 and €1,000 euro, of generals acquired academic coincide with another European while entrance to the faculty degrees almost overnight. Commission report on Croatia,

without the required qualifica- Some generals were reported due for release in November. byphoto Atanasovski Robert € tions cost up to 9,000. to have obtained university diplo- They also note that the big politi- Macedonia’s Premier Nikola Gruevski joined the Muslims who attended special Among the apprehended aca- mas in the mid-1990s at a time cal fish always seem to elude demics was Desa Mlikotin Tomic, when the Croatian Army was detection and capture. “What morning prayers at the Sultan Murat Mosque in Skopje marking Eid ul-Fitr. professor at the Economics and busy preparing to recapture the came out of these anti-corrup- Business Faculty, who was Serb-held Krajina region. At tion affairs to the public is not as recently appointed head of the least four of the recently important as what was kept in parliamentary committee prob- detained professors had worked the drawers. What was left in ing conflicts of interest. Tomic as lecturers to these generals. there, the authorities will use for was later released and her lawyer Croatia’s President, Stjepan some other occasion: when they told media that the charges Mesic, described their exam need to blackmail someone, dis- against her client were unfound- results as suspicious. It was not tract the public, deny criticism ed. logical to assume, he said, that from Brussels or raise ratings The detention of the professor these men could have “defended before elections,” analyst attracted special interest among Croatia so efficiently while Tomislav Klauski said. the public, precisely because she simultaneously passing exams In its regular annual report headed a committee charged and obtaining masters’ degrees, published this week, the corrup- with preventing the conflicts of so I can only conclude that they tion watchdog Transparency interest in which senior politi- either did not fight in the war, or International gave Croatia a cians often seem to be involved. did not study.” mixed billing, ranking it 62nd out The session of the committee The Prime Minister, Ivo of 180 countries, with a rating of that she was scheduled to chair Sanader, claimed credit for the 4.4 out of 10 – zero being the this Wednesday has been post- action, describing it as “part of mark for a wholly corrupted poned. “If all our institutions an anti-corruption campaign country. Croatia was placed well have been corrupted to that that we have been carrying out below neighbouring Slovenia, degree, one can only wonder for several years.” which ranked 26th. where this society is going to,” Although Operation Index has byphoto Insight Prishtina for Rrahmani Petrit an opposition MP, Damir Kajin, been widely reported, analysts Source: BalkanInsight.com Climbing in Rugova Mountains op-ed • October 3 - 16, 2008 19

Waiting For The Balloon to Pop Kosovo’s Son-in-Law

Even the most resilient and submissive society has its limits. Will the frustrations of Kosovo's disenchanted silent majority lead to social unrest? Our Super

est GDP per capita in the region, rent situation. The majority of By Agon Maliqi unemployment remains high, the economically distressed will in Prishtina infrastructure and basic utilities see little tangible change within are worn out, 15 per cent of the one government mandate, no Duper Hero population lives below the pover- matter how bold its reforms are, ty line and more than double that so their impatience is bound to With Kosovo as America’s No. 1 priority, there is clearly ne of my favorite tools for amount are considered poor. On grow. Whether this triggers some- measuring public opinion top of that, inflation was 13 per- thing will depend on many fac- no need to worry about international recognition, Oin Kosovo is the “vox pop- cent only last year. Even those tors. The most important issue is or the qualifications of Kosovo’s new ambassadors. uli” segment on KTV’s morning who do have jobs find it hard to whether a credible structure programme. The sampling surely make ends meet. Adding to peo- emerges that can mobilize this I feel relieved! isn’t scientific, but it offers ple’s anxiety are lousy public silent majority of the disenchant- authentic insights into the ways services, a culture of impunity in ed. The low turnout in the people perceive current events. the justice system, endemic cor- November elections signalled So I listened in on the show with ruption and the frustrations of a that voters are dissatisfied with By Casey Cooper Johnson in Prishtina added curiosity one morning as state-building process supervised the establishment as a whole, so it citizens were discussing by unaccountable and colonialist is unlikely that figures like President Sejdiu’s reported