Opinion: Norway’s Bomber Should Leave the Balkans Alone

July 29 - September 1, 2011 Issue No. 69 www.prishtinainsight.com Price € 1

BUSINESS Fears Over Sale of Kosovo’s Prize Asset, PTK > page 6

INSIDE PRISHTINA Giant Party Leaders’ Posters Illegal, Says Municipality > page 18 TIME OUT 'Frustration with EU Inaction' Dokufest’s Tenth Anniversary Forced Border Raid Already a Hit Prishtinaa says EU inaction over Kosovo’s lawless north forced it to take unilateral action - which some now describe as > page 17 “poorly planned”. FEATURE unit and the redeployment of Europe’s failure to renew a key Since then EULEX officials and By Lawrence Marzouk NATO troops in large numbers. trade agreement with Kosovo, or Serb members of the Kosovo Comedy Bridges “The EU has failed to learn the appoint a permanent head of EU Police have manned them. But cus- Language Gulf n advisor to Kosovo’s Prime lessons, and again it has problems policy in Prishtina since the begin- toms duties have not been collect- Minister, Hashim Thaci, fulfilling its mission through ning of May. ed and passports have not been Between Two Ahas told Prishtina Insight EULEX on rule of law,” Collaku stamped. that the European Union and its said. Secret operation: Kosovo’s government said Albanias rule of law mission in Kosovo, The EU remains “status neu- action became urgent after it EULEX, had failed in Kosovo and tral” on Kosovo’s 2008 declaration Kosovo Police’s special unit imposed a ban on Serbian imports > page 12 - 13 that this was why the authorities of independence because five of launched an unprecedented opera- on July 20, which was not being had no choice but to undertake the 27 member states do not recog- tion on Monday night to take over enforced in the north. unilateral action in the north on nise it. two northern border points, Gates The government introduced the Monday. This has hampered decision- 1 and 31 near Leposavic and Zubin embargo after talks between Bekim Collaku spoke after days making by EU institutions and its Potok. Belgrade and Prishtina failed to Kosovo’s only English-language of unrest in the north led to the mission in Kosovo, EULEX, as it The two crossings have been out result in a deal lifting a Serbian newspaper is available: destruction of a border crossing has attempted to balance conflict- of Prishtina’s control since the ban on Kosovo products imposed by a Serb mob, the death of an offi- ing views. country declared independence, in 2008. Delivered to cer from Kosovo Police’s special It has resulted this year in when Serb mobs burnt them down. continues page 2 Your Door

Thaci Loses Grip on Kosovo’s New Photos Issued in From Newsstands Ruling Party Medicus Case across Kosovo Sent To An old anecdote holds that ruling parties Photos of Israeli Moshe Harel, who is on craft their own downfall. If so, the current the run from justice, have been issued by Your Inbox struggles within the leadership of the gov- Interpol in a bid to track down the fugitive. erning Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK In June, EULEX, the EU mission in From looks like a textbook example. Kosovo, confirmed the indictment against our partners A bitter conflict between key figures in a Turkish doctor, Yusuf Sonmez, and the PDK, which may be... analysis page 4-5 news Israeli Moshe Harel... page 5 see page 16 for more info

is supported by: 2 July 29 - September 1, 2011 news Kosovo: ‘Frustration with EU’ Forced Border Raid

from page 1 and across the north in a bid to porteur on Kosovo, Austrian stem the violence. Green MEP Ulrike Lunacek, said The operation was kept secret Kosovo’s unilateral move was Serbia bore most of the blame for from Kosovo’s international part- widely criticised by the interna- the outbreak of violence in north- ners, including EULEX and the tional community, in particular by ern Kosovo. NATO force, KFOR. Nor were the EU. “The escalation in northern details passed on to the Chief of A more nuanced view came Kosovo, with one dead and one Kosovo Police, Reshat Maliqi. from the International Civilian injured, is a tragic symptom of the Pro-government newspapers Office, ICO, comprising 25 coun- ongoing stalemate in the negotia- have claimed that, on hearing the tries that supported Kosovo’s inde- tions between Kosovo and Serbia,” news of the operation, Maliqi con- pendence. she said. tacted EULEX, prompting Prime The ICO defended the govern- “By blocking dialogue, Serbia Minister Hashim Thaci to sack ment’s right to carry out such has triggered this current border him. operations on its sovereign territo- dispute, which due to an inappro- Maliqi denies this. He told ry, while urging both sides to end priate response by the Kosovar Prishtina Insight that last Friday the violence and return to the authorities, has bubbled over.” he was told he could not take his negotiating table. The MEP said that the EU and holiday because of a planned oper- ICO spokesman Andy McGuffie its members needed to ensure ation, but he received no further told Prishtina Insight: “The Serbia improved its relationship details of it until Monday evening. Kosovo government now must with its neighbour. KFOR has stepped up its presence in Mitrovica Kosovo Police sources told focus on reaching out to its citi- “If Serbia continues to block Prishtina Insight that the mission zens in northern Kosovo in addi- as a sovereign and independent tion, which mainly is connected to dialogue with Kosovo, the EU must was kept secret in order to make tion to establishing legitimate state inside it recognised borders, the unclear position of the EU,” he refuse to grant it EU candidate sta- sure that Serb members of Kosovo administrative control. or whether they have another said. tus,” she added. Police in the north did not pass on “It must determinedly explain agenda.” “The effects of [their] neutral the information to local Serb mili- to people living in northern Collaku said the government position on [Kosovo’s] status will Poorly planned: tia groups. Kosovo how Prishtina can improve could no longer tolerate the “crim- be felt even more in the future and As the police special units their quality of life,” he added. inal structures of Serbia terroriz- they will be painful for Kosovo,” Kosovo’s government have been reached the two gates a little “The government has to show ing the population living in that he predicted. lavish in its praise of the opera- before midnight on Monday, they understanding of the aspirations part of Kosovo. Rashiti said that Kosovo needed tion and of the bravery of Kosovo removed mobile phones from their of people living in northern “We cannot allow criminal to see the quick establishment of Police Officers fellow Serb officers in order to Kosovo and work with them to cre- groups sponsored by Serbia to control of customs in the north, But some voices are critical. avoid information filtering out. ate economic, social and political hold the future of our country and the EU needed to push Serbia Kosovo’s recently sacked chief of But as news of the operation benefits for all.” hostage because that is not accept- to drop its ban on Kosovo goods. police said the mission was poorly spread, armed local Serbs took to able, not only according to our con- Alongside increasing anger at planned. the streets and set up roadblocks Frustration boiled over: stitution, but also by our internal EU inaction, some see a shrewd “There should have been a near the Kosovo-Serbia border. law and European principles.” political manoeuvre by Thaci detailed plan with everything Kosovo Police and Customs offi- Relations between the Kosovo The advisor said the dead aimed at bolstering his ratings. thought through, i.e. food, medical cials then faced difficulties on government and EULEX have Kosovo policeman had been mur- One international official, who intervention, logistics and so on,” Tuesday travelling by road, after become increasingly fraught this dered by Serbian paramilitaries spoke on condition of anonymity, Maliqi said. being drawn into firefights with year, with key figures including “paid for by the Serbian state. said an internal poll carried out by “But owing to the [lack of] time, local Serbs. During these an offi- the Interior Minister, Bajram “Thus, the EU should oppose the the ruling PDK party recently had this plan had no possibility to be cer was shot in the head and later Rexhepi, launching withering paramilitary actions of Serbia showed his popularity ratings drawn up. The police faced barri- died and another was seriously attacks on the mission’s alleged inside Kosovo and support the were falling. cades, shootings in the road and injured. failure to tackle lawlessness in the legitimate actions of Kosovo’s Rashiti agreed that tackling the only a few of them had any idea On Tuesday a deal was thought north. authorities for the rule of law.” north had become a key issue for about the terrain. Most of them to have been reached between This frustration with the inter- Naim Rashiti, head of the think political leaders in Kosovo, partic- were there for the first time.” Belgrade, Prishtina and KFOR on national community and in partic- tank, the International Crisis ularly since the last election, since Maliqi said that sources in KFOR the removal of the special unit and ular with the EU led Kosovo to Group in Kosovo, agreed that frus- when a stronger, more vocal oppo- had since assured him that “the the future deployment at the cross- take unilateral action, the govern- tration with the EU had played a sition emerged in parliament. operation was not planned well”. ing points of Kosovo police and ment says. key role in the decision to seize the But Collaku dismissed the idea Rashiti of the ICG also said the customs officers of Serbian and On Wednesday, Prime Minister border crossings. that petty political considerations operation appeared poorly Albanian ethnicity. Thaci said there was “no going He detected “extreme frustra- lay behind Thaci’s decision to planned and thought through. But Serb leaders on Wednesday back” on the police operation tion in the leadership in Prishtina order the police action. Such “In principle, unilateral actions said they had agreed only for aimed at taking control of customs in relation to the international claims “failed to understand reali- are seen as unacceptable by the EU Kosovo Serb police officers and posts in the Serb-held north. community and Belgrade. ty”, he said noting that no elec- and they are against the idea of EULEX customs officials to be This was “a moment of truth for “During recent years, there has tions were looming in Kosovo. dialogue, which the EU promotes,” present. As a result, they did not the new Kosovo”, he added. been an increase in this frustra- The European Parliament’s rap- he noted. dismantle roadblocks and a KFOR “Kosovo will not turn back, there helicopter attempting to transport will be no return to the status Kosovo police and customs offi- quo.” Police Chief: I Found Out About Sacking From Daughter cials to the border was fired on and Thaci attacked EULEX for not was forced to retreat. supporting the action. “For 12 he former head of Kosovo As it became clear that the situ- years the international communi- Police, sacked this week by ation was worsening, sources in ty has failed to take even one act to TPrime Minister Thaci, has the police special unit told restore law and order in that part revealed that he found out about his Prishtina Insight that they were of the territory of Kosovo,” he dismissal from his daughter who had preparing to return to the north said. been watching the news. later on Wednesday following the The Prime Minister’s advisor, Reshat Maliqi told Prishtina funeral of their colleague, Enver Collaku, told Prishtina Insight Insight that he has not been told why Zymberi. that the EU needed to understand he was sacked as a controversial A few hours later a group of that it was “losing an opportunity operation in Kosovo’s north got Serbs set alight the border point to fix the mistakes it made in the underway. near Leposavic. Belgrade branded past when, owing to its disunity, it “The decision was a surprise even the arsonists as hooligans. But failed to prevent the wars in the for me,” he said. “I have never asked Prime Minister Thaci maintained Balkans. to be dismissed or resign. I have that the violence had been orches- “It may be the last moment for never even had any warning regard- trated from the Serbian capital. them to be clear on what they want ing working issues. US and French KFOR troops to happen in the Balkans,” he said. “My daughter called me and told have now been deployed in large “To be clearer, they should clear- me that she saw the news in RTK that numbers at both border crossings ly say whether they accept Kosovo PM has dismissed me.”

Y M C +381 38 602042, +377 44 243367, +386 49 243367 K news July 29 - September 1, 2011 3

Editor’s Word Plazma

By Lawrence Marzouk

Goodbye Plazma” joked the front page of “Prishtina daily Express last Friday. Kosovo was wishing farewell to everyone’s favourite childhood snack – Plazma biscuits, as a product of Serbia, were no longer welcome in these parts. In my imagination, the worried parents of Prishtina were clamouring outside the gates of the government building, dumbfounded at the withdrawal of the most effective bambino bribe Delays to Kosovo's EU Chief Sends ever to have emerged from Pozarevac, Serbia. “Our children are crying! What should they eat?” “Let them eat pite,” cried Mimoza Kursari- “Wrong Signals” Lila, Kosovo’s Marie Antoinette and Minister of Trade and Industry, as she sped through the gates Britain’s Minister for Europe David Lidington has said that the EU’s failure to appoint a new head in Kosovo is in her blacked-out jeep. sending the wrong message to Prishtina when it needs encouragement on its EU path But by Tuesday morning, it became clear that this was no longer a joking matter. Kosovo’s gov- Lidington reveals his concerns that having recognised Kosovo. ernment had launched its most audacious move ‘Ashton’s plans to re-design the EU pres- Lidington said, however, that negotia- yet by taking over the two northernmost border ence in Kosovo will not in practice tions on a new EUSR had been coupled crossings. It was quite a breathtaking operation enhance EU influence and reputation as to an ongoing discussion on how Kosovo By Artan Mustafa given Kosovo politicians’ usual fawning to the much as she and the UK would like’. should be referred to in EU documents. international community. “I am particularly concerned that, Ashton’s Spokesperson, Maja I imagined Hashim Thaci finally stretching given the tight timescales involved, the Kocijancic, told Prishtina Insight that U foreign policy chief Catherine out his legs under the desk and hanging up that EU risks being without a EUSR for a sus- the procedure for naming a permanent Ashton has again failed to name a photo of him with Madeline Albright and a terri- tained period of time,” he wrote. Since representative is ongoing. Epermanent EU Special ble hair cut. Kosovo’s leaders were making them- then, appointment to the position has “The aim is quite clear, but there are Representative, EUSR, in Kosovo at the selves feel comfortable in the corridors of power, been further delayed. still ongoing negotiations with the second time of asking. no longer tiptoeing around their international “This would be the wrong signal to [European] Council,” she said. Following the decision for the job of overlords. EUSR and head of the International send at a time when we are looking to Around ten 10 people, including ital- Kosovars felt a surge of joy: this was their Civilian Office, ICO, to be split, the EU the new Kosovo government to drive for- ian ambassador Michael Giffoni, country, and their government was taking has been without a new head of opera- ward the reform priorities highlighted Miroslav Lajcak, Managing Director for responsibility for it. If EULEX was unwilling to tions in Kosovo since May 1. in the Commission's progress report, the Western Balkans in the European provide security in the north, Kosovo Police was. The delays have come as the EU has and when we would like the EU to send External Action Service, and Ulrike But by Tuesday night, the death of a Kosovo struggled to form a cohesive position on tangible signals of its support for Lunacek, European parliament reporter who should become the next EUSR in Kosovo's progress towards the EU, in for Kosovo, were interviewed during the police officer signalled it was not going to be easy Kosovo, what form the EU’s presence line with the European perspective of past weeks. controlling these crossings, and the mood should take in the light of administra- the entire Western Balkans region”, The problem is not only with the name began to turn. There was anger at the death of tive changes and even how the office and Lidington wrote. of the diplomat. EU member states that the police officer, but also concern that the mis- Kosovo should be referred to as. The British minister has been particu- have recognised Kosovo would prefer for sion was if not impossible, at least quite difficult. Ashton appointed the Italian diplomat larly concerned at attempts by non- EUSR to be a head of an “EU Once a Serb mob had turned up and burnt Fernando Gentilini with a mandate end- recognising countries to impose their Delegation”, rather than a “Liaison down Gate 1 on Wednesday, NATO had had ing at the end of July to buy time to views on references to Kosovo in EU doc- Office” as it is now. enough and decided to put everyone back in their resolve these issues, but her office told uments.. Vlora Çitaku, Kosovo’s minister of places. Prishtina Insight this week that his con- To the “EUSR playing a lead role in a Integration, told Prishtina Insight that So KFOR has taken over manning the crossing, tract would be extended for another two settlement defining Kosovo's future sta- the Government would welcome a high- one family has lost a father, a border point has months. tus” , despite 22 out of 27 states of EU er EU profile to help the communication been burnt down and relations between Kosovo Prishtina Insight can reveal that in the process towards EU membership. “ and Serbia are at a new low – not a resounding warnings that these delays would be “This would be the wrong signal to “The decision for a permanent EUSR success, you may think. sending out the wrong message to send at a time when we are looking would be reflected in our cooperation,” But this operation, however poorly planned Kosovo at a crucial time have been made she said. and executed, has broken a trend which has to Ashton. to the new Kosovo government to Kosovo officials blamed the lack of EU endured since 1999: the international communi- A letter sent to the European Scrutiny drive forward the reform priori- coordination and unclear messages for ty’s failed zero-risk policy in the north. Committee of UK Parliament, dated 11 the latest developments in the North of The grand “strategy” to resolve The North, May 2011, by Minister for Europe David ties”. Kosovo. much discussed last year, was simply a list of perfectly sensible measures that would have con- tributed to thawing of a frozen conflict. The ICO and Quint may be square behind it, PRISHTINA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT “ADEM JASHARI” but the EU and NATO’s muddled policy on Kosovo and, therefore, its continued zero-risk policy meant we have seen no real progress. Call it foolhardy, but this action may at last jolt the EU and the wider international community into taking some small risk in an effort to resolve the terrible situation in this black hole of law- lessness. For too long the European Union in particular, but also other international actors, has wanted to ignore important issues such as mob-rule in the north, for fear of upsetting their own delicate institutional balance of opinions, while expect- ing Kosovars to stay quiet because they might, at some point, get visa liberalisation, and in the misty future, EU membership. Thaci has shown this week that the EU cannot have their cake and eat it. Particularly, if it’s a WE ARE OPEN FOR ALL DEPARTING FLIGHTS • CALL US ON 038 594422 Plazma biscuit. 4 July 29 - September 1, 2011 analysis Thaci Loses Grip on Kosovo’s Ruling Party

The powerful Prime Minister is losing his grip on key factions within his governing Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK.

