Opinion: Will Serbs Ever Learn to Love NATO?

November 26 - December 9, 2010 Issue No. 52 www.prishtinainsight.com Price € 1 Businesses ELECTION SPECIAL Dead President Slam Rugova Still On Maternity Electoral Roll Leave > page 3 Extension NEWS Serbia ‘Starting A new labour law has Kosovo Talks angered the Kosovo Empty-handed’ business community after it extended maternity leave from four months to a year

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Poll Errors Raise Fears > page 5 BUSINESS For Kosovo Election Delays Risk Concerns have been raised about the preparedness of Kosovo’s election bodies and its largest monitoring mission after Kosovo’s World both admitted making serious errors in a municipal poll. Bank Aid results announced on Monday. two of the three polling stations their mistakes, and handed the > page 6 By Petrit Collaku The error put the Democratic forgotten by the CEC. During the second place in the poll to the League of Kosovo, LDK, in first communications process between AAK. osovo’s Central Election place with 28.3 per cent and the monitors at the polling stations The discovery that major errors NEIGHBOURHOOD Commission, the CEC, and Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, and those inputting data at the had occurred in a small municipal Business Booms for Kthe country’s largest moni- in second place with 26.9 per cent. headquarters in Prishtina, votes election has raised concerns about toring mission, Democracy in The Alliance for the Future of were switched between PDK and how ready Kosovo’s institutions Croatia’s Gigolos Action, have admitted making Kosovo, AAK, candidate, Smajl AAK, again putting the PDK in will be to run a national election in mistakes in counting the votes in Latifi, came third with 25.8 per second place. two weeks’ time. Sunday’s local election in the cent. According to these results, The AAK announced on Monday The former leader of > page 11 southwestern town of Rahovec, the PDK and LDK would have con- that it would contest the results Democracy in Action, which will handing second place to the wrong tested the second round on after it discovered that the three field more than 4,000 monitors in party. December 19. polling stations had not been the general election, rather than It has emerged that the Rahovec The revised results showed put included. It said the errors had 71, as it did on Sunday, said the Municipal Election Commission, the LDK on 27.65 per cent, the AAK deprived it of 457 votes and its errors had damaged the organisa- Kosovo’s only English-language responsible for gathering the on 26.72 per cent and the PDK on rightful second place in the elec- tion and did not bode well for the newspaper is available: results for the CEC, failed to 26.55 per cent. tion. December 12 vote. include the votes from three Democracy in Action also made On Wednesday, both Democracy Delivered to polling stations in the preliminary mistakes in counting the votes in in Action and the CEC confirmed continues page 2 Your Door

Organ Trade Charges Kosovo’s Mysterious Dialect From Newsstands Rock Kosovo Fades Away across Kosovo

Kosovo’s medical establishment has The small town of Rahovec in the fertile Sent To been rocked by allegations that one of its Dukagjin valley of western Kosovo is Your Inbox top doctors was the ringleader of an inter- mainly famed for its wines, which mix national organ trafficking gang, which varieties plucked from all over the world. lured desperately poor people to Prishtina But one local blend that is less well From to sell their kidneys. known is the area’s unique local dialect, our partners Dr Lutfi Dervishi... which mingles elements... feature page 12-13 culture page 15 see page 23 for more info

Y M is supported by: C K 2 November 26 - December 9, 2010 Election Special Editor’s Word Convicted Kosovo Candidates Premtimi Exploit Loophole Concerns about Kosovo’s image have been raised after it By Lawrence Marzouk emerged that the candidate list for the December 12 election includes a series of politicians who are suspected of serious ’m giving up on journal- ism. There’s no money in crimes and others who have been convicted but are allowed Iit. to stand because they are appealing I’ve been inspired to set up my own political party called Syla is under investigation by ‘Vote for Me and I’ll Give You the EU’s rule of law mission, Some Money Party (I EULEX, after a self-declared Promise)’. By Petrit Collaku assassin, Nazim Bllaca, went It’s quite a simple concept, public about his crimes in you see, and will go down like November 2009, implicating Syla a free buffet at a homeless in the work of Kosovo’s unoffi- disco among the poor masses he number of politicians cial secret service, SHIK, which of Kosovo. standing in Kosovo’s general has been officially disbanded. If you vote for me, I’ll give Telection next month who Syla, who was also an impor- you a pay rise. That’s it, sim- have been convicted or are under tant figure in the Kosovo criminal investigations could ple. Liberation Army, has been inter- hamper Kosovo’s European Union It’s a little bit like driving viewed by EULEX and has had integration, civil society mem- around throwing lots of his house searched. No charges bers are warning. money out of the window, have, however, been pressed. According to Kosovo’s law on expect it’s probably legal and The third PDK candidite, general election, a candidate can- more targeted. Rrustrem Mustafa, was sen- not be certified if he or she has And the great thing about tenced last October to four years Elections take place on December 12 been convicted of a crime within this plan is that I will not have for war crimes but has appealed. the previous three years. But Fehmi Ajvazi, the CEC visa liberalisation and from inte- to spend a dime, because the The leader of the biggest oppo- because the law says the ban spokesman, told Balkan Insight. gration of EU,” FOL said in a money I’ll be giving out will be sition party, the Alliance for the applies only following a “final He added that Commission had statement. the money I will have collected Future of Kosovo, AAK, Ramush decision”, those lodging appeals given the public 24 hours to “Also, we ask the CEC, state in taxes from other people Haradinaj is leading the list can still stand. appeal. prosecutor and Kosovo police to who didn’t vote for me. while in detention at The Hague, The Central Election Deputy head of EULEX Andy cooperate better during the certi- It’s a bit like reusing a pres- awaiting a retrial. Commission, CEC, last week cer- Sparkes said that while everyone fication of candidates.” ent from someone you don’t Another party leader seeking tified the list of all candidates of accepts the principle of ‘inno- Anti-corruption NGO COHU like with the cunning use of a votes from the electorate is for- political parties for the December cent until proven guilty’, the said that there had been no legal pretty bow in the hope that the mer assembly speaker Nexhat 12 snap poll, giving the public two decision to run such candidates violations because the system decoration will divert atten- Daci, the head of the Democratic days to make complaints about did nothing for Kosovo’s image. deliberately contained loopholes. tion from the fact that the box League of Dardania. He was would-be parliamentarians. “In my personal view, where Avni Zogiani, the organisa- of chocolates is out of date. found guilty by a Prishtina court But as no complaints were someone is publicly known to be tion’s head, said: “Technically I was thinking that I might on November 10 of “misappropri- received, even candidates who under investigation or judicial there has been no violation on start by offering the teachers ation in office”, which included had been convicted of an offence procedure, it would be better and this issue, but the judicial sys- some extra cash, but then that taking more than 1,000 euro of and were not under appeal, such more honourable, and better for tem is regulated in such a way quick-witted Hashim Thaci public funds to buy himself new as Albin Kurti, leader of the the reputation of Kosovo, if they that it can accommodate political got in before me with his spectacles and have dental work nationalist Vetevendosje move- would not present themselves for violations,” Zogiani told worked-out-on-the-back-of-an- peformed in 2005. He was sen- ment, have been included on the public office until they have Prishtina Insight. envelope announcement. tenced to a one-and-a-half year list. cleared their names,” Sparkes Agim Zogaj, head of the politi- You see, teachers are great suspended sentence but has A total of three party leaders told journalists. cal science department at because there are lots of them, appealed. have either been convicted or The NGO FOL movement sup- Pristina University, claimed that earn little and vote a lot. Also, the CEC has confirmed accused of crimes,and another ported the statement of Sparkes the ‘name issue’ had been over- Still, at least the police is the Self-determination move- three of the top ten candidates after he was attacked for his com- dramatised. left. They are on a measly 250 ment leader Albin Kurti as a can- for the country’s largest party, ments by pro-government publi- “We should not be influenced euros a month, so don’t they didate. Kurti was given a nine the Democratic Party of Kosovo, cations. by prejudices,” Zogaj told deserve similar treatment? months suspended sentence in PDK, are under police investiga- It said that political parties Prishtina Insight. He added that Then, I’ll move on to doctors June for his role in February tion or have been convicted. should show democratic maturi- most of the names running for and maybe throw in the odd 2007 riots, but was released Prime Minister Hashim ty and filter out such candidates. the coming elections have been sop to dustbin men, if I can immediately. Since then he has Thaci’s PDK’s list includes “FOL asks political parties not proven to be important names in find any, and in no time I will been under home arrest. Fatmir Limaj, the Minister of to use the legal gaps to present Kosovo’s history. be Prime Minister. “We have allowed them [to Transport, who is under investi- people under criminal proce- “According to the law they Unless, of course, Thaci, or stand] because there is no final gation for corruption, and Azem dures, which will harm Kosovo’s have the right to run for elec- one of those other cheque- decision about their cases and Syla, a former commander of the image and will distance the coun- tions and this is democracy,” he book politicians gets there they have the right to appeal,” Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA. try further from the process of added. before me. I’ll have to be fast, so will head down to Mother Teresa now with my soapbox. Poll Errors Raise Fears For Kosovo Election So, when you see me hollow- ing out ‘Vote for Me and I’ll from page 1 parties. from three polling stations were not included in Give you Some Money (I The AAK, meanwhile, has launched an attack the preliminary results,” Pecani told Prishtina Promise)’, please sign up to Leon Malazogu told Prishtina Insight that he on Democracy in Action, saying that “Kosovo’s Insight. “When we checked all the paperwork the party. doubted that the mistakes were of a technical civil society was not playing its role” on Sunday. that arrived in Prishtina, we saw there was a And if you have any doubts nature in the headquarters. He fears votes may An international source close to the election mistake,” he said. about my honesty, just remem- have been switched in polling stations. process raised concerns about the CEC’s failure Ismet Kryeziu, Leader of Democracy in ber the premtimi, or promise, “The organisation is based on volunteers and to spot the errors earlier on, given that it Action, told Prishtina Insight that the “mistake bit of the party name. it is never 100-per-cent sure which volunteers are involved just one municipality with 71 polling was very serious but we are human and we make I wouldn’t lie to you, would involved,” Malazogu said. stations. mistakes. I? I’m a politician now, after He added that political parties have the same Xhemail Pecani, head of the CEC’s secretariat, “Data was wrongly entered into the database all. problems with volunteers because their moni- insisted that the mistake was not a major issue. and the mistake was made in two polling sta- tors were also sometimes “bought off” by rival “There was a technical error… and the ballots tions,” he told the TV programme Life in Kosovo.