international bodies. Haradinaj, Daci and Pacolli will salary increase, making him the So why hasn’t the balloon be able to gain a following beyond am always grateful and filled with pride by the Albanians’ region’s highest-paid head of popped yet? One reason is that their current base. undying, unquestioning faith in America’s ability to solve state. While the majority of the the independence hangover has The only existing structure Iall of Kosovo’s most pressing diplomatic issues. Recently, I reactions were negative in a gen- not faded away completely and that has any potential to reshape heard about a comment that Prime Minister Hashim Thaci had eralized and diplomatic kind of the Thaci government is still seen the political map is Albin Kurti’s made in reference to his decision not to appear at a meeting way,the body language of respon- as being on a test drive. Another Vetevendosje. Although the move- with a delegation from Arabic nations that visited Kosovo on dents also seemed to convey sub- reason could be that economic ment still primarily views itself August 26. Although some 50 or so Arab nations are still strad- tle feelings of anger. One man statistics are not capturing the as a guardian of the national dling the fence about whether to recognize Kosovo, Thaci brought it all out on the surface: whole picture, most notably the interest operating outside party scoffed at the delegation, citing that he does not meet people “Our society has become like an level of remittances coming from politics, it has often used a pop- with “dubious addresses”. overblown balloon,” he said. “If abroad and activities in the infor- ulist discourse of social justice Having just returned from Israel, he appeared to make a spe- politicians continue blowing air mal sector which provide a life- that might work well with voters cific point, emphasizing Kosovo’s alignment with the United inside, they will make it pop.” line to many families. in a country with widening States and Israel, an obvious point perhaps, but a slightly arro- His metaphorical warning But there are also other deeper inequalities and a hunger for a gant and unwise diplomatic message nevertheless, as an already echoed what many analysts have reasons behind the resilience of protest vote. Kurti’s intentions reticent Arab leadership hesitates over Kosovo’s appeal for feared might happen following Kosovars related to general polit- remain unclear, but recognition. But apparently, Thaci has an ace in his sleeve. Yes, independence, namely that the ical culture and history. After liv- Vetevendosje’s development into it’s America, our Super Duper Hero. dire social and economic situa- ing in crisis conditions for a left political party would per- It was equally interesting when Kosovo’s Foreign Minister, tion, coupled with discontent decades, the nation’s survival haps be a healthy thing for Skender Hyseni, began unveiling his diplomatic corps. Several with the political establishment, skills and patience are well Kosovo’s democracy. It would nations promptly began expressing reservations about the will make some kind of social trained. Furthermore, we have awaken the self-serving establish- ambassadors that Kosovo planned to send them. Switzerland unrest inevitable. not yet developed the kind of ment and diffuse social unrest by was particularly unsettled by the choice of Naim Mala as Sejdiu’s reported salary sturdy democratic traditions channelling the concerns of the ambassador, as he has a record there. Now, some critics might increase (which he later within which authority is active- marginalized into mainstream fret that such a choice reinforces the Western European preju- reversed) is only the latest case of ly challenged. Society remains politics. Yes, the movement’s dice that Albanians are all criminals. But I get the logic. Who reckless behaviour by political submissive and fatalistic. But rhetoric combines rather dodgy cares about neutral old Switzerland anyway? Besides their leaders that strikes a nerve in a there is a flip side to strong forms of dogmatic socialism and handy little pocket knives and pungent cheese, they are insignif- society gripped by economic patience. I recall the long display nationalism, but its views are icant players in the world. All we need is America. hardship and anxiety. The most of peaceful resistance to Serbian likely to evolve once inside the I was particularly impressed by the fact that several individu- recent UNDP Early Warning repression in the 1990s which mainstream. The risks of a bal- als in this cadre of foreign policy specialists come from the Report, published in May, showed then led to a build-up of frustra- loon pop are much higher if same village, Glareva. One is a relative of Deputy Prime 68.4 percent of citizens were will- tion and a call to arms. The paral- extremists