Opinion: The End of International Supervision December 9 - 22, 2011 Issue No. 77 www.prishtinainsight.com Price € 1 NEWS Elderly, Mitrovica Hunters Babies at Risk Paid 16 Euros Per As Hospital Shot Dog Heating > page 3 Goes Off NEWS Kosovo Surprised by Sick babies on the Wave of Asylum- neo-natal ward, as well Seekers as the elderly, were > page 6 being kept warm by NEIGHBOURHOOD hot water bottles in World Court Brings sub-zero temperatures Macedonia Comfort, after the heating went Not Victory off at Prishtina's main > page 11 hospital... See Page 3 FEATURE Archivists Revive Fading Sounds of “Corrupt” Arms Dealers Old Kosovo > page 14 INSIDE PRISHTINA Own Web of Companies Kosovo Designer An investigation by Prishtina Insight has uncovered a web of companies operated by or connected to two arms dealers Opens Boutique suspected of corruption who secured a string of contracts from Kosovo and EU institutions. Jolix and Friends, the firms that Prishtina Municipality, the Kosovo contracts from the authorities. By Petrit Collaku secured the allegedly corrupt deal Security Force, the European Meanwhile a third businessman in October 2008. Commission in Kosovo and with arrested in the raids, Ylber Saliu, n October 5, police from the An investigation by Prishtina EULEX, the body now investigat- owns a medical business, Triomed, EU rule-of-law mission, Insight has uncovered that Pira’s ing the men. which has secured a number of OEULEX, swooped on six and Selimi’s business interests go The contracts included the sup- tenders from the Ministry of men suspected of corruption in > page 19 connection with the supply of far beyond this deal. ply of weapons, ammunition, Health. weapons to Kosovo Police. Three of their companies, Jolix, kitchens, bicycles, firemens’ uni- EULEX has told Prishtina During the course of EULEX Friends and another firm, Amici, forms and broadcast monitoring Insight that it is focusing its inves- raids on businesses and homes in have since 2007 won contracts equipment. tigation on the 2008 ammunition worth at least 6.2 million euro The two businessmen also own a and arms tender, although the Prishtina and Germany they Kosovo’s only English-language arrested senior Kosovo Police offi- from international and local insti- fourth firm, construction business rule-of-law mission did confirm newspaper is available: cials and two businessmen, Astrit tutions. 3AT, which has close links to that all tenders are being looked Pira and Armend Selimi. The firms secured numerous another company, Toning, which at. Delivered to The latter were owners of the contracts with Kosovo Police, has also won a string of lucrative continues page 2 Your Door Lone Gay Bar’s Closure Leaves Compensation is Pipe Dream From Newsstands Kosovo Gays Bereft for Kosovo Workers across Kosovo The media furor surrounding the rapid A steel pipes factory in the town of Sent To opening and closure of Kosovo’s first gay Ferizaj was bought this June by Mabetex, Your Inbox bar has exposed the precarious position of the construction company connected to the gay community in this deeply conser- Deputy Prime Minister Behgjet Pacolli. vative, mainly Albanian land. Pacolli bought the factory for just under From The Pure Pure Club briefly hit the lime- 3.7 million euro, despite the fact that it had our partners light in September when an online news recently received 13 million euro of invest- news portal revealed... page 4 business ment... page 7 see page 16 for more info is supported by: 2 December 9-22, 2011 news “Corrupt” Arms Dealers Own Web of Companies from page 1 From kitchens to shotguns: The Prishtina-based firm Friends, offi- cially owned by Armend Selimi and a woman registered as Zaide Osmani, has secured 1.1 million euro of contracts for state institutions. But Prishtina Insight has discovered that the woman is in fact registered on the elec- toral roll as Zaide Pira and is the wife of Astrit. He is now in detention awaiting trial. In July 2011, the firm won a deal worth more than 500,000 euro to supply Kosovo Fire Service, part of Prishtina Police with “special vehicles”. It earlier sup- Municipality. plied the police with weaponry and uni- Both men also own 3AT, a firm that spe- forms in various tenders. cializes in construction according to its offi- Jolix, also based in Prishtina, has won 3.2 cial entry in the business registry. The com- million euro of contracts with a range of pany, based at 50, Edward Lear Street, is institutions, including EULEX and the part-owned by Faton Hoxha, who operates European Commission. The owner of the two other construction companies, NPN firm is registered as Astrit Pira. Toning and Toning SHPK, from the same On September 23, just two weeks before address. the businessmen were arrested, it secured The Toning companies have also won a another contract from the Kosovo Police for string of construction contracts with the “special