Y M C +381 38 602042, +377 44 243367, +386 49 243367 K Election Special November 26 - December 9, 2010 3 Dead President Rugova Still On Kosovo Electoral Roll Ibrahim Rugova has again appeared on the list of voters in the website of the Central Election Commission for the elections due on December 12. the list. “It might be another person called Ibrahim Rugova,” Camaj told Prishtina Insight, despite the fact that the Rugova on By Petrit Collaku the electoral roll shares the same birthday. He added that it is usually up to families to report the deaths of relatives to their he name of Kosovo’s first president, municipal authorities. However, “It is a cus- Ibrahim Rugova, who died in 2006, has tom of people in Kosovo not to report the Tagain appeared on the electoral roll on deaths of family members, which creates the website of the Central Election problems”. Commission for general elections due on Camaj said the electoral roll had been December 12. sent to the Central Election Commission ten Rugova’s name did not appear on the list days ago, and it was too late to make for the 2009 local elections after having pre- changes. “It’s too late now,” he said, “but it viously been present on the list for the 2007 would be good if the media reminded people elections. to report the deaths of loved ones.” The presence of the Kosovo’s first presi- But the Central Election Commission, dent on the electoral roll comes despite cam- CEC, which in charge of organising next paigns before the 2007 and 2009 polls to erad- months snap poll, told Prishtina Insight that icate dead people on the voters’ list. the list is “preliminary” and can be updated Kosovo’s interior ministry, in charge of by citizens between November 22 and 26. updating the registry, said the most recent CEC spokesman Fehmi Ajvazi could not, list was compiled and altered on the basis of however, offer any explanation to why death certificates supplied by the munici- Rugova’s name had reappeared on the list Rugova’s voting page on the CEC website palities. after having been removed for the 2009 elec- must pay 20 euro and send a letter to the Prishtina Insight reported in September Blerim Camaj, head of the registry tions. municipality to ensure that their loved- that one 123-year-old woman, and another agency, said officials in charge of updating “We continue to have problems with peo- one’s name is removed. aged 120-year-old, had voted in November the voting list were 99 per cent certain that ple who do not report deaths of family mem- Rugova is not the only deceased person on last year. If both had been alive they would they had eliminated deceased people from bers to the courts,” he said, adding that they the voting list. Prishtina Insight has represent the oldest people on earth. checked the names of other deceased per- But according to the most recent electoral sons whose families said they reported the roll, they remain registered to vote. deaths to the Prishtina municipality, in Rugova’s name was removed from the Grenade Attack on spite of which their names also appear on website last night after Prishtina Insight the list of voters. contacted the CEC. Kosovo Serb Election Marketing Candidate grenade attack on the home of a up patrols and checkpoints. Kosovo Serb candidate in the Stojkovic believes that it is difficult to APristina-run poll is the latest sign of envisage Serbs in the north voting while the growing tension in the country’s north. their representatives were under attack. Dragan Stojkovic, who last year ran for “I don’t see anyone being interested to mayor of the Serb-dominated town of vote and no one is interested in fixing this Zvecan, in the north of the country, situation,” he added. announced his candidacy for Kosovo’s par- But the situation is more stable and con- liament last Thursday, representing the ducive for voting in other areas of Kosovo. We are pleased to annouce the completion of a Serbian Democratic Party of Kosovo and “All I can say is that the election atmos- Real Estate Appraisal for Metohija, SDSKIM. phere in Gracanica is better then the last Just after midnight on Monday, elections,” Bojan Todorovic, advisor to the Prishtina High School Stojkovic’s home was targeted with one M-75 Gracanica mayor Bojan Stojanovic told Prishtina, Kosovo grenade, an explosive device made during Prishtina Insight, referring to 2009 local the Yugoslav period, according to Kosovo election in which Mr Stojanovic was elected. police. He was last attacked in similar fash- He said that people there are keen to use ion in September. their right to vote and elect their representa- The door to his shop was damaged in the tives in Kosovo. blast but no-one was injured. Another Serb party, the United Serb List, The attack comes just days after the is also certified to take part in December’s Serbian government called on Kosovo Serbs parliamentary elections. to boycott Pristina-run elections on Its leader Sreten Ivanovic said that his December 12. party comprises individuals, NGOs and Stojkovic told Prishtina Insight: “Now, smaller parties who want to find a solution this [attack] gives you a picture of whether to the problems of the Serb community the Serb community here will go out and through Kosovo’s institutions. vote.” He added that the coming elections are The elections represent the second to have important for the Serb community because taken place in Kosovo since the declaration they should use their right to elect people of independence of February 2008. who will represent them. Local elections in November last year “Serb representatives will not lose any- were deemed a success of a good turnout of thing if they are inside Kosovo’s govern- the Serb community across much of Kosovo, ment. On the contrary, they will benefit a despite calls from Belgrade not to vote. lot,” Ivanovic told Prishtina Insight. But in the country’s troubled north, Ivanovic said the Serbian government is which is home to most of Kosovo’s Serbs not inviting the Serb community to take and which borders Serbia, virtually no part but he believes that there will, nonethe- Serbs visited the mobile polling stations set less, be a large turnout of Kosovo Serbs in For further information contact: up. eastern and central areas. www.ireas-ks.com The area has been the scene of mounting “There are individuals in the list whose tension in recent months, including inter- parties are based in Serbia, and still want to International Real Estate Appraisal Services ethnic clashes and bomb attacks, leading to solve issues inside Kosovo’s institutions for Prishtina, Kosovo KFOR, Nato’s mission in Kosovo, stepping their people,” Ivanovic said. 4 November 26 - December 9, 2010 news Serbia Risks Starting Kosovo Quote of the Fortnight Talks ‘Empty-handed’ ritish Prime Minister David Cameron made this cryptic comment mocking While Belgrade claims it is ready for long-expected discussion with Prishtina, Serbia Bthe post of ‘Ambassador to Prishtina’ has yet to reveal its strategy – and many fear it doesn’t have one. last week at the Spectator magazine’s politi- cian of the year awards. It comes, perhaps, which have outstanding terri- Kosovo, north of the town of in response to an earlier comment by badly torial disputes or conflicts Mitrovica. coiffed Boris Johnson – Mayor of London, By Bojana Barlovac with their neighbours. While Serbia ponders its political maverick and former editor of the Belgrade Addressing the UN Security agenda behind closed doors, Spectator – about fighting off ‘Kosovo-style Council on November 12, analysts note that Serbia holds cleansing’ in the UK’s capital. Johnson was Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Vuk a few strong cards. referring to Cameron’s cuts to social hous- Jeremic, called for dialogue Kesic says the support that ing which will lead to thousands of people n the run-up to long-expected with Kosovo to start as the Serbia currently enjoys in the being moved out of London to cheaper talks between Kosovo and only way to achieve “a peace- corridors of Brussels at the areas. ISerbia, concern is growing in “I think the great thing about the ful European future for the moment constitutes one of Does Tadic have a plan for Kosovo? Belgrade that the country may go Western Balkans”. Belgrade’s main advantages. Spectator is your extraordinary heritage, into the discussions with no clear vote of no-confidence in the Milivoje Mihajlovic, head of He also believes that the remarkable figures who’ve sat in the agenda in place. government of Hashim Thaci, the government’s information Prishtina needs an agreement editor’s chair. I’m thinking of people like The government’s strategy for paving the way for snap elec- Iain Macleod, Nigel Lawson and obviously the talks has yet to be defined or bureau, also insists that with Belgrade more than tions scheduled for December Belgrade “wants talks to start Serbia needs an agreement not forgetting my own particular favourite. made public, a negotiation team is 12. We went to the same school, the same uni- not in place and no one appears to as soon as possible and to with Kosovo, mainly because Predrag Simic, Professor of result in the reconciliation of Kosovo faces severe economic versity and of course I’ve got a soft spot for know what will be on the table. International Relations at him. A man of high intelligence and huge the two sides”. problems that it cannot over- Serbian officials need to stop Belgrade University, believes ambition…An irresistible charmer with an But he declined to clarify come without Serbian assis- repeating that they want talks to that Prishtina is no more pre- enviable head of hair… Always bursting whether Serbia’s agenda for tance. start and work instead on develop- pared for negotiations than is with brilliant turns of phrase and bright the talks was in place, whether Ever since Kosovo declared ing their strategy, Dusan Janjic, Belgrade. “Prishtina is only ideas…Yes, my kind of political maverick... a negotiation team had been its independence in 2008, Belgrade political analyst, told buying time,” he told Prishtina Ian Gilmour. agreed and what topics might Serbia has blocked its member- Prishtina Insight. Insight, adding that Kosovo “I’m not quite sure what went wrong for be up for discussion. ship of international institu- For their part, Belgrade officials Albanians do not enjoy the Ian. I suppose he rubbed the Prime Mihajlovic said only that tions, such as CEFTA, the insist that Serbia is ready - while same level of support from the Minister up the wrong way and never really talks needed to start with less Central European free-tade remaining coy about the details of West as they once did. recovered. Shit happens. Anyway, there’s controversial general issues zone. their strategy. The date for the talks is sup- always the chance of becoming our ambas- Following pressure from the that led on to more specific top- Kosovo also cannot export posed to be agreed between sador in Prishtina I suppose.” European Union, Serbia toned ics. “It is important for the goods through Serbia or devel- three sides: Belgrade, down the text of its planned draft talks to start soon, regardless op much in the way of econom- Prishtina and Brussels. resolution on Kosovo, which of the topic,” he said. ic cooperation in the region But while Belgrade and declared independence in 