are standing on the Minister Rame Manaj. Maybe the red pepper imported from ing to go out and protest for eco- lel between the 1990s and econom- sidelines and there is no one for Serbia, for which Glareva is famous for packaging and reselling, nomic reasons. This number that ic crisis today might appear far- whom the marginalized could is some magical elixir of diplomatic prowess… or perhaps has been constantly high for fetched, but it suggests that even vote. Kosovo’s diplomatic corps is being selected on the basis of fam- years but it takes on a new signif- a patient and submissive society ily and personal ties rather than professional prerequisites. But icance after independence. has a tipping point. Agon Maliqi is a graduate of it is of no great importance whether these diplomats are quali- It’s no mystery why patience is It’s hard to predict where that political science and former civil fied or not. The US has our back. running thin. Kosovo has the low- tipping point would be in the cur- society activist in Kosovo. Now Serbia is attempting a daring legal feat, appealing to the world court in The Hague to deem Kosovo’s independence a vio- lation of international law. As only 47 nations have recognized Kosovo’s sovereignty, albeit the 47 most relevant nations of the world, Kosovo is again on the defensive against Serbia’s diplo- matic counter-strike. But Kosovo’s leadership appears confident and unfazed. I think I know why. That’s right, our Super Duper Hero, America will take care of this. Kosovo’s preservation is certainly the primary preoccupation of the United States government these days. Disregard the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that America is bogged down in. Kosovo is a bigger priority for Americans. Try not to worry about America’s growing tensions with Iran and Pakistan, or the new stand-off with Russia following the invasion of Georgia. Kosovo is the first thing Americans think of when they wake up in the morning. Let’s not dwell on the fact that the United States is in economic meltdown, with Wall St calling for a $700 billion bailout by the government, or that the US is a month away from presidential elections. Kosovo’s right to sov- ereignty is certain to get plenty of airtime on the American media outlets. It’s nice to have a Super Duper Hero on your side. You don’t have to worry so much. You don’t have the pressure of engaging the brightest and best of your nation to develop pro-active strategies for promoting your cause and your image. You cer- tainly don’t have to pay attention to “dubious” Arab delegations. All you need to do is enjoy another piece of baklava, and cher- ish that sweet, blind faith that America is working day and

photo byphoto Insight Prishtina for Rrahmani Petrit night, just for Kosovo. A protest organised by Vetevendosje 20 • October 3 - 16, 2008 directory Business Directory Embassies and Liaison You can get your copy of Prishtina Insight at any of the businesses listed below: Offices in Prishtina

American Japanese Restaurants Odyssey/bistro Travel Agencies Address: “Nazim Hikmet” no.30, Address: Grand Hotel no. 343, Qyteza Pejton “Sejdi Kryeziu” Str. Arbëri/Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina 10000 Prishtina PJATA 044 556 444 ALTAVIA Phone: +381 (0) 38 549 516 Phone: +381 (0) 38 249 995 Gazmend Zajmi Str. no. 1 Luan Haradinaj str. no. 27 Fax: +381 (0) 38 549 890 038 220 739 Mexicano 038 543543 www.prishtina.usembassy.gov Dannish “Abdyl Frasheri” Str. Address: “Nene Tereza” no. 2, TIFFANY 044 149 783 BELI Austrian 10000 Prishtina 038/244040 044 247 708; 044 113 710 Address: Arbëri/Dragodan, Phone: +381 (0) 38 549 381 [email protected]; 10000 Prishtina SAMURAI Cafés & Bars Phone: +381 (0) 38 249 284 Finnish Fehmi Agani Str. Air Kosova Address: ”Eduard Lir”, 044/318-069 91-shi - THE NINETY ONE 038 246 510; 038 247 273 Belgian Arbëri/Dragodan Luan Haradinaj Str. [email protected] Address: Rruga e Zagrebit, no.19, 10000 Prishtina TOKYO 038 221-991 10000 Prishtina Phone:+381 (0) 38 243 098 Bekim Berisha Str. no. 2 Kosova Reisen Phone: +381 (0) 38 517 698 044/988-578, 044/373-537 STRIP DEPOT 038 241 111; 038 243 446; Luxemburg Rexhep Luci Str. no. 6/1 [email protected]; British Address: Vellusha, no. 13, EX 038 222- 888 www.kosovareisen.net Address: “Ismail Qemajli” no.6, 10000 Prishtina Fehmi Agani Str. no. 3/8 Arbëri/Dragodan, Phone: +381 (0) 38 226 787 044 157 039; 044 557 700 EUROKOHA 10000 Prishtina Hotels 038 249 185 Phone: +381 (0) 38 254 700 Malaysian MOZAIK www.flyksa.com Fax:+ 381 (0) 38 249 799 Address: ”Mujo Ulqinaku” no. 12, Sylejman Vokshi Str. VICTORY www.britishembassy.gov.uk/kosovo 10000 Prishtina 038 247 634 Pashko Vasa Str. no. 3 Phone: +381 (0) 38 243 467 038 543 257 Car Services Bulgarian PISHAT Address: “Ismail Qemajli” Norwegian Qamil Hoxha Str. ROYAL OPEL RAKOVICA 10000 