July 5 - 18, 2013 Issue No. 115 www.prishtinainsight.com Price € 1

NEWS Draft Amnesty Law EULEX Falls Short of Votes Suds of a Revolution > page 2 NEWS Probed Govt Battles to Boost Recognition Tally > page 4 Highway NEWS Maintains Contract Support for Erdogan The EU rule-of-law mission > page 5 requested files about the FEATURE contract to build Kosovo’s Balkan Monuments: first motorway last year, The Weird & Wonderful and state auditors and lawmakers now claim that > pages 8-9 prosecutors are investigat- CULTURE ing the project. NGOMfest Steps Up By Visar Duriqi Electronic Offer

osovo’s largest and most expensive public infrastruc- Kture project to date - the national highway - came under the scrutiny of the EU rule-of-law mis- sion, EULEX, and the Kosovo > page 19 police in 2012, according to docu- INSIDE PRISHTINA ments leaked to Prishtina Insight. A letter dated May 10, 2012, The Gouda-maker of shows that the infrastructure min- istry sent EULEX files connected Dragodan to the 660-million-euro contract > page 20 with Bechtel-Enka to build the Ibrahim Rugova Highway. OPINION A second letter dated July 7, 2012, shows that the ministry sent Turkish Youth Speak files files related to the contract to oversee the building of the high- to the World way from Hill International, the > page 21 Luxembourg firm contracted to supervise the highway project, to EULEX’s financial investigations unit and the Kosovo police’s anti- corruption department. Kosovo’s only English-language The reason for EULEX and the newspaper is available: Kosovo police’s interest in the con- tracts is not known. Neither Delivered to responded to requests for com- Your Door ment about the letters, nor did the infrastructure ministry, which From Newsstands was formerly known as the min- across Kosovo istry of transportation, post and telecommunications. Alex Butler and Etida Zeka fell in love in America. Qendresa Mula, spokeswoman Sent To for the auditor general’s office, Your Inbox Butler introduced her to great beer. Zeka told Prishtina Insight last week introduced him to Kosovo. Now, their that it had thus far been unable to From audit the highway project because our partners microbrewery, Sabaja, is set to introduce Kosovo prosecutors are investigating it. to American-style craft beer. STORY ON PAGES 12-13 continues page 2 see page 16 for more info

is supported by: 2 July 5 - 18, 2013 news Draft Amnesty Law Falls Short of Votes The controversial legislation, born out of the Kosovo- deal, fails to win parliament's approval amid widespread public opposition.

the Prishtina authorities in the Kosovo Serbs who have been past, which would prevent them charged with resisting ’s from taking roles in Kosovo public rule and fear jail when they come By Edona Peci institutions in the future. under central government control. and Petrit Collaku But critics in Kosovo have The legislation was a result of accused the authorities of pushing the agreement between Serbian Vetevendosje supporters protest in front of Parliament on Thursday as MPs debate the through legislation that could be Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and amnesty law. (Armenia Zajmi Besevic/Betaphoto) draft law to grant amnesty used to absolve high-ranking his Kosovo counterpart Hashim on a wide range of criminal politicians of criminal activity. Thaci, signed on April 19 this year. they would support the law only if front of the building. offences was voted down in A changes, mainly related to article “We want justice, not amnesty,” “The draft law aims to amnesty The day before the first reading, Kosovo's parliament on Thursday France’s ambassador to Prishtina, 3, were changed or deleted. shouted some 150 protestors, urg- after objections from opposition all the corrupt [people] in this gov- Article 3 envisages 20 per cent ing lawmakers not to approve the parties and human rights organi- ernment, in the previous govern- Marsye Daviet, called on MPs to sations. ment and those who cooperated pass the law. reductions in punishments for legislation. The amnesty legislation put for- with them,” said Albulena Haxhiu “We do strongly want this those convicted of a series of One NGO, the Kosovo Law ward by the government of PM from the opposition Vetevendosje amnesty law to be ratified tomor- crimes including murders, Institute, said that the draft law Hashim Thaci had been widely (Self-Determination) Movement. row [July 4],” Daviet said, saying it manslaughter, harassment, contravened international legal expected to gain preliminary “This draft law is against jus- would help to ensure that Serbs defamation, assault and theft. norms. approval during the first reading tice, equality and the interests of became integrated into Kosovo’s “We won’t vote for the law if “The state has no right… to for- of the legislation. Kosovo citizens,” she added. police and judiciary. ordinary crimes aren’t deleted give offences committed against It appears that souring public The government however has Behar Selimi, the deputy head from the list, if public officials one individual,” it said, explaining opinion in recent days - including strongly denied this. of the parliamentary commission aren’t aware that they won’t be that this violated victims’ rights to several protests - may have influ- “There will never be amnesty on the proposed legislation, urged amnestied,” said Ardian Gjini legal recourse as enshrined in the enced lawmakers. [for people] identified with politics the international community to from the opposition Alliance for European Convention on Human Seventy MPs voted in favor the or certain political parties,” said push Serbia to reciprocate by the Future of Kosovo (AAK). Rights. draft law - nine short of the 80 justice minister Hajredin Kuci. granting amnesties to former The Democratic League of Campaign group Amnesty needed to pass it. The legislation “There will be no amnesty for Kosovo Liberation Army guerril- Kosovo, LDK, said that the possi- International also criticised the will be sent back to the govern- offences related to corruption, las. bility of amnesties for officials proposed law. ment, which must revise the law human trafficking or those related “It would help the process of and public servants should be “Amnesty International cannot before it can be voted on again. to vote theft,” he said. normalisation of relations removed from the draft legislation. welcome the draft law on amnesty, The law was intended to grant The law as initially drafted [between Pristina and Belgrade] if “Otherwise, the LDK’s parlia- as some of the ordinary crimes or amnesty for a range of offences would have granted amnesty to all the international community puts mentary group will not support offences included in the law may and was drafted as a part of the those accused of certain criminal pressure on Serbia so it would also this draft law,” said LDK MP Haki amount to human rights viola- EU-brokered deal to normalise offences from 1999, after the war, establish some kind of amnesty Demolli. tions, and we consider that those relations between Prishtina and until June 20, 2013. for ex-Kosovo Liberation Army While the law was being debated convicted of human rights viola- Belgrade. Amnesties proposed for offences fighters who are hunted by in parliament, members of the tions, or reasonably suspected of Serbia wants the amnesty so like armed rebellion and espi- Interpol without being charged for opposition Vetevendosje (Self- human rights violations, should Serbs in north Kosovo cannot be onage came in response to con- anything specific,” Selimi said. Determination) movement and be brought to justice,” the cam- prosecuted for any resistance to cerns about prosecution raised by Most political parties also said civil society groups protested in paign group said in a statement. EULEX Probed Highway Contract from page 1 Highway’s cost near's con- done so far. than three years after it was said the contract with Bechtel- “Bechtel-Enka won the contract signed, although copies have been Enka would be “extremely danger- Mula said the auditor general’s tract value with the ministry of transporta- leaked to the media, including to ous” because it created the possi- office had no information about tion, post and telecommunications Prishtina Insight. bility of large cost increases. the nature of the investigation or The highway is set to run from in full compliance with the rules of Other major contracts, includ- A tender for the highway was which prosecuting authority was Merdare, at the Serbian border, to procurement,” Ruqi said. “Our ing the public-private partnership launched in September 2009. The involved, EULEX or the state pros- Morina, at the Albanian border. focus is to offer a successful and of Prishtina International Airport road was devised to link up with ecutor’s office. Five of six segments are complete, safe modern highway for the peo- and the privatisation of the coun- ’s first highway, also built Neither EULEX or the state and it has already dramatically ple of Kosovo.” try’s power grid, have been made by Bechtel-Enka and finished in prosecutor’s office responded to reduced driving times between Hill International would not public. 2009. Prishtina and Tirana. Prishtina Insight’s questions comment on the Kosovo police and Fatmir Limaj, formerly the head That contract had an initial The government has paid about this. EULEX’s interest in its nearly 6 of the transport ministry, said in price tag of 418 million euro, but Bechtel-Enka 658.2 million euro In May, EULEX denied that the million euro contract with the gov- 2010 that the contract was being the final cost rose to more than one for the work completed so far, just mission was investigating the ernment. kept under wraps to protect trade billion. below the 659.8 million euro tender highway contract. As Prishtina Insight reported in secrets. Limaj is currently on trial From the start, Bechtel-Enka awarded to the consortium in 2010. “None of the prosecutors of 2011, Hill International won after on charges of corruption stem- was viewed as a favourite for the The contract had been heavily EULEX has such a case,” EULEX two rounds of tendering, which ming from his time as minister. Kosovo job. Only one other bigger spokesman Blerim Krasniqi told criticised for provisions that allow were plagued by accusations of company competed, Strabag of Prishtina Insight. the final price to rise above the rigging by the transport ministry. Concerns over highway Austria, which offered a fixed Krasniqi was responding to tendered amount. Analysts have Experts brought in by the procure- price of 1.3 billion euro. claims by Ali Sadriu, a lawmaker suggested that the cost could ulti- ment review body found irregular- contract ignored But Eversheds warned the gov- from the Democratic League of mately exceed one billion euro. ities in the tendering process but ernment that Bechtel’s winning Kosovo, LDK, who along with six Ela Ruqi, a spokesperson for concluded it was in the “national In 2011, Prishtina Insight report- offer of 400 million euro was other MPs claimed that EULEX Bechtel-Enka, told Prishtina interest” to proceed with the con- ed that Kosovo’s government had “nothing more than a non-binding was investigating the highway Insight that the consortium was tract. ignored legal advice warning it estimate” and breached the terms contract. Sadriu chairs parlia- not aware of any investigations The Kosovo government still strongly against signing a contract of the tender. The law firm sug- ment’s oversight committee on into its contract with the govern- has not yet made public its con- with Bechtel-Enka. gested that the government rerun public finance. ment, and defended the work it has tract with Bechtel-Enka, more The British law firm Eversheds the tender, which did not happen.

Editor-in-Chief: Parim Olluri, and Design & Layout: Artan Mustafa Donjeta Demolli. “Rrjeti” Publisher: BIRN • Balkan Investigative Reporting [email protected] Arben Grajqevci Y Network • Mensa e Studenteve, first floor • 10000, Editorial Team: Marketing, Sales & M Prishtina • Kosovo • Phone: +381 (0) 38 24 33 58 Jeta Xharra, Marcus Tanner, Distribution: Printing: Lindi Printing Center C Nate Tabak, Petrit Collaku, [email protected] Copyright © BIRN K news July 5 - 18, 2013 3

Kosovo Assassin Pleads Guilty to Murder

ormer hit-man Nazim Bllaca pleaded guilty to killing a politician who was suspected of collaborat- Fing with the Serbian authorities during the Kosovo war. Nazim Bllaca, who has previously confessed to working

News in brief News as a political assassin, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to killing a member of the Kosovo Democratic League. “At the initial hearing of the Bllaca case at the court of appeals in Prishtina today, the defendant Nazim Bllaca pleaded guilty to aggravated murder,” the EU rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX said in a statement. Kosovo Sets Date For Local “Nazim Bllaca killed Ibush Kllokoqi by shooting him EU Keeps Kosovo War Crimes Witness six times. This happened in Prishtina on August 6, 1999,” Elections the indictment against Bllaca said. File Secret Bllaca claims to have been part of an unofficial securi- he Kosovo authorities have announced that The EU rule-of-law mission has rejected a court’s request ty service that grew out of the Kosovo Liberation Army. municipal polls will be held in November, to see a classified file on the key witness in a high-profile He has been the key witness in two trials over wartime Tappealing to Serbs in the north that boycotted war crimes case against former Kosovo Liberation Army revenge killings which have seen seven people sent to the last local elections to take part. fighters. prison. President Atifete Jahjaga announced on Tuesday The EU rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, said it The second verdict in December last year saw five peo- that the local elections will be held on November 3. would not give the Prishtina court access to the psycholog- ple sentenced to a total of 54 years in jail. “The central election commission of the ical report on Agim Zogaj, known as ‘Witness X’, whose evi- Two of the defendants were convicted of involvement Republic of Kosovo is instructed to take all neces- dence is seen as key to the prosecution, on the grounds that in the 1999 murder of Kllokoqi. sary measures for organising and holding local the document is classified. A court hearing to determine Bllaca’s sentence is elections in line with the decision and laws in “All operational files related to witness X and, in fact, all scheduled for July 15. force,” said a statement issued by Jahjaga’s office. other things this department possesses or has dealt with Jahjaga urged people in the north of the country are classified as EU secrets,” said a letter sent by the head to participate in the vote despite past boycotts. of the EU rule-of-law mission, EULEX’s witness protection “The participation of citizens in local elections of department to the presiding judge in the case, which has the Republic of Kosovo will offer them the opportu- been seen by BIRN. nity to increase their welfare and to improve their Zogaj was a guard at the ‘Klecka’ prison where the former life,” Jahjaga said. KLA fighters on trial are alleged to have abused Serb and She said that holding the polls in the north would Albanian detainees. “ensure Kosovo’s territorial integrity” Zogaj’s statements and diaries are seen as crucial evi- Kosovo last held local elections in November dence after he was found dead in a park in in 2009, but the vote was boycotted by Serbs in the four September 2011. northern Serb-run municipalities of North However, EULEX declined to provide the court with more Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvecan and Zubin Potok, details about the Witness X file, saying this would not be in where local leaders were elected in separate votes line with a European Council decision on confidential organised by Belgrade. information held by the EU. marketing