2008, The only known expert while the stalemate continues Prishtina remain far apart, which was unanimously adopted named thus far as part of with Serbia. and while Kosovo is in the by the UN General Assembly in Serbia’s team is Veljko Meanwhile, Kosovo’s feeble throes of an election cam- September. Odalovic, head of the Serbian economy is saddled with the paign, most experts believe As a reward for this gesture of Commission for Missing high cost of the country’s dialogue is unlikely to begin cooperation, Serbia’s application Persons. biggest ever infrastructural this year. for EU candidate status was for- Washington-based analyst project - construction of a Dusan Janjic says the EU warded to the European Obrad Kesic fears Belgrade is major highway between Foreign Policy Chief, Commission. far from ready for discussions Albania and Kosovo, which is Catherine Ashton, is making a Brussels has been pushing for and says it needs to make up its estimated will cost about a bil- mistake in pushing for talks to talks to start between Belgrade mind about what outcome it lion US dollars, or approxi- start when it is clear they can- and Prishtina ever since – the EU wants. mately 750 million euro. not begin for months. having made it clear that it will Belgrade needs to decide Kosovo is also in the midst of “First we have elections in not accept any new members whether its goal in the talks is political turmoil following the Kosovo, then the formation of to continue to defend its claim recent resignation of a new government, then there to territorial integrity and sov- President Fatmir Sejdiu, after will be the first 100 days of the ereignty over the whole of the constitutional court ruled new government,” he said. Kosovo, or, as many suspect, to that he broke the law by “This is going to postpone www.prishtinainsight.com negotiate on partition, with remaining leader of a political the start of the talks for Serbia taking the Serb-con- party as well as head of state. months,” Janjic told Prishtina Publisher: trolled northern sliver of Parliament then passed a Insight. UK Prime Minister David Cameron BIRN Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Kosovo: Blood Testing to Begin for Roma Lead Camp Children Mensa e Studenteve, first floor Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian children in the Osterode settlement in Mitrovica, most of whom spent their childhood living 10000, Prishtina Kosovo near an old lead mine, will soon have their blood tested for lead contamination. Phone: +381 (0) 38 24 33 58 the informal settlement of Cesmin idents contracting lead poisoning blood contamination,” Ouvry told Lug near the Trepca lead mine was have been reported over the years. Prishtina Insight. Fax: +381 (0) 38 22 44 98 closed on October 1. The head of Mercy Corps in Ouvry said that the leaders of the [email protected] By Petrit Collaku Hundreds of RAE families have Kosovo, Iveta Ouvry, said that the Roma families have been waiting lived for ten years in Cesmin Lug, an organisation will be in charge of the some time for the tests, which mark Editor-in-Chief: area that was never cleaned up and first phase of the project, which is a significant step forward for them. Lawrence Marzouk osovo’s Ministry of Health which is still extremely contaminat- blood tests. Lead contamination is toxic to signed an agreement on [email protected] ed with the heavy metal. “Then we will continue with the many body organs and tissues KTuesday with health Dozens of cases of settlement res- therapy depending on the level of the including the heart, bones, intes- Editorial Team: authorities in Mitrovica that will tines, kidneys, and the reproductive monitor and regulate the treat- Ana Petruseva, Gordana Igric, and nervous systems. ment of children in the Osterode Jeta Xharra, Marcus Tanner, Human rights and health groups settlement with high levels of lead long expressed concern about the Petrit Collaku, Inge Baanders, Shengjyl in their bloodstream. level of pollution in Cesmin Lug, one Osmani and Belinda Vrapi “This service is first of all for the of the three camps opened by the most vulnerable community- the UNHCR in 1999 to house hundreds of Marketing, Sales & Distribution: Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian, RAE, Roma refugees. [email protected] community- whose children have After the camps were officially faced exclusion from the health sys- closed in October, the remaining Design & Layout: “Rrjeti” tem for a long time,” Ilir Tolaj, per- inhabitants were resettled in Y manent secretary at the Ministry of Osterode, a nearby refugee camp Health, said in Mitrovica on Tuesday. which is considered to be safer, and M Printing: Lindi Printing Center C Most of the Osterode residents others in Roma Mahala, a district in Copyright © BIRN K were recently moved to the site after Roma children will begin to receive health checks for lead poisoning Mitrovica. news November 26 - December 9, 2010 5 Artemije Defrocked After Defying Serbian Church in Kosovo critical of the international com- munity’s actions in Kosovo, which most Serbs regard as an By Bojana Barlovac integral part of their country and whose independence they do not recognise. He has refused to accept the etired Bishop Artemije, church’s decision, claiming that it alongside 50 monks, took is not canonical. Rover a monastery in north- The retired bishop addressed ern Kosovo last Friday and served those in attendance following the liturgy, defying the decision of service in Kosovo: the Synod of Serbia’s powerful “We are gathered here to lay a Orthodox church to prohibit him new foundation, to bring back from performing his priestly duties. order, peace and unity into the Artemije held the mass a day Raska-Prizren Eparchy. after the Holy Assembly of “We have not separated from Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox anyone, we are no schismatics, Church (SPC) appointed Bishop and we are not creating anything Teodosije as its new leader in new. We are simply striving to Kosovo, replacing Artemije, who maintain what our glorious fore- was forced to retire in May after fathers and ancestors have left several close associates were us,” said Artemije. found guilty of embezzlement. On Friday, about 50 monks and Moderate Chosen as supporters took over Duboki Serbian Bishop in Kosovo Potok monastery, near Zubin Potok, to attend the mass. They The Synod of the Orthodox Artemije and rebel monks have been busy taking over monasteries in Kosovo’s north also attempted to take control Church appointed a more concil- munity in Kosovo,” Zivica Tucic Kosovo with the international Kosovo, bringing humanitarian over a monastery in Zvecan. iatory figure to head the Raska- As a result, the Serbian Prizren diocese than his predeces- said. community. Many were damaged aid to people,” the same source Orthodox Church then stripped sor on November 19 The Church has been seen as or destroyed when members of said. the former Kosovo bishop of his The Synod of Serbia’s powerful pursuing a more open course Kosovo’s Albanian majority The Serbian Orthodox Church ranks in what it described as “a Orthodox Church has appointed a since Bishop Irinej of Nis was staged anti-Serbian riots in 2004. has yet to decide on Artemije’s hard and painful decision”. peace-maker as its new bishop in elected 45th Patriarch of the A Church source told Prishtina ultiumate fate, having suspended The church statement said Kosovo, a religious analyst told Serbian Orthodox Church on Insight that Teodosije was him from his duties. Tucic said police detained at least two of Prishtina Insight. January 22. viewed as more flexible on the the Synod would either allow Artemije’s supporters outside the “Teodosije’s election to head Bishop Artemije and Bishop subject of working with the him to remain a retired bishop, Crna Reka monastery in southern the Raska-Prizren diocese sug- Irinej had been in conflict over international community. He or formally defrock him. “No one Serbia, close to Kosovo. gested that the Church intended whether the Church should coop- also enjoys the support of many can tell what the 40 members of Artemije is considered to be a to start adopting “a softer tone erate over the reconstruction of Kosovo Serbs. the assembly will agree on,” he nationalist hard-liner, fiercely towards the international com- monasteries and churches in “He has been travelling around said. Scepticism Over Kosovo Teachers’ Salary Hike Kosovo’s outgoing prime minister, Hashim Thaci, has promised the country’s teachers a 50-per-cent pay rise, but it remains unclear how it is going to be paid for. municipalities for 2011 would cover the cost of the increase in salaries. By Petrit Collaku But the minister’s advisor, Nehat Mustafa, told Prishtina Insight that the government would allocate another 20 mil- ashim Thaci’s announce- lion to meet the promise. ment, which will cost 40 “This decision will not affect Hmillion euro to meet, and the already specified grants for comes weeks before the December the municipalities for the com- 12 general election, met puzzle- ment and scorn in some quarters, ing year. The money [for teach- with experts asking where the ers] will come from the govern- cash-strapped country will find ment,” Mustafa said. “There will the extra money. be as much money as is needed to The government’s mid-term fulfill the obligation.” budget for 2011 to 2013 lists the Mustafa would not say total grant for education in 2011 whether the IMF, which has at about 110 million euro. The agreed to the budget, opening the yearly bill for primary and sec- door to tens of millions of euros ondary school teachers, which is in aid, would agree to the paid for by municipalities, changes. including principals, is around “The IMF had reservations in 80 million euro. 2008, when the government Some 40 million euro would decided to increase salaries, but therefore need to be reallocated after reviewing our request and Teachers have been promised a 50 per cent pay rise, but can Kosovo afford it? from elsewhere in the budget to finding it reasonable, they government decisions, said the month to health staff working work means breaking the agree- meet Thaci’s pledge, which agreed,” Mustafa recalled. would increase the average wage He said the government had authorities had no right to make night shifts, municipalities had ment with the IMF,” he said. for a teacher in Kosovo from 250 analysed the situation before such a decision because parlia- struggled to find the money. An opposition party, Fryma e to 375 euro. making the decision. “The gov- ment had been dissolved in the Demi noted that the govern- Re, described the announcement According to a statement on ernment has fulfilled every prom- meantime. ment had already approved the as no more than an election trick. Y the Ministry of Education’s web- ise it has made,” he added. Agron Demi, head of GAP, said mid-term expenditure framework They called on the public “not to M site, the Minister, Enver Hoxhaj, However, a Prishtina-based that in 2008, when the government twice, for the last time in June be fooled by promises that would C said that the agreed grants to the think tank, GAP, which monitors awarded an additional 44 euro a 2010. “Not respecting the frame- later be impossible to meet.” K 6 November 26 - December 9, 2010 business