By Artan Mustafa

n old anecdote holds that ruling parties craft their Aown downfall. If so, the cur- rent struggles within the leader- ship of the governing Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK looks like a textbook example. A bitter conflict between key fig- ures in the PDK, which may be beyond Prime Minister Hashim Thaci’s skill to resolve, threatens his grip on the party. Key figures in the party have become openly hostile to the Prime Minister, attempting to derail his government coalition and embarrassing him by openly snubbing forceful requests from the country’s important interna- tional backers. At the heart of the struggle are Jakup Krasniqi, the speaker of the parliament, who was acting President at the end of the last government, and Fatmir Limaj, former Minister of Transport. Both men are powerful figures within the party, popular among voters, and more or less openly working against Thaci. He's behind you: Jakup Krasniqi (left) and Hashim Thaci (right) no longer see eye to eye on who should govern their party, the PDK Now members of the party fear that the selection of a candidate state president could create fur- 2010 when police from the EU rule- Charges fuel friction: the EULEX charges that have for the soon to be beefed-up role of ther acrimony. of-law mission, EULEX, raided the since followed, suggesting the home and offices of the then min- In the meantime, Thaci left charges were politically motivat- Ancient rivalries: ister, probing corruption allega- Limaj and Shala outside the new ed. tions. government formed in early 2011 “He will fight on because he’s Former minister Fatmir Limaj Prosecutors alleged that Limaj following December’s general elec- convinced he hasn’t done anything has faced controversy before. had misused millions of euros, tion. wrong as transport minister or www.prishtinainsight.com Accused of war crimes in 2005 at charges that could land the hero of Limaj has declined to speak during the war,” one ally said. the International Tribunal for Ex- the 1990s Kosovo war with 55 years about his fallout with Thaci to The latest twist in the party’s Publisher: Yugoslavia, ICTY, he was found not in prison if proven. Limaj denies Prishtina Insight, saying that it squabbles was Krasniqi’s refusal BIRN guilty. them. was “not the right time”. as speaker to proceed with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Following his release, he spent As transport minister, Limaj But in recent months he has adoption of a parliamentary reso- months mulling whether to go had run a large budget, much of repeatedly attacked the govern- lution asking the Constitutional Mensa e Studenteve, first floor back to the PDK or form his own which he used to build around ment and called for a different Court to clarify the issue of parlia- party. Limaj apparently felt 1,300km of new roads in two-and- style of politics. mentarians’ immunity from 10000, Prishtina aggrieved with the party leader for a-half years. According to his Limaj was again thrust into the arrest, as EULEX had sought. Kosovo not giving the support he felt he allies, he almost doubled the spotlight in February when he EULEX raised the request partly Phone: +381 (0) 38 24 33 58 deserved while facing war crimes length of paved roads in the coun- declined to support Behgjet to enable its police to proceed with Fax: +381 (0) 38 22 44 98 in The Hague where Thaci had try. Pacolli’s candidacy for the post of the arrest of Limaj on war crimes never visited him during the trial. Aware of Limaj’s popularity, President of Kosovo. charges. [email protected] Sources in the PDK told Thaci at first reacted angrily to Pacolli was head of the New Although Thaci’s government Prishtina Insight that from then EULEX’s charges. Kosovo Alliance Party, a coalition endorsed the EULEX request, and Editor-in-Chief: on Limaj had blamed many of his Diplomats told Prishtina Insight partner in Thaci’s new govern- although the US ambassador, Lawrence Marzouk troubles on elements within SHIK, that Thaci had also tried to rescue ment. Christopher Dell, accused [email protected] the intelligence agency associated Limaj and Ahmet Shala, a former But Limaj’s hostile stance, Krasniqi of protecting his friends with the PDK, calling them a finance minister also facing cor- and putting personal interests Editorial Team: alongside that of Jakup Krasniqi, “fount of disinformation” about ruption charges, by sending them speaker of parliament, rendered before those of the country, the Ana Petruseva, Gordana Igric, him. abroad as diplomats. This deal Pacolli’s position politically pre- speaker refused to budge. Jeta Xharra, Marcus Tanner, “The rift started during the failed, however. carious. In the end, Thaci’s government Petrit Collaku, Shengjyl Osmani and Kosovo war over women but has Sources close to Limaj suggest A Constitutional Court ruling a sent its own request for clarifica- tion of the immunity question to Kanarina Shehu. developed into a broader rivalry,” that Thaci, for all his public pro- few weeks after his election in a source inside the PDK told fessions of support, actually want- March finally terminated Pacolli’s the Constitutional Court, bypass- Prishtina Insight. ed Limaj off the scene, possibly short spell as head of state. ing Krasniqi and parliament. Marketing, Sales & Distribution: Limaj eventually decided to because he was jealous of his pop- “The problem [with my election [email protected] rejoin the PDK and was handed ularity. as president] was Jakup Internal criticism grows: the job of transport minister after “He [Limaj] hasn’t spoken to Krasniqi,” Pacolli has since told Design & Layout: “Rrjeti” the 2007 election, during which he Thaci or to Kadri Veseli [head of Prishtina Insight. Krasniqi, meanwhile, shows no Y received the second highest num- SHIK] for months,” the source in Limaj supporters have told sign of backing down. “Kosovo M Printing: Lindi Printing Center ber of votes after Thaci himself. the party said. Veseli declined to Prishtina Insight that they draw a needs to have a different kind of C The conflict between the two answer Prishtina Insight’s ques- connection between Limaj’s governance to the one it has had Copyright © BIRN K men took a new turn in late April tions on this. stance on Pacolli’s presidency and and continues to have,” he told analysis • news July 29 - September 1, 2011 5 New Photos Issued in Medicus Case The first photos of an Israeli man wanted in connection with the Medicus organ trafficking case have been released in a bid to track him down A EULEX spokesperson noted that "the victims were from vari- ous parts of the world". By Lawrence Marzouk The Medicus case involves alle- gations that a group of people brought poor donors and rich hotos of Israeli Moshe Harel, recipients to a clinic in Kosovo and who is on the run from jus- organised and carried out the har- Ptice, have been issued by vesting of kidneys and their trans- Interpol in a bid to track down the plant. fugitive. Seven Kosovars have been In June, EULEX, the EU mission indicted prior to the two men in Kosovo, confirmed the indict- charged on Friday Wanted: Moshe Harel suspected of organ ment against a Turkish doctor, The Kosovo men named in the trafficking Yusuf Sonmez, and Israeli Moshe indictment were allegedly aided was opened by the Kosovo police, Harel, in Prishtina. by Dr Yusuf Sonmez, who is also and the UN force UNMIK in The indictment brought against wanted for organ trafficking November 2008, which later for- Sonmez includes human traffick- charges in several other countries, warded it to EULEX and the ing, organised crime and unlawful and Moshe Harel, an Israeli of exercise of medical activities, Turkish origin who the prosecu- Kosovo Special Prosecutor's Office. while Harel is charged with The Medicus clinic, just outside Limaj considered setting up his own party before rejoining the PDK tion says acted as the gang’s fixer, human trafficking and organised finding both donors and recipients of Prishtina, is also linked to a Prishtina Insight. want to aim at this new post. He crime. and handling funds. December 2010 Council of Europe “Kosovo deserves government has so far said that he is undecid- Harel has been on the run since Sonmez was arrested in Istanbul report which alleged that elements by people who are more deter- ed. 2008 after disappearing when an in the beginning of January and of the Kosovo Liberation Army mined, which it doesn’t have now,” The same PDK source cited ear- UNMIK court released him on bail later released on bail. traded organs of prisoners during he added. “Citizens should see a lier told Prishtina Insight that to leave the country for a funeral. The case of the Medicus clinic the 1999 conflict. change in a governance and in the Thaci will run “only if he is con- quality of their lives,” he contin- vinced he cannot win the next ued. parliamentary elections in 2013”. Krasniqi also criticised the PDK By law, the President of Kosovo party congress held late in 2010, must resign all other political NATO Attack on Serbia Set which reselected Thaci as leader duties, which means he cannot without opposition, calling it lead a political party. superficial and quick. Hajredin Kuci maintains that if Off Norwegian Bomber “The PDK doesn’t function as a Thaci is interested in the post, he party, its bodies do not function… will face no rivals in the PDK. and it does not conduct itself “On the other hand we have to Norway bomber Anders Behring Breivik revered Radovan Karadzic as 'a hero' for his based on its statute or pro- think about the PDK, because he war on Bosnian Muslims and says NATO's bombing of Serbia on behalf of Muslim gramme,” he said. “All the deci- cannot then also be party presi- Kosovars 'tipped the scales' for him, prompting him to action. sion-making is concentrated in the dent. Kosovo might gain a good said, could no longer be stopped by ment’s involvement (engagement) president of the party [Thaci].” President while leaving the PDK peaceful means. with/in the attack on Serbia sever- Flora Brovina, a former PDK in a poor position,” Kuci said. The bomber was enraged by the al years ago. It was completely parliamentarian and party candi- Kuci said the PDK had to try to fact that the NATO military unacceptable the way the US and date for the post of state president, strike balance whereby both the By Bojana Barlovac attack, of which Norway was part, Western European regimes agreed that “too many key deci- country and the party win. was targeting “our Serbian broth- bombed our Serbian brothers,2 he sions are taken not in the party “Thaci has maintained the ers who wanted to drive Islam out wrote. “There have been many but in cafes. party’s cohesion. The PDK has by deporting the Albanian other cases that have strengthened “When a meeting was supposed been the most cohesive party in The 32-year-old Norwegian, who Muslims back to Albania,” he my resolve [to carry out the bomb- to be held on immunity issue the last 12 years, be it in power or has confessed to last Friday's wrote. ing],” he added. recently, I got three messages say- opposition,” he said. bombing of government head- “For me The bomber went on to describe ing, ‘We’re meeting,’ and another “It won’t be easy for anybody to quarters in Oslo and the mass personally his admiration for Radovan three saying, ‘No, we’re not gather- take the helm of the party shooting at an island camp - which it was our Karadzic, the wartime Bosnian ing,’” she recalled. because… the gap will be obvi- killed 93 people - says events in the gov- Serb leader who is on trial in The She also says the last party con- ous,” he added. Balkans played a significant role ern- Hague facing charges of genocide, gress was a failure, adding that the A party congress should be in strengthening crimes against humanity and vio- previous one held in 2005 was also held this year to decide on the his resolve lation of the laws and customs of “not that proper”, either. presidential candidate but a to carry war in Bosnia during However, the PDK’s vice-presi- major source of contention could out a mas- the 1992-1995 war. dent, Hajredin Kuci, says talk of be an alleged deal that Pacolli sacre. He is among rivalry and splits in the party is struck with Thaci after his forced On the those persons overblown. resignation as President in day of mass the “I have so much respect for March. shootings and Norwegian Krasniqi…. he is one of the key It has been claimed that the bombing, Breivik released would most decision-makers in the PDK,” the agreement means that Pacolli online a 1,500-page manifesto of like to meet. Deputy Prime Minister said. will be the PDK’s presidential his extreme nationalist philos- Breivik But Kuci said that people’s candidate next year, which may ophy, which suggested that he denies that ambitions always grow when their again raise trouble within the intended to use his atrocity as Karadzic was parties continue to win elections. party from Krasniqi and Limaj. a platform to espouse his type “a mass mur- “If this [rivalry] is conducted Krasniqi is reluctant to spell of extreme anti-immigrant derer and a within democratic and statutory out how he will react to the poten- politics. racist," as his rules, it is normal,” he said. tial candidacy of Pacolli for the In the manifesto he described accusers call post of State President. NATO's bombing of Serbia in 1999 him. “Because Presidential row looms: But he gives little weight to as the point that “tipped the of the efforts to any promises made to Pacolli scales”, driving him to action; he free Serbia of Meanwhile, Kosovo is to hold its when he helped make way for the strongly sympathised with Islam, he will first presidential election in 2012 election of a new “technical” Serbia's bloody crackdown on the always be regard- and the direct election of the President, Atifete Jahjaga. mainly Muslim Albanians in ed and remem- head of state will make this posi- “These things might have hap- Kosovo. bered as a revered Y tion more powerful. pened - but they have only created It took him about a year from crusade warrior M Thaci, now starting his second confusion in PDK and in the polit- that to realise that “the and a European war C mandate as premier, may well ical system,” Krasniqi said. Islamisation of Europe2, as he hero,” he wrote. K 6 July 29 - September 1, 2011 news