Call us: +377 (0) 44 11 11 11 • +381 (0) 38 22 22 80 4 July 5 - 18, 2013 news Kosovo Battles to Boost Recognition Tally Government claims that it has been recognised as independent by 101 states around the world, but it’s still struggling to verify that tally as it seeks backing from other countries. Pinto da Costa said he was never consulted about it, and since then, e government has changed. By Edona Peci Trovoada’s successor as prime and Njomza Salihi minister, Gabriel Costa, was quot- ed by local media as describing the decision on Kosovo as “an anom- osovo’s foreign minister aly”. The recognition has also not Enver Hoxhaj announced been ratified by parliament. Kthe latest expected recogni- In a letter sent to the Kosovo for- tion on June 28 on Twitter: eign ministry in January 2013, “Breaking news: European Kosovo Trovoda accused Sao Tome and awaits tonight a new recognition Principe’s president of using ille- from a state in the western hemi- gitimate constitutional tactics to sphere! Details to be announced block the recognition. soon!” “The president’s rushed and The “state in the western hemi- even hasty attitude shows a one- sphere” turned out to be El sided and biased evaluation of the Salvador – but the foreign min- situation, which is contrary to his istry is still waiting for an official ‘referee’ role clearly outlined in note from the country making the the constitution,” he complained recognition public. in the letter which has been seen The central American state by Balkan Insight. could be the 101st to recognise Kosovo since it declared independ- Flags of the countries that have recognised Kosovo adorn the in Prishtina. ence in February 2008, after Egypt Recognition notes missing last Wednesday became the 100th minister Behgjet Pacolli claimed cials… show how the government “We use different arguments for Prishtina Insight has been given to acknowledge it as the newest that his lobbying efforts had sees Kosovo - as a property of this different states in different areas access to a folder containing all country in the Balkan region. resulted in 14 recognitions during or that official, where the battle to in the world,” Hoxhaj explained. ‘verbal notes’ - diplomatic commu- A statement issued in Arabic on 2012 and 13 the previous year. increase recognitions is mainly Last week the Council of the nications which confirm the the Egyptian foreign ministry But in February, foreign minis- carried out in order to gain per- European Union passed a directive recognition by a state - and has website quoted a spokesperson ter Hoxhaj had told the same com- sonal credits than for an appropri- authorising the EU Commission to established that some notes con- saying that Cairo had recognised mission that Kosovo was only ate representation of state inter- open negotiations for signing a firming recognitions claimed by Kosovo and was looking forward to recognised by 10 states in 2012. ests,” Kursani told Prishtina Stabilisation and Association prishtina are missing. establishing bilateral relations Hyseni said that “the problems Insight. Agreement between the EU and Kosovo insists that it has been with prishtina - but the statement have been caused by a total lack of Foreign minister Hoxhaj Kosovo. recognised by 101 states, but the was not published in English. knowledge in understanding the stressed he coordinates with “This EU decision confirms that foreign ministry has never Kosovo is seeking to build up problems [of] diplomatic relations Pacolli, but confessed “I don’t deal Kosovo’s independence creates no received verbal notes from enough recognitions to win United and the functioning of relations with him at all”. precedent for any other situation Senegal, Poland, Island, Norway, Nations membership. For this it between states”. “Media tent to push officials in and the international community Nigeria, Burundi, Egypt and El will need the backing of two-thirds “These last three years, there the field of Gladiators…Except of treats Kosovo as an independent Salvador. of the UN’s 193 member states. were more ad hoc actions in lobby- being part of one government me and sovereign state,” said the doc- Although lacking these notes, But Kosovo’s foreign minister ing than actions based on a long- and Pacolli have absolutely noth- ument that prishtina sent out to the ministry insists that these Hoxhaj told Prishtina Insight that term strategy,” he claimed. ing in common”, he said. countries which have not yet countries used different methods the process has been complicated Since then, non-governmental Pacolli’s office declined to com- recognised Kosovo. to confirm recognition. by differences in language, diplo- organisations have harshly criti- ment on the issue. “Kosovo’s independence has Hoxhaj said that “recognition by matic practices and recognition cised the Kosovo authorities over contributed to the region’s stabili- a state can be done in different methods in countries around the the recognition process, demand- Stepping up momentum ty and progress towards EU acces- ways - by a verbal note, the estab- world that are being lobbied to ing more clarity. sion. With these reasons as an lishment of diplomatic relations back prishtina’s cause. Although Hoxhaj and Pacolli Despite these difficulties, the unwavering confirmation of or the exchange of ambassadors”. “The recognition of a state has claim they coordinate their foreign ministry said it was deter- Kosovo’s legitimacy, we most Recognitions by two other different forms in different parts actions over the recognition mined to continue its efforts to humbly call on your government states, Uganda and Niger, have of the world. The Western process, critics remain doubtful. increase the number of recogni- to recognise the Republic of also been contested even though Hemisphere-Latin America does Shpend Kursani, senior tions. Kosovo,” said the document which Kosovo received verbal notes from not send verbal notes which reflect researcher at the Kosovar At the beginning of May, after has been seen by Balkan Insight. them. the position of a government. Institute for Policy, Research and the EU-brokered agreement to nor- Five EU member countries how- “There were uncertainties relat- Latin American states use the Development said “the lack of malise relations with Serbia, the ever have not yet accepted Kosovo ed to Uganda and the Republic of principle of establishing bilateral coordination between them dam- ministry sent documents promot- as an independent state - Romania, Niger, but there was also a scandal diplomatic relations once a state ages [efforts] to increase the num- ing prishtina’s case for independ- Greece, Slovakia, Spain and in the Mali case,” Hoxhaj said, becomes a member of the United ber of recognitions”. ence to all states which have so far Cyprus. referring to an announcement by Nations,” Hoxhaj said. “The actions of these two offi- not recognised Kosovo. Kosovo’s deputy prime minister, “It also depends on the proce- Behgjet Pacolli, in which he said dures the recognition of a state that the African country was goes through in different coun- endorsing prishtina’s independ- tries. In some states, the decision ence. to recognise is sent from the min- Pacolli Presses Vision In August, Pacolli held a press ister to the government which conference during which he said approves it…In some other states, that Mali had recognised Kosovo, the decision to recognise is sent The deputy PM envisages private capital and management but Hoxhaj denied that this had from the minister to the president, as key to the mining complex’s future, but legislation happened. who has to approve it,” he added. “The issue of recognitions has changes could undermine his hopes. The foreign ministry has also become one of personal interests struggled to verify all Kosovo’s which does not contribute to the Wednesday. recognitions so far because of con- process. Doubts and uncertainties “Trepca is the spiritual wealth fusion caused by internal political have been created about the real of the people of Kosovo, for those changes in some countries. By Liridona Hyseni number of recognitions,” said for- living today and for children born In January this year, Kosovo’s and Petrit Collaku mer foreign minister Skender tomorrow,” Pacolli said. recognition by Sao Tome and Hyseni. Pacolli criticised the way that Deputy prime minister Behxhet Pacolli Principe was put in doubt ques- Hyseni, now a lawmaker with public enterprises have been pri- says reviving Trepca is key to Kosovo's tion after media in the small eputy prime minister the opposition Democratic League vatised in Kosovo. He said they are economic future. African island state reported that Behxhet Pacolli has never of Kosovo, LDK, complained even typically undervalued at the time the president said that Kosovo's Dbeen shy about his desire to the parliamentary commission on of privatisation, only to be resold it,” Pacolli said. recognition by the previous gov- see the Trepca mining complex foreign affairs, of which he is a at many times the original price. Pacolli said a public-private part- ernment was not valid. return to its former glory as an member, has not been informed industrial powerhouse for Kosovo. The government should take a nership model would be one way to The government of former different approach with Trepca, he Y about the genuine number of Pacolli, a multimillionaire con- do that, in which Kosovo’s govern- Prime Minister Patrice Emery urged. M recognitions. struction magnate, offered several ment would retain 80 per cent of Trovoada recognised Kosovo in “First, we aim to increase the C In a meeting the commission visions for Trepca’s future during the shares in Trepca, while a pri- March 2012, but President Manuel price of Trepca and then privatise K held on April 17, deputy prime a public hearing he organised on vate investor would inject capital news July 5 - 18, 2013 5 Kosovo Maintains Support for ’s Erdogan Amid millions of euro in investment and a sympathetic Turkish minority, Ankara’s under-fire PM can still count on his friends in Prishtina. KDTP claimed it had support from minister Petrit Selimi stressed other Kosovo minority parties such Kosovo’s close ties with Turkey. as the Bosniak DSSP party, the “Relations between Kosovo and By Una Hajdari Society of Kosovar Youth, the Turkey are excellent in all fields,” Conservative Party (PK) and the Selimi said. Gorani minority organisation These strong relations stem Sharski Behar. from “the support Turkey showed ith Turkish Prime The KDTP also claimed to have during the [1998-99] liberation war Minister Recep Tayyip support from the ruling Democratic and also in post-war develop- WErdogan facing interna- Party of Kosovo, PDK, although the ment”, Selimi said. tional condemnation for his crack- PDK has yet to publicly back the Turkey also played an important down on anti-government A man in waves a Turkish flag at a rally in Prizren recently. pro-Erdogan campaign. role in backing Kosovo’s bid for protests, support from Kosovo has The KDTP represents the remained steadfast, especially membership of the Organisation Turkish minority in Kosovo, which from Kosovo Turks. of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, and numbers about 18,700 people, little In Prizren, home to Kosovo’s boosting its links with the Muslim more than one per cent of the popu- largest Turkish population, sever- world, Selimi said. lation, according to the 2011 Census. al hundred people gathered in the “Kosovo is keen to advance rela- main Shadervan square on June 26 Public administration minister tions with all members of OIC and to voice their support for the Mahir Yagcilar, who leads the Turkish support has been crucial Turkish premier. KDTP attended the Prizren rally in enabling positive interaction Demonstrators held up Turkish but did not address the crowd. with the OIC,” he said. and Kosovo flags, along with The KDTP’s youth wing, based in Most importantly, Turkish posters and placards showing the Mamusa, the only majority- money is giving Kosovo a much- Turkish premier’s face and slo- Turkish municipality in Kosovo, needed economic boost, Selimi gans like “Kosovo loves you” and also expressed strong support for said. “Erdogan, The Greatest Friend of Erdogan. “Turkish businesses are big Kosovars”. “He is very well liked here,” says investors,” he said. “In this very place, in 2010, the the head of the youth wing, Mirat Turkish businesses have estab- prime minister of Kosovo was here Morina. lished strong footholds in former state-owned enterprises. The with the Turkish Prime Minister Prizren is the centre of Kosovo’s Turkish population. Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Who loves Business connections, Tukrish Limak group now runs Kosovo? Recip Tayyip Erdogan,” government links: Prishtina International Airport anything happened to Kosovo, I studies medicine at Hacettepe Burim Shpejti shouted to the crowd through a public-private partner- thought I should try to show my University in Ankara on a Turkish at the event organised by the Kosovo’s ties with Turkey ship, which gives it a 90 per cent gratitude for his actions by organ- government scholarship, said that Kosovo Democratic Turkish Party, extend far beyond its ethnic Turks. shareholding in the airport. izing a tournament for him,” “Turkish culture and language KDTP. Turkish investors have poured Limak is also part of the consor- Salihu said. dominates my life”. “We Kosovars who are gathered millions of euro into Kosovo. tium, with another Turkish com- He compared Erdogan to Kosovo But Bajrami, who was in here, although we live outside Many Kosovars have studied pany, Calik, which now owns heroes including the late KLA Ankara during the recent protests, Turkey, need to show the world that and worked in Turkey, where there Kosovo’s power grid, KEDS. commander Adem Jashari and for- said the police crackdown went too we’re following what’s going on in is also a large Albanian diaspora. “There are important investors mer US President Bill Clinton. far. Turkey. We’re happy about The government has also been from Turkey operating in Kosovo. Salihu bristled at criticism of “The protesters were not Turkey’s success, but we also share keen to curry favour with The trend is positive,” said Suat Erdogan’s crackdown on protests, respected, and have suffered a lot their grief,” Festim Avdyli told the Anakara. Albayrak, the chairman of the blaming the West for portraying of attacks from the police. For two crowd, In January, Prishtina Insight Kosovo-Turkey Chamber of the Turkish premier in a negative weeks, I had to walk around “We feel as if the events there reported that Kosovo education Commerce, which recently cele- light. Ankara wearing a gas mask,” he were happening here, we raise our officials were, at Turkey’s request, brated its fifth anniversary. “I don’t think Turkey’s ever had said. voices against any sort of destruc- making changes to history text- Aziz Salihu, a prominent ex- a more courageous leader. People Four people have died and some tiveness and we defend Turkey. books to tone down language boxer who once represented don’t like it when a country 8,000 have been injured across the These people are targeting Prime describing the Ottoman empire, Yugoslavia at the Olympic Games, becomes too strong, so they want country, according to the Turkish Minister Erdogan,” Avdyli added, which ruled Kosovo for 450 years. organised a boxing tournament in to diminish his power,” Salihu Doctors’ Association, since the saying that the main goal of the Kosovo’s government has so far Erdogan’s honour in Prishtina two said. authorities first deployed riot Prizren rally was expressing oppo- avoided commenting on the months ago. Others however were less cer- police in an attempt to crush the sition to the recent protests in protests in Turkey. Asked about “When I heard one of Erdogan’s tain that Erdogan should be cele- anti-government protests that Turkey. the upsurge of public anger speeches, where he said that he brated as a national hero. erupted at the end of May in The politically-conservative against Erdogan, deputy foreign would burn the entire Balkans if Zana Bajrami, a Kosovar who Istanbul’s Taksim Square. for Trepca Despite Setback and hold the remaining 20 per cent. Ismajli became minister of eco- Beqaj had been at odds with Trepca to serve as a model for other “There is still not a decision on There would also be private man- nomic development in May, the Pacolli, by advocating a speedier public enterprises. the future of Trepca. No decision agement under Pacolli’s proposal, ministry had just been stripped of privatisation of Trepca rather than “Also, the ministry of economic has been made about privatisa- which he said would lead to the cre- a key responsibility that is central a public-private partnership. development will work to prepare tion, liquidation or concession,” ation of an entity, the Trepca to Trepca’s future. PDK MP Zenun Pajaziti said the the new law for Trepca which said Ylli Kaloshi, spokesperson for Corporation, worth hundreds of Until April, the minister of eco- economic development commis- would serve as an example for the the privatisation agency. millions of euro. nomic development also chaired sion, which he chairs, began work- treatment of other public proper- “A decision about the future of But Pacolli could be fighting an the governmental committee on ing on changing the mining legisla- ties,” Pacolli told Prishtina Insight. Trepca will be made in collabora- uphill battle. The deputy PM had public-private partnerships, which tion in 2012. Prishtina Insight reported in tion with higher institutions, the hoped to have greater say in would play a central role in estab- The changes to the law “have September 2011 that Pacolli aimed Assembly and the government, Tepca’s future through the min- lishing such an agreement regard- nothing to do with politics”, to first invest and increase produc- since, as it’s known, Trepca is one istry of economic development, ing Trepca. Pajaziti said. tion in Trepca, to revive it, and of the main assets for economic which his party, the New Kosovo A change to law on mines and Pacolli told Prishtina Insight later think about a public-private development in Kosovo,” he added. Alliance, AKR, took over two minerals, which went into force in this week that the chairmanship of partnership. Pacolli had also been Trepca’s ownership also is dis- months ago. April, made the finance minister the public-private partnership in talks with Britain’s Prince puted, because some of the com- Pacolli had been asking for con- the chair of the committee. committee should return to the Michael of Kent as potential plex’s facilities are located in trol over the ministry since 2011, Besim Beqaj, of the PDK, former- ministry of economic development Trepca investor. Serbia. In May, Kosovo’s govern- when the AKR entered into a coali- ly the minister of economic devel- “where it belongs”. Kosovo’s privatisation agency, ment threatened to sue an Y tion with the Democratic Party of opment, is now the finance minis- In the meantime, Pacolli said the which owns Trepca, said the min- American firm that had inked a M Kosovo, PDK. ter. In practice, the chairmanship ministry of economic development ing complex’s future remains deal with Serbia’s government C But when the AKR’s Fadil moved with Beqaj. would work on a new law for open. concerning Trepca. K 6 July 5 - 18, 2013 analysis Kosovo Media Struggle An overcrowded market and lack of legal safeguards leaves the media vulnerable to a variety of political pressures.