Kosovo Water in EU markets

he Kosovo firm Compact Group has its natural water Dea on sale across Tthe EU, as well as the Arab world and Asian countries, it has emerged. The CEO Mustafe Shala said that the

News in brief News success is based on the quality of the prod- uct. “We have additional requests for export to EU countries, but we are currently increasing our capacities and will contin- ue to export even more in the future,” he Delays Risk Kosovo’s $20 added. Company Compact Group currently employs over 160 people. Million World Bank Aid PTK Profits Up

The Parliament of Kosovo’s failure to agree to a 20 million dollar aid package from the World Bank means ost and Telecommunications of time is running on the deal Kosovo, PTK, said that during the was dissolved earlier this Modernization Project (PSMP) of Economy and Finance said Pfirst 10 months of 2010 the company’s month ahead of December’s - and one budget support oper- that land registry has a huge revenues increased by 7 per cent. elections. It could be a number ation (SEDPP). need for financial investment, CEO Shyqri Haxha said that the number By Lavdim Hamidi of months now before the new “The Bank hopes these oper- which will lead to an improve- of customers of mobile operator Vala, government is formed. ations are ratified by parlia- ment in the business environ- which is part of PTK, is now 1.2 million, Laura Kullenberg, senior ment as soon as possible, so the ment. while he expects the number of customers operations officer at the World country can begin to receive “This funding will acceler- to grow to 1.5 million. he World Bank has told Bank Kosovo Office, told the resources and benefits pro- ate development and will Haxha also said that within a short time Prishtina Insight that Prishtina Insight that coun- vided by those operations. improve the business environ- the mobile operator “Plus” will start its Kosovo’s parliament T tries have a maximum of 18 “If the Bank operations are ment,” said Shahini. work in Albania, where PTK is sharehold- should ratify its $20million, or months from when the deal is not ratified within a certain Haki Shatri, former er. 15 million euro, package soon, approved to ratify the funds. In time period the country risks Minister of Economy and PTK is the only public operator of or risk losing it. Kosovo’s case this happened in losing the funds.” Finance and an assembly mobile telephony in Kosovo and is in the The funds, agreed earlier February 2009. Muharrem Shahini, member for the opposition process of being privatised. this year by the Bank’s board, She said: “In many member spokesman for the Ministry of Alliance for the Future of include $12million to mod- countries, including Kosovo, Economy and Finance, told Kosovo, said while he support- New shopping mall offers ernise the outdated land reg- financial agreements for Prishtina Insight that the ed funds for the cadastral istry system in Kosovo and a World Bank credit-funded funds will be approved at the office, he was against investing 100 global brands further $12million , nearly 9 money in ‘public sector mod- operations must, by law, be most appropriate time. new shopping centre has been million euro, for bringing ernisation’ as it could disap- approved by national parlia- “We believe that the loan opened in Prishtina offering more other areas of the public sector pear into the government’s ments. from the World Bank will be Athan 100 global brands. up to date. accounts. “Since Kosovo became a approved by Kosovo’s The Albi Mall was opened by the outgo- Despite a number of discus- Muhamet Mustafa, head of member of the World Bank in Parliament when the institu- ing Minister of Economy and Finance and sions in parliament on the the college Riinvest Institute, June 2009, the Bank’s Board of tion sees it as an appropriate the Mayor of Prishtina. issue, the funds, which include said the Ministry of Economy Directors has approved three moment,” he said. “There is no Betim Humolli, director of Development a $9million , 6.75 million euro, and Finance was to blame as operations: two investment reason that the loan will not to at Albi Group, has announced that the cen- grant and $11million, or 8.25 they had not explained to par- operations - Real Estate and be approved, because it is in tre has 33,000 square meters and has creat- million euro, soft loan, was not liamentarians properly the Cadastre Registration Project the citizens’ interest.” ed a total of 1,000 new jobs. approved by parliament, which (RECAP) and the Public Sector Officials from the Ministry importance of the grant. Businesses Slam Marketing Maternity Leave Extension A new labour law, one of the last pieces of legislation to be passed by parliament before it was dissolved last month, has angered the Kosovo business community after it extended maternity leave from four months to a year Rukiqi believes the legislation has called for an increase in the num- should have offered 3 months leave ber of workforce inspectors. paid for by the employer and another Fadil Rraci, of the Ministry of By Lavdim Hamidi 3 months by the government. Under Labour and Social Welfare, told the new law, firms are obliged to pay Prishtina Insight that Kosovo needed for six months leave at 70 per cent of this law, while conceding that mater- the person’s wage, the next three nity leave and other paid leave will be rivate employers are complain- months are government-backed at 50 the most difficult to enforce. ing that the extension of mater- per cent of the average salary in nity leave from four months to a But he said that despite the objec- P Kosovo and the final quarter is year will place too heavy a burden on tions from the private sector, all will unpaid. businesses. be obliged to fully implement this KCC said it feared women would be Kosovo Chamber of Commerce has law. discriminated against at job applica- warned that because of the financial “Throughout Kosovo, there are 60 tions, especially because there will impact of the new Labour Law, firms to 65 labour inspectors, but this num- be insufficient recourse against will attempt to ignore the new ruling ber will increase over the next year,” firms who do this. which will prove difficult to imple- said Rraci. Haxhi Arifi, head of the Union of ment. He added that penalties will be Independent Trade Unions of Berat Rukiqi of the chamber, Kosova, BSPK, said that the public imposed by the ministry if the law is which represents employers in the and the private sector should already ignored and that employees also have dialogue between the government be working to implement this law, the right to make claims through the and trade unions, said: “The labour which comes into force on January 1, courts. law is too restrictive as it contains but admits that this will prove diffi- Individuals can be fined between provisions which are difficult to cult, especially among small firms. 100 and 10,000 euro. implement.” “The law has been drafted based on Apart from the mother, fathers can Y He added that a one-year maternity international standards; therefore, it also benefit from paternity leave if M leave will impose too much of a should be supported by everyone,” the mother passes away or abandons C financial burden on the private sec- said Arifi. the baby before the end of her mater- K tor. To ensure implementation, BSPK nity leave. neighbourhood business November 26 - December 9, 2010 7 Salford to Sell Serbian FMCG Brands Salford Capital Partners water and confectionery businesses are likely to go on sale at knockdown price, but the assets could prove to be a good buy in the longer term, analysts predict. year on year, he added. So, why would anyone seek to to locally produced wheat, milk, According to general manager invest in a slumped sector? margarine and other raw materi- of water bottler Aqua Gala, part of Zoran Grubacic, head of Beo als that are cheaper than their By Vera Ovanin Delta Agrar’s counterparts elsewhere in the Belgrade Mioni, the driving fac- tor behind K-based investment fund the indus- second half. Salford Capital Partners try’s droop is The combined Usaid last week it was consid- the market’s market value of con- ering the sale of its Serbian con- cheaper com- fectionery maker Bambi-Banat. fectionery producers petitor – tap The company recently estimated across the country is water. that the market would grow by no no less than 1.0 billion “The more than 2 per cent this year, euro, Miletic said. local media quoted CEO Miroslav biggest reason The general manag- Miletic as saying last week. is a very sim- er of market research The head of the fund in Serbia, ple and obvi- company GfK Serbia, Slobodan Petrovic, said he expect- ous one. Marijana Agic Molnar, ed that Salford would put the com- Consumers says both industries pany on the market next year. have a cheaper will start to recover as “…We have no buyers at pres- alternative, the living standard of ent. We will try to see this through which is the Serbian citizens but much will depend on company water from the improves. results this year and the market in municipal water system. Bottled “A drop in living stan- general. We expect that the offers water is among the first items that Monet broker- dards rules out impulse will come from foreign companies people are willing to cut back on age, says the Salford assets purchases, which for and large confectionery players, or in times of crisis,” Sasa Micic are likely to be sold on the cheap region,” many includes confec- large foreign investment funds,” said. as an upshot of the financial Grubacic told Prishtina tionary items. What we have Petrovic added. “Still, I don’t expect this year to downturn but that entry into the Insight, adding that potential buy- found in our research is that many Belgrade-based media have be as bad as 2009, and I don’t Serbian market for a new player ers could include Pepsi and people have gone back to making expect next year to be as bad as would pay dividends later. quoted Petrovic as saying earlier Croatia’s Kras. confectionery items at home this,” Micic said. In a recent interview to Sofia- that the fund’s equity holdings in “If the dinar continues to slide because it is a cheaper alternative. He added that the current trend based news wire SeeNews, its four listed companies in Serbia against the euro, the appetite [for “The bottled water industry has of consumers switching from car- Grubacic said the food industry in – dairy producers Imlek and the Salford assets] will only grow posted an even steeper fall than bonated to non-carbonated water Serbia has “top-notch potential,” Subotica, water bottler Knjaz because of their export potential,” the confectionery because of the is likely to persist. was operating “on a very high Milos and Bambi-Banat, will be he explained. availability of a substitute product “About six years ago the sales level...is a profit-maker and has sold by 2012 at the latest. Serbia’s confectionery industry, - tap water.” As for Serbia’s bottled water ratio of carbonated to non-carbon- large export operations.” which has an annual output of The Knjaz Milos brand has a 40 market, the sales volume contract- ated water was 80-20. Today’s it is Serbian food companies are like- about 500 million euro, grew at an per cent share of the mineral ed by almost 2 per cent to 4.86 mil- about 65-35. ly acquisition targets because of annual rate of around 7 per cent water market in Serbia, with its lion hectolitres in the first nine The main reason [for the long the access they can provide to between 2001 and 2007 before stag- months of 2010, Belgrade-based term growth of bottled water third markets like Russia, nating in 2008 and sliding back in Aqua Viva brand holding a share news daily Politika quoted the sales] is a growing perception that Grubacic said. 2009, news provider EMportal of 18-19 percent of the market of head broker of Sinteza Advisory, bottled water is healthier than tap “Bambi-Banat won’t be able to quoted Miletic as saying last week. bottled spring water. Bambi- Nenad Gujanicic, as saying last water. People are increasingly fetch the kind of price it would Retrenchment continued in the Banat’s market share in the bis- week. In September alone, the shifting towards healthier have fetched two or three years first half of 2010 but Miletic said cuit category in Serbia is roughly market contracted by 10 per cent habits,” he explained. ago. But a buyer would have access he expected a turnaround in the 25 per cent, Petrovic said. Bulgaria Urged to Keep Faith In Euro Economists say the country will benefit in the long term from joining the single currency, whatever the current worries over the troubles in Ireland and Greece. investment and more intensive so-called “waiting room” for the trade,” Georgi Ganev, an econo- euro-zone, by as soon as the second mist with the Centre for Liberal half of 2011, when the government By Boryana Strategies in Sofia, said. plans to meet the EU’s require- Dzhambazova in Sofia Ganev said he was convinced ment to bring budget deficits that the current problems in the under 3 per cent of GDP. euro-zone will be over long before Bulgaria’s economy is still eading economists in Bulgaria joins the single currency, struggling to find its way out of Bulgaria say the ongoing cri- which will be in several years’ financial crisis. In a faint sign of Lsis in the country - and in time at the earliest. recovery, for the first time in 18 the euro-zone - should not dis- Lachezar Bogdanov, another months, the economy grew by 0.2 suade Sofia from aiming to enter economist, also sees euro-zone per cent for the third quarter of the single currency, a move they membership as the best option for this year, compared to the same believe will ultimately benefit the the future. As the national curren- period in 2009. economy. cy, the lev, is already pegged to the Earlier this year, Bulgaria, Fears about the stability of the euro, it remains highly vulnerable which joined the EU in 2007, was EU’s single-currency zone are to problems afflicting the euro- forced to abandon plans to apply growing, centered on the worsen- zone anyway, he noted. for ERM II after it was revealed ing climate in hugely indebted “It would be better to be part of that it had hidden a deficit of over Ireland and Greece. the euro-zone and enjoy some of 3 per cent of GDP for the previous But Bulgarian economists are its benefits and take part in the year. convinced that the euro-zone will decision-making process,” he told The government expects to cut recover and prosper in the long Prishtina Insight. the 2011 deficit to 2.5 per cent and term. “Twenty years after it On Wednesday, the Finance hopes the economy will expand by Y adopts the euro, Bulgaria’s GDP Minister, Simeon Dyankov, told 3.6 per cent that year. Some econo- M will be 15 to 20 per cent higher Reuters that the country was mists dismiss these plans as too C than it is today, by attracting more determined to apply for ERM II, a optimistic. K 8 November 26 - December 9, 2010 city Prishtina Airport to Nina Schat Bear Name of of the Netherlands KLA Fighter Prishtina through the Eyes of: the Eyes through Prishtina