Fears Over Sale of Kosovo’s Privatization of the Post and Telecommunications of Kosovo, PTK, has become mired in allegations of corruption and fears that a shotgun sale may leave the country shortchanged. In May this year, a letter was budget, rather than as a specific tank, in a column in Koha Ditore Opposition from within: sent to the five companies asking if decision. in April, asked whether 350 mil- they were still interested. Driton Dali, who served as a lion euro was a good price for Criticism of the deal does not By Artan Mustafa Beqaj says two did not reply and deputy in the previous parliament PTK. come only from opposition parties one other, Alb-Telekom, did not for the then opposition New “This is what happens when and experts. Some at the heart of provide the correct documents, Kosovo Alliance, AKR, told you sell to pay off loans and when the deal are voicing concern. leaving just two firms in the run- Prishtina Insight that foreign con- you are in a rush,” he wrote. oncerns are growing that Behgjet Pacolli, leader of the ning. sultants had valued PTK at more “This happens when you link the government’s junior partner, the Kosovo could be forced to Beqaj maintains that the pres- than 1 billion euro. privatisation with the budgetary accept a raw deal for the sale New Kosovo Alliance, told C ence of Austrian Telekom and Other opposition MPs mean- process”. of PTK because of allegations of Prishtina Insight that he opposed Hrvatska Telekom in the final while deem the decision to sell Vetevendosje’s Ymeri says the corruption affecting the firm’s privatization. stage is enough. PTK illegal. They say that by law question is not “for or against” value, a lack of interest among The PTK’s chief executive has “They are both strong competi- privatization in principle. potential buyers and the govern- parliament should have made the suggested that his firm is being tors,” he said. “They have around decision to privatize PTK. “We need to ask why, what and ment’s pressing need to sell the deliberately devalued. 160 million subscribers, have a “When Thaci saw the decision when we should privatize. Why company to plug a financial hole. His concerns relate to several presence everywhere in the world, could not pass in parliament, as it privatize a company that has Hashim Thaci’s government reports on the PTK commissioned and know the market,” he said. had already failed twice, he smug- made a profit?” he asked. this week invited potential by the government and prepared But Visar Ymeri of the gled the privatization of PTK into Others support the PTK sale. investors to bid for Post by transaction advisors TelCo AG Vetevendosje opposition party is the law on the budget, which is Economics professor Naim Gashi Telecommunication of Kosovo, and Wolf Theiss. worried. illegal under the law on public says the fact that PTK was prof- PTK, the country’s most lucrative The reports, which Prishtina “When you have two companies, enterprises,” Ymeri, of the itable is not a good argument public firm. Insight has seen, complained of it normally means that you sell it Vetevendosje party, told Prishtina against privatization. Besim Beqaj, Minister of poor management and recom- cheap because the competition is Insight. He believes that PTK has suf- Economic Development, who leads mended a sale. weaker,” he told Prishtina Insight. The IMF told Kosovo’s govern- fered from a history of state mis- a committee of five ministers over- They said the PTK was over- “I strongly believe that the gov- ment earlier the year that, follow- management and should be hand- seeing the process, told Prishtina staffed and had continued to ernment and US ambassador ing its controversial decisions to ed over to the private sector. Insight that the government wants recruit despite a government deci- already know who the winner is.” spend up to a billion euro on a Minister Beqaj, meanwhile, to complete the sale by New Year. sion in May 2010 to stop new hir- The law on procurement in new highway to Albania and raise says the telecommunications sec- “My aim is to have a process ing. Kosovo requires three bidders for civil service salaries by up to 50 tor requires continuous invest- characterised by strong competi- The reports said around 4,000 tion and transparency,” Beqaj tenders, but no such limit is being per cent, it would need to sell PTK ment, which private firms are bet- people work for PTK, although said. applied to the sale of PTK. to balance the books. ter able to supply than the cash- Shyqri Haxha, PTK chief execu- But with just two firms in the Beqaj pledges that if one more According to some experts, this strapped Kosovo state. tive, has said the real number does running, some doubt that the com- company withdraws, the sale will means that bidders are likely to “The life span of technological not exceed 3,400. petition will be sufficient to gener- stop. “I have a mandate from par- offer less money, as they know the investments is short, so the sector In one report dated March 2011, ate a decent profit. liament for this process to be com- government wants a quick sale. needs a proper dynamic to com- the transaction advisers also com- Following a pre-qualification petitive,” he said. Beqaj insists that he is not con- pete in the market,” he said. “On plained of PTK’s failure to offer round in the summer of 2010, five cerned by fears that Kosovo needs the other hand, citizens need good new mobile services and increase companies showed interest: An undersold asset: to sell the firm at all cost. services. phone traffic. AlbTelekom, a consortium of “If we cannot make progress “Economic transformation to a The same report drew attention Calik Group and Turk-Telekom; In April, the government adopt- with the [PTK] privatisation, we free market is always painful but Telekom Austria; Croatia’s ed a budget for 2012, which includ- have the option of [raising cash it has shown success,” he added. to an alleged fall in revenues, say- Hrvatska Telekom, a branch of ed 350 million euro expected to with] internal and foreign loans,” “We’re ready to bear the pres- ing mobile operation revenues Deutche Telekom, Oraskom of come from the PTK sale. he said. sures and the difficulties in the had fallen by 15 per cent since Egypt and Sabafone of Yemen. The opposition accuses the gov- “Unlike other countries in the short term. It’s a sacrifice made 2007. Owing to political turmoil in ernment of potentially lowering region, which a GDP to debt ratio today for the future.” But PTK chief executive Haxha Y Kosovo, which culminated in the the price of PTK by naming this of 40 per cent, our ratio is only 7.1 M calling of an early general election price in the budget. per cent.” “I strongly believe that the government and US ambassador C in December, the decision on a The sale of PTK was also Lummir Abdixhiku, head of already know who the winner is.” K shortlist was delayed. passed as part of the government the Riinvest Institute, a think business July 29 - September 1, 2011 7

Prize Asset, PTK rejects the advisors’ assessments. will increase,” he told Prishtina of Devolli company, Blerim and “We increased the number of Insight. Shkelqim Devolli, as suspects. consumers from 800,000 to 1.2 mil- “I support the privatization of Gjonbalaj and Haxha are lion, established numerous servic- PTK knowing that… unsuitable charged with damaging contracts es such as GPRS roaming and pre- people and those close to interest and abuse of official duty. The paid roaming, and in May 2011 we groups were given positions that Devollis are accused of fraud, dam- have a 160 million [euro] turnover, continually undermined its aging contracts, abuse of trust, fal- similar to 2008,” he said. value.” sification of documents and organ- “Had it not been for the transac- But sociologist Besnik Pula says ised crime. All deny wrongdoing. tion advisers’ interventions, stop- political motivations are driving The charges date back to 2008, ping our projects, we would have the privatization. when the PTK signed a contract doubled or tripled our income [by “No rational economist would with Dardafone, a consortium of now]”, Haxha added. logically alienate a profitable Devolli Group and New York-based Haxha was referring to a gov- asset,” he told Prishtina Insight, Unitel. ernment decision to accept the noting that the government will The ART licensed Dardafone to request of the advisors to suspend only hold on to the unprofitable operate as a Mobile Virtual major capital investments part of the assets. Network Operator, or MVNO, planned by PTK last year. Behgjet Pacolli, Kosovo’s princi- meaning that it could provide a The PTK also complains that its pal deputy Prime Minister, who phone service using the infrastruc- requests to the Regulative made billions when the former ture of another company, in this Authority of Telecommunication, Soviet Union opened its market to case the PTK’s. ART, for permission to issue foreign investors, says he would Under the agreement Dardafone licenses for 3 and 4G operations, advocate a third approach, leasing would receive 78 per cent of prof- which allow for multimedia and the PTK for a few years. its, a figure which Driton Tali and internet mobile access, and for a “We should stop overselling and Andrea Capussela, former head of crackdown on illegal operators, mistreating Kosovo’s assets,” he the International Civilian Office’s were ignored. said. “Rather than destroying economic department, deem far The transaction adviser further them, we should work to increase too high. said that if a new mobile operator their value and keep the money But before the deal was signed, entered the market, PTK would around and increase employ- the name on the contract was lose up to 15 per cent of its share. ment.” switched from Dardafone to obliged to work with it,” he said. “One of the key persons who As a result, the government told He says he told Thaci not to sell Dardafone.net. “In addition, the previous chief worked for the transaction adviser ART not to issue a third license. the PTK but to give the manage- “This basically was not the same executive had suggested, and the for PTK privatization, Telco AG ART declined to answer BIRN’s ment over to a foreign company company,” Tali said. “Devolli previous board had signed, the and Wolf Theiss, cooperated with questions about whether the gov- for a period. understood it could leave aside its contract. I could do nothing Telekom Austria for five years,” ernment order was legal. “Companies were ready to pay original partner, Unitel, and get against it,” Haxha added. Ymeri said. “This is a conflict of Following Telco AG’s advice, the up to 600 million for six years,” he the control of the new company in He maintains that the current interest from which Telekom government then decided to priva- said. “This privatization policy its own.” indictment “is part of the cam- Austria can benefit.” tize PTK in July 2010, although no could really create a clash in our PTK chief executive Haxha says paign to damage the value of Telco AG has admitted that it final decision was taken. co-government agreement,” he the contract was drawn up before PTK”, as the company “was not acted as advisors to the Austrian Under present plans, the gov- added. he took charge, although he admits damaged by that contract”. firm in previous transactions in ernment will keep 25 per cent of signing it. But Tali disagrees, saying he the region, including in Kosovo, its shares for the meantime. The Dardafone controversy: “The ART had licensed believes PTK lost between 200 and but says it no longer works for the Both the mobile Vala brand and Dardafone and the PTK was 300 million euro from the contract. Austrian mobile giant. landline will be sold, whereas the Meanwhile, in June, the head of Telekom Austria has refused to government will keep the unprof- Kosovo’s Special Prosecution, “If we cannot make progress Conflict of interest? comment on the issue or on fur- itable postal section and its assets. Isabel Arnal, and prosecutor ther questions from Prishtina Economics professor Naim Joachim Stollberg, issued an with the [PTK] privatisation, Vetevendosje’s Ymeri mean- Insight regarding PTK’s value. Gashi supports this model. indictment against the chairmen we have the option of [rais- while complains of a conflict of The Kosovo government had Y “Through the package sale, the of the PTK’s board. ing cash with] internal and interest concerning the govern- denied the potential for any con- investment potential both in the The document named Rexhë ment’s PTK transaction advisors, flict of interest, saying the trans- M mobile operator and in telecom Gjonbalaj, Haxha and the owners foreign loans”. Telco AG, as they worked previ- action advisor was chosen in an C ously with Austria Telekom. open competition. K 8 July 29 - September 1, 2011 neighbourhood business Austerity Package Reveals Albania’s Economic Woes Deep cuts in public spending provide reality check for Albania’s government, which continues to sing the praises of an economy allegedly unaffected by the global downturn.