tion, , says. ernment’s own television station, rying out their business activities. intimidation call for more robust “The executive and parliament mainly broadcasting content serv- On April 10, for example, the measures by the Kosovo authori- have achieved some kind of con- ing the interest of the governing telecommunications company, ties,” the report for 2009 said. By Edona Peci trol over the media simply because parties. IPKO, removed KTV from channel “Journalists continue to receive of the difficult financial situation Ibrahim Berisha, head of the 3 to channel 83, without warning. pressure, including from elected that the media are in,” he adds. Kosovo Press Council and a lectur- The decision was widely consid- officials, in reaction to their uring Albania’s recent par- er in media ethics, told Balkan ered discriminatory against KTV reporting,” the report for 2010 said. liamentary elections in RTK in the spotlight: Insight that it “is overloaded with and as an act of revenge because it “Journalists continue to face DJune, Lorik Bajrami, a political and biased content and confused the TV station’s viewers, political pressure and intimida- Kosovar cameraman working for Kosovo’s national public broad- offers nothing valuable to the peo- and all other national TV stations tion, which is threatening the still Top Channel was physically caster, Radio Television of Kosova, ple who pay for it”. are listed from channels 1 to 4. fragile investigative journalism,” attacked. RTK, is more widely seen as the Mufail Limani, editor-in-chief of Around 45 non-governmental the report for 2011 said. The incident at the polling sta- government’s megaphone than as RTK, denies this. “RTK functions in organisations, including BIRN, in In the 2012 Feasibility Study for tion in Sanxhaxh, in Albania’s an independent institution, serving line with EU standards and those of a joint statement condemned the a Stabilisation and Association Kurbin district, was just a small the public interest. the EBU [the European decision. Agreement between the European example of the struggles journal- Its financial dependence on the Broadcasting Union],” he says. “We “We are convinced that these Union and Kosovo, the ists face around the Balkans in get- government was cemented for three also cooperate with BIRN which actions are a form of censorship of Commission urged the Kosovo ting their stories told. years by a law approved in March has total editorial autonomy,” he the media and a form of revenge authorities to act. Kosovo, in particular, is still 2012. notes. towards the free and independent Authorities should “investigate struggling to combat political This envisages the broadcaster However, on January 26, RTK reporting of and Koha and prosecute any physical attacks interference in the media, a phe- being financed directly from the was widely criticized by opposition Ditore [the daily paper belonging against journalists and complete nomenon about which several state budget, which is against the parties and media experts for carry- to the KohaVision group],” the the parliamentary procedure to international bodies have practice of most of EU countries. ing live broadcasts of the congress statement said. change the Criminal Code on crim- expressed concern. According to the 2012 law, RTK of the ruling Democratic Party of Ulrike Lunacek, an EU parlia- inal liability of media and protec- “The government tends to inter- will receive 0.7 per cent of the state Kosovo, PDK. mentarian from Austria, expressed tion of journalist sources,” it said. vene in the media, especially in budget for three years until it can “This was just one example of concern over the decision. But the same old problems con- the public broadcaster,” Kushtrim ensure its finances from a prepaid the unexpected changes to the pro- “This can be interpreted as an tinue. Sadiku, a journalist from the pri- system. gramming schedule that can some- attempt at censorship, which is not According to the Association of vate televi- However, RTK has yet to prepare times occur several times a day,” good for Kosovo,” she told local Professional Journalists in sion a strategy to ensure its independent Berisha says. media on April 22. Kosovo, a not-for-profit NGO, in sta- future financing. Agron Bajrami, editor-in-chief 2012 there were 24 cases of journal- Since it was established at the Private TV Stations: of , says the case pro- ists being “seriously hindered and end of 1999, RTK has been general- vided “proof of the degraded situ- threatened” during their work. ly perceived Besides RTK, three other private ation… in which the media are Kosovo 2.0 a network site and as the nationwide TV stations operate in under pressure and become vul- magazine was attacked in gov- Kosovo: Radio Television 21 nerable to politics and money”. December 2012, for example, when (RTV21), Kohavision (KTV) and “The crude message is: ‘If you it was about to launch a magazine, Klan Kosova. don’t stand with us, if you tell the Sex, focusing on lesbian, gay, bisex- These private stations say truth about us, we will make you ual and transgender issues. they sometimes face shut up,’” Bajrami adds. An employee of Kosovo 2.0 was problems in car- beaten up after a group of around European concern: 30 people stormed the Boro Ramiz Youth Center in Pristina and In its annual Progress Reports, destroyed much of Kosovo 2.0’s the European Commission has setup for the launch party. repeatedly noted the difficulties Police published photographs of that journalists face in Kosovo. the attack asking those who wit- “Political will to support free- nessed it to come forward with dom of expression remains information, but no arrests have low,” the 2007 report said. followed. “The media continue to be vulnerable to political Legal safeguards lacking: intimidation,” the report for 2008 said. While Kosovo has two main “Cases of political media regulators, the Independent Media Commission, IMC, and the Press Council of Kosovo, PCC, a firm

Y M C K analysis July 5 - 18, 2013 7 Against Interference legal basis for the protection of journalists’ sources is lacking. This is partly because of the “Digitalization in Kosovo offers an opportunity for freer removal from the criminal code of media but at the same time contains a risk that the whole two articles related to freedom of expression, 37 and 38. media sector could end up under the control of a politico- Although the constitution guar- economic system, or of the corrupted part of it.” antees freedom of expression and media, the criminal code only partly regulates issues related to - Agron Bajrami, editor-in-chief, Koha Ditore freedom of expression and media. Currently the Kosovo Assembly The judgment on June 5 acquit- The prosecution in Xharra’s is working on a draft law on the ted all six defendants of threaten- case believed that the published media based on Belgium’s media ing and staging a hate campaign articles were not only libelous but legislation. in the media against BIRN direc- were an incitement to criminal Article 19, a UK watchdog tor Jeta Xharra. action, threatening her life and organization and BIRN have both In 12 articles published by the therefore should have been judged urged the assembly to amend the now defunct newspaper Xharra in criminal proceedings. law in order to provide greater was told that she has “shortened Some critics say Kosovo has an overcrowded media market. protection for journalistic her life” with her program and sources. The draft is expected to that she should be “punished for Digitalization an issue: end up under the control of a media market in Kosovo “is go to a vote in parliament this anti-national” behavior. In addi- politico-economic system, or of crowded with numerous print and summer. tion she was called a “Serbian Another law considered impor- the corrupted part of it,” he said. electronic media that may not A stronger EU presence in the spy”, a “professional bomb”, an tant for regulation of the media is This is because there is a risk survive economic challenges”. field of the media is needed in “embassy slut” and subjected to the law on digitalization of radio “of creating a monopoly, by using Mentor Shala, of RTK, agrees. Kosovo, Flutura Kusari, BIRN’s incitement of criminal actions, transmissions. digitalization and its different “The financial instability of the media lawyer and board member the indictment said. This aims to define the transi- taxes and technical criteria in media is one of the major prob- of the Kosovo Press Council says. It said a campaign against tion period from analogue trans- order to decide which media can lems in Kosovo…as it risks the “We need the EU to be strong Xharra started after RTK aired an missions to digital, which has to transmit and which may not. impartiality of most of the exist- and to pressurize the Parliament edition of BIRN’s TV programme, be completed by June 2015. “Then we would be confronted ing media,” he says. not to pass laws that limit the free- “Jeta ne Kosove” (“Life in RTK’s Mentor Shala says the with another heavy blow to free- “New technologies and the dom of the media, but it doesn’t Kosovo”,) dealing with alleged process needs to be finished as dom of expression in the media,” increase of the web-media have step in,” she complains. mismanagement in the municipal- soon as possible. “We are very late he said. destroyed some printed media, “The media is not high on their ity of Skenderaj when Sami in this because we don’t even have while televisions are also chal- priority list, so when we have Lushtaku was the mayor. a law in place of media digitaliza- An overcrowded field: lenged,” he adds. cases of violence against journal- The court ruled that the articles tion,” he says. Many media outlets formerly ists, they only issue public state- did not pose a threat to Xharra However, last month the According to the annual report obtained funds from different ments urging state bodies to inves- even if they damaged “her honour Association of Independent of 2012 of the Independent Media international organizations like tigate,” she adds. and reputation”, that is, libeled Broadcast Media of Kosovo, Commission, IMC, to allocate fre- the OSCE or USAID, but dona- “However, when they do per- her. AMPEK, a non-governmental quencies and apply broadcast tions have declined radically over ceive something really important, Libel was formerly a criminal organization uniting more than 70 development policies, there were time. they don’t hesitate to intervene,” offence, but in June 2006 parlia- media outlets, sent a letter to 83 radio and 21 TV stations operat- The fall-off in donations by she concedes. ment approved a law making the Independent Media Commission ing in Kosovo as of January 2012. non-governmental organizations, One example of the latter was a offence a civil and not a criminal calling the draft law “un-thought There are also eight daily news- according to Shala, has confront- law on interception proposed by matter. out and unprofessional”. papers. ed several media with a fight for government, to monitor phone Although the change went into Bajrami, of Koha Ditore, also This is a large number for a life, transforming them into an calls, which the EU jumped in and force that year, the law was not expresses concerns over the small country of only 2 million easy tool of political and business prevented it on January 15 of this implemented in the courts until process. people, around 40 per cent of impact. year. January 2012. “Digitalization in Kosovo offers whom are unemployed. “This fight for existence has Meanwhile, the recent ruling in Journalists, editors and media an opportunity for freer media but In its 2012 report, the Vienna- forced a lot of media to become the court case of BIRN vs. now have to turn to civil courts in at the same time contains a risk based South East Media dependent on various interest Infopress has also caused concern. order to pursue libel actions. that the whole media sector could Organisation, SEEMO, said the groups,” he concludes. Media Regulator Misused Funds, Audit Finds Draft report finds that Independent Media Commission illegally diverted more than 80,000 euro to pay staff and officials in 2012, much as it had done in 2010.

fund a working group of outside to be paid as internal compensa- lar case misappropriation in its experts. Instead, the money was tion. It also went against the mem- 2010 audit of the IMC. categorized as payments for goods orandum of understanding with The audit found that the IMC By Njomza Salihu and services, but paid to staff and the Ministry of Finance. spent misspent more than 98 per commissioners, according to the Based on the agreement, in 2012 cent of 120,000 earmarked for out- draft report the Ministry Finance of allocated side experts to work on a strategy "These payments are carried funds to the IMC to pay the work- for transitions from analogue to he Independent Media out from the category of goods ing group members, which must digital broadcasting. Commission, IMC, illegally and services as contracted servic- not be employees of the IMC. The audit found that the 118,000 Tspent 82,400 euro to pay es. In our opinion, payments to "These groups would include euro went to paying IMC staff and commissioners and staff mem- commissioners and civilian staff representatives from civil society, bers, a draft report from the officials on top of their salaries. are irregular payments,” the academia, media and journalist Office of the Auditor General This was clearly not permitted report states. associations, international found. under a memorandum of under- The IMC declined to discuss the experts and representatives of The report, which was leaked to standing with the Ministry of audit’s findings with Prishtina relevant committees from the Prishtina Insight, found that the Finance, according to the audit. Insight. Assembly of Kosovo" says the IMC - one of two media regulators The IMC argued that the pay- The Office of the Auditor draft report. in Kosovo - misappropriated General declined to discuss the In fact, according to the report, ments were permitted, in fact, funds from the Ministry of draft report. A final version of the only 8,000 euro were spent on permitted. Finance. report is slated for release this experts from outside the IMC. The Office of the Auditor The money had been allocated month. "The engagement of a very General rejected the IMC’s claims based on a 2010 memorandum of The draft report noted that the small number of experts could and recommended that the money understanding to draft the allocation of 18,500 euro for com- jeopardize development of the be paid back. The the audit for "Strategy for the Transition from mission members and 63,900 for strategy in question,” the report 2011, Office of the Auditor Y Analogue to Digital Broadcasting staff violated Kosovo’s 2012 budg- states. General noted that the money had M in the Republic of Kosovo.” et law, which forbids using money The Office of the Auditor not been returned to Kosovo’s C The money was designated to destined for “goods and services” General also highlighted a simi- budget. K 8 July 5 - 18, 2013 neighbourhood