Move to rename Prishtina airport after controversial ethnic Albanian commander Adem Jashari criticised as attack on country’s multi-ethnic nature. when contacted by Prishtina Insight. What surprised you most about Prishtina? Spokesman Kai Mueller-Berner Well, I was quite surprised to see the water that said that naming the airport was up to was running from my tap was fluorescent blue! the government, but added: “Given its By Petrit Collaku The number of barnatores is also pretty impres- mandate, the ICO wants to see deci- sive. sions and actions that recognise the multi-ethnic character of the What’s your favorite hangout? he decision to name Kosovo’s main Republic of Kosovo.” I recently discovered N’shpi, just around the airport after a Kosovo Liberation Igor Savic, head of a civil society corner from where I live; the atmosphere is very TArmy commander killed by Serbian organisation working with the Kosovo pleasant, especially when you are sitting close to forces has drawn criticisism for under- Serb community, said the decision mining the multiethnic nature of Kosovo, the woodstove, and the waiters are charming. could cause long-lasting damage to enshrined in its constitution. Besides that, I hang out in the usual suspects: dit e already fragile relationships between The legality of the move has also nat for coffee, tingell or traffic for raki, and creme Serbs and Albanians. for the late nights. And not to forget the cafe in been questioned, as it came three days “I would have expected it to be Pandora tower, the only rotating bar in town! after the government lost a motion of named after a well-known scientist or no-confidence. a humanist,” said Savic, head of Do you do anything cultural? Kosovo Albanians see Adem “Future without Fear”. He said such Jashari as a hero of the country’s war decisions recalled the Yugoslav era, Erm. Does watching films count too? I intensely against Serbian rule. A commander of when airports or hospitals were rou- miss a cinema where they show some quality KLA operations in the Drenica area, tinely named after fighters. films on a regular basis. I tend to visit the concerts he took part in a number of attacks on The Prishtina-based think tank, and festivals that are on offer, but I am not a regu- Serbian forces before he was killed in GAP, said the government could not lar in the exhibition spaces. March 1998, along with 50 others, take such a decision, having already when Yugoslav forces laid siege to his lost a vote of no confidence on What is the most annoying thing about family home in Prekaz, now the site of November 2. Kosovo was now in “a Adem Jashari, now a cult figure Prishtina? a museum and a KLA shrine. legal limbo that should be covered by he added. I must say I don’t get annoyed that easily, Airport chief executive Agron the government’s rules of procedure”, The Deputy Prime Minister, although these clicking balls that seem to be the Mustafa told Prishtina Insight that GAP said. Hajredin Kuci, defended the decision. latest hot item among children usually arouse they were pressing on with plans to The Minister of Labour and Social “This proposition of the [airport] some agitation. Besides that, my noisy neighbours change the name of the airport to Welfare, Nenad Rasic, a Serb, admit- board has the consent of the govern- and these enormous uncovered holes in the side- “Adem Jashari Airport”, despite con- ted being present at the cabinet meet- ment,” he said. walk could be labelled as annoying. cerns. ing when the decision was made on The Kosovo government has November 5, but said he thought it The International Civilian Office, already renamed the new 700 million- If you were mayor of Prishtina for the day was simply a suggestion as no vote ICO, which is the guardian of the euro highway, linking the Serbian and what would you change? was taken. “Ahtisaari package”, the deal that led Albanian borders, after Kosovo’s first Probably not the most original issue, but I “I didn’t have comments that day to Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of inde- president, Ibrahim Rugova. Kuci would definitely make a proper plan for road con- because I thought this was just a sug- pendence and which guarantees the added: “I believe these two very struction work. Apart from the aesthetic argu- gestion by the government,” Rasic multi-ethnicity of the country, made important decisions will be welcomed ment, it doesn’t really help when all the main junc- told Prishtina Insight. “Had we been an oblique criticism of the decision by citizens.” tions are under construction at the exact same asked to vote, I would have abstained,” time, and driving from A to be B becomes more or less impossible. ‘Bill Clinton’ Reopens, Finally How many macchiatos do you drink a day? As caffeine has quite a strong effect on me, I One of Prishtina’s most used throughfares has reopened after a 3million euro facelift. tend to have just one or two; one to wake me up in ill Clinton Boulevard, home to the famous statue of the the morning and sometimes one after lunch. former US president, has been closed for almost half a Weekends show an irregular coffee pattern; it Byear, causing traffic chaos and leaving shopkeepers and then depends on how much time I spend sitting taxi drivers furious at their falling income. around in coffee bars. Last week, Mayor of Prishtina Isa Mustafa reopened the road, including an underground pass, the first of its kind What’s the tastiest Kosovar food? in the capital. Allthough not typical Kosovar, but more of a “With the expansion of the boulevard from four to six regional product, I have to say ajvar. It is my lanes, we have established a very important corridor into absolute favourite, I combine it with practically Prishtina for vehicles coming from Peja and Mitrovica,” everything. And managed to make my friends said Mustafa. back home addicted to it as well. I also love the “This road has been overloaded, especially around crowd- Gjakova bread that is served at restaurant Pishat. ed pedestrian crossings, so we have also built an under- Y pass with a small shopping centre and other associated What landmark do you use to tell taxi driv- M items, like lifts, public toilets, etcetera.” ers where you live? C Markings and traffic light will be added to the boulevard Pandora tower. K soon, he added. Mayor Mustafa opens the newly renovated road neighbourhood business November 26 - December 9, 2010 9 Macedonia Arrest Leaves Albanian Opposition Red-Faced Latest revelations in the so-called ‘spy files’ affair are likely to boost the political ascendancy among Macedonian Albanians of the governing Democratic Union for Integration, DUI. Marko Trosanovski, a communica- The DUI immediately suspected tions and marketing expert from that the affair was of the DPA’s the Institute for Democracy think making, while the Commission tank, said. refused to probe the four files, By Sinisa Jakov Marusic Police said that the incriminat- arguing that they were photocopies ing material found at Musliu’s and that they needed the originals home included four alleged secret in order to launch an investigation. acedonia’s Albanian politi- police dossiers naming DUI lead- Imer Ismaili, a political science cal scene was in turmoil ers, including party head Ali professor at the University of Mafter police on Tuesday said they had arrested a former senior Ahmeti, as former Yugoslav and South-Eastern Europe, based in officer, Hisen Musliu, suspected of Serbian spies in the 1980s and Tetovo, western Macedonia, said fabricating secret police files nam- 1990s. the police action had left the DPA ing leaders of the ruling “After this, the DUI can count on red-faced. Democratic Union of Integration, strengthening its already high level “The DPA leadership has acted DUI, as spies. of support among [Macedonian] irresponsibly and this shows them The DUI is the largest ethnic Albanians, although this will not in a very bad light, pulling dirty Albanian party in Macedonia and necessarily attract sympathy votes tricks to discredit their political is a junior partner in government from the general public,” opponents,” he told Prishtina with the centre-right VMRO- Trosanovski added. Insight. DPMNE of Nikola Gruevski. He believes some members of the But Trosanovski predicts that But what caused consternation public will probably suspect that the DPA will hold on to its core sup- among Albanians, one-quarter of the DUI used its position in power porters who will feel reassured by the country’s population, were to lean on the police. the claims of party leaders, flatly police claims that Musliu had con- Macedonia’s “spy files” affair denying the police’s claims. fessed to working for the DUI’s bit- erupted last month after anony- Recent opinion polls show the ter rival, the smaller Democratic mous persons handed in four DUI enjoys the support of about 9 Party of Albanians, DPA. dossiers to the country’s per cent of voters, more than dou- “This will strengthen the DUI’s Lustration Commission, a body ble the support that the DPA domination [of the Macedonian tasked with purifying the public enjoys. Ali Ahmeti remains by far Albanian bloc] as it portrays them administration of former commu- the most popular politician in the as victims of a political set-up,” nist spies. Albanian bloc. New Proposal to End Political Standoff in Albania Albanian’s Socialist opposition leader offers a proposal to end the spat over the 2009 parliamentary elections in a letter to the prime minister, as the country risks its European future over the dispute.

fraud. European Parliament, have failed find a compro- Berisha’s Democrats maintain and local observers warn that mise. the polls are the best elections the there is no guarantee that latest “Albania’s By Besar Likmeta country has ever held and a opposition proposal will be accept- political class recount is impossible because the ed by the majority. is detached opposition has exhausted all legal Political annalist Lutfi Dervishi, from reality appeals. notes that both the socialists and and [political] cal- n the letter, published on Rama explained in the letter the democrats, Albania’s main culations are Tuesday, Edi Rama drops the that the new offer comes as an political powerhouses for nearly made within a Iopposition’s long-standing attempt to safeguard the country’s two decades, have “a complete mis- small group of request for a recount of ballots, interests in its European integra- trust of each other, which borders people who repre- but seeks to gain access to elec- tion agenda. on paranoia,” sent clan toral materials such as vote tallies, On November 9, the European and makes interests voter signatures and electoral lists Commission published a negative it very rather in order to push forward an inves- opinion of Albania’s bid for EU diffi- than tigation. candidate status, citing the pro- cult those of “This offer is based on the reso- longed political crisis as one to the lution of the European Parliament of the main reasons. pub- … to immediately create a [parlia- The proposal is the latest mentary] investigative commis- development of a political sion, headed by an opposition drama that has blocked the member and with an opposition country’s reforms toward majority, with a full mandate to its EU integration path, investigate the electoral materials incited street protests and without including the ballots,” witnessed a 21-day hunger writes Rama. strike by opposition MPs. Prime Minister Sali Berisha has Previous attempts at not presented an opinion on the resolving the crisis, proposal but has requested that spearheaded in the Socialists file it officially in turn by President parliament. Bamir Topi, the For more than a year the Council of Socialists have requested a ballot Europe and recount of the June 2009 elections the –narrowly won by Berisha’s Democratic Party-led coalition – arguing that they were marred by 10 November 26 - December 9, 2010 Neighbourhood

Croatia’s once infamous ‘seagulls’, Business Booms for men who ‘entertained’ female tourists in exchange for gifts, appear to have resurfaced as profes- sional, heterosexual male prostitutes whose clients include locals and visi- tors alike.