Prishtina Address: Sejdi Kryeziu str. no. 6, 038 345 556 Pashko Vasa Str. Hajrullah Abdullahu Str. Phone: +381 (0) 38 245 540 10000 Prishtina 038 220 902; 038 220 903 038 224 703 Tel: 038 232 111 00 TE KOMITETI Dutch Qamil Hoxha Str. 5/2 GRAND HOTEL BAHOLLI Address: Arbëri/Dragodan, Saudi Arabian 038 249 663 Nena Tereze Str. 038 540 872; 044 153 772 10000 Prishtina Address: Grand Hotel no. 501 038 220 210 [email protected]; Phone: +381 (0) 38 224 610 10000 Prishtina RRON [email protected] Phone: +381 (0) 38 549 203 Veternik AFA French 038/ 533 820 Aki Kelmendi Str. no. 15 AUTO MITA Address: Arbëri/Dragodan Slovenian 038 225 226; 225 227 038 229 782 10000 Prishtina Address: “Mother Theresa” no. 20, RINGS Phone: +381 (0) 38 249 612 10000 Prishtina Luan Haradinaj Str. PRINCI I ARBERIT AUTO CLINIC AGA Phone: +381 (0) 38 244 886 226 198/ 300 333 Kodra e Trimave 049/044 152 277 Greek 038 244-244; 244-442 [email protected] Address: Arbëri/Dragodan, Swedish 506 10000 Prishtina Address: Arbëria/Dragodan, nr. 42, Sunny Hill, West Area SARA Phone: +381 (0) 38 243 013 10000 Prishtina 038/500 506 Maliq pash Gjinolli Str. Taxi Phone: +381 (0)38 245 795 038 236-203; 044 238-765 German SYMPHONY TITANIC Address: Arbëri/Dragodan, Swiss Upliana C/7 BACI 038 232 322; 044 232 322 10000 Prishtina Adrian Krasniqi 11, 10000 Prishtina 038/ 548 271 Mother Teresa Str. Phone: +381 (0) 38 244 302 Phone: +381 (0)38 248 088 038 548-356; 548-357 ROBERTI 039 500 006; 044 111 999 Italian Turkish Sandwich Bars PEJTON HOTEL Address: ”Rexhep Mala” no.3, Address: lagja Ulpiana, Pashko Vasa Str. no. 14 A VELANIA 10000 Prishtina Prishtina 10000 AROMA 044 225 325; 038 225 325 Phone: +381 (0) 38 232 691 Phone: +381 (0) 38 548 557 “Rexhep Luci” Str. PRISHTINA 038 244-125 Vaso Pasha Str. no. 20 VICTORY www.hotelprishtina.com 038 555 333 VALENTINO 038 223 284 Would you like to have your Luan Haradinaj Str. 038 222-062 AMBASADOR Vets & Pets business listed in our directory? Adrian Krasniqi Str. AGORA PITBULL Send us a suggestion at [email protected] Luan Haradinaj Str. REAL Ulipana /3/A7 or call us at 038 24 33 58 044 310- 333 Pashko Vasa Str. no. 136 044 125 744

Alternative Directory We recommend you 15 alternative businesses and activities: Leather products: sandals, slip- Notebooks covered in fabric from Wine tours with wine tasting tips International English language http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ pers, purses, phone cases old hand-woven aprons, from local expert school with native English teach- kapi_kosovo/ [email protected] tablecloths, clothing etc. [email protected] ers from pre-school to age 13 (English) 044 790901; 044 111350 [email protected] (English and Albanian) [email protected] (Albanian and some French) 044 661797; 044 790901 044 162230 (English) International Women’s Club (English, French and Albanian) One-hour walking tours of Prishtina of Prishtina Kulla e Mazrekajve near Deçan giving the historical and cultural Rural cottage stays, tours http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ Available for seminars, Night cream made with honey, highlights of the city and traditional agricultural iwc_pristina/ parties, etc. beeswax and propolis. [email protected] crafts near Peja [email protected] [email protected] 044 661797; 044 431438 [email protected] Books and movies of a vast choice 038 243918; 044 609479 0390 330098 (English and Albanian) 044 127783 Labirint bookshop (English, Albanian and Serbian) (Albanian and Serbian) (English, French and Albanian) Address: Luan Haradinaj 16/3 Volunteering opportunity for 038 738 090 Locally-made greetings cards Walks in Kosovo natural areas with native English speakers teaching Kosovo Association for Parents incorporating silver filigree flowers a view to developing recognized after-school clubs in local primary International – network of interna- Innovative new bonnets made from [email protected] footpaths schools tional parents who share informa- the embroidered ‘plis’ hats 044 661797 or 044 799673 [email protected] 044 661797 tion about living with a family in 044 256711 (English and Albanian) (English Albanian and Serbian) (English and Albanian) Kosovo (English and Albanian) life in Kosovo • October 3 - 16, 2008 21 Human Trafficking in Kosovo