From Bob Marley in Serbia to George W. Bush in Albania, the Balkan Monuments: Balkans are full of fondly for good reason. The presi- unusual monuments dent of the United States stopped by his bar in Fushe Kruja for a cof- to celebrities and fee. “He was a very simple and political giants as well relaxed man, with his shirt but- tons open and rolled-up sleeves, as memorials to past hardly official. My family and the conflicts. town will never forget that day,” Cela recalled. The statue, which was unveiled in June 12, 2011, is the work of sculptors Qazim Kertusha and Ibrahim Reci. Kertusha recalls that after the By Nemanja Cabric president’s stopover, prompted by the news coverage of the warm welcome and Bush’s support for Kosovo’s independence and esar Likmeta, Sinisa Jakov Albania’s entry into NATO, they Marusic, Nemanja Cabric, visited the town and convinced the BBoris Pavelic, Edona Peci, local mayor and city council to Milena Milosevic approve a monument. When former US President “Our favorite project as artists George W. Bush came to Albania was a memorial shaped as a calen- in June 2007, he was not a popular dar to mark the powerful state- man - neither at home, nor in the ments made by Bush there, which Middle East and most places that Mother Teresa has proven to be a divisive figure in Macedonia. symbolised the beginning of a new he visited in Europe, where he era for our nation,” Kertusha said. the baker where he ate a piece of square after her. Mother Teresa. Why? Because she often faced angry protests. “However, the townspeople and bread,” Veseli recalls. “He was the She is also a beloved figure in was born here and as far as I know But in Albania, it was a different those who had met him that day president of the United States, but Kosovo, where most towns have a it is not even 100 per cent clear story – especially in the small saw him as a warm and approach- looked like a very nice and friend- square named after her. whether she was Albanian or town of Fushe Kruja, where his able man, so the city council opted ly man to me, and it’s very good Many ethnic from Vlach or something else,” said statue now adorns the main to immortalise Bush in a statue,” thing we commemorated the visit Macedonia and elsewhere do not Angel Mojanov, a 30-year-old eth- square. Bush visited the town on he added. with a monument,” he added. like the fact that Macedonia has nic Macedonian. his way to the airport to discuss a Kadri Veseli, now 80 years old, Cela has since renamed his bar been emphasising the fact that she “It is wrong to portray her as US-funded microloan with a bar- also remembers the day Bush vis- The George W. Bush Café. “For us, was born in Skopje, often describ- Macedonian because she is not, ber, a tailor and a shepherd, and he ited vividly. the visit is a matter of pride and ing her as “The Skopjan, Mother and the government should stop received a rock star’s welcome. “Bush shook hands outside the for a long time we have wondered Teresa” while constantly omitting that,” said a 45-year-old ethnic Festim Cela remembers the day coffee shop and then stopped by why he chose our town,” he said. any mention of her Albanian eth- Albanian who asked to remain “The statue will ensure that the nicity. anonymous, adding that “they visit will not be forgotten and The opposition Democratic should have at least written her withstand the sands of time.” Party of Albanians, one of the name in Albanian [below the mon- strongest ethnic Albanian parties ument in central Skopje] if they Macedonia’s Mother in Macedonia, insists that the wanted to show proper respect”. Theresa country should stop portraying the nun as its own. Serbia’s Bob Marley “She [Mother Teresa], by origin Catholic nun Mother Teresa and by her mission, does not In a lonely spot in front of a may have won the Nobel peace belong to the Macedonian her- school in the tiny northern prize, but in her hometown of itage. With unreserved concern we Serbian village of Banatski Skopje, she has become the focus are following the insidious Sokolac, the Jamaican icon of of a long-standing dispute attempts of various Macedonian peace and tolerance, reggae star between ethnic Macedonians and circles to cover up her Albanian Bob Marley, raises his fist to the ethnic Albanians. roots, blurring it with confusing sky. Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in labels as ‘the Skopjan’ or ‘the “Warrior with a guitar in his 1910 in Skopje to an ethnic Macedonian Citizen’,” the party hand,” the inscription at the base Albanian family, Mother Teresa said in a letter to the prime minis- of the statue reads. Behind the won the Nobel for her 40 years of ter back in 2006. Jamaican are some old Yugoslav ministering to the poor and sick in The author of the book ‘Skopjan monuments from the first and sec- India. Mother Teresa’, Jasmina ond world wars, creating a scene “By blood, I am Albanian. By cit- Mironski, argues however that by that is both ludicrous and humor- izenship, an Indian. By faith, I am stating the nun’s place of birth, no ous; an unintended piece of true a Catholic nun,” she once said. one is denying her ethnic roots. Balkan improvisation. Her heritage is also hotly con- She insists that no country should The Marley monument, made tested by three neighbouring have the exclusive right to her her- from polyester by Croatian sculp- Balkan countries, Albania, Kosovo itage. tor Davor Dukic, was erected in and Macedonia. “It is impossible to appropriate 2008 by Serbian and Croatian Skopje erected its first statue of a person,” Mironski said. musicians during the annual Rock the nun in the centre of the city in Employees at the Mother Village festival in the village 1990, and in 2009 the government Theresa memorial house also which is home to fewer than 400 opened a Mother Theresa memori- insisted that her ethnicity should people. al house. not be seen as important. It has been interpreted as a plea New plans soon to be imple- “We are not talking here about for reconciliation and a humanist, mented include a huge, 20-metre- her as being Macedonian or anti-war statement for ‘one love’ high memorial complex on Albanian. That does not matter to between peoples of all races. Skopje’s central square, funded by us here. She is a world-renowned Coming after the unveiling of stat- Indian businessman Subrata Roy humanitarian that was born in ues of boxer Rocky Balboa in and applauded by the Macedonian Skopje and I see nothing wrong in Zitiste in Serbia and kung fu film Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. celebrating that fact,” said one star Bruce Lee in Mostar in “No matter what we do, we can employee who asked to remain Bosnia, it was suggested that such never do enough for Mother anonymous. projects represented attempts by a Teresa,” Gruevski said at the But it some people strolling younger generation to find heroes unveiling of the latest project in along the nearby pedestrian street who could unite rather than January thought differently. divide. Meanwhile, neighbouring “The Albanians have no right to “Following the break-up of the Albania has named its interna- prohibit us from celebrating former Yugoslavia and the blood- The statue of former US President Bill Clinton in Prishtina. tional airport, a hospital and a neighbourhood July 5 - 18, 2013 9 The Weird and Wonderful

shed of the 1990s, people can was a replica of statues created by where someone would make such rarely agree on their role models the famous Croatian sculptor Fran a big statute of me,” Clinton told and prefer figures not linked to the Krsinic at Niagara Falls and in the cheering crowd, saying that region,” one press article suggest- Belgrade, but when Croatia’s war the sculptor “did a wonderful ed after the statue was erected. for independence began and ‘Serb’ job”. But the Bruce Lee statue has symbols became targets, it was But critics in Kosovo have since since been removed after it was blown up by unknown attackers. complained that the statue is not vandalised, and Banatski In 2006, when the 150th anniver- only artistically inept but, per- Sokolac’s Marley is not all that he sary of Tesla’s birthday was cele- haps worse, doesn’t even really seems either. The initiator of the brated, the statue was restored at look much like the ex-president. project, Mirko Miljus, who organ- the Zagreb visual arts academy’s The project was initiated by an ises the Rock Village festival, says foundry, as part of a collaboration Albanian-American group called the figure of the Jamaican star between the Croatian and Serbian ‘Friends of Bill Clinton, Friends standing colourful and proud in culture ministries. of America’. The group spent the middle of nowhere on the Nikola Cerjanc, the deputy 6,000 euro on the statue while the Vojvodina plain is not actually a director of the foundry, described Pristina culture ministry donated monument but a piece of stage the statue as a “masterpiece”. around 20,000 euro and the Banka décor “imagined as a part of the But nonetheless it remained a Private per Biznes (Private Bank festival”. hostage to nationalists who see for Business) also contributed an He agreed that Marley was an Tesla as a Serb and therefore an unnamed amount of money. international symbol of peace but enemy. Critics have companied that the said that the statue only really Three years ago, Gospic mayor statue, designed and created by makes sense during the festival Nikola Kolic said that the local Izeir Mustafa, is not only shoddy itself, when this “dying village authorities did not want Tesla and ugly but also poorly-placed livens up a bit”. back, but instead wanted a statue among large buildings that dwarf Sculptor Dukic insists however of wartime Croatian President Clinton. that it has genuine value as an art- Franjo Tudjman to be erected in Some passers-by in Kosovo’s work: “The statue is precious for his place. capital were also deeply unim- all the people that live here,” he Kolic is a member of the pressed. said, adding that there were inci- Croatian Democratic Union, a “Once you enter Pristina and dents when skinheads and hooli- political party founded by see the statute, you recognise it gans wanting to destroy it over the Tudjman, who ruled Croatia at a doesn’t even look like Clinton,” years, but locals and festival time when many monuments were said Fisnik Nimoni, a student organisers managed to defend it. destroyed for political reasons. from Peja/Pec. Apart from the enduring popu- In January this year, Croatian “The form of the statute - the larity of his songs in the Balkans, Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic hand raised up as a sign of salute there are some tenuous links appealed to the Gospic authorities - is similar to monuments of the between Marley and the former to bring Tesla back. communist period,” he added. Yugoslavia. As a rasta, Marley “Tesla is one of the rare people Mustafe Halili, former culture worshipped former leader Josip who belongs to the heritage of all directorate chief at the municipal- Broz Tito’s friend Haile Selassie, mankind, and I think he should ity of Pristina, said the decision an advocate of the Non-Aligned have a monument both in Zagreb he signed to erect the statute Movement that Yugoslavia found- and Gospic,” Milanovic said. where it now stands was “an Mother Teresa’s heritage is disputed in Macedonia. ed. Marley was also Orthodox; he Despite this, the statue remains appropriate one, because it had to was baptised seven months before in storage at the foundry ware- be put in the boulevard which has Union before he died in 1980 aged ment but embraced by fans who he died by the archbishop of the house, waiting for the political the same name”. 42, after years of alcohol and turned out in their thousands for Ethiopian Orthodox Church and winds to change. But even Halili had to admit drug abuse, but he is hardly a his funeral. Even now, he is an thus shared his religion with an that a better job could have been household name in the Balkans. unusual choice of public symbol estimated 80 per cent of Serbs. Kosovo’s Bill Clinton done: “I do agree with the critics Vysotsky’s statue stands near for a contemporary Russian gov- because the statute really lacks the Millenium Bridge, a symbol ernment that is sometimes On in Croatia’s Nikola Tesla artistic values, but [Izeir] Mustafa of Montenegrin recovery after accused of authoritarianism. Pristina stands a three-metre-high [the sculptor] had already begun the turbulent 1990s, on the banks But Podgorica’s culture secre- A statue of Nikola Tesla stands statue of the former US President working on it when we started of the river Moraca, and is one of tary Hamdo Kocan explained that in a storage warehouse in Zagreb, carrying a book inscribed with looking for an artist who would do several monuments celebrating Vysotsky had once visited a victim of a conflict that erupted the date ‘24.3.1999’ – the day that it. Therefore we decided to give the the country’s historical ties with Montenegro and “passionately long after the pioneering inventor NATO began the bombing raids money foreseen for the project to Russia, which also include a stat- fell in love” with the country. died. that ended the Kosovo war in 1999. him,” he said. ue of poet Alexander Pushkin. He said that Vysotsky wrote a Tesla had Serb origins, but he The monument was built to Surrounded by a geometrical poem about the country, a line of was born in Croatia, and the stat- thank Clinton for his role in Montenegro’s Vladimir metal frame which reflects a which is etched on his Podgorica ue was erected to commemorate ordering the bombardment of blinding light in summertime, monument: “I regret in this life him in the small Croatian town of Serbia, and tens of thousands Vysotsky the Vysotsky monument depicts that I don′t have two roots, and I Gospic near his home village of turned out to greet him when he the singer bare-chested and bare- can′t name Montenegro as my Smiljan in 1981, while Yugoslavia attended the inauguration of the How did a statue of the great foot, holding a guitar in one hand second homeland.” was still united. Serbia considers monument in November 2009, Russian bard Vladimir Vysotsky and raising his other arm in the More than two decades after him a national hero and many of them waving the Stars end up in Podgorica? Vysotsky air, while a skull nestles at the his premature death, he finally Belgrade’s airport is named after and Stripes and holding up photos wrote emotionally-charged songs base of the pedestal. returned, at least symbolically. him. of their American hero. and verse that made him a poet- The statue was installed in “Vladimir Vysotsky… had no The Tesla monument in Gospic “I never expected that any- hero across the former Soviet 2004 as a gift from Moscow, but idea that one day his statue most locals have little clue who would stand in this place. The Vysotsky is. “I think that build- monument to Vysotsky repre- ing such a monument was a nice sents a new symbol of the cen- refreshment for the town, turies-old Montenegrin-Russian because of its cheerfulness,” said friendship,” said Russia’s then one woman who was passing by. consul Yuri Bychkov at the open- Asked whether she knew who the ing ceremony, which was attend- monument celebrates, she simply ed by the singer’s son Nikita. replied: “A guitarist.” Indeed, Podgorica and Moscow have that is how most Podgorica resi- long maintained close links; dents refer to the monument – as when Russia declared war on the ‘Russian guitarist’. Japan in 1904, Montenegro sym- Vysotsky’s songs expressed “an bolically deployed a few of its explosive mixture of pain, soldiers in support. Indeed for- humour, sarcasm and desperate mal peace with Japan was only longing for truth”, veteran made over 100 years later, when Moscow rock critic Artemy Tokyo officially recognised the Troitsky has written. He was 2006 renewal of Montenegrin The great Russian singer Vladimir Vysotsky in Podgorica. shunned by the Soviet establish- independence. 10 July 5 - 18, 2013 marketing

Y M C K neighbourhood July 5 - 18, 2013 11 Albanians Tire of Their Authoritarian Leader Corruption scandals, economic stagnation and the Prime Minister’s increasingly autocratic behaviour all played a role in handing victory in the election to the left-wing opposition. OSCE described the elections as genuinely competitive, offering real choices to voters. By Besar Likmeta “This was a substantive elec- tion, offering voters real choices at a critical time for Albania and it is now time for the country’s politi- Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha concedes defeat in front of his supporters in Tirana on June 26. (Hektor Pustina/AP via Beta) lbania’s Prime Minister, cal leaders to listen to the people’s a green light to obtain EU candi- against the Democratic Party and worse,” he added. Sali Berisha, conceded verdict,” said Roberto Battelli, the date status,” he said. its long-standing leader rather Arion Sulo, editor of the daily Adefeat on June 26 to the Special Coordinator who led the Few commentators before the than as a vote in favour of the newspaper Mapo, agrees, arguing Socialist led opposition, which short-term OSCE observer mis- secured a resounding victory in polls expected the opposition to opposition. that the heavy vote against the sion. the country’s parliamentary elec- win by such a landslide. People tired of the endless cor- government reflected discontent The European Union and the tions. Writing in the daily Tema, Andi ruption scandals and of Berisha’s with the apparent over-concentra- United States also welcomed the After three days of vote-count- Bushati, a popular TV show host, attempt to place under his control tion of power in the Prime vote, particularly the large ing, the Socialist-led Alliance for a noted that most observers expect- all the branches of government, Minister’s hands. turnout, which had resulted in an European Albania secured 84 of ed the election to be a tight race. they say. “If you looked at the numbers, outcome that no political party the 140 seats in the new parlia- According to Bushati, despite “Berisha there are nearly 100,000 votes that could seriously dispute. ment, having won 57.7 per cent of the many scandals buffeting the was pun- the Democratic Party lost,” Sulo “We would like to congratulate the national vote. government, the Prime Minister ished for observed. He said the country’s the citizens of Albania for the par- Berisha’s Democratic Party had created a smokescreen authoritari- new leaders needed to tread very liamentary elections of 23 June polled only 30.6 per cent of the through his propaganda machine, anism and carefully if they were not to repeat which took place in an overall vote, 9.4 per cent less than it did in which made it seem unimaginable arrogance, Berisha’s mistakes. orderly manner,” the EU High the last general elections in 2009. that he could ever be brought which appeared “The opposition [in govern- Representative, Catherine Ashton, The results represent one of the down by a popular vote. not only in his con- ment] could easily lose these vot- and the Enlargement poorest showing for the Democrats “A fake reality was created, trol of many [inde- ers if they reveal the same author- Commissioner, Stefan Fule, said in since the party was founded as an which bore no relation to the life pendent] institutions itarian strain,” a joint statement. anti-Communist organization in conditions that people experi- but also in his rheto- he warned. The US embassy in Tirana 1991, following student protests enced every day,” he wrote. ric and inability to underlined that the high voter against the Stalinist regime. Bushati said that the govern- hear criticism,” the ana- turnout was a sign of people’s Albania has a history of elec- ment’s propaganda machine was lyst Fatos Lubonja wrote in commitment to democracy and tions marred by fraud and vio- particularly effective because it the daily Panorama. European integration. lence and the European went after those who tried to criti- Lubonja said the stagnating Gledis Gjipali, head of the Commission had warned that cize it with a vengeance. economy and the particular European Movement Albania, a Sunday’s poll needed to meet inter- “Journalists who published the model that Berisha had pursued, Tirana think tank that promotes national standards if Albania was truth were called jackals and spies investing in costly infrastructure pro-European policies and EU to make progress in its accession and every prosecutor who probed projects such as new roads when integration, said the uncontested process toward the EU. government scandals was tied to he could not finish or pay for them result of the poll was likely to The campaign was marred by alleged Communist crimes,” he - as well as the controversial deci- mean that Albania would receive allegations of vote buying and by a said. sion to open Albania’s door to EU candidate status in the shootout on election day in the “Even the engineers who waste imports - all played a part in autumn. northern town of Lac, which left lamented the floods in northern forming voters’ choices. “The European Commission one opposition supporter dead and Albania were branded saboteurs “The economy was turned into and the European Parliament wounded two others, including a and incompetent,” he noted. the service of a few clients of his made it clear that if Albania Socialist Party leader Edi Rama waves Democratic Party candidate. Many commentators have inter- own family, while economic condi- staged good elections, it would get during a victory speech in Tirana on Despite these incidents, the preted the results as a protest vote tions for ordinary people only got June 25. (Hektor Pustina/AP via Beta) Blair to Advise Albania Govt for Free spokesperson for the for- reached a deal in May with am very interested in your coun- who gave advice to the Albanian mer British Prime Albanian Socialist leader - who try.” Socialists during their successful AMinister, who has agreed in will now be Albania’s new Prime Blair has a longstanding inter- electoral campaign. principle to advise Albania’s new Minister - to advise Albania on est in the Balkans. In 1999, According to Socialist Party leftist government, said any possi- attracting investment, promoting together with former US presi- spokesperson, Endri Fuga, ble work done for Tirana would be tourism and EU integration. dent Bill Clinton, he spearheaded Campbell’s help also came for for free. “Blair’s willingness to help 78 days of NATO bombing the free. “If we were to do any work with Albania is priceless, considering forces of the former Yugoslav “Campbell is a friend with the new government it would be the good that it will bring, while strongman Slobodan Milosevic. whom we exchange advice and he not for profit,” Ciaran Ward, the contract won’t hurt the pock- The air campaign terminated does this because he believes in spokesperson for the former ets of Albanian taxpayers,” Serbian rule over Kosovo, where the left,” Fuga said in a statement British Prime Minister said. Rama said after meeting Blair in the population is overwhelmingly in May. Ward underlined that no con- his central London office. ethnic Albanian. The Labour Party spin doctor tract had been signed as yet. “Until now we have had only Meanwhile, Rama’s left-wing made it clear he felt ecstatic “Tony Blair sends his warmest an agreement in principle based coalition scored a convincing vic- about Sunday’s election results. congratulations to Edi Rama on on the good will of both parties tory in Albania's general elec- "Looking like a landslide for his victory. As we have said to cooperate,” he added. tion, securing 84 of 140 seats in Edi Rama and the Socialist Party before, we would be delighted to A video distributed by the parliament. coalition in Albania, I love land- work with the new government,” Socialist Party in the wake of If Blair does end up advising slides,” he wrote on Twitter. Ward added. last month’s meeting showed a the new Albanian government, he “Been good working with you The former British Prime cheerful Blair telling Rama: “I will follow on the heels of his for- guys,” Campbell added. Former British PM Tony Blair. Minister and Labour Party leader will be very happy to help you, I mer adviser Alistair Campbell, — Besar Likmeta 12 July 5 - 18, 2013 A Love Story in a Bottle Couple aim to turn the Kosovo on to the richer flavours of American-style craft beer.