tacted over the phone or via email – while investigating male prosti- By Barbara Matejcic, tution in Croatia after stumbling Zagreb, Split over a website that listed Croatia and Opatija, Croatia as one of the top destinations for female sex tourism in Southern Europe. You know, it wouldn’t be a half-bad idea for us to meet on “the beach, so you can get a bet- Patriarchal society ter idea of what I look like”, says the deep, masculine voice on the Prostitution is considered very other end of the phone. much a female only profession in “You’ll recognise me easily; I’m the Western Balkans, where patri- tall, moderately muscled, with archal and conservative values short brown hair. I’ll be in a tight dominate. So it was something of a white T-shirt.” surprise to find male, heterosexu- I have yet to set eyes on 27-year- al prostitution is a thriving – if old Mario, but I already know more largely unorganised – business. private things about him than I do Fifty men offered their services about my closest friends. I know his as male prostitutes within just two The quaint town of Opatija - a good spot to look for gigolos measurements and that the only days of placing an advertisement Croatia. They spent a few days man’s man, I could never be a paid Both Ivan and Leo have day jobs things he does not consent to sexu- for gigolos on two Croatian web- together and, before she returned man,” he says. – as a model and bodyguard ally are sadomasochist or homosex- sites. Offers flowed in for weeks home, she left an envelope And he is far from being alone in respectively. They became part- ual acts. Everything else is a go. from all over the country and addressed to him with the hotel his willingness to work in the sex time sex workers to help make Mario slowly approaches a hotel beyond, from Istria to Dubrovnik, reception. trade - despite the fact that prosti- ends meet. They seem like nice, beach in Opatija, a quaint tourist from Herzegovina, Montenegro Instead of a farewell letter, the tution is illegal in Croatia. The law well-mannered young men with town on the northern end of and Belgrade. broad smiles to boot. Both look Croatia’s Adriatic coast, all the Most appeared to be serious and Slovenian woman had left him defines prostitution as a punish- more like the sort of boy who while casting glances at bathers, provided a detailed price list, pho- money. Mario was surprised, but able offence against public order could escort you to a family lunch. who are few and far between as tograph, physical description, con- not in the least offended. On the and morality and organised prosti- Indeed, something that becomes autumn begins to take hold. tact numbers and an explanation contrary, it dawned on him that this tution as a criminal act. instantly clear is that liaisons with We shake hands, as befits any of what was on, and off, the menu. had the makings of his ideal job. Ivan, 26, and Leo, 27, reach their female tourists are frequently business meeting, and a few min- They usually drew the line at sado- Since then he has set himself up clientele via an escort agency, regarded as “holiday romances” utes later he is showing me nude masochistic sex and acts involving as a part-timer in the sex trade, which advertises its services rather than sex tourism. The gigo- pictures of himself over coffee. faeces – usually referred to as serving the needs of a few regular under various aliases online. All of los who meet women’s sexual That is the way it goes in this “doing number two”. clients. the agency’s promotional material needs also do not seem to attract trade; you meet a person and the A few declined women over 55 “They are married women in pertains to female escorts – the the same social disapproval as next moment you see him in all his years of age and those weighing their forties with workaholic hus- fact that men are also on the menu their female counterparts. glory. more than 90 kilos. Only one shied bands who feel neglected. I indulge is not disclosed anywhere. When asked what their friends Mario is a male prostitute. A gig- away from married women, reluc- them, am attentive to their needs, The agency’s representative think of their work as escorts, olo, he corrects me. A semi-profes- tant to “tamper with God’s law”. send them tender messages, I lis- assured me over the telephone, both Leo and Ivan claim they are sional version of the once-famous All sorts are drawn to the trade, ten to them, even though it all goes however, that they have male all envious. Yugoslav “seagulls”; men who small-town students, married men in one ear and out the other. It’s a escorts as well. You could hire a “We have sex with attractive “entertained” middle-class female with serious day jobs, tourist piece of cake with women,” he male prostitute anywhere in women and get paid for that,” tourists in the summer months in guides, young lads who look like states confidently. Croatia for 1,000 euro per day. The sighs Leo, as he reminisces about a return for a gift or an all-expenses- skater boys… He says his live-in partner does services of a gigolo in Zagreb cost “hot” lawyer he visited a couple of paid night on the town. Mario’s career began in 2007, not have a clue about his second 200 euro per hour. Half of that months back. He He is one of ten Croat gigolos I after meeting a middle-aged job. “How could she ever suspect? I goes to the agency owner, half to hopes she will met – and many more who I con- Slovenian woman holidaying in trained as a boxer for years. I’m a the gigolo. Indictment ‘Drafted’ Against Serbian Star Ceca chased by her late husband and notorious possession and the improper transfer of foot- criminal Arkan, from 1998-2003. During that ball players, she spent 121 days in prison By Prishtina Insight period, she allegedly sold 15 football players to and was then released. foreign clubs and pocketed part of the earn- She was widely seen in public as a ings from the sales. victim of the operation, in which The investigation into the case has been police arrested more than 1,000 peo- erbian broadcaster B92 has reported that ongoing since 2003, but the Serbian prosecu- ple. a draft indictment has been prepared tor’s office has not yet filed charges, explain- She has since enjoyed the support Sagainst Serbian turbofolk singer Ceca ing in response to B92 reports of the draft of some local officials in the coun- and her sister for the alleged misappropria- indictment that the probe was continuing but try, and sang for then Serbian tion of some 11 million euros from a Belgrade was very complex and would take time to be Prime Minister Vojislav football club. completed. Kostunica and Bosnian Serb According to B92, the draft indictment The probe was launched after Ceca was leader Milorad Dodik at a cele- charges Svetlana Raznatovic, known as Ceca, arrested during a massive police operation, bration of the Serbian Orthodox with misappropriating funds from the sale of codenamed Sablja, which was carried out New Year in January 2007. She footballers from the Serbian club Obilic, Y immediately after Serbian Prime Minister also sang at a pre-election rally for allegedly with the help of her sister Lidija M Zoran Djindjic was murdered on March 12, Dodik in October this year, which was Velickovic-Ocokoljic. C 2003. attended by Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Ceca was president of Obilic, the club pur- K Detained on suspicion of illegal weapons Jeremic. 11 Neighbourhood November 26 - December 9, 2010 Croatia’s Gigolos New Mosque

call again. Although, it turns out none thought of it as remotely the Adriatic, and I find the local Plan Catches his services were sought by the degrading. Rather, they regard the men attractive,” she says. lawyer’s husband. business as being more American Stephanie works 55-hour weeks Gigolo than Midnight Cowboy. on average, and spends at least 10 Albania Muslims Clients ‘mostly couples’ days a month on the road. She did Male strippers not get round to marriage, has no Leo and Ivan say it is most often children and has long lost the the husbands who request their Perhaps the most visible part of desire to go out and meet men. Off Guard services for their wives. Both say the heterosexual sex trade is the Male prostitution ‘still taboo’ the husbands often watch or video- niche stripping business. Many of A few years back she discovered mayor.” tape the act, while stressing that these entertainers do more that tit- a Swiss brothel run exclusively for The request to build a mosque homosexual acts are strictly out of illate their audience by stripping women. She now boasts a “steady in the centre of Tirana has been a the question. off police uniforms – one of the boyfriend”, as she calls him, who perennial demand of the Muslim They describe their clients as most popular performance cos- visits her once or twice a week. By Besar Likmeta community since the fall of the well-off couples in their thirties tumes, according to strippers I “Even though prostitution is Communist regime in Albania in legal in Switzerland, the society and forties who want to spice up talked to. 1991. their sex lives, try something new Two male strippers – Alen, 29, more liberal and women more slamic community is sur- In 1992, the then president, Sali or realise a fantasy. Ivan ponders and Dario, 32, - laugh out loud emancipated, male prostitution is prised by mayor’s sudden Berisha, laid the first stone of a when asked whose fantasy – the when questioned about the appar- still taboo,” she says. Iannouncement that a new mosque to be constructed near man’s or the woman’s? ent discrepancy between the fees. “Some think that women don’t mosque will be built in the Namazgja square, close to the “I don’t know, actually, I’ve The going rate for a 30-minute have to pay for sex because they centre of Tirana. parliament. However, construc- never given it much thought,” he striptease is 200 euro, while they can get it for free whenever they “The announcement was a tion was never completed after eventually says with a shrug. net 100 euro for an hour of sex. feel like it. But how can you, I ask, bombshell,” said Elvis Naci, the speaker of parliament, Pjeter Their experience appears to be “Well, you know, striptease when Saturday night comes and imam of Tirana’s Tabakeve Abnori, a Catholic, contested the far from exceptional. Tony has requires some kind of knowledge I’m dead tired from the working mosque, adding that the council plans. Arbnori said he feared that been working as a full-time gigolo and skill,” smirks one. week and all I want to do is stay of the Muslim Community had building a mosque so near parlia- for six years now. He works three Croatia’s sex industry has an home and relax?” she asks. yet to discuss the proposal and to four hours every day, except estimated annual turnover of “Others think that sex is neces- ment would make Albania look express an official position. Sunday. “You have to spend one around 42 million euro, according sarily tied to emotions when a like an Islamic republic. Speaking before the Eid cele- day in the week with your family,” to some NGOs. The police say it is woman is concerned, thus there Meanwhile, over the last two bration, Tirana Mayor Edi Rama he explains. just a rough calculation because being no prospects in being a gigo- decades, a Catholic and an said the municipality had a work He says his clients are also earnings are, given that prostitu- lo. That’s where they’re most mis- Orthodox cathedral have both plan ready to construct the new mainly couples – between 22 and 55 tion is an illegal business, taken,” chuckles Stephanie. been built in the centre with offi- mosque behind the National years of age, he notes with preci- unknown. While the market is still very cial blessing, prompting Muslims Opera. sion. Demand is on the increase, so However, during one criminal much in its formative stage in to complain of discrimination. “The new mosque is needed by he has decided to take on someone investigation the police found out Croatia, gigolos seem poised to When the government granted the Muslim community, which, new. Tony is adamant he is not that one escort agency based in make the leap from amateur to the Orthodox Church public land interested in hiring a fellow gigolo Zagreb had earned 206,000 euro in professional. They may be ready, like the two other faiths, merits in 2002 to build a cathedral, for- over the age of 27, despite the fact just three months, says police offi- but are the women themselves? its own house of worship in the mer prime minister Pandeli he himself is in his late thirties. cial Zlatko Kostic. According to a number of girl- centre of the capital,” Rama said. Majko promised that a mosque I found Tony’s ad – the only one Between 2002 and 2009, the friends who - half joking, half seri- A day later, the Minister of would also get a go-ahead. But the for male escorts - among hundreds police registered 1,968 people as ous - offered me their help during Transportation, Sokol Olldashi, promise never materialised. of advertisements for sexual serv- being involved in prostitution in a this investigation, the Croatian suggested that Rama’s announce- Roughly 70 per cent of ices by women in Croatia’s main country with a population of just seagulls look set to fly again. ment was campaign politics, Albania’s population is Muslim. printed Yellow Pages directory. He 4.5 million. Comparative statistics Some people’s names have been related to upcoming local elec- About 20 per cent are Orthodox charges 55 euro per hour, payable show similar prostitution rates in changed in this article. tions due in May 2011. Christians and 10 per cent after he has satisfied a client’s neighbouring Balkan countries, Olldashi accused the mayor, Catholics. wife. according to the police. Sex workers in Europe who is also leader of the opposi- During the Communist era, in Thus, it turns out that in Out of the total of 1,968, six were tion Socialists, of deceiving peo- 1967, Albania was proclaimed the Croatia the clients for heterosexu- male and only one of them a het- • 87% of all European sex work- ple. The city centre plan designed world’s first atheist country. al male prostitutes are, in effect, erosexual male prostitute. “99 per ers are women, 7% are male by the French Architecture Religion was outlawed and most men. cent of all sex workers in Croatia and 6% transgender Studio, which the municipality mosques and churches were Aleksandar Stulhofer, a profes- are women,” explains Kostic. • The highest concentration of approved, did not include a demolished or converted into sor of sociology at Zagreb It is impossible to find research male sex workers (10%) is in mosque, he pointed out. “Behind warehouses or youth halls. University, says it’s impossible to detailing the number of heterosex- the European South region the Opera two towers are The regime often blamed five fully interpret what is behind this ual male sex workers in Croatia. where Balkan countries belong planned, which...don’t look like centuries of Ottoman rule and phenomenon. The few organisations that supply • Austria, Finland, Denmark, minarets,” Olldashi noted. Islam for the country’s economic “I would only speculate that in sex workers with condoms, such as Estonia and Lithuania report The City Council retorted by backwardness, a belief which the situation of a hidden market, Let (Flight) and Help, say they almost exclusively female sex saying that the Minister was still lives on in the country’s such as male sex work, it might be have never come across male sex workers “only throwing mud at the political and cultural elite. easier for men, for a number of workers. • In highly conservative and reasons including cultural and They remain very much off deeply religious Poland, 15% financial, to purchase specific heath workers’ radar, including of its sex worker population is services,” he says. among doctors who specialise in male Stulhofer rejects the notion that, treating sexually transmitted dis- • France, Greece, Luxembourg, however, traditional sexual moral- eases, STDs. Belgium and Italy report a rel- ity would stop women from book- According to Romance on the atively high proportion of ing the services of a gigolo them- Road, a book about female sex transgender sex workers (15% selves. tourism written by Jeannette to 25%). “Especially among young gener- Belliveau, about 600,000 Western *Source: 2009 report ‘’Sex work ations of urban women, research women have engaged in sex in Europe: A mapping of the pros- evidence suggests a widespread tourism in the last 25 years - which titution scene in 25 European sexual permissiveness – compara- appears to confirm there is a countries’’ by TAMPEP (European ble to levels usually reported in demand for straight men who offer Network for HIV/STI Prevention western European countries,” he sexual services exclusively to and Health Promotion among stresses. women. Migrant Sex Workers) Stulhofer also notes that hetero- Among their number is sexual male sex workers appear to “Stephanie”, a 44-year-old busi- This article was produced as enjoy a different status to their nesswoman from Switzerland who part of the Alumni Initiative of female counterparts in Croatian regularly visits Croatia for work. the Balkan Fellowship for public opinion – one that is cer- She is now on the look-out for a Journalistic Excellence . Both are tainly less stigmatised. gigolo in Zagreb. initiated and funded by the Robert Not one of the gigolos became a “I heard stories from my mum’s Bosch Stiftung and the ERSTE sex worker out of poverty and generation about fun holidays on Foundation. 12 November 26 - December 9, 2010 Feature Organ Trade Charges