By Gjergj Erebara in Tirana

hen IMF officials visited Albania last month and Wcalled for spending cuts and tax increases to make up for the fall in revenues, the centre- right government of Prime Minister Sali Berisha resisted, arguing that Albania’s economy was doing just fine. However, despite an attempt to put a brave face on the economic situation, parliament last Thursday voted in an austerity package, cutting government spending by 18.3 billion lek (131 mil- lion euro) for the 2011 fiscal year. In a government order for public administration employees, min- istries stopped paying for vacations and overtime, while cutting per- diems for officials travelling abroad. Albania's PM argues that the country's economy is booming The government also ordered cent per year. The Dean of Economics at the exploded. The government’s refusal to police officers to repay some of the The drop in revenues didn’t stop University of Tirana, Omer The spending extravaganza manage an obvious crisis then bonuses they had received in 2010 the government’s spending Stringa, says a mix of election- could not have come at a worse made it impossible to prioritize for working over their vacations; increases, however, which aver- year populist policies and sluggish time for the state budget. expenditures and created the so- meanwhile police were reporting aged 7 to 10 per cent per year, due growth has created an inflamma- After a January 21 anti-govern- called “matchbox” crisis. that they could not complete some to ambitious public works projects ble situation. ment riot, which left four opposi- For several months in 1986, in of their patrols for lack of petrol. and wage hikes. “Even developed democracies tion protestors dead, consumer the country where kerosene was Experts blame the current situa- Albania had hoped for a fast are prone to election-induced eco- confidence hit a low, with the the main fuel for cooking, match- tion on the government’s over- return on such investments and nomic cycles, but such cycles are retail sales index registering an boxes became a rare commodity buoyant forecasts for economic for high growth rates, but sluggish harsher where democracy is obso- unusual drop of 7.1 per cent on the after Albania’s only match factory growth and revenues in the 2011 growth in the last two years has lete,” said Stringa. previous year. stopped production for lack of a budget and the election-related forced the government this year to “Budged revenues this year are This was followed by a drop of mere 1,000-dollar-worth of import- expenses run up before the May 8 cut planned expenditures in low partly because the govern- 38 per cent in the wholesale sales ed production ingredients, which local polls, which has created a midyear. ment announced a general fiscal index. had been made scarce by hole in public coffers. Yet, the planned cuts may not be amnesty before the [local] elec- Lower sales have reduced budg- unplanned cuts. Experts say the negative effect enough to cover the revenue short- tions,” he added. et revenues and increased difficul- “Over-optimism creates unreal- of indulging in spending sprees in fall. Prime Minister Berisha sur- ties for companies, which have in istic forecasts in revenues and election years has had a damaging The government had banked on prised observers by wiping off 38 turn postponed their loan repay- expenditures, while the cuts that effect on the weak economy, which revenues of 360 billion lek (2.6 bil- billion lek [270 million euro] in ments to banks. then follow have a strongly disrup- could potentially prop a liquidity lion euro) but in the first two quar- unpaid electricity bills owed by According to Albania’s banking tive effect on the economy,” Cani crisis if the situation is not realis- ters of 2011 revenues have already 270,000 families to the state-owned association, underperforming said. tically tackled. been 150 million euro lower than power corporation, KESH, in the loans jumped to 15.6 per cent of Although the former bank gover- Albania had enjoyed 5.5 per cent expectations, and some experts election campaign. The move was the total loan portfolio in the first nor notes that Albania is no longer growth rate over the last decade, estimate that the budget shortfall seen as a blatant bid to shore up five months of 2011, 30 per cent a centrally planned economy in which was reflected in govern- could double by the end of the support for his ruling Democratic higher than the previous year - which matches are likely to go ment revenues growing by 7 to 10 year. Party. harming banks’ balance sheets. scarce anytime soon, he warns that and in some cases 15 per cent a Albania’s budget is currently The local elections were preced- The former governor of bad economic planning could year. near what economist call primary ed by a broader spending spree on Albania’s Central Bank, Shkelqim wreak as much havoc now as it did But since the global financial deficit, which means that its rev- the part of the government. Apart Cani, says the current economic in the past. crisis struck in September 2008, enues are not enough to cover cur- from public investments in roads situation bears some similarities “I am afraid that the government growth in GDP has fallen to 3 to 3.5 rent expenditures, service its debt, and other physical infrastructure, with the difficulties faced by the could default [on its debts] if this per cent a year, while government and the ministry of finance must operative spending, which cash-strapped Communist regime situation lasts long enough,” Cani revenues grew only by 1 or 2 per borrow just to keep the state going. includes fuel and per diems, also in the late 1980s. said. Romania Fails to Sale Stake in Petrom Oil Company Romania did not receive enough competitive bids for its minority stake in Petrom. week offer period that ended on lion, through the sale. “The failure of Petrom bid is to producer Romgaz via the stock Friday. Austria’s OMV holds a majority negatively influence government exchange this year, though the “The subscription rate was stake in the company. plans to further sale its stake in company is not yet listed. In addi- By Marian Chiriac below the 80 percent required to Analysts are describing the other state-run companies”. tion, the Economy Ministry plans close the offer, so we have to set a sale’s failure as not so good sign The Petrom sale is part of a larg- to finish selling minority stakes in new timetable depending on mar- for investors. “The market condi- er government plan to raise 2.9 bil- the utilities Transgaz SA and ket conditions”, the Economic tions were extremely volatile, with lion lei (€0.7 billion) this year on Transelectrica SA by 2012 as it ucharest delayed selling a Ministry said in a press release. euro-debt crisis making investors the Bucharest bourse, under the raises money to finance the state minority stake in the oil Romania holds a 20.6 per cent wary of bidding. Furthermore, the terms of a €20-billion bailout loan budget. Y Bgroup OMV Petrom as the stake in Petrom, of which it is try- government didn’t make enough led by the International Monetary Facing a growing need for cash, M euro-debt crisis made and insuffi- ing to sell 9.8 per cent. The govern- in order to promote the sale”, says Fund, IMF. Romania is largely dependent on C cient promotion made investors ment hoped to raise around 2.07 economic analyst Adrian Bucharest is also planing to sell foreign borrowing to finance its K reluctant of bidding during a two- billion lei, worth around €500 mil- Simionescu. a minority stake in the natural gas investment plans. neighbourhood • news July 29 - September 1, 2011 9 Bosnia Still on Hunt for Ambassador: New Government Britain Ducking Bosnia's ten month political impasse since the last general election appears far from resolution as Guilt For the country's Croatian parties push for their own candidate to chair the Council of Ministers. entity, the Republika Srpska, RS. The Ministers,” Covic said. Srebrenica winning candidate needs the support The President of the Republika of both entities. Srpska, Milorad Dodik, accused the A former US ambassador to NATO says Britain By Eldin Hadzovic Both major Serb parties, the Bosniak parties of attempting to Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, and dominate Serbs and Croats in the bears huge responsibility for the 1995 slaughter of the Alliance of Independent Social process of forming the Council of Bosniaks in eastern Bosnia. osnia looks no closer to forming Democrats, SNSD, refused to give Ministers, which acts in Bosnia as a a state government after the two Kukic votes. Kukic also failed to gain state government. Bstrongest Croat parties said support from leading Croat parties, Dodik said this way why no agree- they were proposing their own candi- Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ ment on a new government could be By Eldin Hadzovic date for the post of chair of the BiH, and HDZ 1990. reached. He also said that Serbs Council of Ministers. Bosnian media reported two meet- were entitled to four seats in the They said they will again insist on ings in the past ten days, held by the state-level government, while the riting in Wednesday’s Financial Times in response to appointing Borjana Kristo, former leaders of the HDZ, the Social Croats were entitled to nominate a letter by General Sir Michael Rose, Robert E Hunter, President of Bosnia’s largest entity, Democrats, and the Party of the chairman of the Bosnian Wambassador to NATO from 1993 to 1998, said NATO the Bosniak [Muslim] and Croat Democratic Action, SDA, Dragan Council of Ministers. failed to stop the Serb carnage in Bosnia because Britain did dominated Federation of Bosnia and Covic, Zlatko Lagumdzija and Dodik for the first time also made its best to sabotage collective action on behalf of the Alliance. Herzegovina. Sulejman Tihic respectively. it clear that the Serb parties had an “The failure of NATO to reach agreement on serious mili- The previous candidate for the Covic, the HDZ BiH leader, said on extra demand of their own. “The tary action [before Srebrenica] can be attributed to the efforts post, Slavo Kukic, proposed by the Monday in Livno that Kristo would next Foreign Affairs minister has to of one allied nation: Great Britain,” he wrote. Social Democratic Party-led coali- certainly be the HDZ candidate. be a Serb. Otherwise, there will be no “As the US ambassador to NATO who negotiated the NATO tion, failed to gain the support of del- “Borjana Kristo is still our top candi- Council of Ministers,” Dodik said on air strike (and other military) decisions, I can attest that the egates from Bosnia's Serb-dominated date for chairman of the Council of Monday. ally that worked hardest to prevent NATO military action was Britain, from July 1993 until after Srebrenica when, in face of the horrendous killings, it finally stopped its obstruction.” The former ambassador said France and Canada were also often reluctant to join a consensus for military action, but it was Britain alone that had worked “consistently and assidu- ously to limit the military effectiveness of the NATO deci- sions”. Hunter said that when Britain was outvoted and isolated in NATO, it made use of the so-called “two-key” system, author- izing air strikes, to ensure “in New York that the UN ‘key’ would not be ‘turned’. “The upshot was that Britain kept NATO from acting, from July 1993 until after Srebrenica, when it was pressed, along with the other allies, to respond to the slaughter that had taken place.” He concluded: “Britain thus has a huge burden of responsi- bility for what happened at Srebrenica; NATO’s failure before Srebrenica to act militarily lay in London, not either in Washington, at NATO-Brussels, or with the Dutch soldiers with UNProfor at Srebrenica”. The diplomat’s letter is bound to reopen the debate on British policy towards the Balkans in the 1990s, which has remained controversial to this day. Critics say it was dominat- ed by a policy of “appeasement” of Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbia and his goal of creating a greater Serbia, or even active- Bosnia's political impasse shows no sign of being overcome ly colluded in those plans. Macedonia’s A1 TV Bankrupt, Facing Closure After a court in Skopje pronounced A1 TV bankrupt on Tuesday, journalists said farewell to the doomed-looking station in a news show. ate it would only generate further debt. statement. East Europe Media “A1 has debts of some €30m, €9.5 m of Ramkovski has been in custody for Organisation have also which the TV station owes to the tax office over six months and is currently on expressed concern. By Sase Dimovski and Sinisa for unpaid taxes,” Petrov told the court, trial, alongside 22 other people, In separate press Jakov Marusic in Skopje arguing that it could repay only 4.3 per cent charged with grave financial crimes. releases issued this of its debt. A1’s trouble dates back to late 2010, month, they asked the The tax office and the state attorney also when police and tax inspectors raid- Macedonian govern- ournalists from Macedonia's A1 TV supported bankruptcy proceedings being ed the station’s premises in search paid a farewell tribute to the TV station ment, for the sake of launched for A1. of evidence of financial misde- democracy and plural- Jon Tuesday, saying the company Danco Nakov, a lawyer for A1, questioned meanours. “departs into history as an outlet that con- ism, to allow the TV to the way the issue was being handled. “The tinuously promoted European principles". In January this year, the repay its debts in instal- whole procedure is against the law and the The joint statement of the reporters was courts froze A1’s bank account ments so that it could only goal is to shut down A1,” he told the read out in the main news on Tuesday. and property but the TV sta- survive. The tax office court. tion was allowed to continue broadcasting. A1's 234 employees are expected to lose rejected the proposal. Nakov said the tax office had inflated the More recently, the tax office confiscated a their jobs after the court formalizes its deci- € Earlier this month an OSCE representa- sum owed by the TV station to 9.5 million. number of A1’s vehicles. sion declaring the station bankrupt, expect- tive, Dunja Mijatovic, suggested that the He said an investigation into A1’s jailed Earlier this month, three daily newspa- ed in three days. The state trustee will then closed daily papers had been targeted by owner, Velija Ramkovski, had showed that pers owned by Ramkovski, Vreme, Shpic have the right to determine whether A1 € authorities. the TV station owed only 1.5 million in and Koha e Re, were also closed because of should stop broadcasting. "While media should follow rules set for unpaid taxes. unpaid taxes. The sudden reduction in the The TV station claims it was targeted by Macedonia's two main reporters' guilds, number of opposition voices in Macedonia all businesses, these outlets seem to have the government of Prime Minister Nikola the Journalists' Union and the Journalists' has sparked concerns for media freedom. been targeted by the authorities in this Gruevski for its pro-opposition views. Association, said the potential closure of Journalists' associations staged street case,” Mijatovic said in Vienna. Tuesday's legal ruling declaring A1 bank- the TV station posed a threat to the media in protests this month against what they see as Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his rupt came at the request of state trustee, the country as a whole. political and business pressures on their VMRO-DPMNE party maintain that media Aco Petrov. He told the court in Skopje on “The closure of the oldest private TV in freedom. freedom and tax payments have nothing in Tuesday that the station's financial situa- the country would seriously deplete the The European Commission, the OSCE, common. They say the tax officials have tion was dire and that by continuing to oper- local media space,” the unions said in a Freedom House and the Vienna-based South only been doing their job. 10 July 29 - September 1, 2011 neighbourhood Stalled Pact Reflects Cooling Serbia-Russia Ties An agreement between Russia and Serbia seems to have fallen victim to rancour over Belgrade’s apparent overtures to NATO.

measures to remove the military By Snezana Krivokapic threat. These meas- ures would not be aimed against Serbia but against hen the Russian leader Vladimir these missiles,” he said. Putin visited Serbia in March, In June, Konuzin formally complained WMoscow's and Belgrade’s plans for over remarks by an opposition leader, a strategic partnership agreement were Cedomir Jovanovic, in which he called described as the “coronation” of an ancient Moscow’s policy towards Belgrade “colo- spiritual relationship. nial and humiliating” and said foreign Though largely symbolic, the agreement ministers Vuk Jeremic and Sergei Lavrov was to have been followed by a loan worth were “hugging like bears”. some 565 million, earmarked for railways Also in June, Konuzin hosted a reception and other infrastructure projects. The pact for Russia Day to which he invited the was described as strengthening the “deep Serbian turbo-folk diva Svetlana historical bond” between the two countries Raznatovic "Ceca" alongside dignitaries by “making Russian influence more visi- from the government. ble”. The presence of the controversial singer, But the June deadline for finalising the recently sentenced over a multi-million- agreement has passed with scarcely any mention of the strategic partnership. euro fraud, in the same room as prime Serbian President Boris Tadic’s trip to minister Mirko Cvetkovic was interpreted Tadic and Putin: From Russia with a little less love Moscow, also scheduled for June, has mean- by some as an attempt to embarrass the while been cancelled. The Russian embassy a NATO conference, although it was not Janjic says the Russians are unlikely to authorities. in Belgrade told Prishtina Insight that no formally described as such by the alliance. release the loan until they have seen all the Military analyst Aleksandar Radic says explanation had been given for the cancella- The stalling of the strategic partnership documents from Belgrade as “proof of Russia is unlikely to oppose Serbian entry tion. agreement appears to be just one of sever- serious intentions”. He said Moscow has into NATO if it appears inevitable. While Russia has yet to send any of the al signs that Russia saw Serbia’s decision grown increasingly skeptical of the “We are surrounded by NATO states. promised loaned funds to Serbia, more to host the meeting was seen as a provoca- Serbian government, which has recently Russia was against Montenegrin member- money might be due to its diplomats in tion. backtracked on several assurances to ship but accepted it even after obtaining Belgrade. The Russian foreign ministry Russian annoyance over the meeting Russia. huge economic influence in that country,” recently said its employees in Belgrade may not be the only factor behind the delay. Serbia’s minister for infrastructure, he said. qualified for higher salaries on account of According to Dusan Janjic, director of Milutin Mrkonjic, maintains that con- Montenegro adopted an action plan for “the inefficiency of the central govern- the Forum for Ethnic Relations, Serbia has struction of a railway project, covered by NATO membership more than two years ment, regressive economic structures, low failed to produce a formal application for the loan, is due to start on September 1. ago and recently agreed to send a small living standards and rising crime”. In the loan. Moscow has long opposed NATO’s contingent of troops to assist NATO-led Russia’s view, diplomats serving in Serbia “We've been talking about a Russian loan expansion into Eastern Europe, a region operations in Afghanistan. now face a similar a level of risk to their for more than a year and there is still no that was once under Soviet influence. Janjic also said that Russia would proba- colleagues serving in Tajikistan, Georgia, project to apply for it,” he says. In March, the Russian ambassador to bly ease its objections to Serbian entry into Abkhazia, North Korea, Iran and Israel. The Russian embassy in Belgrade also Belgrade, Aleksandar Konuzin, said that NATO as long as the alliance did not build Moscow’s move to cool ties followed told Prishtina Insight that it had yet to while Serbia had the right to join any missile bases on Serbian territory. swiftly after what is likely to have been the receive adequate documents for any of the alliance it pleased, it could expect a firm Both Radic and Janjic said Russia cared year’s largest gathering of world military projects listed under the loan and the response if it were to host NATO missile above all for economic influence over leaders in Belgrade. The June meeting was money could be not disbursed until the bases on its territory. Serbia, which wanted to increase from its organised by NATO and billed in locally as paperwork was complete. “We would be forced to take military present level