By Nate Tabak and Donjeta Demolli

t its core, the story of the Sabaja Craft Brewery is Aabout love: love between a man and a woman, and their shared love for good beer. Alex Butler and Etida Zeka, both 26, met as business students at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. Butler, an American, and Zeka, a Kosovar, fell in love. Later, Zeka fell for one of Butler’s home-brewed beers, a Russian Imperial Stout. “It was unlike anything I’d ever tasted anywhere. It had a full body, wonderful taste and aroma, and I really liked it,” Zeka said. The dark beer sported an alcohol content of about nine per cent - dou- ble that of most brews. Zeka didn’t drink much of it, but it gave her an idea: open a brewery in Kosovo. Some two years later, Zeka and Butler’s Sabaja Brewery, located in Prishtina’s Hajvali neighborhood, is set to release its first beers, India Pale Ale and a Red Ale. “Both are going to have about 200 per cent the flavour of any beer that’s currently available - with some exceptions,” Butler said. Sabaja’s journey from idea to bot- “We’re not for everybody. We have a pretty specific target tle was not without its challenges. market: beer lovers and people who are willing to take risks Aside from the normal struggles of starting a small business - such as and try new things.” creating a business plan and raising - Alex Butler, Sabaja Craft Brewery money - the brewery encountered a Alex Butler and Etida Zeka, both 26, are soon to begin selling their American-style craft beer, wh very Kosovo kind of problem, cor- Peja and its diminutive competitor, American-style craft breweries ruption. Struggling in Peja’s stopped drinking his beer, and the Hugos. Both produce lagers that are Butler says he reached a bottle- have also started popping up across business lost 300,000 euro. largely indistinguishable from each shadow: neck in the process of getting the Europe over the past decade. IPAs Hugos left the beer market in other and the several dozen are even made in Serbia, Greece and from 2004 to 2009, and business requisite permits to work and start Zija Lenjani, however, does not European imports on the market. Turkey. remains slow. a business in Kosovo. think Kosovo has a thirst for more “Americans like to think of The IPA, in particular, will be a Hugos beers are very hard to find. “Some guy said, ‘You need that strongly flavoured beer. Europe as the bastion of classic very new taste for Kosovo, largely Lenjani said that one of his biggest piece of paper? Call this number Lenjani opened Hugos Brewery in beers, but here, I land in Kosovo, owing to its bitterness. Even with problems is that large customers do and pay 1,000 euros, and you'll get Kamenica in 2001, after making beer and everything tastes the same. not make payments until 60 days that piece of paper,’” Butler the proliferation of imported beers at Sweden’s Gamla Slottskallans Honestly, if you put Lasko, after delivery, while he is obliged to recalled. in recent years — it’s now possible Bryggeri during the 1990s. Heineken and Tuborg in front of pay value-added tax every month. Butler said he didn't pay what he to get Belgian ale - nothing on the “The difference between what I me, I’m not sure I could tell you the “But I won’t give up,” Lenjani thought would be a bribe, and even- market that even approaches the bit- produced in Sweden and what I pro- difference,” said Butler, who moved said, adding that he plans to start tually he got his permits. terness of an IPA. duce here is very big,” Lenjani said. to Kosovo in August to start Sabaja. making wheat beer and stout. “We’re not for everybody,” Butler “There I used to produce unfiltered “What we’re shooting for is to Beer bottled by hand: said. “We have a pretty specific tar- and unpasteurizsed beer. This beer give people variety. It’s about time get market: beer lovers and people has all the vitamins, proteins and is The taste of yesteryear: people in Kosovo had some variety,” Sabaja’s initial release will be a complete product. But here, people he added. who are willing to take risks and try small - just 1,600 litres, which will think it’s rotten.” Visiting Peja’s Yugoslav-era brew- Sabaja’s beers will bring a much new things.” fill 4,800 bottles. They filled their Consequently, Lenjani has largely ery in its namesake city in western needed- American pedigree of Sabaja’s target market includes first bottles yesterday, all by hand. stuck to making pale lagers with a Kosovo feels a bit like stepping into microbrewing to the Kosovo mar- people like Gent Thaci. The 18-year- The initial rollout will involve “neutral taste”, although he recent- a timewarp. ket, the owners said. old beer enthusiast recently tastings at the brewery, with avail- ly introduced a dark beer. While Peja is equipped with state- Small-production American beers returned from a year-long study pro- ability extending to bars and restau- Hugos has struggled in the shad- of-the-art brewing and bottling tech- gramme in the US and said Kosovo rants in Prishtina. The owners have a reputation for bolder ow of Peja. Lenjani said his brewery nology, the ageing concrete struc- was ready for IPA. expect the beers will be sold at flavours thanks to the more gener- operates at just 10 per cent of capac- tures seem little changed from 1971, “IPA is a really good type of beer around two to three euro. The cost ous use of hops, a beer’s bittering ity, with just seven employees com- when Peja’s forerunner Pecko was will be similar to premium import- agent. The aggressively hopped that I'll enjoy made in Kosovo,” pared to the 70 he had at the begin- established. ed beers, but around double that of India Pale Ale, more commonly Thaci said. “For other people, it's ning. “The recipe of the beer is the Peja. called IPA, has become the quintes- probably going to be a new thing, The riots that hit Kosovo in 2004 same, from the beginning, but we Only two commercial breweries sential American craft beer, but I have a feeling they’re going to were particularly devastating for made changes in technology,” said operate in Kosovo, market-leader although its origins are in Britain. like it.” Hugos. He said that Serb customers Arianit Kastrati, Peja’s sales man- July 5 - 18, 2013 13

Talking Beer With Oda Haliti

da Haliti is the owner of Birraria Shallter. Located at OPrishtina’s train station, the bar boasts the largest selection of beer of any drinking establishment in Prishtina.

Pi: What do you think about Sabaja entering in the market?

Haliti: Any new domestic product entering the market, whatever the industry, is always welcomed. Competition always assures higher quality and therefore creates more value for the consumers. With Sabaja entering the market I believe that is exactly what to expect and I don’t doubt that it will quickly position itself within the beer market as Sabaja producers are differentiating their product from the dominating Pilsner and Lager types.

PI: What do Peja and Hugos offer beer-drinkers?

Haliti: Birra Peja is largely con- sumed and always in demand, where- as Hugos, as a very young beer in the market, needs more promotion, and hence lacks brand awareness.

The advantage of both beers versus the international beer brands lies in ich they brew in the outskirts of Prishtina. (Photos/Nate Tabak) their affordable price, as the status of current purchasing power in our ager. country is weak, hence making the While Sabaja and Hugos are try- domestic beers mass products. ing to bring something new to Kosovo’s beer market, the market PI: Are beer drinkers in Kosovo leader, Peja, is doing just the oppo- ready for Sabaja? The India Pale site. Ale seems like it will be a very dif- Peja recently stopped producing ferent taste for most people here. one of two namesake beers, Peja Premium. Haliti: Sabaja, coming out from a “We dropped Peja Premium microbrewery, for starters will with- because people just weren’t drink- out a doubt be for a niche market. ing it anymore. It’s funny how peo- Whether they will expand into mass ple here pay more for Heineken markets, it will depend of the span of instead of buying a local product,” Kastrati said. their vision for the product. The larger issue, Kastrati said, is that people in Kosovo do not drink Judging from Shallter, people are much beer. open and often self-encouraged in try- Kosovars are among the least pro- ing new types of beers. It doesn’t lific beer drinkers in Europe, aver- always stand that the market will aging 13 litres per person each year. drive you, it is also how you can drive By comparison, Czechs drink 10 the market. times that amount. Butler pours a sample of Sabaja’s red ale from a stainless steel fermentation tank. Earlier this year Peja underwent PI: Will you sell Sabaja’s beers a rebranding, with the noticeable will be unflavoured, Kastrati says. sumers, because we have a much es and potentially train their at Shallter? change being a metallic label. But there no plans to offer any better organisation. Their capaci- future competitors. While Peja has dropped its new alcoholic beers, and as for com- ties are small,” Kastrati said. “I'm not afraid of other brew- Haliti: Yes, of course we will sell Premium beer, it is planning to petition, Kastrati said he was not Sabaja’s owners said they have eries opening up, in fact I warmly Sabaja beer at Shallter. Y launch a new non-alcoholic beer. worried. no interesting in going after welcome it,” Butler said. “The M Peja also currently makes one with “We are aware of this, but we Peja’s customers. In fact, they more beers we have in Kosovo, the This interview has been C pineapple flavouring. The new one think that it’s hard to take our con- plan to offer homebrewing cours- better.” edited and condensed. K 14 July 5 - 18, 2013 neighbourhood Economic Fears Overshadow Croatia’s EU Celebration While top officials hail Croatia’s EU membership, the public seems far less enthusiastic, concerned by their uncertain economic future in the bloc. Sandra Svaljek, a former analyst at the Zagreb-based Economic Institute, said worse may come By Boris Pavelic once Croatia joins the EU. “Croatia has had a hard time fighting EU competition. Exports are low, and for many Croatian pro- wo decades after it gained ducers, the EU market isn’t the independence and declared main market at all,” she observed. Tits wish to join the European “Generally, EU competition is too club, Croatia has finally succeeded strong for the Croatian economy, in joining the EU. though there are exceptions,” she However, July 1 celebrations are added. overshadowed by worries concern- “However, the economy struc- ing an uncertain future in the eco- ture should start to change as a nomically and politically shaken result of EU accession, as entrepre- bloc. neurs become more competitive,” In contrast to the official opti- she continued. mism of top officials, the Croatian “That process of ‘creative public views the historic event destruction’ will then be accepted, with a degree of suspicion, uncer- as more entrepreneurs then suc- tainty and even ignorance. ceed in the new circumstances.” Support for EU membership has Zdeslav Santic, an analyst from tumbled in recent years, with only Splitska bank, which is part of 45 per cent of the population now France’s Societe Generale, says the Economic worries are clouding Croatia’s entry into the EU. regarding accession as a positive economic side of Croatia’s EU development. accession consists of “long-term creation of a Balkan business ver- euphoric, but times have changed,” “The aim has been achieved, The latest polls by public opinion benefits with short-term chal- sion of the old Benelux union, in she said. which is good for the self-confi- agencies suggest a quarter of all lenges”. order to compete together on an “Croatia is entering much more dence of any society,” she added. Croatians consider EU accession as In the beginning, it will be hard European market. level-headedly, not expecting sav- “The nation has proved to itself actually “bad”. for Croatian entrepreneurs to sell But no concrete action on that iours or tutors, only a level playing and to others that it is not a ‘lost Analysts agree that the grim eco- products in EU member states that front has been taken. field and increased political stabili- cause’, which is how the societies nomic challenge is the key factor are themselves in crisis, Santic pre- While economic uncertainty to a ty,” she added. of former Yugoslavia are often behind this growing suspicion of dicted. large extent overshadows the polit- “Those expectations still pro- described,” she continued. the EU. Croatian export could fall even ical reasons that once motivated duced over 66 per cent support in a Sabalic told Prishtina Insight Croatia today is stricken by an more, meanwhile, because on join- Croatia to join the EU, pro- referendum on EU membership in that Croatia will certainly benefit acute economic crisis that has no ing the EU, it loses its benefits as a European politicians still like to January 2012,” the minister from membership in terms of end in sight. member of the regional Central remind the public of those rea- recalled. overall governance, “because the Economic journalist Ivo European Free Trade Area, sons. But Mislav Zitko, from the EU’s standards are higher than Jakovljevic notes that GDP fell by CEFTA, to which Croatia current- “Croatia still understands the University of Zagreb’s philosophy Croatia’s, no matter how imperfect 11 per cent since 2008, and is falling ly exports the most. value of long-term peace,” Foreign faculty, is one of those who ques- the EU is. “without a glimpse of light at the Croatia also cannot expect an Minister Vesna Pusic, one of the tions the benefits of EU member- “There will be less space for end of the tunnel”. influx of foreign direct investment most pro-European politicians in ship. Croatia’s political elite to cause Over the last five years, more on the same scale as the other Croatia, assured Prishtina Insight. “Economic prosperity and EU outrages and more opportunities than 120,000 people lost their jobs, Eastern European nations that “Durable political stability is a membership are not mutually con- for prosperity if Croats know how pushing unemployment up from 14 joined the EU back in 2004 and key objective for Croatia,” Pusic nected,” he told Prishtina Insight, to use them,” she added. to 20 per cent. 2007, Santic observed. added, recalling that the country adding that “the public doesn’t Minister Pusic highlights the According to the latest official The country should focus on will be the EU’s only member state understand also that membership strategic importance of member- data, more than a half of all young tourism, the analyst said, which to have come through a war in the will not affect all parts of society in ship both for its new member and people are unemployed. has “much room” for expansion last two decades. the same way. for the EU. Croatia’s credit rating was also thanks to its strategic position. Freedom of movement is another “Has Croatia the capability of Croatia’s example can show the cut twice in recent months. Small and medium-sized busi- important reason for joining the adopting the euro?” Zitko inquired. world that the Balkans “is capable Whole branches of the economy, nesses, together with regional EU, she said. “You can truly value He fears that Croatia could end up of taking responsibility for itself such as the important construction industry clusters and exports con- that only if you know the alterna- having the same role and place in and its stability,” the minister industry, have virtually come to a sortia, could offer the best chance tive,” she added. the EU that impoverished Kosovo said. standstill since the crisis started. for Croatian firms in the EU, However, Pusic concedes that the had in the former Yugoslavia. The key task is simple, Pusic According to the chamber of Santic maintained. current climate of public uncer- Croatian journalist Ines Sabalic, maintained: “To mobilise Croatia’s commerce, foreign direct invest- Remarks like these have found tainty about membership is under- now the city of Zagreb’s represen- intellectual potential in the busi- ment, FDI, has fallen by 80 per cent an echo in region, prompting sev- standable. tative in Brussels, disputes this. “It ness of running the state.” Or, to in comparison to 2008. FDI in 2012 eral big entrepreneurs from the “Had Croatia the EU joined 10 is good that accession happened at cut that short: “How to get smarter was at the lowest level since 1999. former Yugoslavia to call for the years ago it would have been all,” she maintained. really fast.” Croatia Vows to Bring Balkans Closer to EU Eight heads of Balkan states met in Zagreb for the first of a regular series of meetings aimed at helping the entire region move towards EU membership. society and I hope our neighbours cooperation over EU-related issues coming meeting between the using the so-called ‘Gymnich for- will also complete this journey, as and joint infrastructure construc- regional leaders would be attended mula’, a format for informal talks quickly as possible,” Josipovic tion. by a top European official and one at which no state symbols are dis- By Boris Pavelic told Serbia’s Beta news agency Josipovic said that the meeting of the EU member states. played, thus allowing Serbia after the meeting. was a joint initiative by Croatia The initiative has the support of President Tomislav Nikolic to sit The presidents of Albania, and Slovenia, the only western France, Germany, Great Britain at the same table with Kosovo Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Balkan countries which became and EU institutions, journalists President Atifete Jahjaga. resident Ivo Josipovic met the leaders of seven other Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia EU members so far, aimed at put- were told in Josipovic’s office. The Kosovo and Serbian presi- Pwestern Balkan countries on and Slovenia attended the break- ting together a group that would Josipovic said that the next dents shook hands before the July 1, the first day of Croatia’s EU fast meeting alongside Josipovic. meet regularly and demonstrate meeting would be held in Slovenia meeting, as did Croatian and membership, emphasising that They agreed on the importance that other states in the region have in couple of months, adding that Serbian presidents Ivo Josipovic Y Zagreb wanted all its regional of continued EU enlargement and the will and the ability to cooper- French President Francois and Tomislav Nikolic, who met for M neighbours to join the European resolving critical topics in infor- ate and to join the EU, despite their Hollande had said he was prepared the first time at Croatia’s EU C club. mal meetings. mutual problems. to participate. accession celebration in Zagreb on K “Croatia has become a better They also discussed possible It was planned that every forth- Monday’s meeting was held June 30. neighbourhood July 5 - 18, 2013 15