Prishtina, September 25, 2008 one was from Bulgaria and one the authorities routinely declare assistance to victims. On the other women are kept are close to police was from Serbia. Three of the vic- that they are determined to fight hand, Cosaj noted that two houses stations and that police officers o find out how bad the prob- tims were minors. the problem, but that little is done. which had been financed by the are suspected of being clients. lem of human trafficking in Asked what the police are doing She noted that only about 50 per- OSCE had been closed. Cosaj said the biggest challenge TKosovo is and how to deal to respond to the rising trend, cent of the plan to tackle traffick- Hasani said that Section 139 of was victim rehabilitation. She said with this negative phenomenon, Ahmeti said the Kosovo Police are ing between 2005 and 2007 had Kosovo’s Penal Code provided for most victims find it difficult to tes- BIRN Kosovo organised a TV cooperating with all relevant insti- been implemented. a maximum sentence of 20 years tify in court and to get on with debate. tutions against human trafficking, in prison for human trafficking their lives since Kosovo is a small Guests in the debate, moderated including the Interior Ministry, but that most sentences are short- country and the courts do not offer by Muhamet Hajrullahu, were: the OSCE, the courts, and NGOs. “Organized crime and er. Luci said that as long as traf- witness protection. She also Artan Duraku, political adviser Regional police units in cities ficking isn’t considered as part of stressed that victims suffer a stig- in the Interior Ministry; Fejzullah throughout Kosovo are trying to human trafficking cannot organised crime traffickers will ma in the community,especially in Hasani, Supreme Court Judge; tackle the problem, he said. be tackled through be able to get off lightly.She called cases when the victim is a minor. Ariana Cosaj, expert on gender Luci noted that there is a clear for a strategic plan that tackles the “Many school directors refuse to issues and member of the correlation between trafficking conferences and seminars” problem at various levels. accept these girls at school Organization for Security and and prostitution. Hasani pointed Artan Duraku Asked about cooperation because they tend to see them as a Cooperation in Europe, OSCE’s, out that not all trafficking is for between the police in Kosovo and destabilizing factor,” she said. anti-trafficking unit; Ramadan sexual exploitation. Trafficking police in Moldova, Macedonia and Luci added that the patriarchal Ahmeti, head of the Kosovo Police also involves the sale of human Duraku said organized crime other neighbouring countries, mentality in Kosovar society plays department dealing with human organs and other kinds of and human trafficking cannot be Ahemti said this has been largely a big role in branding a female as trafficking; Nita Luci, UNDP proj- exploitation. Trafficking is dealt tackled through conferences and a competence of the UNMIK a prostitute, with a bias towards ect initiative for the security and with under International Law, seminars. Cosaj asked why the Police. However, he said that the concluding that the victim protection of women. whereas prostitution comes under Interior Ministry hadn’t taken Kosovo Police cooperate with “brought it on herself”. This, According to statistics from the category of sex crimes, which steps to increase the budget to police in other countries through according to Luci, “impedes her NGOs and international organiza- are also illegal, Hasani explained. tackle human trafficking. She Interpol. He cited a case where the return to the community as she is tions, there has been an increase in Moreover, related activities such pointed out that the police raid police in Moldova had reported believed to have destroyed her the number of women being traf- as blackmail and other types of premises where trafficking goes suspicious activity to the Kosovo own morality.” ficked within Kosovo. Ramadan abuse are subject to legal sanction. on but there are few facilities to Police, resulting in the arrest of Cosaj said there should be a Ahmeti reported that trafficking Likewise, Cosaj pointed out, accommodate victims. Cosaj said traffickers. “Many times we have public debate about legalizing has been rife since the end of the trafficking is invariably accompa- that some houses for victims had been discouraged by sentences prostitution as it will continue to war in 1999. Immediately after the nied by false promises and fraud. been closed. Duraku promised handed down by the courts in traf- exist in the country, despite the war, victims were predominantly The Kosovo authorities issue that this would not continue, par- ficking cases, but we never efforts of the police. She suggested foreigners. However, new statistics work permits to employees of ticularly since, under the new con- stopped our work,” Ahemti said. that religious groups should be show that most victims are from hotels and motels where large stitution, the Interior Ministry Hasani said court verdicts included in the discussion. Kosovo. In the first eight months of numbers of women work as wait- has more discretion in the matter. depended on proof, but he also According to Duraku, a lack of this year, Kosovo Police assisted in resses. In this respect, Duraku Duraku said the new govern- noted that they are influenced by