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Y LIK will donate 10 per cent of all received course fees in September to M C Prishtina Insight’s fundraising efforts for Prishtina Hospital. K neighbourhood July 29 - September 1, 2011 11 Croatia Debates Hadzic's Role in the War War victims and experts agree that the forthcoming trial of the former Croatian Serb leader has the potential to fill in important gaps in people’s understanding of the conflict in Croatia. cal service, Terselic said. “The detention camps [where Croats were held] in Vukovar, in By Goran Jungvirt in Nis, and in Begejci[Serbia] – Zagreb everything has to do with Hadzic,” she said. “These are crimes that haven’t hile the arrest of the last been investigated and processed. suspect wanted by the Hadzic’s trial can help initiate WHague war crimes tribu- prosecutions on a local level, nal makes headlines around the and… bring those responsible to world, the burning question in justice.” Croatia is whether Goran Hadzic will stand trial in Zagreb. Before war broke out in 1990, Last Thursday, Prime Minister Hadzic was an obscure worker in Jadranka Kosor announced that a warehouse in Pacetin, a village Zagreb would ask the near Vukovar. International Criminal Tribunal Then active in the Communist for Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, for league, he became a member of permission to take charge of the Vukovar municipal assembly. Hadzic’s case. But he was not a political heavy- “Hadzic was one of the most weight, says Stjepan Milas, a ardent implementers of [former Croat who was also in the munic- Serbian leader Slobodan] ipal assembly in 1991. Milosevic’s aggressive policy of “No one attributed to him Serbian territorial expansion,” much importance,” Milas told Kosor said. “People from eastern the weekly Glas Slavonije after Croatia and many others can Hadzic’s arrest. “He was just a best testify about it.” storage worker. But apparently She was referring to the years he had strong political backers.” when, acting on Milosevic’s Following the fall of Vukovar authority, Serbian paramili- Vukovar's bullet-scarred streets, where Hadzic is alleged to have committed war crimes in November 1991, after a three- taries as well as the Yugoslav month siege by Serb paramili- After the fall of Vukovar in Slavonia, Baranja and Western mer interior minister, Josip Army, JNA, seized hold of about taries and the JNA, Serbian 1991, many Croatians remember Srijem” and later of the Boljkovac, as saying that Hadzic 30 per cent of Croatia, over- forces entered the city and him standing in front of a TV Republika Srpska Krajina. was initially a peacemaker. whelming the besieged town of detained thousands of Croatian Vukovar in eastern Slavonia late Belgrade camera, demanding Still, much of what Hadzic did, In his book “The Truth Must civilians. in 1991. that captured prisoners-of-war and his culpability in many of Come Out,” Boljkovac, who was Many were executed, including Hadzic, a former leader of the and other civilians be turned alleged atrocities, remains interior minister until July 1991, 200 men taken from the hospital self-proclaimed Serbian statelet, over to his authorities for pun- unclear. Some believe he only fol- portrays Hadzic as someone who and killed at nearby Ovcara the Republika Srpska Krajina, ishment. lowed orders rather than initiat- sought a peaceful solution to the farm. Thousands more were sent already has two convictions for According to the indictment ing grave crimes himself. breakup of Yugoslavia. to detention camps, where some war crimes in Croatia. issued by the Hague in 2004 “Hadzic wasn’t the highest up In his book, published in 2009 say they were mistreated and In 1995, a local court in Sibenik Hadzic participated in the in the hierarchy of command for Boljkovac described secret meet- even tortured. sentenced him in absentia to 20 forcible transfer of tens of thou- the things he’s been indicted ings that Hadzic supposedly had Some camps were close by. years for responsibility for the sands of Croat and other non- for,” said Vesna Terselic, direc- with Croatian police to prevent Others were sent to camps in indiscriminate shelling of the Serb civilians from the Vukovar tor of Documenta, an NGO estab- an outbreak of armed conflict in Serbia. According to the ICTY Adriatic port of Sibenik and or area. lished to form an accurate record Croatia. indictment, 5,000 inhabitants of Vodice in 1992 and 1993. He is also charged with having of recent conflicts in the But even if such meetings took Ilok and 20,000 inhabitants of In 1999, a local court in Osijek, participated in the murder of Balkans. place, many observers remain Vukovar were deported to camps in Eastern Slavonia, sentenced hundreds of Croats and other Zarko Puhovski, a human sceptical of his motives, seeing in places such Nis and Sremska him to eight years for crimes non-Serb civilians, including rights activist and former presi- him as an opportunist rather Mitrovica in Serbia. against civilians and property in women and elderly persons, in dent of the Croatian Helsinki than a genuine peacemaker. For Terselic, the ultimate value 1991. Vukovar, Dalj, Dalj Planina, Committee, HHO, agrees. “I would give little relevance to and significance of Hadzic’s trial An outstanding indictment Erdut, Erdut Planina, Klisa, “Hadzic was a second-rate fig- Hadzic’s cooperation with the will be in sorting out exactly issued by a court in Vukovar in Lovas and Grabovac. ure, important only in that his Croatian police,” Davor Genero, a what happened. 2002 accuses of Hadzic of play- According to the indictment, arrest ends the epoch of interna- political analyst in Zagreb, said. “The attack on Vukovar and its ing a key role in the killing of these actions formed part of a tional prosecution of war crimi- “He maintained those contacts to aftermath, as well as the peace 1,292 persons in the area of larger criminal enterprise aimed nals from former Yugoslavia,” he make his situation easier.” negotiations, are elements need- Osijek, Vukovar, Vinkovci, at permanently removing the said. Hadzic’s supposed negotiations ed for a true understanding of Zupanja and Bjelovar in 1991. Croat and other non-Serb popula- Puhovski added that wherever with the Croatian police have no the war,” she said. Hadzic remains a figure of tion from roughly one-third of the trial is held, he does not bearing on what happened after- “It will an important step in intense interest in Croatia, the Republic of Croatia to create expect it to greatly change per- wards, Genero added. trying to form a clear idea of where he was a leader of the “Greater Serbia”. ceptions of Hadzic or of the Whatever Hadzic’s real role in what happened, Terselic added, Croatian Serb revolt against Hadzic was named president of events of the 1990s. subsequent atrocities, sorting “especially through the foggy Croatian independence in the self-proclaimed “Serbian A few months ago, reports in out questions of responsibility in picture that has been created on Eastern Slavonia and Baranja. Autonomous District of the Croatian media quoted a for- a trial will be a valuable histori- all sides for 20 years.” Hadzic Arrest Village Tastes Moment of Fame arrested Goran Hadzic, top war- larger cities of Serbia, especially arrest. crime suspect and ex-president of Belgrade and Novi Sad, travel for According to the first reports, the Croatian Serbs. vacations. Hadzic was arrested close to the By Dragan Gmizic “I have never seen Hadzic and These settlements, like Serbian Orthodox monastery of I’ve lived in this village all my Krusedol itself, are located on the Krusedol, which lies across the life,” a local 50-year-old says. “I slopes of Mount Fruska Gora, at road from an army barracks. rusedol, home to 500 peo- know what he looks like as I saw the edge of a National Park. It was often suggested that war- ple, is not often on the front his photograph on the news, but I War crimes Prosecutor crime suspects were hiding out in Kpage. But as the site where tell you I have never seen him Vladimir Vukcevic said police monasteries at Fruska Gora and police nabbed a top war-crimes here,” he adds. arrested the suspect near the vil- the Srem region. suspect on Monday, it is making “But even if I did meet him, I lage, where he was apparently Hadzic’s family lives in a house the most of the limelight. wouldn’t report him. Why would I planning to meet a helper and col- in Aranj Janos street in Novi The local tavern in centre of the do that?” another asks. lect some money. Sad’s Adamovic’s settlement, a Goran Hadzic: Arrested village of Krusedol, 70 kilometres Krusedol has a population of According to Vukcevic, mem- part of town well known for its nalists in front of the house. north of Belgrade, is suddenly full less than 500. But around the vil- bers of the Security Information expensive and elegant villas and Neighbours from nearby build- of journalists and villagers after lage there are several weekend Agency nabbed him at 8.24am. He their nouveau riche owners. ings said they’d seen nothing news breaks that police have settlements to which people from was armed but did not resist Today, we could find only jour- unusual going on 12 July 29 - September 1, 2011 feature Comedy Bridges Language

A new hit sketch in Albania is using humour to tackle the divide between Albanians from Albania and those from Kosovo.

stand each other. That’s dra- matic.” Kosovars and Albanians By Marjola Rukaj from Albania lived under the same state only during the dim and distant past of the Ottoman Empire and more comedy show on one of recently during Italian and the most watched tele- German occupation in the Avision stations among Second World War, when the Albanians has put the cultur- Axis powers created a puppet humour and theirs are differ- “We have our prejudices as from Kosovo is that they are al and linguistic chasm greater Albania. ent - and the public in Albania well,” Fisnik Ismaili, designer discriminated against both in between Albanians in Besides that, communica- didn’t quite get it”. of the comic series The Belgrade and in Tirana,” he Albania and those in Kosovo tions between Kosovo and Linguist Pandeli Pani says Pimpsons, added. “While they says. “They face the same nega- under the spotlight. Albania have been limited. Albanians became more aware [Albanians] think our lan- tive stereotypes from both.” “Xheneriku dhe Kosovari” While Albania became an inde- of their differences with guage is uncultivated, we think Kelmendi who advocates offi- (“The mechanic and the pendent state in 1912, Kosovo Kosovars in 1999, when large that Albanians from Albania cial recognition of Gheg Kosovar”) takes place in the passed under Serbian and then numbers of people fled to speak in a coquettish, over- speech throughout the variety show Portokalli every Yugoslav rule. Albanian-speaking area, says Sunday on Tirana’s Top Contacts have only flour- negative stereotypes about Channel. ished since Albania threw off Kosovars reflect the lack of The sketches centre on its Stalinist regime in the early prestige of the Kosovar version encounters between an unedu- 1990s and since Kosovo was of the Albanian language. cated mechanic from Tirana freed from Serbian rule in 1999. “It’s a consequence of the played by Erand Sojli while dif- “We haven’t been in contact Language Congress held in ferent characters from Kosovo with each other, so we don’t Tirana in 1972 that chose the are played by Kosovo’s know each other,” Erand Sojli Tosk version as the standard, Kreshnik Ibrahimi. said. “The first time I went to and of the discrimination The show focuses on differ- Kosovo, I had many curious against Gheg language and cul- ences in culture and language misunderstandings; even the ture,” he maintains. that lead to odd and embarrass- way we say, ‘Thank you’ in Many Kosovars say the atti- ing situations between Tirana, has a negative signifi- tude of Albanians in Albania Albanians in Albania and cance in Kosovo.” towards their co-nationals in those across the border. During the long years of Kosovo remains characterized The actors deal humorously enforced mutual isolation, by a certain arrogance and dis- with reciprocal stereotypes, Albania and Kosovo developed crimination. such as the strong nationalism on different cultural lines, he Some Kosovo intellectuals and traditional attitudes of added: “We find it strange in Erand Sojli have criticized the Tirana cul- many Kosovars and the cosmo- Albania that people in Kosovo tural elite for failing to take politan aspirations of many are so patriotic, while we are Albania during the Kosovo con- feminine way.” Kosovo artists and intellectu- Albanians from Albania. not. It’s because patriotism in flict. “Before that, we didn’t Erand Sojli and Kreshnik als seriously. “I wanted to play with these Kosovo, due to political rea- have systematic contacts and Ibrahimi say that “The Gazi Berlajolli, a linguist at stereotypes,” Erand Sojli, pro- sons, has a lot to do with their didn’t know each others’ reali- Mechanic and the Kosovar” has the University of Prishtina tagonist and writer of the identity.” ties,” he reflects. enjoyed generally good feed- who writes in Gheg, says the sketch show, told Balkan Differences also involve lin- Most people in Kosovo speak back from the public in both sketch show unconsciously Insight. guistic phenomena and the the northern Gheg dialect of Albania and Kosovo. reflects feelings of superiority “There are great differences strong influence of the Serbian Albanian, while Albania’s Nevertheless, not all Albanians felt by the people of Tirana. between Albanians in Albania language and culture in standard language since 1972 are fans. “It may be humorous, but the and those in Kosovo. We’re Kosovo. has been based on the southern Migjen Kelmendi, an ex-rock- sketches show how people in Albanians but we don’t under- “Serbian influence is very Tosk dialect. star from Prishtina who owns a Tirana feel superior to present in language in Kosovo, Enver Robelli, a Kosovo jour- television and weekly maga- Albanians in Prishtina,” he in the syntax, in the lexicon nalist on the daily Koha Ditore, zine that use the Gheg speech says, “because the character and in everyday life,” Pandeli said this difference has had an Pani, an Albanian scholar at impact on mutual perceptions. Bonn University, explained. “Many negative stereotypes “For example, Albanians regarding Kosovars in Albania have taken most technological are caused by language and by words from Italian or French the way that people in Albania while the Kosovars were more perceive the way Kosovars influenced by Serbian and speak,” he said. sometimes by German.” “Even the fact that Kosovars “There are many differences speak slowly makes people in between Kosovars and Tirana think that Kosovars are Albanians in Albania,” less intelligent than Albanians Kreshnik Ibrahimi, the from Albania,” he added. Kosovar actor who plays in the Robelli says sketches such as Erand Sojli’s sketch show, says. those played by Sojli and “When I moved to Tirana, I Ibrahimi mock these stereo- had many difficulties working types and so expose the folly of prejudice. with Albanians from Albania,” Migjen Kelmendi he recalls. “They have a very Arbnora Dushi, a linguist different mentality compared and folklore scholar in instead of the Tosk standard, from Albania is the one who to ours in Kosovo.” Prishtina, agrees. “Stereotypes says the sketch show perpetu- jokes and laughs with the Ibrahimi is the only Kosovo have resulted from the lack of ates “denigrating stereotypes stereotypical Kosovo character. actor to have starred in the contacts between Kosovo and that are even worse than those “One can pick up the sense of popular Albanian show Albania. Although this sketch contained in sketches produced superiority in the fact that the Y Portokalli for years. is a caricature of reality, it in Serbia, which represent character from Albania is a M “All the other actors from helps to confront this kind of Kosovars as un-emancipated mechanic from Tirana while stereotype,” she told Balkan peasants”. the Kosovar is just a Kosovar; C Kosovo stayed only short peri- Insight. “The tragedy of Albanians we don’t know anything of his K Kreshnik Ibrahimi ods because our sense of feature July 29 - September 1, 2011 13 Gulf Between Two Albanias

geographical, social, cultural, or economic background,” Berlajolli adds. For all the criticisms, the sketch show does seem to inau- gurate a new phase of breaking down taboos in the sometimes complicated relationship between Kosovo and Albania. Its success has already inspired the authors of another popular show on Top Channel in Tirana to invite public per- sonalities from Prishtina and Tirana to talk about differences among the two countries in a funny and informative way, demystifying stereotypes. “Television from Tirana is widely followed in Kosovo. New expressions and new trends from Tirana are becoming more present in Kosovo due to that,” linguist Berlajolli says. Meanwhile, the linguistic tide does not all flow one-way. A certain influence of Kosovar syntax and lexicon, which often comes from Serbian, is becom- ing increasingly trendy and acceptable in Tirana. “Many intellectuals from Kosovo are active now in talk shows in Tirana, bringing their way of speaking and thinking to Albanian TV audiences,” Pandeli Pani told Balkan Insight. “Many journalists from Tirana are in contact with Kosovo as well, so they absorb Kosovar elements and intro- duce them instinctively or by joke into the way that they speak in Tirana.” “It is all about contacts,” explains theatre author Jeton Neziraj. “By creating more con- tacts between Kosovo and Albania, the differences become more comprehensible.” Neziraj explains his point with an anecdote about Tirana actor Ema Andrea, who was recently preparing a play in Belgrade in collaboration with a Kosovar actor and an Albanian from Macedonia. “I’d noticed with surprise that she had no problems in getting along with them, so I asked whether she had difficul- ties understanding them,” he recalls. “‘I’m already used to the way they speak because we are in contact continuously,’ she told me. ‘Now it seems normal to me, though it’s still different.’” This article is funded under the BICCED project, supported by the Swiss Cultural Programme. Erand Sojli and Kreshnik Ibrahimi during their sketch 'Xheneriku dhe Kosovari "

other Kosovars and Albanians, by xenophobes and discrimina- time, and I fully disagree with Web Hot Topics: Do you Gheg It? I could easily pick up the sub- tors of Serb ethnicity and the the concept of the journalist. It lchaemia: HAHAHAH... verted both linguistically and tle and indirect discrimination xhenophobes and discrimina- is not true that there as such a strong "nationalism" of culturally to the Tosk culture, of Kosovars by Albanians from tors from Albania. big difference between commu- Albania. AKosovars, and "cos- the one that dictator Enver Sonnykraja: I am an nication of Albanians from Unfortunately, many Albanian from south mopolitanism" of Albanians Hoxha belonged too, during Kosova and Albanians from from Albania... that's some Hoxha's communist dictator- Kosovars seemingly have to put Montenegro and our dialect is Albania. They lived separately sweet, sweet irony right there. ship. up with the discrimination different from both of these but for half a century, but it is not FjaleBes: Interesting article. As an Albanian by origin who coming from Albanians from I still understand them both. Albania because as one of the true that they cannot under- There's just one "tiny" informa- was born and brought up in a We are still one nation no mat- Y tion missing here - most non-Albanian country, but cul- most discriminated peoples of ter what! stand each other. They are the M Albanians from Albania used to tivated both Gheg and Tosk cul- Europe they have to choose Sunny: I have lived in Kosovo same nation and speak the same C be Gheg too, but they were con- tures at home, unlike many between being discriminated and in Albania for a period of language. K 14 July 29 - September 1, 2011 culture Independence Fears over Kosovo’s New Serbian Channel

A new, public television station for Kosovo’s Serbs is to be launched imminently, but support from the country’s Serb journalists remains elusive.