Neigbourhood in Brief:

Serbian Govt Marks Renegade Macedonian Anniversary With Major Priest Jailed for Reshuffle Defrauding Church

erbia’s ruling Progressives said they n a high-profile retrial, former would implement far-reaching person- Macedonian Orthodox priest Jovan Snel changes in the government, with IVraniskovski has been sentenced to some ministers looking set to be dismissed three years in jail for embezzling €250,000 for their poor performances. Serbian deputy from the church in 2002, before he defected prime minister and the leader of ruling to set up his own church. Another 18 defen- Progressives Aleksandar Vucic said that the dants in the same case, who included cabinet reshuffle, which is slated to take Vraniskovski’s mother and sister, were place on July 27, exactly one year after min- given two years' probation each. They were isters officially took office, would be exten- found guilty of trying to launder the money sive and comprehensive. According to the that Vraniskovski embezzled by buying real Progressives' plan, the reshuffle will not The International Learning Group school estate and other property. At the retrial, only include ministers but also other cabi- Vraniskovski pleaded not guilty, insisting he net members, state secretaries and the direc- is an elementary school located in Veternik was framed and that witnesses in the case tors of public companies. were not genuine. which offers an English language curriculum. Montenegro Gay Pride Rally Bosnian ‘Baby Protesters’ ILG is seeking native English speaking Planned for October Vent Anger at Politicians teachers for the 2013-2014 school year. new campaign group called Queer Montenegro said it was determined everal thousand people gathered on There is also a vacancy for a part-time Ato organise a gay pride parade in July 1 outside the state parliament in Podgorica on October 27, after a previous SSarajevo for a protest announced to music teacher for the preschool. attempt in 2011 was cancelled amid violence. symbolically ‘fire’ governing politicians The group, which says it is campaigning for whose failure to agree the ID legislation has the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans- caused anger in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Please send your CV and cover letter to: gender, intersex and questioning (LGBTIQ) The protesters appealed High Repres - people, said that the planned parade would entative Valentin Inzko, the top internation- show whether the authorities were genuine- al official in the country, to intervene and [email protected]. ly against discrimination. Two representa- force the politicians to take urgent action to tives of the group, Ana Dedivanovic and enable newborn babies to get personal ID Danijel Kalezic, said that police had said numbers which are the basis for obtaining they were prepared to protect the parade's medical treatment abroad and crucial docu- participants. ments such as passports. www.ilg-ks.com

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Soon the summer holidays will set in. It is the time to We have had a wonderful springing semestersemester andaand looklook forward make decisions about where your child will go to preschool to sharing our experience with ototherher fafamilies.milies in the autumn. The families and staff of Park School Pris- tina want to share one of the schooling options in Pristina The school is for children, aged 2 to 6, before they begin for- with you. We are located in a green, quiet, safe and easily mal schooling. Our lessons are based on a preschool curricu- accessible neighbourhood, close to Pristina’s two largest lum from Massachusetts and are taught by qualified teachers. parks, Tauk Bahqe and Germia. The school’s immediate The school day runs 8am – 3pm with flexible drop-off and surroundings include plenty of trees, open grassy areas and pickup time. Children can stay in school until 6pm. fresh air. Our students enjoy the outdoors every day of the We also offer a playgroup for parents or care-givers and their school year, whether it’s to play, picnic, or explore. children, aged 0 to 3. It’s a place where children can play and Park School Pristina was founded by a group of parents in explore together, and develop new friendships. The group late 2011 who sought for their children an English-language meets twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 08:30 – preschool and kindergarten in an attractive setting just out- 11:00. From 10:00-11:30 one of PSP’s teaching assistants leads side downtown Pristina. the group in organised activities. Only 8 minutes from the centre of town!

For more information please contact: 5   t.    &JOGP!QBSLTDIPPMDPNt8XXXQBSLTDIPPMDPN F: www.facebook.com/Park-School-Pristina Y M C K 16 July 5 - 18, 2013 Guide

Here is Prishtina Insight’s guide to the best places in town to eat, drink, shop and be merry. We’ll keep this section updated with the newest and coolest places opening in Kosovo. Restaurants: prises here, with the typical assortment of Hard Rockers Club tution. It’s small, friendly and smoky, plays curries, salads and deep fried treats, deliv- Road Ilaz Kodra, contact: vraja_fatos@ hot- excellent soul, disco and classic rock music ered to decent standards. At 7 or 8 euro for a mail.com. It's one of the few places in from vinyl and is open until the last man or Vegetarian Restaurant main course, it's relatively pricey compared Prishtina where you can catch regular live woman staggers out. Arrive by 11pm at the Rruga Garibaldi, Behind Metro Caffe. to its neighbours. Open Monday-Thursday acts and the only place which caters for weekend to secure a corner, or even better a Tingell-Tengell’s short-lived but much loved 11:00-14:00 and 17:45-22:30; Friday-Sunday those who like their rock served up heavy, or seat, if you intend to make a night of it. Next vegetarian menu gets a restaurant of its 11:00-23:00. hard. On a quiet night, it's quite a comfort- to A&A restaurant and has round windows. own. It doesn’t have a name, and it’s deli- cious. There’s falafel, hummus, baba able venue to grab a beer, even if you are not Opens: 8pm-to late. Shut on Sundays. Renaissance II ghanouj and more. The stew is also luxuri- being entertained by hirsute musicians . Rr. George Bush (behind the Pro Credit Bank ous. All the food is under 5 euro. The bar also Fastfood: HQ), tel. +377 (0)44 118 796. Renaissance offers features a few whiskies you’ll be hard- The Cuban arguably the best overall dining experience pressed to find anywhere in Prishtina, as Road Luan Haradinaj Tel: +377(0) 45 620 620. in Prishtina. It's quite an experience just to well as an allegedly 36-year-old rakia. The This is a decent addition to the city's drink- Papirun find the place. Tucked away along a tiny space also feels like home, in that down-to- ing scene, even if the place can be full of Papirun has seating at two perpendicular alleyway, you enter the homely, stone build- earth hipster sort of way. The only quibble is spivs and tarts who aren't going to a fancy- counters in what’s basically a hole-in-the- ing through heavy wooden doors. It's 15 euro the bread, which is a rather basic white dress party. The Cuban-themed décor is wall just off Mother Teresa Boulevard, near per head, and for that you will be kept fed, bread that’s toasted and garnished with decadent Havana, the food is average, and the Grand Hotel. The menu has 13 options: 6 watered and supplied with booze for at least herbs. It doesn’t do justice to the otherwise not very Caribbean, but the cocktails are pizzas and seven sandwiches. The sandwich- a three course meal, including a wonderful spectacular fare. Don’t miss the poppyseed good. 8 am - 1 am. es are the stars, though. Every component is meze starter and a delicious main course cake, either. handled with care. The bread alone is good cooked on embers. Open 11 am - 11 pm. Xhoni’s Bar enough to make just about any sandwich Fresco Rexhep Mala, Pristina, tel. +377 (0)44 750 720. into a glorious feast. It’s freshly baked and Rr. Fehmi Agani. Forgive the excessive inte- Bars: Xhoni’s is, without doubt, a Prishtina insti- seasoned with rosemary. rior design - the food is is elegant and simple, with a gastronomic sense that in-step with Tapë the times. The salmon filet (11.50 euro) is a Hajdar Dushi Street Nr. 2 (next to Zani Bar, standout: succulent and flavorful, appearing Kada Books, in front of the Radio alongside a sweet potato puree and tempura- Dukagjini). Tapë — which means “cork” in fried zucchini. The steaks are perfect, too. Albanian but is often used to denote +377 (0) 44 333 772. extreme drunkenness — is a bar with a warm atmosphere in Prishtina’s centre. It Princesha Gresa serves homemade rakia, as well as a variety 23 Rr. Fehmi Agani, tel. +381 (0) 38 24 58 41. If of beers and other liquors, and, of course, you have a horse-size hole in your stomach Stone Castle wine - all at reasonable prices. to fill, this is the place to come. The meal starts with some free bread and dips and is Crème de la Crème followed by gargantuan portions of salad, Rr Robert Doll, tel. +377(0)44259912. Crème meat, fish, or anything else on this varied is probably the best all-round bar in the city. menu. The food is sometimes great, some- It's run for the amusement of the young, times average but always served in massive arty owners and not for profit, which portions. Open 10 am - 11 pm. explains the more-than-generous pricing arrangements, especially for the perfectly Hemingway executed cocktails. Its five tiny floors heave Rr Ilaz Kodra, tel. +386 (0)49 145 637. Yes, you on Fridays and Sundays with Pristina's cool can get fresh sea fish in landlocked Kosovo. to the variety of beats. Every Wednesday, Hemingway is tucked away in an unappeal- Friday and Saturday from 8pm to 3am. ing end of the city but worth a trip if you are craving food of the piscine variety. It's a Filikaqa pretty basic sort of set-up and relatively Rr Mujo Ulqinaku BL 4/1, Pejton, website expensive for the setting, but undoubtedly www.filikaqa.com; 038 244 288. Whistle, as it one of the best places in town for fish. Open translates from Albanian, offers a dizzying 9 am - 11 pm array of televisions on which to watch your sport of choice and eat the best burgers in Le Siam Thai town. Select a booth, ask the amiable staff to Rr Fehmi Agani, tel. +377 (0)45 243 588. tune into your match and grab a 'double Stylishly designed and smoke-free, Le Siam decker' or 'triple burger', which look like has become a real hit for the international American fast-food classics but taste better. community of Kosovo. If you are acquaint- Friday night Karaoke is a must-see, must- ed with Thai food, you're not in for any sur- sing event. Hot Food:

Katror Garibaldi Street, behind the Grand Hotel, Prishtina. Katror, meaning square in Albanian, is really a place that lives up to its name. Although the food itself is not of particularly distinctive, their different way of square servings makes it definitely worth trying. Be warned, portions are big.. For a 5.50 euro (without appetizer) it’s a decent place to have a nice lunch or dinner. The concept is innovative and it’s a pity they share the space with Ma Belle because Katror deserves a place of its own. Monday - Sunday 08:00 - 22:30. Hot Bar:

Bon Vivant Rexhep Luci Street. 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. Longer on weekends. Passers-by will be drawn to Bon Vivant’s colourful exterior, which nicely complements the vibrant atmosphere created by the steady crowd that occupies the wire tables and chairs in front of the bar. Bon Vivant truly comes to life starting around 4 p.m. This coincides with the start of its Happy Hour, which lasts for three hours, until 7 p.m. This is when the main bar- tender, referred to affectionately as “Lover” by staff and visitors alike, whips up a Y variety of traditional and new cocktails as the music turns up a notch, the lights start M to dim and those seeking relief from their day jobs start occupying the more comfort- C able seats. K July 5 - 18, 2013 17 Guide Contact Prishtina Insight if you would like your event to feature or to advertise your venue. Email [email protected]

Where to pick up Prishtina Insight?