cooperation among relevant insti- 22 cases of trafficked women: 14 said the Interior Ministry is deter- ment would adopt a long-term the way the problem is perceived tutions remains the biggest chal- were Kosovars, four were from mined to fight trafficking wherev- approach to human trafficking and in the country. It was pointed out lenge to deterring human traffick- Moldova, two were from Albania, er it occurs. Cosaj complained that he said this would involve offering that many places where trafficked ing. Illegal Construction in Prishtina Prishtina, September 18, 2008 buildings were built than the Ramadani, head of Lakrishte number of permits issued district, pointed out that most cit- oes Prishtina have an because of a lack of cooperation izens are unfamiliar with the urban development plan among the relevant agencies in details of urban planning and Dand, if so, why is it not the Assembly. He pointed out that that Prishtina residents “are liv- being implemented? What is his team had taken just three ing in an urban chaos lacking being done by the authorities to months to produce a strategic infrastructure, proper planning prevent public spaces being plan for Prishtina, compared to and space.” ruined by illegal construction? three years taken by the former Spahiu said the problems in the Are building contractors and city architect, Rexhep Luci, who district were temporary and their associates above the law? In died in mysterious circum- would be resolved when construc- order to discuss these issues, stances. He added that an urban tion was finished. Nixha and BIRN organised a TV debate with plan without adequate population Spahiu disagreed over the issue of a discussion panel consisting of: statistics could not be accurate or which agency is entitled to issue Shiqeri Spahiu, head of the complete. construction permits in Urbanisation Department in the Shemsi Veseli said responsibili- Prishtina. Spahiu said permits Prishtina Municipal Assembly; ty for the present situation rested were issued by the Municipal Lulzim Nixha, an architect, and with the competent institutions, Assembly, while Nixha said the the former head of the which are not protecting the pub- Kosovo Trust Agency, KTA, was Urbanisation Department; Sylej- lic interest. He said there was a the relevant body. man Ramadani, head of Lakrishte corrupt link between contractors Veseli pointed out that while district; Shemsi Veseli, resident in and officials. The broadcast was the residents of Lakrishte had Prishtina’s Bregu i Diellit district. recorded in the same week that asked for the construction of The debate kicked off with prominent Prishtina architect kindergartens, a primary school Spahiu saying that construction Rexhep Luci was murdered. and two secondary schools, only has been banned completely in Veseli claimed that Luci’s killing high-rise buildings were being inner Prishtina. He said that was orchestrated by contractors put up. more than 700 buildings had been who objected to building con- Nixha pointed out that people put up illegally during election straints in the capital. continue to buy illegal apart- campaigns but that these were Spahiu said that buildings ments because they are cheaper, mainly in rural areas or in sub- which did not follow necessary since permits have not been paid urbs of Prishtina, such as procedures had been demolished, for and the quality of construc- Cagllavica. He said the number of while in some cases builders were tion is low. cases in inner Prishtina was rela- given an opportunity to comply Veseli warned that demolition tively small. Spahiu said that with regulations retroactively. could be applied selectively to the since the current government “Every individual who wants to advantage of public officials who came to power, the Assembly had build is informed about all the are themselves involved in illegal approved 46 of 713 applications necessary criteria in the office of construction, and he accused for construction permits. He said Urbanization in the Municipal Spahiu and Nixha of building ille- the low number of permits issued Assembly of Prishtina,” Spahiu gal annexes onto their own build- Panelists agreed that there is These debates were organised as in the capital was due to a short- said. Asked why this information ings. no understanding among Kosovo part of BIRN’s Current Affairs TV age of qualified construction is not posted on the official web- Spahiu said he had done this for architects that they should not show “Jeta ne Kosovë”, which is engineers and surveyors. site, Spahiu said steps were being accommodation purposes and not work with contractors who deal broadcast every Thursday night on Nixha said that many more taken to rectify this. for commercial gain. in illegal construction projects. Kosovo’s public TV station, RTK. 22 • October 3 - 16, 2008 time out