Allegations that a top doctor ran a kidney-trafficking ring from a village villa threaten to further tar Kosovo’s image as an international centre of this horrifying trade. Investigators stumbled on the of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, Interior, police found out-of-date charged with trafficking in human case on October 31, 2008, when a the Medicus clinic was the hub of medicine, blood whose origins organs, organised crime and abuse Turkish national, Yilman Altun, a major international organ-traf- could not be determined and an of official authority, including Dr was stopped from boarding a flight ficking ring. elderly Israeli patient who was Dervishi, his son Arban and Ilir By Lawrence Marzouk home from Prishtina to Turkey According to the indictment, suspected of having received Rrecaj, a former advisor to the because he looked unwell. He had seen by Associated Press, in 2008, Altun’s kidney. The 75-year-old, his Minister of Health. He was sacked previously been questioned on his the gangsters within preyed on son and daughter-in-law were after the scandal broke. arrival about his visit to Kosovo, people struggling with “extreme arrested but later released. Two other Kosovo Albanian doc- osovo’s medical establish- and his answers had been flagged poverty or acute financial dis- On November 14, 2008, a tors are charged with unlawful ment has been rocked by as suspicious. tress” from Moldova, Kazakhstan, Turkish-born Israeli, Moshe medical activities. Kallegations that one of its When stopped on departure, Russia and Turkey, promising Harel, was also arrested in Kosovo. top doctors was the ringleader of Altun admitted to police that he money in exchange for their He was suspected of being the an international organ trafficking None of those charged is had visited Kosovo to donate his organs. fixer for the gang. A UN court, act- gang, which lured desperately kidney on the invitation of the The gang tempted such 20 vic- ing days before the EU rule-of-law in custody. poor people to Prishtina to sell Medicus private medical clinic, tims to its headquarters by prom- mission, EULEX, took over the their kidneys. Prosecutors believe Dr Dervishi based in the village of Ugllare. ising to pay them up to 15,000 euro case, released Harel, however, Dr Lutfi Dervishi, a professor in started his illegal enterprise after Altun was arrested but was sent to each, while organ recipients were ordering him to report back to the urology at University Clinical visiting a medical conference in Prishtina hospital for treatment required to pay between 80,000 and police in 60 days’ time. Instead, he College Kosovo, was indicted on Istanbul in 2006. There, he asked because of his poor health. He 100,000 euro. In fact, the victims fled the country. Earlier this October 15 for organ trafficking, for help in setting up the traffick- later returned to Turkey. received nothing. month Interpol issued an arrest alongside eight others – six of ing ring. EULEX is now seeking evidence warrant against him. whom are Kosovo Albanians. Six months later, prosecutors Behind closed doors: from authorities in Canada, The Ministry of Interior named Interpol arrest warrants have say, Sonmez, who has been con- Germany, Kazakhstan and Turkey, a Turkish surgeon, Yusuf Ercin also been issued for a Turkish doc- nected to a string of organ-traf- Ugllare is an unremarkable, including access to the emails of Sonmez, as another suspect in tor and an Israeli fixer, who were ficking cases, contacted him. Harel glum place on the plain of Kosovo. two suspects on servers in the November 2008. He also fled the also part of the ring and are on the was made responsible for finding A village on the outskirts of United States, demonstrating the country after the raids, without run. potential donors in a host of poor Prishtina, just off the main road to global spread of the ring. being arrested and is also now the Most staffers in Kosovo’s poorly the airport, it is a patchwork of After the detention of Yilman subject on an Interpol arrest war- countries, as well as identifying paid medical profession have newly built houses, fields and fac- Atun, Kosovo police along with UN rant. needy recipients of organs in expressed shock at the allegations. tories. police raided the Medicus clinic on Following two years of investi- Israel. But others claim the charges are Along a dirt-track road that November 4, 2008, arresting Dr gations, on October 15 and 20 this Harel was involved in “identify- linked to a separate attempt to crisscrosses the village stands a Lutfi Dervishi, a renowned urolo- year, EULEX lodged two indict- ing, recruiting and transporting smear Kosovo’s independence war smart building fronted by a well- gist, and his son Arban, the clinic ments at Prishtina District Court, victims” and in “ensuring the by claiming that the Kosovo kept garden. manager, on suspicion of perform- naming a total of nine people as delivery of cash payments by elec- Liberation Army, KLA, engaged in For at least one year, according ing illegal organ transplants. suspects. tronic bank transfer” prior to sur- organ trafficking. to an investigation by the EU rule- According to the Ministry of Five Kosovo Albanians were gery, the indictment says. According to Interpol, both are wanted for crimes against life and health, for people smuggling, traf- ficking and illegal immigration. Sonmez is the subject of several criminal proceedings in other countries for human trafficking and removal of organs, according to the indictment. Another two doctors, Israeli national Zaki Shapira and a Turkish national, Kenan Demirkol, are identified in the 46- page document as “unindicted co- conspirators”. Sources told Prishtina Insight that they are suspected of involve- ment in the case but that there is not enough evidence to press charges. Some shocked, others sus- picious:

Ilir Tolaj, the most senior civil servant in the Ministry of Health, said lack of laws was not the prob- lem in the Medicus case, but fail- ure to properly enforce existing laws. The case would make the ministry more vigilant about the problem of organ trafficking, he said. “Such cases greatly damage the image of our medical staff and place the extraordinary engage- ment and work of many health professionals who practice under extraordinary [difficult] condi- tions under a cloud,” he said. “This and similar cases have Y brought into question the ethics of M health professionals and the whole C Kosovo society, which is passing K Lutfi Dervishi (left) following a trip to Germany where he received aid for Prishtina’s urological unit through a difficult period of tran- Feature November 26 - December 9, 2010 13 Rock Kosovo