Prishtina Insight has teamed up with these excellent venues to offer a limited Hotel Prishtina number of complimentary copies of Kosovo’s only English-language newspaper. Hotel Prishtina’s 43 charming guest rooms and suites are Grab a copy of the publication and settle down with a drink or a meal to read it. reminiscent of a small hotel in the European tradition. You'll immediately feel at home in our living room, sipping a glass of wine in our fine restaurant surrounded by a gallery of paintings by local artists. The hotel offers free, fast wifi internet, complimentary breakfast, Papillon Bistro Bar conference room, swimming pool, sauna and laundry service. Hotel Prishtina, This newly reopened bar in Prishtina, Papillon, offers St. Vaso Pasha nr. 20 more than 60 types of wines from France, , Spain, +381 38 / 22 32 84 and Kosovo with great prices and delicious dishes. They serve pasta, sandwiches, salads and different appetizers. You can also try different types of local or internation- al beers. The bar, with it’s stunning new design, is located in the centre of Prishtina, near ProCredit Bank headquar- ter, RTK radio centre, and the Mother Teresa cathedral.

Papillon Mother Teresa Str. Nr. 51 A [email protected] 044 103 310

Hotel AFA Hotel Gracanica Located in a quiet neighbourhood just A place to relax in the calm and clean outside the city centre, Hotel Afa can air of the country side, just 15 minutes- guarantee guests a peaceful night while from Prishtina city center, 500 m from being within walking distance of all the the center of Gracanica and its UNESCO action. The venue has won a host of World Heritage monastery and a short awards for its excellent service to cus- walk to the archeological site of tomers and offers a good range of facili- Ulpiana. Offering 5 single, 7 double ties, from an exclusive restaurant and rooms, 3 studios as well as two meeting VIP bar to pretty, tranquil gardens. rooms (16 / 6 p.), the boutique hotel com- Rooms start at 45 euro for a single, and bines contemporary architecture with- luxury rooms and apartments are avail- traditional elements to create a unique able. The hotel’s rooms are well appoint- atmosphere that will make you feel at ed and comfortable. home. +381 (0)38 729 888 (landline) 15, Rr Ali Kelmendi, +386 (0)49 764 000 Sunny Hill, Prishtina [email protected] +381 38/225 226 www.hotelgracanica.com www. hotelafa. com www.facebook.com/HotelGracanica

Paddy O’Brien’s A taste of Napoli in Prishtina. The Ninety One The staff at After ten years of making pizza in The Ninety One (91-shi) is back with its Paddy Napoli, and with only love to blame, new location and old tradition. The own- If you live in Kosovo and would like to O’Brien’s have Fatmir, the head chef, returned to ers and the staff are the same. Daily spe- a saying: “It’s receive the hardcopy of the newspa- Prishtina. His pizzas, made in a wood- cials are changed on a daily basis. The easy to walk in, per delivered to your door, you can burn stove, are definitely genuine breakfast is still served as usual while the but very hard napolitanas. Fatmir also has several coffee is served with delicious home- also subscribe for 13 editions, the to leave.” delicious pastas on offer, a true joy for made almond biscotti. Breakfast menu And with its equivalent of the taste buds. Napoli has an excellent includes; English breakfast, French toast warm atmos- selection of red and white wines or, for croissants, puff pastries and omelettes six months, for 13 euro, including phere, fantastic the more ambitious, one of the region's with your choice of toppings. The new range of drinks delivery, or for 26 euro for the whole best quince raki. Napoli makes for deli- menu dishes include: roast fillet of beef and excellent year. cious lunch, dinner or even after-the- served with spinach potatoes & wine, food, it is easy atre time out in the centre of Prishtina. Chicken and confit garlic in bed of mash Please note, deliveries outside of to see why. & thyme juice. Dessert are served and There have been many attempts to establish a Prishtina may be refused due to trans- Pizzeria Napoli garnished with fresh herbs and are all proper Irish pub in Prishtina, but this is the off Luan Haradinaj, opposite home made. Lemon tart and Chocolate port costs. only one to hit the spot. Newborn mouse is a must try. The kitchen is open From classic coffees to cocktails, via, of You can pay through an international 044/409-402402 every day until 11:00 pm. course, Guinness, you really wont find it diffi- bank transfer or in cash at a Kosovo cult to select the perfect drink. Fehmi Agani str., 29/2 (Te kafet e A mouth-watering menu of Irish specialties is vogla) - 044 91 91 91 - branch of Raiffeisen bank. also on offer, spanning from all-day breakfasts to If you are interested in subscribing Irish stews at night. please email us at Options include shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash, fish ‘n chips, and whopping great burgers. [email protected] with the Thursday is pub quiz night, but there is always subject "subscription", listing what something going on at the pub, whether it is sport screenings or just a good shindig. type of subscription you require. We Paddy O’Brien’s will then provide you with an invoice Y Tringe Smajli Street, by the Illyria Hotel and bank details. Prishtina: 045-420900 M C K 18 July 5 - 18, 2013 timeout

28 June - 28 August Prishtina Diary Hamam Jazz Bar “Retrospective” – Simon Shiroka Friday, 5 July Jehona Lumi Trio Personal exhibition Curated by Erzen Shkololli Saturday, 6 July “World War Z” 3D Acoustic Night Every day at 10 pm United Nations employee Duplex Gerry Lane traverses the world Saturday, 6 July in a race against time to stop Kaos & Aferdita Dreshaj the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and govern- ments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself. Director: Marc Foster Writers: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goddard Starring: Brad Pitt, MireilleEnos, DaniellaKertesz “The Croods”3D BarCamp Prishtina #14 During the weekends at The 14th edition of BarCamp 1pm Prishtina is an Independence Day The Croods is a prehistoric salute to our friends in America who comedy adventure that follows are celebrating the 237th year since the world's first family as they their declaration of independence. embark on a journey of a life- The theme for BarCamp Prishtina #14 time when the cave that has will focus on Kosovo's connections and always shielded them from dan- relations with the world and in partic- ger is destroyed. Traveling ular the United States. across a spectacular landscape, Recently Kosovo signed a sister the Croods discover an incredi- state agreement with the state of ble new world filled with fantas- Iowa. Best known for their agricultur- tic creatures -- and their outlook al contributions to the US economy is changed forever. Iowa is home to tech start ups, small Director: Kirk De Micco, Chris Sanders businesses, award winning journal- Writers: Chris Sanders, Kirk De Micco etc. Starring: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds. ists, and the 9,400 strong Iowa National Guard. Akan Ismaili, Christian Renaud and General Tim “Epic” 3D Orr are amongst confirmed speakers Every day at 3pm for the upcoming edition of BarCamp, A teenager finds herself while there are high chances for other transported to a deep forest set- speakers to be announced during the ting where a battle between the event. forces of good and the forces of A telecommunications entrepre- evil is taking place. She bands neur, co-founder of IPKO and CEO together with a rag-tag group Akan Ismaili was credentialed as the characters in order to save their Republic of Kosovo’s second world -- and ours. Ambassador to the United States in Director: Chris Wedge May 2012. During his term he has Writers: James V. Hart, focused on cementing economic, cul- William Joyce etc. tural and political ties with the United Starring: Collin Farell, Josh States. He will share more about polit- Hutcherson, Beyonce Knowles. ical and economic transformation, in which he has had almost 15 years of “The internship” experience. Every day at 5 pm and 7.30 Christian Renaud, principal and pm Mentor in Residence at StartupCity Two salesmen whose careers Des Moines and Senior Analyst, have been torpedoed by the dig- Networking for 451 Research in New ital age find their way into a York, will share his experience with coveted internship at Google, angel investors, mentoring start ups where they must compete with as well as insights on the potential for a group of young, tech-savvy economic transformation through geniuses for a shot at employ- technology. ment. Brigadier General Timothy (Tim) Director: Shawn Levy Orr, adjutant general of the Iowa Writers:Vince Vaughn National Guard with an extensive (screenplay), Jared Stern career in the military and a Bachelor (screenplay) of Science degree in Business and Stars:Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne Education from Drake University, will For any further questions or reservations call at 038 243 238 or talk about the Kosovo/Iowa Guard visit them at www.kinoabc.com partnership and security sector trans- formation, a field in which he has had the chance to work directly and see dif- ferent changes through years. Bastille We will also be joined by a represen- tative from the Sister State program in Iowa. Join us for an interesting night Day Ball of speakers focused on connecting Kosovo to the world. The event will be Edona Reshitaj held on the 6th of July 2013 starting at 18:00 at the Red Hall in the Youth & Band Center in Prishtina. The event will be in English but we will provide transla- Alliance Française of tion of questions if requested. Barcamp #14 will continue in the Y Prishtina invites you to informal tradition of Barcamp M celebrate in music the Prishtina. C French National Day. Free entrance K culture July 5 - 18, 2013 19 NGOMfest Steps Up Electronic Offer

By Art Badivuku

ow in it's third year, NGOMfest has returned to NPrizren with it's biggest line-up ever. Making it's debut in 2011, NGOMfest came to Prizren with the aim of showcasing inter- national music with an emphasis on Balkan and Albanian acts, as well as linking music to social activism. The festival itself has proudly hosted young Kosovar bands and previous years have seen incredi- ble sets from Kosovo's own The Freelancers and The Glasses, as well as international acts like Calibro 35 (Italy) and Darren Emerson (UK) who have graced the NGOMfest stage. This year, NGOMfest has continued down this route with a line-up which fea- tures a mix of guitar-based indie NGOMfest in 2012. (Photos/Majlinda Hoxha) bands along with somewhat heav- ier bands, but 2013's line-up has up of Prizren in 2011, as well as meant the band couldn't release later bands like California's very of melodically driven d&b, that undoubtedly seen a shift towards planting 50 plants around the city. their debut album until 2003's own Minutemen. An incredibly sounds amazing both at home and DJs. The festival itself is run by hard- People. It was released to critical creative and fun band with an even in the club – but sometimes leaves This year is distinctly more elec- working volunteers from all parts acclaim and led to the band win- bigger life performance, and an act you wanting to be on a beach. tronic music based than previous of Kosovo and the Balkans, who ning the Best Albanian Rock Video you will definitely regret if you Having made a name for himself years, perhaps reflecting the are brought together by a mutual and Best Camera Direction for the miss this weekend. Songs like the with a string of successful remix- recent growth of house, techno love and appreciation of the same title-track, 'People'. In case you're more recent 'Musteqe' are sure to es, Lenzman's work sets himself and bass music scene's in Europe sounds and ideas. wondering – it was worth the wait. be well-received so make sure you apart from other d&b producers and the shift of mainstream music NGOMfest starts Friday, July 5, On record, you can't go wrong with stop by, maybe grab a loved one, through his work with real life to more electronic sounding and ends on the Sunday, July 7. their politically charged lyrics, and have a quick dance. vocalists, notably Riya in 2010's artists (albeit with a more “radio- The various stages are located heavy riffs and melodic singing – single 'Open Page' – a stunning friendly” sound). across Prizren. This years head- but live, it's even louder, energetic Lenzman release which follows the familiar NGOMfest itself though is more line acts include Baba Zula and sort of sorrowfully beautiful. 160 bpm breakbeat pattern we've than just about music – the festival (Turkey) and Stillness. The next Expect lots of hairy men, head- In my eyes, Lenzman is the high- come to expect from drum & bass, organisers are keen to work to three bands/artists are my banging and ridiculously dark light of the non-guitar music matched with Riya's gorgeous improve inter-ethnic relations in favourite three on the line-up, and clothing. stylings offered by the lovely peo- vocals, slow synth and subtle Kosovo, which is especially fitting three you definitely cannot miss. ple of NGOMfest. Whilst there is a piano notes. Lenzman's 'liquid- when thinking about the host-city Pinkmetal wide variety of DJs and electronic funk' sounds will be an amazing itself and it's multiethnic popula- Troja music artists playing what looks to soundtrack to the warm, summer tion. Moreover, the NGOMfest Prishtina’s indie post-punk be an amazing weekend of music nights and have you humming organisers have also put a lot of Troja, are no doubt the undis- heroes are a band that showcase and events, the Dutch Lenzman bass-lines all the way back to your emphasis on the environment and puted heavyweight champions of the energy of 70s punk rock bands has garnered acclaim from the tent. eco-friendly ideas, which they did Albanian hard rock/metal. like the Sex Pistols whilst simulta- international drum and bass com- through organising a litter clean Forming in the 90s in Prishtina, at neously keeping in with a more munity for his beautiful contribu- For more information, visit a time of large political unrest, creative sound reminiscent of tions to the 'liquid funk' sub-genre www.ngomfest.com. Bar review Si n’Bahçe ocated in what some might sorts rather than a mere bar per- call the heart of Prishtina son, constructing impressive look- Land its local identity, Si ing cocktails in record time, whilst n'Bahçe sits just underneath the sheepishly looking down at my bot- FC Prishtina home stadium – tle of Peja (which in retrospect, I which has seen definitely better don't regret - you can't go wrong days, but is still a large an impres- with a cold Peja for 1.50!). The wait- sive structure. staff where eagerly on hand to The bar itself sticks out from make sure everyone was happy, the hulking concrete stadium and and the music played at a nice vol- the graffiti splattered walls as a ume to keep the atmosphere cosy modern and attractive restaurant rather than annoying. Inside isn't and bar, complete with comfy very popular during the summer, sofas, advertisements for fresh but has been constructed to look Mojitos and a wide variety of warm and comfortable, with low other cocktails, as well as a lighting and candles on tables. detached restaurant. Music plays Overall, Si n'Bahçe is a cosy, wel- and fills the place with a lovely coming and surprisingly large bar summer vibe, especially in the late with a lovely restaurant. Great afternoon sun. quality beverages and snacks, as Also offering a wide array of fin- well as great music and service. ger-foods, as well as a full menu in - Art Badivuku the restaurant, in addition to the beverages, Si n'Bahçe is a beauti- Si n'Bahçe is located right fully designed bar, which manages underneath the Prishtina to balance quality and price stadium, Prishtina. impressively well. https://www.facebook.com/page I sat in awe of the bartender, who s/Si-nBahçe was more like a bar engineer of 044702288 20 July 5 - 18, 2013 inside prishtina Ecosovo The Gouda-maker of Dragodan