KINO ABC Fran Drescher in Kosovo INDIANA JONES and amous american actrees the Kingdom of the and writer Fran Drescher Crystal Skull (2008) Fwill visit Kosovo from October 7-9. Drescher, who is best known for her television Director: Steven Spielberg sitcom “The Nanny,” is a multi- Starring: Harrison Ford, ple nominee for Emmy and Kate Blanchett etc. Golden Globe awards. She will visit Kosovo in the role of Synopsis: American Public Diplomacy During the Cold War, Soviet Envoy for Women’s Health agents watch Professor Issues, a position to which she Henry Jones when a young was recently appointed by the man brings him a coded US Secretary of State message from an aged, Condoleezza Rice. demented colleague, Henry Drescher has also made a Oxley. Led by the brilliant name for herself as a writer Irina Spalko, the Soviets tail Jones and of two New York Times the young man, Mutt, to Peru. With Oxley's code, they find a leg- best-selling books. Her first endary skull made of a single piece of quartz. If Jones can deliver book, “Enter Whining,” the skull to its rightful place, all may be well; but if Irina takes it to is a story of her life from her its origin, she'll gain powers that could endanger the West. Aging youth in Queens, New York, to professor and young buck join forces with a woman from Jones's becoming a television star. For past to face the dangers of the jungle, Russia, and the supernatural. her second book, “Cancer Schmancer,” which recounts her experience with uterine 15 - 19 OCTOBER “Turkish Film Week” cancer, Drescher received the National Coalition for Cancer During this week Kino ABC in Prishtina is going to screen seven of the Survivorship Writer’s Award. most known turkish movies from the last decade. The week During her visit in Prishtina is going to begin with movie ‘Takva’,from director Ozer Kiziltan. she will discuss her experiences as a cancer survivor and will TAKVA (2006) encourage activities of the Balkans Breast Cancer Humble and introvert Initiative, BBCI, an initiative Muharrem lives in a solitary headquartered in Prishtina that and meager existence of a brings together women of the prayer and sexual abstinence Balkans to fight a common adhering strictly to the most enemy – cancer. severe Islamic doctrines. His extraordinary devotion attracts the attention of the German Film Week For the 4th time, the Germany Embassy,togeth- leader of a rich and powerful Opening date er with Concordia Pictures, presents the Istanbul religious group who Monday, October 6, 2008 German Film Week in Kosovo. The program offers him an administrative Closing date includes feature and documentary films, chil- post as a rent collector for Sunday, October 12, 2008 dren's films, Q&A sessions after the screenings their numerous properties. as well as workshops. Muharrem’s new job throws him into the modern outside German Film Week in Kosovo is going to be world he has successfully held at Kinostudio, near RTV 21. avoided for so long. He soon witnesses conflicting attitude towards alcohol consumption. He notices that he himself has become proud, domineering and even DJ dishonest. To make matters worse, Muharrem’s inner peace is dis- turbed by the tormenting image of a seductive woman who tempts him in his dreams, both night and day. With the balance of his devo- tion now upset, his fear of God begins to eat away at his senses. Friday 17.10.08 Turntables On The Hudson Party @ SPRAY THEATRE New York City 1 October – ”Fourth Sister” – Agim Sopi 2 October – Ballet Music by: Nickodemus & Mariano 4 October – “Uuuuh” – Isë Qosja Turkish Instrument - UD by Zeb 5 October – Truth in Translation –Play from Africa – 20:00 – 22:00 (Spy from Cairo-The Pleb) 6 October – Truth in Translation - Play from Africa– 17:00 – 20:00 7 October – Truth in Translation - Play from Africa– 17:00 – 20:00 Nappy G, one of the world’s best 8 October – “Fourth Sister” – Agim Sopi drummers 9 October – Ballet 10 October “Uuuuh” – Isë Qosja 15 October “Fourth Sister” – Agim Sopi 16 October Ballet 22 October “Fourth Sister” - Agim Sopi 23 October Ballet 24 October Friday 10.10.08 “Uuuuh” – Isë Qosja Re-Charge Party with 29 October “Fourth Sister” – Agim Sopi HED KANDI Label - Kelly Marie 31 October & Live Percussion by Chris B “Uuuuh” Isë Qosja fun & puzzle • October 3 - 16, 2008 23

Across Down