us.” that the TV will promote Kosovo Gorani added that a national as a state and that it would not By Artan Mustafa television frequency has been promote enough Serbian culture kept for Serbian language since and issues,” she said. “I think it 1999. should have all what a broad- Serbian journalists oppose caster needs to inform and be as osovo’s Government may the channel being called RTK2, objective as possible.” have sent its draft law on prefer its headquarters to be in An EU Commission arrives in Kpublic broadcasting in Gracanica not Prishtina, and August to advise the govern- Anamari Repic, currently vice-director at RTK, says that many Serbs think that the Kosovo to parliament, which they request editorial independ- ment in relation to the editorial will establish a new television channel shouldn’t be part of RTK. “They’re not for RTK 2 and some international ence. independence of the new chan- channel in Serbian - but local stakeholders have the same view” Anamari Repic, currently nel, cooperation between the Serb journalists continue to vice-director at RTK, says that exiting private television-sta- vate as the majority of Serbian fenced budget from the begin- oppose key elements of the plan. many Serbs think that the chan- tions and it, as well as the insti- representatives are asking, also ning and be financed similarly Worries include the channel’s nel shouldn’t be part of RTK. tutional set up for public broad- due to the financial security,” to RTK, through funds and its name and its ability to remain “They’re not for RTK 2 and some casting. Mushkolaj said. commercial income. independent from government international stakeholders have Imer Mushkolaj, executive As things stand, the new chan- It will be obliged to open 20 influence. the same view,” she added. director at Kosovo Association nel in Serbian and the two pub- per cent of its space for outside According to the draft law, Repic agrees that a huge oper- of Professional Journalists, productions and 15 per cent of Radio Television of Kosovo, lic radio will answer to only one ation like this channel can sur- says that as member of the its programming to other RTK, should consist of two tele- board of directors, but will have vive only if it has public funds. steering group he has insisted minority communities. vision channels, one in their own managerial structure. However, an issue remains that the channel be public, but Andy McGufie, the ICO Albanian, established after the The board will add two Serbs how to secure editorial inde- not a second channel to RTK. spokesperson, said: “The idea is end of the conflict, and a new to the current 11-strong setup. pendence. “The important thing is for to create a television channel station in Serbian. Serb journalists have called “Serbian colleague are afraid the channel to be public, not pri- from Kosovo for Kosovo. We A parliamentary committee for the channel to have a ring- need to work on the characteris- on media gathered to discuss the tic features that will make the law on July 23, and it is expected to appear in a plenary session TV interesting to Serbian com- when the Assembly returns munity.” from summer holidays. Mr.Mushkolaj says that this tv The earliest timeframe for the channel is needed and necessary channel’s first broadcast is for an objective information for early 2012. Serbs in Kosovo. “Until now, It will aim to provide ‘infor- Kosovo Serbs were mainly mation and entertainment to the informed from Belgrade media minority communities’, as fore- or Serbian local media in seen in Martti Ahtisaari’s Serbian language. Often the Comprehensive Status Proposal, reporting did not reflect ade- which Kosovo Parliament has quately the life of Kosovo Serbs, adopted and was the blueprint they did not report the chal- for Kosovo’s declaration of inde- lenges they face or the good side pendence. of their ordinary life”. A large team, involving Mushkolaj adds that the most around 30 representatives from important thing is “what sort of different sectors, is leading the cannel it will be, what editorial preparations for the launch. policy it will follow and who will Dukagjin Gorani, an adviser work for it”. “The Serbs should to Kosovo’s Prime Minister feel that this channel, before Hashim Thaci, says the channel anything else, is theirs and must be established because it is serves their interests”. part of the Ahtisaari plan. According to him, the channel “It will be an independent should be dedicated to all channel inside the public broad- Kosovo audience and be open to caster. According to the recom- offer jobs for Albanian journal- mendation it will be called RTK2 ists who speak Serbian and oth- but that is still open,” Gorani ers, as well as for cameraman, told Prishtina Insight. “The montage staff etc. “Parliament is a political Dukagjin Gorani says also Y institution and it can create that Kosovo can soon switch to M only public organisations. If digital TV system which accord- they[Serbs] want to create pri- C ing to him is a precondition for vate TV, they do not need to ask K RTK's radio centre in central Prishtina. Serb journalists would like to be based in Gracanica. Balkans come 2015. feature July 29 - September 1, 2011 15 This Is Our Neighbourhood Roma children, many of whom until recently had never held a camera, have discovered a way to tell their story to the world in pictures

Although they have now all learned that photos of their daily life. “We want to run the project again next and are now registered to be in school in The Ideas Partnership is working with summer, of course,” says Elizabeth Gowing, September, it will be a long time before their these children and their families to change co-founder of the charity. “And we hope the By Prishtina Insight literacy skills are good enough for them to some of the living conditions shown in the photographs in a year’s time will show that use writing to lobby. photographs – income generation opportu- things are improving for this community.” Kosovo NGO The Ideas Partnership hopes nities through a women’s soap-making proj- See the children’s photos of ntil the spring of this year many of the children will be able to communicate ect, adult literacy classes, clothing transfer, Neighbourhood 29 at the children who have contributed with the world immediately through images and supporting the children to get to and www.neighbourhood29.com, where 29 new Uphotos to this online exhibition did- they’ve taken – striking and memorable stay in school. photos are uploaded every da n’t know how to write their name.

Neighbourhood is a photographic proj- iment and express their creativity by The cameras they have used have been photos are those that capture some- ect created by young people aged 7 to taking photos that represent their donated and are fairly low-spec, but we thing interesting and inspiring, whatever 17 living in the Fushe Kosove area of neighbourhood. think the results are great, especially as camera is used. You can see more pho- Prishtina. most participants have never used a tos of the project in action on The Ideas We hope that the project will provide a camera before. It shows that the best Partnership facebook page. It is supported by the volunteers of unique and memorable experience for Kosovo NGO The Ideas Partnership as a the young people and give them a marketing part of their Summer Programme 2011. chance to showcase their community, as they see it, to the rest of the world. The aim of the photography project is We plan to keep this site as up to date simple: each participant gets a camera, as we can during the summer, showcas- some basic training on how to use it ing a selection of photos from all partic- and then the freedom to explore, exper- ipants.

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E-mail: [email protected] Y Tel: 038/ 22 98 99 M + 377 (0) 44 137 976 C All the photos were taken by young Roma children K 16 July 29 - September 1, 2011 Prishtina Insight

Where to pick up Prishtina Insight? Hotel AFA Located in a quiet neighbourhood Prishtina Insight has teamed up with these excellent venues to offer a limited number of complimentary copies of Kosovo’s only just outside the city centre, Hotel Afa can guarantee guests a peaceful English-language newspaper. Grab a copy of the publication and settle down with a drink or a meal to read it. night while being within walking distance of all the action. The venue Jinglebells A taste of Napoli in Prishtina. has won a host of awards for its Cavallero Mexican Restaurant excellent service to customers and If your soul is affected by the grey sea- After ten years of making pizza in Napoli, and offers a good range of facilities, You can almost transport yourself to the son then pay a visit to Jinglebells, where only with love to blame, Fatmir the chef from an exclusive restaurant and Mexican coast, with soaring palm trees and an you will find all the colours that you’ve returned to Prishtina. His pizzas, made in a VIP bar to pretty, tranquil garden. immaculate five star resort, while dining at been missing. woodburn stove, are definitely genuine napoli- Rooms start at 45 euro for a single, Cavallero Mexican Cantina. Mouth-watering Jinglebells is a perfect one-stop-shop tanas. For those who consider pizza to be bor- and luxury rooms and apartments appetizers and savoury main dishes are nicely for internationals offering a selection of ing, Fatmir has several pastas on offer, also a are available. The hotel’s rooms are washed down with countless cocktail options books in various languages and the true joy for the taste buds. Napoli has an excel- well appoint- and even imported Mexican beer. Skopje-based quickest supply of international newspa- lent selection of red and white wines or, for the ed and com- ‘Los Ritmos’ entertain diners every Friday pers in town. It also offers souvenirs and more ambitious, one of the region's best Quint's fortable. and Saturday with their latin beats. For more gifts, such as raki. Napoli makes for 15, Rr Ali information, visit local handicrafts. delicious lunch, dinner Kelmendi, their facebook page, or even after-theatre Sunny or contact them. Jinglebells. time out in the centre Hill, Cavallero, Bookstore and of Prishtina. Prishtina Located next to the ex- more. +381 UNMIK building Ernest Koliqi Pizzeria Napoli 38/225 226 Prishtina 12, opposite off Luan Haradinaj, www. hote- +386 49 619 375 EULEX HQ opposite Newborn lafa. com Facebook page +386(0)49 741 170 044/409-402402

Cantina am-pm Restaurant Hotel Prishtina Hotel Victory Te Komiteti

Cantina AM-PM, formerly known as Hotel Prishtina’s 43 charm- But Victory is more than a place to meet and do Te Komiteti’s large trees and a beauti- Mexican Cantina, recently went ing guest rooms and suites are business. Its doors are always open for guests to fully garden, which surround the small through a transfer to new management, reminiscent of a small hotel in enjoy the tranquility of our guest rooms and lob- outdoor terrace, give you an impression and although hardly noticeable from a the European tradition. You'll bies, and the finest cuisine in the region. The only of an exclusive place for ordinary peo- distance, the new owners have trans- immediately feel at home in hotel in the region where real plants, original art ple. And this is exactly what it is. From formed the venue into a more grown-up our living room, sipping a glass and fine solid furniture decorate the space and brunch to lunch-time snacks and special affair with good, cheap food. Cantina of wine in our fine restaurant turn it into a homelike environment. Hotel evening meals, this restaurant offers offers Mexican dishes at reasonable surrounded by a gallery of Victory is established to offer travelers the most dishes comprising quality, varied ingre- prices, starting from less than 5 euro. paintings complete, comfortable accommodation available dients, combined to perfection. Although the majority of the food is by local in Kosovo and the region. Our professional staff Alongside one Mexican-influenced, Cesar salad and artists. will offer guests the highest standard of service of Prishtina’s pizza have been included too. Mexican The hotel and support, and we will use our resources to best ‘modern favourites served up at Cantina include offers free, greater lengths to make your stay as complete as European’ style tortilla, thicker fast wifi possible. menus, you’ll pan-friend tortilla, internet, Hotel Victory also find a good nacho chips and complimen- Mother Teresa selection of burrito. Cantina’s tary break- Prishtina, Kosovo wine, and great also offers a very fast, confer- Tel: +381 38 543 277 sangria and pleasant area for al ence room, +381 38 543 267 cocktails . fresco dining. swimming Email: Te Komiteti Cantina AM-PM pool, sauna info@hotel-victo- Qamil Hoxha Rr Qamil Hoxha and laun- ry.com Street Prishtina dry service. http://www.hotel- Prishtina +377 49 710 710 victory.com/ +381 38 24 96 63

Friends Bar Odyssea Bistro Paddy O’Brien’s Olive Tapas Bar

Friends Bar is owned by a Swiss- Odyssea Bistro Bar is a beautiful The staff at Paddy O’Brien’s have a saying: After many tears running tapas Albanian couple. The modern interi- bistro located in the heart of Prishtina, “It’s easy to walk in, but very hard to leave.” bars in England and Germany, as or and the calm terrace behind the offering a combination of a quality And with its warm atmosphere, fantastic range well as opening the first of its bar will make your stay comfortable. menu with inspiring dishes and a mod- of drinks and excellent food, it is easy to see why. kind in Prishtina, these guys no They offer a wide range of beers, ern bar with a large variety of drinks There have been many attempts to establish a their trade.Try to delicious tapas including Dark Lasko and Murphy’s and exotic cocktails. proper Irish pub in Prishtina, but this is the only and while away on afternoon on Irish Red, which can rarely be found Odyssea Bistro Bar's unique design is one to hit the spot. the moorish sangria.Tapas and in Kosovo. You can also try eight dif- a mixture of classic French influence From classic coffees to cocktails, via, of course, main courses include rocket ferent tastes and colours of vodka. and a modern touch. Guinness, you really wont find it difficult to salad, mixed cheese, Spanish tor- Starting from May 14 there will be Busy during lunch breaks, romantic select the perfect drink. tilla, omelet with vegetables and barbeques every Saturday from 5pm for dinners and classy for evening A mouth-watering menu of Irish specialties is potatoes and deep fried calamari. to 9pm, and brunch every Sunday drinks, Bistro is a great place to visit at also on offer, spanning from all-day breakfasts to from 9am to any time of the day. Irish stews at night. Open Monday to Saturday 1pm. BBQ and Sample Bistro’s brunch on Sundays, or Options include shepherd’s pie, bangers and 7 am until 12 pm brunch will be enjoy live music on Wednesday, Fridays mash, fish ‘n chips, Olive Tapas Bar offered with a and Saturdays and whopping great St.Fehmi Agani 48/1 wide choice of Bistro, burgers. Tel. +381 38 321 132 local and Sejdi Kryeziu, Pejton, Prishtina Thursday is pub quiz Cell +377 44 620 414 international 045402095 and 049333959 night, but there is [email protected] food. always something going on at the pub, whether it 17, Rr.Fehmi is sport screenings or Agani just a good shindig. 045244 498 Paddy O’Brien’s Y Facebook Tringe Smajli Street, Page: Friends M by the Illyria Hotel Bar - Prishtine Prishtina: 045-420900 C K By Shengjyl Osmani July 29 - September 1, 2011 17 in Prishtina Timeout Contact Prishtina Insight if you would like your event to feature or to advertise your venue. Email [email protected] Dokufest Programme: Friday, July 29, 2011 Out of Ereasers 15, 20:30 ‘Raju 24, Kino LUMBARDHI Stick Climbing 14, Big Bang Big Room 10, very day at 6 pm, ABC Cinema 12:00 ‘You don’t like the truth: Si Qeni N’Rrush 27’ Lena and Me 15, continues screening the ani- 4 days inside Guantanamo’ 99 22:00 ‘Cinema Komunisto 101’ Gardfren 25’ Emated movie Rio. Blu, a rare min macaw who believes that he is the 14:00 ‘Inner vision: Artists on film: Kino KALA [Cinema in the 22:00 ‘Special Presentation: last of his kind, discovers there’s The Devil and Daniel Castle] Let England Shake: 12 Short another macaw out there, a girl Johnston’ 110 min Films 90’ named Jewel. 16:00 ‘Day is done’ 111 min 20:30 ‘V Letu Hip Hopa 72,’ Then, to set up a life with her, he 18:00 ‘Koha, Kohe pas Kohe’ 27, 22:00 ‘Revansh 15, Kino LUM [River] leaves his cage in small town Ngushte, 19, th The 4 Revolution: Energy Minnesota and heads to Rio de Ninulla 5, Autonomy 86’ 20:30 ‘Poplava 42, Gure Uje 18, A Letter To Dad 48’ Janeiro. Blu is domesticated and Jewel is the fiercely independent, The last unicorn 5’ LIDHJA E PRIZRENIT [Prizren 22:00 ‘At Night, They Dance 80’ high-flying female. They embark on League] Kino SHTEPIA E KULTURES Kino KALA [Cinema in the an adventure of a lifetime, where they find out about friendship, love, courage, and being open [Culture Centre] 20:30 ‘Inner Vision: Artists on Film: Castle] to life’s many wonders. Rio also brings collectively a 12:00 ‘Unorthodox: I Am Still Here’ Black Sun 70’ 107 22:00 ‘Festivals We Like: Sheffield 20:30 ‘The D-Train 5, menagerie of bright characters, a heart-warming story, 14:00 ’10 years strong: The White Doc Fest: Life in Movement 79’ City on Film: colourful backdrops, stimulating Latin and modern music, Diamond 87’ Of Tie and the City 74’ and family-friendly song and dance. 16:00 ‘Made in Switzerland: Saturday, July 30, 2011 22:00 ‘Supriseville 9, Gambling, Gods and LSD 180’ Kino LUMBARDHI The Forgotten Space 113’ Every day, at 8pm and 10 pm, ABC cinema also continues screening the Kino SHKOLLA E MUZIKES 12:00 ‘Trials, Trimbulation and the Sunday, July 31, 2011 brand new movie Hanna. [Music School] Sustainable Growth of a Cock 21, Award-winning director Joe 10:00 Animator Workshop: Intensive Our School 94’ Kino LUMBARDHI Wright creates a boldly original sus- workshop dedicated for young- 14:00 ‘Out of Reach 30, 14:00 ’10 Years Strong: pense thriller with Hanna, starring sters who will work closely Without a Country 20 Voice of Bam 90’ Academy Award nominee Saoirse with workshop tutors to pro- Slow Action 45’ 16:00 ‘Spotlight: James Longley Ronan (“The Lovely Bones,” duce short animations. 16:00 ‘City on Film: The Soul of Iraq in Fragments 94’ “Atonement”) in the title role. Raised 14:00 ‘Youth Program: Jeanine 17, Things 15, 18:00 Best Short by her father (Eric Bana of “Star The Uzine or The Revenge of Best Green Dox People on Sunday 74’ Trek”), an ex-CIA man, in the wilds of Mr. Staach 17, 18:00 ‘Mila Seeking Senida 83’ Finland, Hanna’s upbringing and Le Concile Lunatique 12’ Kino SHTEPIA E KULTURES training have been one and the same, 18:00 ‘Kids Program: L’inventure 4, [Culture Centre] Kino SHTEPIA E KULTURES all geared to making her the perfect assassin. The turning Nimbus Machina 6, [Culture Centre] Evasion 4, 14:00 Announcement of Awards point in her adolescence is a sharp one; sent into the world by 12:00 ‘Made in Switzerland: Play 4, her father on a mission, Hanna journeys stealthily across My Dear Deer! 4, Stick Climbing 14, 16:00 ‘Unorthodow: Europe while eluding agents dispatched after her by a ruth- Galeria 5’ An African Election 89’ N-VI, Vanishing Roadside 75 less intelligence operative with secrets of her own (Academy 14:00 ‘Inner Vision: Artists on Film: 18:00 Best Int’l Dox: Short Award winner Cate Blanchett). As she nears her ultimate tar- Kino BAHÇE [Garden Cinema] Marwencol 83’ Best Human Rights Dox get, Hanna faces startling revelations about her existence and 16:00 ‘Festivals We Like: Play-Doc: 20:30 ‘Fini 29, Paris #1 31, Kino BAHÇE [Garden Cinema] unexpected questions about her humanity. The movie is People I Could Have Been and You Are All Captains 79’ directed by Joe Wright, starring Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Maybe I Am 54’ 18:00 ‘Made in Switzerland: 20:30 Best Int’l Dox: Feature Olivia Williams, Cate Blanchett, Jason Flemyng, Jessica 22:00 ‘The Black Power Mixtape 1967- Yuri Lennon’s Landing on 22:00 Audience Award Barden, and is written by Seth Lochhead, David Farr, Joe 75 96’ Alpha 46/15, Penhall, Joe Wright. Aysheen-Still Alive in Gaza 79’ Kino LUM [River] Kino LUM [River] For ticket reservation or further information call ABC Kino BAHÇE [Garden Cinema] 20:30 Best Balkan Dox Cinema at 038 243 117 or visit them at http://www.kinoabc.info 20:30 ‘Pera Berpange 15, 22:00 Best Balkan Newcomer Dokufest’s Tenth Anniversary Already a Hit