By Elizabeth Gowing

hen I first moved to Kosovo I asked hungrily what kinds of cheeses were available here. “We have white cheese and we have Wyellow cheese,” I was informed. It’s not an appetizing range of options. In fact it’s not even strictly true as Kosovo has a wealth of dairy prod- ucts. One of my favourite hard cheeses has been the Sharri cheese, made in the villages in the area around Prizren, and stored in brine, often accompanied with herbs. Its saltiness can sometimes overwhelm the flavour beneath, which is almost like a Parmesan, though without the dis- tinctive fruitiness. ‘I’m Lu’ Elevates Bags Nevertheless, it is the case that Kosovo’s hard cheeses don’t have much variety - certainly nothing like the subtle graduations in other dairy prod- ucts that can’t be correctly translated into English for the processes from milk to curd: ajka, gjize, maze, kajmak, krem, schmand, kos, yogurt, djath. to an Art If you lined them up they would create a delicious colour chart shifting from white through ecru. But now the colour chart has store is as welcoming as their that I’m LU does not use leather in a new splash of yellow in it – mixed some- owners. “We suggest bags for the production of their bags. times with red, or green, or orange - or all someone’s girlfriend or mother. They even encourage their cus- the colours of good spices. Holland Kaas is a By Una Hajdari One lady bought a handful of tote tomers to buy a tote from their new Kosovar company making its own arti- bags as a wedding gift,” says affordable and diversely-sized san Gouda cheeses. The first one rolled (lit- Mustafa of their varied clientele. range, starting from six euros a ast month saw the opening erally) off their production line in The bags seem to suit a wide taste, pop. The tote bags being the of the long-awaited I’m LU December and now twenty Prishtina restau- since they say that people have cheapest, the most expensive bag Lstore, which now offers shipped them to their friends in you can get at I’m LU is 45 euros. rants and three sales points in the city offer Prishtina dwellers a novel the UK and the Netherlands. The owners suggest that you this local product. I was wary of trying it approach to bag design and utility. Good client relations may be drop by between 4 p.m. until 9 pm, after various disappointments with The collection that is currently on based on the fact that I’m LU even though their store opens at Kosovo’s greasier, rubbery, slightly sickly display in their store has been in offers something that is quite 11 am. During this time, you can “yellow” cheeses, but this week I sat down the works for almost a year, and uncommon in Kosovo. “People expect to be told about each bag’s with Holland Kaas’s owner, Visar Gervalla, only a lucky few might have got- and sampled two of the varieties his compa- ten a glimpse of the bags before can bring back their bags to get conception in detail, the materi- ny produces. their June opening. them fixed if something is not als used in its production, and the The base Gouda cheese was excellent – Isah Mustafa and Loreta right, we repair them free of type of individual it targets. If tangy with a fruity aftertaste and a slightly Ukshini, who are also married, charge,” Mustafa says. They even you’re fortunate, you might be nutty bass note. Visar tells me how it’s made are the duo who decided to set seem to receive very specific able to peek behind the alu- – the 10 litres of milk that go into every kilo- orders. A group of police officers minum-shade curtains in the Visar Gervalla and his very deli- their careers on the backburner gram of cheese, and the four to six week who had come to the store asked if back that lead you to their work- cious cheese. in order to fill what they thought maturing process required for each wheel of was a gap in the bag market in their bags could be fitted with an station and witness the creation cheese. He takes milk from local farms daily and once he’s produced the Kosovo. The name of the brand inside compartment for their of an entirely new, completely curds from it, they have a day of pressing, a night of draining, are sunk in carries both of their initials, and revolvers. I’m LU offered them a unique I’m LU bag. brine for three to four days and then each wheel is covered in an organic their aim is to offer a refreshing variety of materials with which wax to protect it. There are no artificial additives or preservatives added change from the ubiquitous Louis they could fulfill their particular Rr. Gustav Majer, Nr. 7 at any stage in the process. Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana rip- need. Located behind the To the base cheese, Visar adds a range of herbs and other flavourings offs. Environmentalists and animal “Megasport”, on the street to the including pesto, pepperoncino, fenugreek, cumin and even saffron. The bags, displayed in the store lovers alike will be happy to know left of the Albi Supermarket. Personally I think that’s a waste, because the added flavours can drown on upside-down clothes hangers, out what distinguishes this cheese from the bland ‘Trappist’ cheeses that are innovative in both their shape are more familiar here, many of which carry the processed taste of the and utility. Ranging from a sur- milk powder from which they’re made. But as something to grate over prisingly elegant fish-shaped your pasta or risotto, the version with pepperoncino will serve. I was more black bag to an everyday tote bag interested in gobbling up the pieces of unspiced Gouda Visar offered me with a Balkan-specific “I Heart while he tells his story. Burek” imprint on it, the bags He worked in the UK and the US before coming back to Kosovo, where will suit even the most selective he is now a co-owner of De Rada restaurant. Of course the restaurant now tastes. Possibly even entice a serves the cheese as part of its cold and hot meze — the cheese melts bril- chuckle or two. liantly — but Visar supplies a score of other restaurants in town. He’s I’m LU aimed to change peo- proud of the fact that he’s received no grants or institutional aid for his ple’s perception of bags from the start-up, and now he’s taking his ideas further. onset. “Just like a nice painting His latest venture opens today: a new point of sale for his cheese and a will complete a room, the proper range of good wines in the centre of town. Holland Kaas Cheese and Wine bag that reflects an individual’s shop is near Papirun and offers good French wines as well as Eko wines personality will complete their from Kosovo. So go to a new shop this weekend and find for yourself some look,” says Ukshini, who says that delicious tastes which also support local entrepreneurship and local farm- her arts degree didn’t prove to be ers. You can’t believe everything you’re told about Kosovan cheese. of much use when she realized Dragodan’s Holland Kaas cheese is available for sale at the Viva Fresh she had to start learning how to store in Veternik, at the cheese workshop in Dragodan (near the new flats put together a bag. Now she and and ‘5 Senses’ restaurant and the former ICO) and at the Holland Kaas Mustafa know what it takes to sew Cheese and Wine Shop (near PaPirun sandwich bar, after the Cavallero a bag, whether a small purse or an Mexican restaurant) in the centre of town. urban-style backpack for your The shop is open 10:00 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. laptop, and they say that they come up with a new one every day. Elizabeth Gowing is a founder of The Ideas Partnership, a Kosovan The store display is definitely NGO using volunteer power to tackle educational, cultural heritage and one you aren’t likely to encounter Y environmental challenges. She is also the author of Travels in Blood and often in Prishtina. Boasting a pen- M Honey; becoming a beekeeper in Kosovo (2011) and Edith and I; on the trail guin-shaped bag in one corner, C of an Edwardian traveler in Kosovo – www.edith-and-i.com – published and a colorful array of saddlebags K this summer. She can be reached on [email protected] with cut-out flaps in the other, the I’m LU’s bags start at just 6 euro and top out at 45. opinion July 5 - 18, 2013 21

A man flies a kite on a roof at Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, as thousands of protesters gather on the Square on June 29. (Gero Breloer/AP via Beta) Outside In Turkish Youth Speak to the World Turks from Balkaners, while they contributing to the tarnishing of also acknowledge the common tra- Turkey's democracy. ditions with Turkey. But this It now transpires that what By Kreshnik Hoxha rather flawed image about Turkish seemed to be a total apathy of the people across the Balkans and the Turkish youth about the political world seems to be shattering in the developments in the country was a aftermath of the protests in simmering disappointment and he Turkish youth are speak- Istanbul. rancour with the leadership of PM ing up. Turk youngsters, “The entire world realised that Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His suc- Twhom we have always belit- we are not fez-wearing and camel- cess in Turkey's economic develop- tled as tea-drinking guys and riding people,” tweeted Hakan ment has been overshadowed con- jumper-knitting girls because of Demir, an outspoken protester siderably by his recent attempts to our ignorance, are precisely the who uses Twitter to post about the interfere with the lives of people. same ones who now are teaching a demonstration, while Turkish His last law enforcement on the lesson not only to Kosovo or the media broadcast documentaries restriction of alcohol sale late at Balkans, but to the entire world on how to protest in a civilised and about penguins as a sign of com- night is just one of the examples creative way. Messages coming pliance with the state censorship. illustrating his tendency to impose from the former Ottoman capital It's been more than a month conservative lifestyles on Turkey's these days demonstrate that the since Turkey hit the headlines on progressive classes. real opposition in a country are the world media with the ongoing Using a rather arrogant and bul- Young women take a break from protesting as they read Girgir, a popular Turkish satirical the citizens and their non-partisan protests against the government lying tone of voice, Erdogan magazine, in Istanbul’s Kugulu Park in June. The magazine’s cover depicts a masked resistance. plans to transform Gezi Park, one labelled all protesters as being a Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Burhan Ozbilici/AP via Beta) The people in the Balkans have of the few left in Istanbul, into a marginal group and ordered the always been caught in a dichotomy shopping centre. What started as a police to use force to smother the word from a looter to "someone sibility for the Turkish citizens regarding the Turks, confused clash between environmentalists voices which challenge his leader- who fights for their rights." that are not part of his electorate. and municipal authorities mor- ship. He called the protesters cha- whether they like or loathe them. Turkish police used dispropor- We live in the century where the phed into an open battle for pullers, which means a looter in Starting from the presence of the tionate force on protesters in order national and religious identities human rights, freedom of expres- Turkish. This word fuelled the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans all to disperse the crowds, but the have ceased being the pillars sion, protests against censorship, intellectual and witty resistance the way to the Turkish Yesilcam plans fell flat on their face because which define humankind. It is the neoliberal politics, lack of on the streets of Turkey as well as films of the 1980s, there has been a the protesters responded to the ideas and principles for freedom, continuous prejudice against the accountability and state interfer- Twitter and Facebook, in this was disproportionate use of force with equality, cohabitation and prosper- ence into personal lifestyles - all transforming the meaning of the disproportionate intelligence by ity what define the humankind of intensifying the resistance. the 21st century. The best example Banners with the most stabbing of these principles refers to the humour and wit against the gov- protests staged by the youth in ernment flooded across Turkey. Athens in support of the Istanbul The creative protests reached resistance, despite the bitter histo- their pinnacle when Erdem ry between the two countries. Gunduz, a choreographer, chose Kosovar Albanians too, are a an alternative form of protest and nation that have gone through decided to stand in Taksim Square Serbia's terror and violence and facing the Ataturk Cultural thus can empathise very well with Centre. As a result, the standing inequality and discrimination. man campaign spread across Therefore, Kosovar Albanians Turkey. should give their support to the Progressives, religious groups, ongoing battles in Turkey for a hijab wearing women, LGBT com- modern state where every fraction munity, artists, lawyers and even of the Turkish nation can enjoy the tourists joined the standing their freedom, be it collective or man protest. This was a powerful individual. message sent to the world clarify- “The tea drinkers” and “jumper- ing that the protests are not a clash knitters” are being belittled and between Islam and secularism, but insulted by their own PM. represent a fight for the rights of However, the determination and the Turkish population, which are civic activism shown by these pro- under constant breach by the arro- testers should serve as a role gant and totalitarian-leaning lead- model for the Balkans. It teaches ership of Erdogan. us all a lesson on how not to bow to Today, the Turks need the unwa- injustice and how to resist those vering support of the entire world politicians that regard politics as a in their quest for equality and privilege rather than a service. democracy. The world must join Keep chapulling, Turkish youth, the chapullers to make it clear to and keep inspiring with your People walk past photographs and graffiti painted by protesters in Kugulu Park in Ankara on June 28. (Burhan Ozbilici/AP via Beta) Erdogan that he also has a respon- unique resistance. 22 July 5 - 18, 2013 international 10-Year-Old Boy’s Death in Yemen Drone Strike Tests Obama’s Transparency Pledge generally on the White House posi- CIA Director John Brennan White House spokeswoman, would in militant activity without neces- tion on acknowledging civilian offered one of the few public expla- not say why. sarily knowing their identities. The deaths. She referred further ques- nations of how casualties are The government sharply dis- newly instituted drone rules report- by Cora Currier, tions to the CIA, which also assessed during his nomination putes that there have been large edly roll back the military’s ability ProPublica declined to comment. hearing in February. Before his con- numbers of civilian deaths but has to use signature strikes, but the CIA The president’s speech was the firmation, Brennan was the White never released its own figures. can keep firing in Pakistan under capstone on a shift in drone war House counterterrorism adviser, Independent counts, largely com- the old rules at least through the end n June 9, a U.S. drone fired policy that would reportedly bring and is considered to be the architect piled from news reports, range of the year. on a vehicle in a remote the program largely under control of Obama’s drone war policy. from about 200 to around 1,000 for An administration official told Oprovince of Yemen and of the military (as opposed to the He told senators that, “analysts Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia ProPublica last year that when a killed several militants, according CIA) and impose stricter criteria draw on a large body of informa- combined over the past decade. strike is made, “if a group of fight- to media reports. on who could be targeted. In theo- tion — human intelligence, signals Researchers agree that the num- ing-age males are in a home where It soon emerged that among ry, it could also bring some of the intelligence, media reports, and ber of drone strikes and civilian we know they are constructing those who died was a boy – 10-year- classified program into the open. surveillance footage — to help us deaths have dropped during the explosives or plotting an attack, old Abdulaziz, whose elder broth- As part of its transparency effort, make an informed determination past year. it's assumed that all of them are in er, Saleh Hassan Huraydan, was the administration released the about whether civilians were in The London-based Bureau of on that effort.” believed to be the target of the names of four U.S. citizens who fact killed or injured.” Investigative Journalism, which The new White House fact sheet strike. A McClatchy reporter had been killed in drone strikes. Brennan also said the U.S. could generally has the highest tally of contradicts that, stating: “It is not recently confirmed the child’s An official White House fact sheet work with local governments to civilian dead, has found there were the case that all military-aged death with locals. on targeted killing released along offer condolence payments. As between three and 16 civilians males in the vicinity of a target It’s the first prominent allega- with the speech repeated the “near- we’ve reported, there’s little visi- reportedly killed in about 30 drone are deemed to be combatants.” tion of a civilian death since certainty” standard for avoiding ble evidence of that happening. or other airstrikes in Yemen and From the outside, in a strike like President Obama pledged in a civilian casualties. Secretary of At the hearing, Sen. Ron Wyden, Pakistan so far this year. No strikes the recent one in Yemen, it’s major speech in May “to facilitate State John Kerry reiterated it a few D-Ore., asked Brennan if the U.S. have been reported in Somalia. impossible to know how these transparency and debate” about days later, when he told an audience should acknowledge when it “Official” statistics might not be things were determined. the U.S. war on al Qaida-linked in Ethiopia: “We do not fire when we “makes a mistake and kills the much help without knowing more McClatchy reported that the tar- militants beyond Afghanistan. He know there are children or collateral wrong person.” about how they were compiled, get, Saleh Hassan Huraydan, had also said “there must be near-cer- — we just don't do it.” “We need to acknowledge it pub- said Sarah Holewinski, head of “largely unquestioned” ties to al tainty that no civilians will be But White House press secretary licly,” Brennan responded. the advocacy group Center for Qaida. Yemeni officials said he killed or injured” in a strike. Jay Carney said in late May that Brennan also proposed that the Civilians in Conflict. arranged to bring money and fight- So what does the administration “this commitment to transparen- government make public “the That’s because it’s still not clear ers from Saudi Arabia to Yemen. have to say in response to evidence cy…does not mean that we would be overall numbers of civilian deaths how the U.S. distinguishes As for Huraydan’s young broth- that a child was killed? able to discuss the details of every resulting from U.S. strikes.” between civilians and “militants,” er, “They may not have realized Nothing. counterterrorism operation.” Neither overall numbers nor a or “combatants.” who was in the car. Or they may National security spokeswoman The new White House statements policy of acknowledging casual- In so-called signature strikes, have realized it and decided collat- Caitlin Hayden would not com- don’t address what happens after a ties made it into Obama’s speech, operators sometimes fire on groups eral damage was okay,” ment on the June 9 strike or more strike, even in general terms. or into the fact sheet. Hayden, the of people who appear to be engaged Holewinski says. marketing

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