1: Sign of healing 1: Much teen talk 5: Like restaurant towelettes 2: Eyelashes 10: Hansom vehicle 3: Chips in a chip 13: Pat response 4: Nut trees 14: Geological span 5: American voters before 1920 15: Root beer alternative 6: October birthstone 16: Current generator 7: Greek letter 18: Table scraps 8: Sea duck 19: My girl cousin, to my mom 9: '... and baby makes ___' 20: Not on schedule 10: Mutually comparable 21: Lions and Tigers and Bears 11: Flute or saxophone variety 22: Cut to the bone 12: Striped fish 24: Spine-tingling 15: ___ saw (carpenter's curve cutter) 26: Time keeper? 17: Woodwind requirement 29: Not yet ignited 23: Ten to a buck 32: Important work 25: Regretted 35: Utmost 27: Highlander's cap 36: Opposite of staccato 28: Rust, tarnish, or laughing gas 37: 'Sister Act' extra 30: Short newspaper piece 38: Minor deity 31: Corn-growing regions 40: Player's peg 32: Responsibility 41: Loosens 33: Quarterback option 43: White Stripes, for one 34: Pristine 44: Gropes for words 36: Pilfers 45: Surveil, with 'out' 38: Like one end of a pool 46: Soothing 39: Firearm 48: Syrup source 42: Endorsed 50: Cherub's superior 44: Valor 54: Fix a hot dog? 46: Equus and others 56: Screen-measuring unit 47: Where Barry Bonds plays, 59: Leaf in a book 49: Has trouble saying sassafras 60: Titanic 51: Maui greeting 61: Concert program listing 52: Wine grape 63: Mocked by imitating 53: Party throwers 64: Merchandising scheme, briefly 54: Pillow cover 65: Whiskey measure 55: Cocoon's contents 66: Bananas, nuts, or crackers 57: Hoof-on-pavement sound 67: Maudlin 58: Rope fiber 68: Bathroom rugs 62: Coquettish On October 3… Knee Slappers 1739 The Treaty of Nissa is 1921 The World Series was ...and they are fresh! signed by the Ottoman broadcast on the radio Empire and Russia at for the first time. eismologists have discov- ou know, being a politi- Hillary Clinton said the ‘Don’t the end of the Russian- Sered that earthquakes can Ycian can be dangerous for Ask Don’t Tell’ policy has Turkish War, 1736-1739. 1929 The Kingdom of Serbs, be predicted from animals’ your health. Seems campaign been a failure.’ She said, “I Croats and Slovenes is behavior. Animals tend to get promises lead to severe mem- know from personal experi- 1778 British Captain James renamed the Kingdom very nervous before an ory loss. ence it doesn’t work. For years Cook anchors in of Yugoslavia, "Land of impending earthquake, so Bill and I have had a ‘Don’t Alaska. the South Slavs". when cows start giving butter here’s a brand new show Ask, Don’t Tell’ marriage. instead of milk... Tjust for sadists. It’s called 1795 General Napoleon 1932 Iraq gains independence BEAT THE PRESS. elieve it or not, they have a Bonaparte first rises to from Britain. ush is so fearful of put- BDial-A-Joke service in national prominence ting his foot in his mouth hina has an interesting Washington, D.C. You call up 1952 United Kingdom suc- B being named to defend over this economic mess , he’s way of choosing their information and they give you cessfully tests a nuclear C the French National at the point where he has to leaders. They pick one from the number of the American weapon. Convention against think before he thinks. column “A” and none from Congress. armed counter-revolu- column “B.” 1955 The Mickey Mouse Club tionary rioters threat- ugging is such a way of sk a stupid question and debuts on ABC. ening the three-year-old Blife in some places. I know an you believe it? Now Athe American Congress revolutionary govern- 1962 The Beatles released one US diplomat in the Russia Cthere are over one billion will probably appropriate ment. their first hit, "Love Me who at the start of every Chinese on the mainland of $10,000,000 to find an answer Do," in Britain. meeting says to the ceiling, China. Just imagine when for it. 1849 American author Edgar “Hey, could you beep twice they start importing Viagra Allan Poe is found 1990 Re-unification of when 90 minutes are up?” from Kosovo. o you live a life of “quiet delirious in a gutter in Germany. The German Ddesperation” or do you Baltimore, Maryland Democratic Republic didn’t realize how much peaking at a Manhattan have kids - or am I just repeat- under mysterious cir- ceased to exist and its Islang my son used until his Sfundraiser in New York, ing myself ? cumstances; it is the territory became part of high school asked him to last time he is seen in the Federal Republic of enroll in English as a second public before his death. Germany. East German language. citizens became part of 1873 Captain Jack and com- the European ouldn’t watch the (Democrat panions are hanged for Community, which later Cic/ Republican) party con- their part in the Modoc became the European vention due to health concerns. War. Union. I’m on a baloney – free diet. Funny 1910 King Manuel II was 1993 Battle of Mogadishu: In eople have a thing about overthrown in a revolu- an attempt to capture Pcorrupt politicians. Their T-shirt tion and Portugal officials of warlord corrupt politician is okay. became a republic. Mohamed Farrah Your’s should be shot! Aidid's organisation in 1918 King Boris III of Mogadishu, Somalia, 18 ou want my definition of Bulgaria takes the US soldiers and about Ycruel and unusual pun- throne. 1,000 Somalis are killed ishment? The never-ending in heavy fighting. election campaign. 24 • October 3 - 16, 2008 marketing