equipment” worth more than authorities, including one for the construc- 500,000 euro. tion of a primary school in Skenderaj for 1.5 Jolix has also done business with inter- million in 2008 with the Ministry of national institutions in Kosovo. It won two Education. contracts with EULEX in 2009 to supply Integral, another firm owned by Armend weapons and other equipment worth Selimi, is also co-owned by Franz Leopold 900,000 euro. Krieger, who owns Blue Force Defence The European Commission Liaison Trading, a firm that sells military goods Office in Kosovo also awarded it a contract from its base in Austria. to establish a “broadcast monitoring sys- Prishtina Insight did not find any evi- tem” for 800,000 euro in 2010. dence that Integral had won contracts with A joint company, “Jolix and Friends” is government institutions. registered in Tirana with Astrit Pira and Blerim Krasniqi, EULEX’s spokesperson, Armend Selimi as owners. Both men also told Prishtina Insight that Pira and Selimi own another Albanian-registered firm, remained in custody. Germax, which specializes in arms. “Regarding the current investigation, Facebook photos posted by Pira show the two managers of private companies are in two men at a number of arms fairs in vari- detention on remand,” he said. “The ous countries. remaining suspects are members of Kosovo Despite their close cooperation and Police and the Interior Ministry.” friendship, in two of the tenders with In the operation, EULEX arrested a Kosovo Police, both Jolix and Friends won Kosovo Police director, Ragip Bunjaku, the different lots, suggesting that they were head of Kosovo police procurement, either competing or cooperating in bids. Xhevahire Vatovci, Kadrush Koliqi, official Selimi is also the owner of Amici, which in the Directorate for Public Security in the has secured just under 100,000 euro of con- Interior Ministry and the three business- tracts from Kosovo Police and Prishtina men Ylber Saliu, Armend Selimi and Astrit Pira. As part of the investigation, German Astrit Pira with actor Steven Seagal at an arms fair. police also searched one business premise and a private house in Germany, the coun- try where the ammunition was coming from related to the tender of 2008. Ylber Saliu, according to the official busi- ness registry, is owner of a medical firm Triomed, which has won a string of con- tracts with the Ministry of Health. Xhevahire Vatovci, head of Kosovo police procurement, was suspended in May on sus- picion of misuse of official position and authority. She allegedly favoured a company in a tender for the supply of fuel to the police. “It is known by the prosecution that the mentioned company won a few tenders with various, national and internationals agency,” added the EULEX spokesman. “Needless to say that all tenders are checked. However, the investigation focuses on alleged crimes committed by individuals and only physical person are being investi- gated.” Pira and Selimi share a bike on a trip to China. Astrit Pira at another arms fair. Y M C +381 38 602042, +377 44 243367, +386 49 243367 K news December 9-22, 2011 3 Mitrovica Hunters Paid 16 Editor’s Word Euros Per Shot Dog Termokosi Mitrovica Municipality is paying hunters 16 euro for each shot dog in an attempt to reduce the number of strays, pro- voking outrage among animal rights campaigners. By Lawrence Marzouk dumped, their bodies covered in lime, and buried in the Koshtovë id you know that Termokos’s waste landfill. chief executive earned 37,000 By Avdyl Gashi Some residents of the city, Deuro last year, that’s more however, would rather a shelter than ten times the average for was set up to look after the dogs. Kosovo? “These dogs have a large pres- Have you read somewhere that the ome 125 stray dogs were ence here, and they stay near our socially owned firm wrote off 14 mil- killed in the first few days of building entrance a lot,” said Sa cull of stray dogs in the Shpresa Jusufi, as she was walk- lion euro of the 16 million euro owed northern city of Mitrovica. ing into her apartment block. to it without any proper procedure to Members of “Trepça” Hunters “However, the best solution identify which customers should or Association have been brought in would be to take them and send should not be let off their bill? to carry out the killing with the them to another place; to kill Did you realise that it was fined promise of 16 euro per dead dog. them would be such a pity,” she 20,000 euro this week for breaking Animal rights campaigners say said. the law on public procurement when that the approach is inhumane Dennis Capstick, executive awarding a contract for the supply of and have called on Mitrovica to director of the NGO Animal fuel, and that as a result of delays to follow Prishtina’s lead and stop Friends of Kosovo, doesn’t sup- the tender, it ran out of fuel? the use of culls to control the port the idea of a shelter.