tographer Espen Rasmussen’s exhibition - Transit opened DokuPhoto on Friday, July 22, at the Haman Museum in Prizren, By Shengjyl Osmani which also marked the start of Dokufest. The international documentary and short film festival, Dokufest, officially opened its tenth anniversary last ith a few days left still to run Saturday, July 23, in Prizren. During the before the end of Dokufest, many week, seven screens in the city have been Ware already calling it a great suc- screening international documentaries cess. and short films in front of international Multi-award winning Norwegian pho- and local crowds. “4,000 tickets have been sold up until Wednesday, and this number is growing fast,” said Veton Nurkollari, the artistic director of Dokufest, as the event got under way. Despite the incredible number of films that will be screened during this tenth edi- Kosovo youngsters who are full of courage member of human right movies jury, tion of the festival, many workshops and and want for a better future,” Ilic told Sebastian Saam, said that having human discussions with Oscar nominated direc- Prishtina Insight. rights movies in this festival shows the tors and well know designers were also Furthermore, Sara Garcia, member of need for this issue to be addressed more. squeezed into the first four days of the fes- the jury for Balkan Dox said that it’s not “I, as an expert in human rights, would tival. easy to organize a festival, but it is her have liked to have more than six movies in In a lecture with leading US designer pleasure to be part of the best film festival the festival, but believe that the selected and illustrator Mirko Ilic, born in Croatia, in the region. ones for this festival are good enough to he told the audience about socially and “I was told by my friends about the festi- point out the political and social angle of politically charged graphic design. val and they also told me about the incred- this matter,” explained Saam in the “It’s my first time in South-eastern ible energy dedicated to this festival,” said Dokudaily newspaper, published during Y Europe since I left Croatia a long time ago, Garcia. the festival. M and I am amazed by the festival and by German Euronews journalist, who is a C K 18 July 29 - September 1, 2011 Inside Prishtina Ecosovo Prishtina Drops Street Dog Cull Don't Let Ink Blot Prishtina municipality have stopped their campaign of shooting street dogs to control the popula- tion in favour of a more humane technique. the Environment technique instead. The municipality said it would now Animal Friends of Kosovo said they issue a tender for a company to carry were “delighted and congratulated the out the neutering campaign. By Lawrence Marzouk municipality of Prishtina on their In a statement it said: “After examin- decision to end the culling of street ing carefully the European standards By Elizabeth Gowing dogs and adopt a TNR programme”. for protection and treatment of ani- “This clearly shows that the munici- mals, and in accordance with law for unters will no longer be pality is prepared to deal with a diffi- employed by Prishtina munici- the treatment of animals, Prishtina cult problem and deal with it in a mod- love it when I find something I can do that’s good for ecol- Hpality to hunt down and shoot Municipality has decided to announce ern, viable and humane way,” the street dogs, the town hall has a tender for castration and sterilisa- ogy, my own economics and local employment all at the group said in a statement. announced. Isame time. So you can imagine how happy I was when I “We are available to assist and sup- tion of stray dogs and also has sus- The news came after a campaign by walked into Ink Station. I was given a friendly welcome (in port the municipality in any way that pended the contract with the utility the pressure group Animal Friends of beautiful English), and then the printer cartridge I was car- we can with our expertise and experi- company Horticulture the physical rying was whisked away from me. But it wasn’t whisked Kosovo, which has called for the prac- ence and would welcome the opportu- elimination of stray dogs.” away into landfill - not like all the other printer cartridges tice to be dropped. nity to meet with them to discuss this Prishtina also called on other my life has left behind it (I shudder, thinking of the little The municipality said it will now further. We look forward to the tender municipalities to follow in its foot- plastic cairn that will stay as a legacy of my last three use the Trap Neuter and Release, TNR, issue, which we will be bidding for.” steps. decades of wasteful printing). Instead, the cartridge was taken to be refilled while I stayed for a few minutes easy con- versation with the manager of Ink Station. I congratulated him on his business – it offers a good serv- ice because prices (which vary for different models) for refill- ing a cartridge are extremely competitive when compared with buying a new one. And of course I love the environmen- tal benefit, saving all those cartridges from being burned or buried. You want to know how many cartridges we’re talking about? You’re looking for a how-many-times-round-the-earth fact now, aren’t you? Well I’m told that, for example, over 375 million empty toner cartridges and ink cartridges are thrown into the trash every year in the US alone. Apparently if you put all these cartridges end to end they would go three times round the earth. Choking landfill isn’t the only problem caused by all those cartridges. The production of them is also energy-intensive: four litres of petroleum are burned to manufacture one toner cartridge. And all of this is unnecessary. Printer cartridges can in extreme cases be refilled up to 15 times before reaching the end of their life (though it’s more usual to manage 5 to 7 refills). That’s good business for Ink Station (and good sav- ings for me), and goes some way to managing that landfill problem. However, if you’re intent on seeing the trashcan as half full rather than half empty, it is of course true that such a reduction in that chain of old ink cartridges looped three times around the globe is still going to leave us with a chain stretching about halfway round the globe; and decorating our planet with such a garbage necklace is still nothing to be proud of. Reducing this kind of waste isn’t just about refill- ing ink cartridges; we need to think about the use of the ink SHOP Review: in the first place. Despite the policy of ECLO and others requiring brochures to have solid colour front covers, it is generally considered good environmental practice (as well as AMFORA Wine Shop being cheaper) to design publications/ business cards/ flyers etc with a white background rather than white text on colour. The environmental implications of design aren’t restricted to the first printing of a brochure – the original decision about the balance of white space and colour block has impli- By Shengjyl Osmani cations for every subsequent photocopy of the product, or printing of a pdf on machines that may be remote in space and time from the first production. mfora joins a select Of course we can all also be more careful about the sheer few in becoming the quantity of what we print – for example, considering Alatest wine shop to whether it’s necessary to print out an email just for the sake open in Prishtina. of one piece of information contained within it, when we The shop is run by a wine could write that down somewhere else instead. These deci- expert, who hails from sions will affect not only how much paper and electricity our Kosovo’s grape-growing offices consume, but also the number of new printer car- region of Rahovec, and can tridges we have to buy and the four litres of petroleum offer great advice on which burned up every time. local tipple to try. So, however useful you think this article is, don’t photo- Homemade wines and copy it just for the details of Ink Station. Jot them down on raki are sold in creative bot- a piece of scrap paper: Ink Station, [email protected] tles from different fruits, and Bulevard Bill Clinton - on the right as you head out of like grapes, pear, and bottles. litre. 852 833, or visit them behind town, close enough to the statue of Bill for you to believe that quince. Despite the high quality Soon, Amfora will offer the AAK building. it is this business that his hand is gesturing at. Well know wines like of the wines, Amfora offers you beautiful wine glasses Bodrumi i Vjeter, Stone reasonable prices. and wine bottle openers. Amfora, Castle, or Iliret, are sold Y Elizabeth Gowing is a founder of The Ideas Partnership, a A bottle of wine will cost Wine and Spirits Shop here, and the homemade you between 2.30 euo and 7 For homemade wine Str. Ulpiana, A-7, Hyrja 3 M Kosovan NGO working on educational, cultural and environ- bottles are in one litre plas- euro. Homemade vino costs orders, or for wine advice Lok. 1, Prishtine C mental projects. She can be reached at theideaspartner- tic bottle, or brandy in glass from 1.30 to 2.30 euro per call them at 044 655 767; 049 [behind AAK building] K [email protected]. 19 Inside Prishtina July 29 - September 1, 2011 Chris Hill USAID BEEP Project Prishtina through the Eyes of: the Eyes through Prishtina

What surprised you most about Prishtina? The vehicles. When reading official GDP and unemployment figures, you don't expect to see more Mercedes, BMW, and Audi vehicles than you have in your life. But that's the case.

What's your favourite hangout? Giant Party Leaders’ Posters Filikaqa during karaoke night. What is the best thing about Prishtina? The women. They are beautiful.

Illegal, Says Municipality What is the most annoying thing about Prishtina? With Colgate-smile faces, photos of political leaders adorn party headquarters across Kosovo’s capital, Cars parking on the sidewalk. You park on the but, according to the municipality, none has planning permission sidewalk and walk on the road. “Billboards of political leaders, like current billboards they are drastically If you were mayor of Prishtina for the day the one of PDK leader, Hashim Thaci in violating our policy,” added Gashi. what would you change? the city centre, the AKR leader, Behgjet He would not be drawn however on I would get more roads paved. By Shengjyl Osmani Pacolli, or the AAK, Ramush Haradinaj what action will be taken against the billboards, hanging in their party head- parties. How many macchiatos do you drink a day? quarters must not escape from munici- The news came as municipal inspec- Two pal regulations and obligations,” said tors launched a programme of tackling t’s difficult to miss the beneficent face of Prime Minister Hashim Agim Gashi, head of the Department for encroachment by private enterprises What's your favourite Albanian word and IThaci staring down at you from the Public Service. into the public space, including bar ter- why? giant photo attached to the Democratic Gashi told Prishtina Insight that races and stairs. Liri. It's what works best. Party of Kosovo’s headquarters on despite the policy, the municipality has “The Municipality has started legal- Mother Teresa Boulevard. given permission to no party billboards ising the use, but not all of them are yet What landmark do you use to tell taxi driv- But according to Prishtina municipal- in the municipality. legal,” Muhamet Gashi, the spokesper- ers where you live? ity this billboard, and those of other “By not expressing their interest in son of the municipality, told Prishtina Albi. parties, are illegal. receiving a permit to continue using Insight.

Bar Review: Grill House Bar Flaming Good Barbecues arbecues may be a great grill area, small children play- charged 100 euro per day. way to enjoy grilled food, ground corner and all kinds of No food is served in Grill House Bbut they do involve a fair bit drinks. as you are supposed to bring your of messing around, especially if Grill lovers do not need to won- preferred dishes with you, but no you don’t have a garden. der where to buy coal for burning, outside drinks are allowed to be Grill House Bar might just be or grill accessories as Grill House brought in. your answer. It provides all the Bar has all you need. Thus, you For reservations, excluding necessary equipment for you to just need to gather all your weekends, call 044655977. It is cook alfresco, apart from the food, friends or family and spend time open Monday to Friday from 3pm and provides chilled drinks cooking, and relaxing. to 11 pm, and weekends from 9 am thanks to its onsite bar. The grill bar is 500 metres after to 11 pm. At 7km along the Prishtina- you pass the HIB petrol station. Skopje highway, it is also a short You can book the whole area, or Grill House Bar distance for those escaping the just a corner for around 25 people, 7th kilometre on Prishtina- Y smoke. which will cost you less, including Skopje Highway M Grill House Bar offers 1700 all gill services. 500 m after HIB Petrol C metres of open green space, a For the whole area, you will be 044 655 977 K If you would like your NGO to appear in 20 July 29 - September 1, 2011 our Making a Difference feature, please Opinion email [email protected] Norway’s Bomber Should Leave the Balkans Alone Breivik is only the latest extreme rightist to project his pet theories about the world onto a region about which he knows precious little.

Marcus Tanner

t’s not surprising that Anders Behrin Breivik claimed NATO’s bombing of Serbia in 1999 was one the factors Ibehind his decision to carry out last Friday’s atrocities in and near Oslo. For years, Serbia’s heroic resistance to Islam in Bosnia and Kosovo – their words – has been a cause célèbre with the extreme right in Europe, an oft-quoted example of Europe’s ignominious surrender to world Muslim domination. Farewells and More Far-right websites in Britain – some of whom the bomber was in contact with – regularly hum with professions of admiration for the actions of their “Serbian brothers” in the 1990s - those feelings of admiration coupled with fury about NATO’s action in allegedly Promises at EULEX advancing the cause of Al-Qaeda in the Balkans. tor, and Isabelle Arnal, the fall under the unit’s jurisdiction: The other great poster boy of the far right these days is Israel, French head of the SPRK, have war crimes, terrorism, financial which is deeply ironic given the right’s traditional anti-Semitism. The taken other jobs elsewhere. and organised crime. Norwegian bomber’s manifesto is full of the usual contradictions in By Selvije Bajrami Van Vreeswijk had already Of those 253 cases, 161 cases are that regard. He admires Israel vis-a-vis the Palestinians at the same served more than three years at under investigation by EULEX time as maintaining that the pre-Second World War Jews were a EULEX, rumours persist that prosecutors at SPRK and 92 other treacherous element in Germany. Square that, if you can. Arnal grew frustrated that she files have now been passed to One thing that stands out in analysis of the Balkans by right-wing n the past couple of weeks the had not been promoted with the Kosovan prosecutors at the same extremists like Breivik is the blurred focus and shaky grasp of facts. head of the special prosecu- mission. office. tor’s office and the chief prose- Accurate knowledge of the past and present conditions in the Balkan I Van Vreeswijk and Arnal held The report also states that 119 of cutor at EULEX have left, amid region is in short supply, when compared to the amount of words they key positions in EULEX’s fight the 253 cases are connected to alle- concerns over slow progress at the expend on the subject. against organised crime and cor- gations about financial crime, 67 EU’s rule of law mission in Looking back at the Bosnian war in his self-styled manifesto, the ruption and the prosecution of with war crimes, 12 terrorism Oslo bomber says the Muslims started the whole thing off by rejecting Kosovo. After completing several inter- war crimes. They leave many offences and 55 other alleged crim- a generous Serbian offer of a couple of “enclaves”. Well there you unfinished cases behind them. inal activities. views in Brussels with represen- have it. The ungrateful Muslims. These are documented in offi- In the second table of the docu- tatives of the European institu- Of course, were anyone to look at a demographic map of Bosnia cial records and include cases in ment, you will see the breakdown tions who deal with EULEX, the circa 1991 and examine the relative demographic strengths and distri- which senior Kosovan officials of investigations relating to 69 European Union’s rule of law mis- bution of the three main communities, one would not conclude that are suspected of some involve- cases of alleged corruption and 50 sion in Kosovo, I am now concen- this offer was generous. ment. other financial crimes. trating on my work in Prishtina, Breivik’s words recall those of the former Bosnian Serb leader, The people of Kosovo will According to the report, during the capital of Kosovo. Biljana Plavsic. In the middle of the Bosnian war, she told me and Tim remember van Vreeswijk as a 2009 a total of 14 trials were con- In an effort to finalise inter- Judah of the Times in an interview that the Serbs were doing the man who made great promises. I cluded by the SPRK, while during views in another Balkan state, Muslims a favour by herding them into enclaves. “Why’s that?”, we interviewed him recently, and he 2010 only ten were completed. Bosnia and Herzegovina, that has asked. “Oh, they like living on top of each other,” she said in an airy admitted that things had not gone Arnal left on the promise that an international rule of law mis- fashion, as if that ought to have been obvious. as well as he’d have liked. the financial crime charges cur- sion, I am completing the final As for Kosovo, whoever talked there of the war with Serbia as a “I expected things would go rently lying on file will soon be stages of my research. great religious struggle or as a milestone in an international Islamic faster. However, it was not as sim- prosecuted in court by the SPRK. In addition, I have started inter- crusade? Certainly not the Islamic countries, most of whom did not ple as I thought it would be,” van The expectations of Kosovo citi- viewing people, nationals and for- side with Kosovo in 1999 and most of whom do not recognize its inde- Vreeswijk told me. zens are much greater than eigners, who are working in one pendence now. Certainly not the people who run things in Prishtina Arnal presented a statistical EULEX’s achievements so far. way or another with EULEX, the now either. Deeply corrupt they may be - but Islamic zealots? report on her work at the special Not only that, EULEX as a whole EU’s rule of law mission in It is true that many Serbs attributed a religious quality to the prosecutor’s office during the peri- has spent €365m to date, all paid Kosovo. Kosovo war, claiming that the Albanians’ “real” motive was their od July 2010 - June 2011, with for by EU taxpayers. Its annual Beside the interviews for hatred of Christianity. But what is important to note is that this details on 28 pre-trial operational budget for October 2010 to October research, I am continuing my motive was attributed to Albanians; it wasn’t claimed or accepted. activities and the investigations of 2011 has been set at €165m. work at my daily newspaper. This is one of the old curses of the Balkans; people insistently pro- complex arrests. These sums of money are large While my fellowship research jecting grand overarching international ideologies, causes and theo- Of the backlog of cases EULEX by anybody’s standards and as van topic is EULEX, this mission is a ries onto conflicts that have little to do with them. inherited from its predecessor Vreeswijk and Arnal say goodbye constant subject of media reports The war in Croatia was not about Catholicism versus Orthodoxy, it UNMIK, 111 out of 179 open inves- to EULEX, many are left wonder- here and regularly features in my was about Croatian independence. Nor was the war in Bosnia, as tigations have been concluded. ing if prosecution rates will now daily reporting. The report lists the institutions drop further. many British liberals claimed in the early 1990s, about democracy ver- Despite the departure during sus fascism – a rerun of the Spanish Civil War. It was a struggle, a that were raided and searched and the past couple of weeks of key the suspected offences. However, it Selvije Bajrami is a Prishtina- very militarily lopsided one, between Muslims and Serbs over who personnel - the chief prosecutor ruled Bosnia. Too bad if that sounds boring. does not what was the result of based journalist who is participat- and the head of EULEX’s Kosovo each investigation. ing in the 2011 Balkan Fellowship It may titillate the palates of armchair world theories to see the Special Prosecutions Office, Balkan countries as pawns on a chessboard, all being moved around The report confirms that 11 for Journalistic Excellence. Y SPRK - there is still no word on EULEX prosecutors and a further She will be writing regular in purely passive fashion by vast unseen international forces. Reality M their permanent replacements. 10 ethnic-Albanian Kosovan prose- updates on her investigation into is more humdrum. The sooner these grand strategists leave the C Both Johannes van Vreeswijk, cutors are operating within the EULEX and international rule of Balkans out of their complex calculations, the better. K the Dutch former chief prosecu- SPRK investigating 253 cases that law missions in the region. July 29 - September 1, 2011 21 Opinion If you would like your NGO to appear in our Making a Difference feature, please email [email protected] Outside In Sarajevo’s First McDonald’s: Kosovo’s How Many Served? Northern the invisible hand of the omnipotent about it by demanding healthy “Cevapi Lobby’”in preventing options and use of local products. McDonald’s advance into Bosnia; Selling water from an Illidza-based Saga By Valerie Hopkins proudly saying that Ronald McDonald company is a good start, but knew he could never compete with McDonald’s should do more to ensure Mrkva, Zeljo, Ferhatovic, and other that as many ingredients as possible family-owned purveyors of Bosnia’s have their origins in Bosnia. By Kreshnik Hoxha n Wednesday, Bosnian presi- wonderful and affordable “minced I also hope Bosnian health officials, dency member Zeljko Komsic meat fingers”. practitioners, and families will be Owalked with US Ambassador Rumors abounded that McDonald’s more successful at combating the obe- ith a week of fresh drama in the North, clashes Patrick Moon beneath those great tri- had conducted market research and sity brought on by fast food than they in Jarinje & Brnjak, and a divided international umphal Golden Arches for the VIP run with its tail between its legs from have done in my country. Wstance on the latest developments, Kosovo has opening of McDonald’s. a market that it could never pene- Official statistics from the World once hit the world media once again. The well-heeled guests looked bet- trate. Health Organization suggest that obe- But, was the operation, ordered by PM Hashim Thaci, a ter suited for a symphony perform- These stories are much more sity is climbing in Bosnia: according major step in statehood consolidation or a provocation ance than to dining at a greasy spoon, colourful than the reality: it was red and oppression of Kosovar Serbs? to 2008 statistics, over 60 per cent of but they had indeed gotten all gussied tape and political obstacles to licens- Kosovo’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Mimoza the population is overweight, putting up for Bosnia’s first McDining experi- ing and registering that kept the cor- Kusari-Lila, did what she had promised a while ago and BiH within the top ten most over- ence. The crowd was already lining poration’s attempts to open up a burg- banned Serbian goods from entering Kosovo. What goes weight countries in the world. up at 8.30 for the official 10am grand er joint at bay for 15 years. The own- round comes around! But, she is insistent that this deci- In a country where healthy foods opening. ers of McDonald’s have finally waded sion is not an embargo on Serbia. Instead, she labels it as are much more affordable, local, and My home country boasts over 13,000 through the legal muck and made it trade reciprocity with Serbia, who has been banning organic than they are in America and McDonald’s, so I can’t really com- happen. Kosovo products since 2008. much of Western Europe, this trend plain about having two in my adopted So, whether people are thrilled or The administrative order of Mrs Kusari-Lila entered into force with immediate effect and the next day the city of Sarajevo, but I have to say I am aghast that the Big Mac has arrived should be easy to reverse, given the trucks with Serb products were shown the way back, with not personally “Lovin’ it.” in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the fact right policies. the exception of border crossings in Jarinje and Brnjak, I’m not looking forward to the scent that BiH can now be added to the Big After the grand McOpening, I the northern crossing with Serbia. of fries wafting down Titova as I Mac Index, The Economist’s global encountered two men decked out in To ensure that the decision was implemented Kosovo- make my nightly promenade towards red-and-yellow McD’s apparel scarf- measure of a currency’s value, is wide, Kosovo’s PM Hashim Thaci made a decision which Bascarsija, and I do not plan to ing down two large portions of cevapi arguably more important. took everyone by surprise: he ordered Special Units of lounge in the McCafe gossiping for in Bascarsija. They gladly posed for a That McDonald’s has opened at Kosovo Police, ROSU, to take control of the two border picture. hours with my friends. I don’t like long last indicates to other potential points. what McDonald’s represents in the investors that this country has a busi- “Nothing could ever compete with This, in its pure form, represented a major step in state- world: globalization, consumerism, ness climate worth investing in, and cevapi!” they grinned, licking their hood consolidation, albeit a late one, and expansion of and a total lack of culinary creativity. will hopefully bring much-needed for- fingers. We’ll see in the next few Prishtina’s power to the lawless north. However, I recognize what a eign direct investment into the econo- months if they are right. However, a completely different picture emerged in the Bosnian McDonald’s signifies—both my. north, where the patience of Kosovo Serbs was running good and bad. I do think Bosnian detractors of Valerie Hopkins is an American free- thin. Oliver Ivanovic, involved in the parallel structures Sarajevans have forever pointed to McDonald’s should do something lance journalist based in Sarajevo. and the Belgrade government, summoned the local Serbs to take to the streets and block roads in order to impede ROSU’s mission. The situation escalated rapidly. Twitter was flooded with reports from locals of both ethnic groups. Local Serbs portrayed this as yet another episode of Albanian terrorism and repression against Serbs, while the Albanians summarised the operation as delayed but essential. In the end, seeds of ethnic hatred were planted once again, which lead to the death of one ROSU member, who was ambushed by local Serbs. According to many international reports northern Kosovo has long been a haven for Serb and Albanian crim- inal gangs involved in organised crime and smuggling. The functioning of these gangs as well as the parallel structures of Belgrade has had a detrimental effect on the life of locals from both sides. The operation received contradicting reaction from various international organisations. The International Civilian Office half supported the operation but called for dialogue and urged the government to align its attempts of gaining administrative control of borders with efforts to support citizens in the north. On the other hand, the EU high representative Catherine Ashton seemed to be seething that her project of EU-mediated talks between Prishtina and Belgrade was crumbling fast. But, this operation was undertaken to ensure the enforcement of reciprocity throughout Kosovo and it was not directed at local Serbs. Kosovo as a sovereign country, though with disputed recognition, must insist on its right to protect its sover- eignty, whether Serbia spins the story in its favour or not! Prishtina should stand by its decision, even after the burning of border in Jarinje by Serb hooligans. And the Kosovo Serbs in the north should ultimately realise that it is the Kosovo government they should be complaining to, not Belgrade. They must understand that the parallel structures of Belgrade are oppressing and holding them back from a peaceful life – something that they rather naively blame Sarajevo's first McDonalds just before it opened the Albanians for. 22 July 29 - September 1, 2011 marketing

Y M C K July 29 - September 1, 2011 23 Classified Contact Prishtina Insight if you would like to advertise Email [email protected]

Embassies and Liaison Offices in Prishtina

American Address: "Nazim Hikmet" no. 30 Arbëria/Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 549 516 Austrian Address: "Ahmet Krasniqi" no. 22 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 249 284 Belgian Address: "Taslixhe" I, 23 A 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 734 734 British Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 6 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 254 700 Bulgarian Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 12 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 038 245 540 Dutch Address:" Xhemal Berisha" no. 12 Velania, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 224 61 Finnish Str. Perandori Justinian No. 19 Pejton 10 000 Prishtina Phone: +386 43 737 000 French Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 67 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 22 45 88 00 Greek Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 68 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 243 013 German Adress: "Azem Jashanica" no. 17 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 254 500 Italian Address: "Azem Jashanica" no.5 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 244 925 Japanese Address: "Rexhep Malaj" no. 43 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 249 995 Luxemburg Address: "Metush Krasniqi" no. 14 Classified Ads Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 226 787 Do you have a flat to rent? Position to fill? Students to find for a language course? Why not speak directly to Kosovo’s international com- Malaysian munity through Prishtina Insight’ classified ads. Address: "Bedri Shala" no. 48 Almost every international organisation, embassy, NGO and many others subscribe to Kosovo’s only English language newspaper, which 10000 Prishtina is also on sale at newsstands in seven cities and received in electronic format by scores of paying clients across the world. Phone: +381 (0) 38 243 467 Norwegian Address: "Sejdi Kryeziu" no. 6 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 232 111 00 Saudia Arabian Easy Medium Hard Address: Dardania SU 7, building 2, #1 y| y | |y 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 549 203 2 849 95 52 1 Slovenian Address: "Anton Ceta" no. 6 2 98 2 86910000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 244 886 36 5 869 4 72 6 Swedish Str. Perandori Justinian No. 19 849 53 649 Pejton 10 000 Prishtina 635 728 843 276 93Phone: +381 38 24 57 95 Swiss 165 75 51 9 Address: "Adrian Krasniqi" no. 11 10000 Prishtina 8674136837 Phone: +381 (0) 38 248 088 4 945243 Turkish Y Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 59 M Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina C 923 1 51 819 Phone: +381 (0) 38 226 044 K 24 July 29 - September 1, 2011 marketing

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