sition and crisis of values,” Tolaj gist during the Kosovo conflict, added. according to transcripts from the Many medical professionals and ICTY. Fadil Bajraktari, a character trainees in Kosovo feel appalled. witness at the 2005 war crimes Mirlind Kastrati, 21, medical stu- trial of Fatmir Limaj, now dent at Prishtina University, is Minister of Transport, told the one. “I feel sorry for the victims of court that he consulted Dervishi this clinic,” he said. “The govern- in March 1998 about his kidney ment should check all the doctors stones in his hometown of Kishna coming to Kosovo and make sure Reka, in the Drenas heartland of they are licensed.” the KLA. But Dr Xhavit Bicaj, a colleague After the war, Dervishi was a of Dr Dervishi’s at the University professor at Kosovo’s main hospi- Clinical Centre of Kosovo, has tal, University Clinical Centre of expressed doubts about the whole Kosovo, UCCK, and also worked case. with the German Society of He thinks it no accident that the Urology, raising funds for Kosovo’s affair emerged not long after Carla health service. He remains in both Del Ponte, former Chief posts today. Prosecutor for the International In 2007, he and his son set up The Medicus clinic is now closed after police raids Tribunal for Crimes in Former Medicus, according to registration Yugoslavia, ICTY, alleged in her documents obtained from Kosovo’s UNMIK suggested there was a kers and doctors. In a research she wrote: “When Shapira’s hand April 2008 published memoir that company register. It appears that need for tighter controls. paper from 2001, Nancy Scheper- was slapped by an ethics review the KLA had been involved in traf- Dervish has continued to attend But the book quotes EULEX Hughes, founder of Organs Watch, board… [in Israel] in the mid- ficking organs during Kosovo’s international conferences because Prosecutor Francesco Mandoi as an academic research project at 1990s, Shapira simply moved his independence war. his name appears on literature for saying that they only uncovered Berkeley, California, dealing with illicit practice overseas - to Turkey “If someone is doing this just to a symposium in Turkey organised what was going on in the Medicus organ transplants, said Dr Shapira and to countries in Eastern prove [what it says in] the [Del in April. Dervishi refused to com- clinic by chance. had been involved in organ traf- Europe where the considerable Pointe] book then this is a betrayal ment when contacted by Prishtina “We got here by accident,” the ficking since the early 1990s. economic chaos of the past decade of the health service and of all Insight. book cites Mandoi as saying, when She believes Israel is the biggest has created parallel markets in doctors in Kosovo.” he said. According to a 2010 book by “a Turkish citizen who had a kid- global player in the organ traffick- bodies for sex and for kidneys.” “Someone” was attempting to Italian journalists, Lupi Nella ney removed passed out at the air- ing trade. “Israel is at the top,” she As the Medicus scandal broke, a damage the private health care Nebbia, [Wolves in the Mist] writ- port in Prishtina, and he made a said in an earlier interview. “It has South African hospital chain sector in Kosovo, Bicaj main- ten by two Italian journalists, confession”. tentacles reaching out worldwide.” admitted its part in an organ traf- tained. Giuseppe Ciulla and Vittorio Until 2008, no law in Israel ficking ring that stretched from Romano, traffic in organs was The Israeli connection: banned the use of trafficked Israel to South Africa and Brazil. From fame to notoriety: going on in Kosovo long before the organs in the country while for The case first became known in 2008 raids. The Medicus scandal forms part religious reasons, donor rates are 2003, when arrests were made in Lutfi Dervishi was one of of a growing number of criminal very low. Brazil and South Africa. Kosovo’s best-known urologists, In the book, the authors say they cases involving Israeli organ bro- In Scheper-Hughes’s 2001 report, Investigators believe that travelling the world to medical obtained confidential UN docu- Brazilians who conferences and acting as Kosovo’s ments from 2005, which show that passed a med- international contact for this field the UN mission in Kosovo, ical checkup of medicine, which specialises in UNMIK, responsible for policing were flown to treating kidney and urinary tract at the time, was concerned about South Africa illnesses. the high number of requests for where their kid- Dervishi was active as a urolo- blood from private hospitals. neys were extracted for transplants for the use of Israeli patients. Eastern Europeans were also donors, according to reports. In another case that emerged in New York last year, Eastern Europeans were flown into New York to sell their organs. Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, of New Jersey, admit- ted to an undercover FBI agent that he had been fixing organ transplants for ten years, accord- ing to New Jersey prosecution doc- uments seen by Prishtina Insight. This case and that in South Africa are among a handful of successful prosecutions involving organ traf- ficking. The Medicus indictments are expected to receive confirmation from the Prishtina District Court in December - the next step in Y what promises to be a long and M complicated case. C K If you would like your NGO to appear in 14 November 26 - December 9, 2010 our Making a Difference feature, please Guide email [email protected] Soaring Over Serbia and Kosovo Perhaps you think that you have seen everything worth seeing in Serbia but maybe you should just change perspective. Try paragliding and after few minutes, when the adrenalin rush subsides, you might just spot some things you haven’t seen before. fact, once you’re strapped in, provide the town with healthy lots of calm sunny days. And if gorge. The fortress has seven tow- you’ll get a quick brief on the drinking water. you’re still unsure if this is for you, ers and a dungeon. Inside, it’s still take-off and how to behave in the About 80 kilometres to the you can fit in some skiing and good possible to see the remains of a By Gordana Andric air and you’re off. “Once you take- north-east of Belgrade is Vrsac night life as a fall back. palace, barracks, and the church off, you will experience something and paragliding from the hills On the route of every paraglid- of Saint George. Historians don’t that you will remember for the around the city offers great views ing fan is Sicevo. The village is know much about the origins of rest of your life,” says Miljkovic. of the Kula Breg, a 15th century located in Sicevo Gorge and gives the fortress but its believed that rom Kanjiza near the border Most paragliding clubs from the tower and the seemingly endless a breathtaking view on the the fortress was built in the first with Hungary, to Zlatibor, capital take to the air in Rajac or vineyards that surround the town. canyon that river Nisava has half of the 13th century by Stefan FBor or Kopaonik in the Vrsac. In the last couple of years, Kopaonik and Zlatibor, the win- carved between mountains I or his son Uros I. south, and in Kosovo’s north, Rajac, on the Suvobor mountain, ter’s most popular ski- Svrljiske planine and Suva If you decide not just to look at you’ll see paragliders in the sky about 100 kilometres ing destinations planina. The gorge the fortress from the sky, but to every weekend when the weath- from Belgrade, has are also is just 14 kilo- actually visit it – be careful where er’s good. There are a huge num- become a popular popu- metres far you step. The paths to the top are a ber of paragliding clubs in Serbia tourist destina- lar from city little overgrown and are steep in and most of them will arrange you an introductory tandem tion, but it’s still of Nis. places and the fortress itself could flight, with costs ranging from 30 not overcrowded. The do with a little maintenance, so be euro to 100 euro. Peace, nature and many careful on the ramparts - but what Kosovo held its first paragliding traditional Serbian cui- hills a view! competition this summer in the sine are what attract people to and For those who find that just one northern hills, near the town of this region and soaring above moun- trip isn’t enough, there are sever- Zvecan. And in the town of Rajac offers magnificent tains that al schools where you can learn to Mitrovica, there is an active com- views of the local villages and surround fly solo. Orao and Jat both have munity of paragliders among the neighbouring mountains Kraljevo have licences to train beginners. Serbs. Ovcar and Kablar. been attracting Training is one on one and usual- “Everything depends on the At the foot of Suvobor is paragliders pilots ly held on weekends. Basic train- weather and winds. With the right Ljig, which is not a town of a for years and a flight ing lasts about 15 days, but in wind and a clear sky, you can fly great beauty nor does it have from the Stolovi order to obtain an international as long as you want. When we impressive historical monu- mountain provide licence to fly on your own you paraglide... we are using the same ments, but it does have some rea- agreat view of the have to spend 15 hours in the air principles as birds, we are flying sonable traditional restaurants medieval Maglic fortress. and get a medical certificate. with nature, that’s the beauty of and if you’ve never taken a bath Maglic is on the western Training costs from 400 euro to these flights. You don’t need an in sparkling mineral water, well with slope of the mountain, near 500 euro. engine or an airport,” says now’s your chance! The pools in paraglid- the Ibar Branislav Miljkovic from town are filled by natural spring ing clubs. Belgrade based paragliding club, water which is carbonated on its Both moun- Orao. passage through the limestone tains have To fly tandem you need no expe- rocks. Ljig’s springs rience, your instructor will take also care of everything. Preparation takes only a couple of minutes. In

Forts’ Conversion to Resorts Stirs Fears in Montenegro Conservationists are questioning plans to build massive tourist complexes around several Austro-Hungarian fortresses.

quality of tourist accommodation World War One. and his Russian partners, plan to Lustica peninsula, the govern- in Montenegro, transforming the Concern centres on whether the build a 45,000-square-metre resort ment is seeking investors to trans- Adriatic coastal into an elite desti- extent of the building will affect round the isolated Arza fortress on form the state-protected Mamula By Nela Lazarevic nation. the historic and cultural charac- the Lustica peninsula. fort on the small island of But members of civil society teristics of the forts. “The authori- Belonging to the municipality of Lastavica, at the entrance to the and international organizations ties often try to meet investors’ Herceg-Novi, the fort lies at the bay, into another ambitious resort. fear the government and its needs while neglecting [the ques- entrance of the bay, known as Above the UNESCO-protected onservation activists are investors lack the expertise to pre- tion of] natural and cultural Boka Kotorska. town of Kotor, meanwhile, worried about plans to turn Chalf a dozen former Austro- serve the historic characteristics preservation,” a 2008 study, The Nearby, on the same peninsula, a Swedish investors plan to create a Hungarian fortresses in of the fortresses, built when the Coastal Area Management Project recently completed urbanisation resort around the fort of Vrmac, Montenegro’s scenic Bay of Kotor bay formed part of the Habsburg (CAMP) feasibility study for study for Lustica recommends a comprising tens of thousands of into thousands of square meters of Empire. Montenegro, stated. resort of similar dimensions square metres of land, although Y tourist accommodation facilities The Bay was the southernmost One of the investors, RCG around the Kabala, Lazine and Kotor municipality and local M by 2020. border of the Habsburg Monarchy Invest, a joint venture between the Oskorusa forts, which are current- NGOs managed to get the con- C The plans form part of a broad- for the most part of the 19th centu- owner of Budva-based ly ringed by lush vegetation. struction density for this project K er strategy aimed at raising the ry, up till its fall at the end of the Tradeunique, Marko Latinovic, In the immediate vicinity of the reduced. 15 Culture November 26 - December 9, 2010

Kosovo’s Mysterious Dialect Fades Away Under pressure from language purists, who disapprove of Albanians using Slavic words, the unique speech of the Rahovec region, which combines Albanian, Bulgarian and Serbian, is dying out.

brandy in Rahovec were almost Some want to see the back of it, Sali Sallteku, director of edu- exclusively produced by Serbs. maintaining that Serbian words cation in the municipality, said Local Albanians were better have no place today among that while the town’s schools Do you speak By Besiana Xharra known for growing the grapes. A Kosovo Albanians. teach Albanian, the language spo- common language emerged Agim Vinca, Kosovo’s best- ken at home was a private matter. between Serbs and Albanian to known linguist, urges Albanians “We can’t go into people’s hous- Rahovec? aid commerce, he believes. to forget this Slavic-influenced es to tell people how to talk,” he n a bakery in Rahovec, you he small town of Rahovec in But this theory does not com- dialect and concentrate on learn- said. “All we can do is to influence the fertile Dukagjin valley of might hear someone say: mand universal acceptance. ing proper Albanian. young people in their learning.” I“Sa osht ky hleb?”, which Twestern Kosovo is mainly Joseph Muller, an Austrian who “As Rahovec has only a small Ragip Mulaku, head of means, “How much does that famed for its wines, which mix travelled through Kosovo in the population, this dialect is likely Albanian language at the varieties plucked from all over the bread cost”. In standard 19th Century, investigating the to disappear quickly,” he said. “It Albanological Institute in world. Albanian, the phrase would be history of Serbs and Albanians, simply makes no sense that peo- Pristina, agreed. But one local blend that is less also took an interest in the ple are even now using Serbian “Nobody can stop a dialect “Sa kushton buka?” “Hleb” is well known is the area’s unique dialect. words,” he added. being spoken at home,” he said. the word for bread in both local dialect, which mingles ele- Muller wrote that it dated from Professor Sabahudin Cena, “It is the impact of the schools Serbian and Bulgarian. ments of Albanian, Serbian and the aftermath of the Serbian who hails from Rahovec, is and the media that will influence After visiting the doctor, a Bulgarian. uprising against Ottoman rule famous in his hometown for his these people to give up their Rahevoce person might say: Today, however, anti-Serbian from 1804 to 1813. drive to “clean up” the Albanian mixed Albanian and Serbian “Kam shkujtun dje ne lekar” sentiment, outward migration Before the 1804 uprising, he language. But was not willing to dialect.” which means “Yesterday, I went and the fact that the language is wrote, large Albanian communi- discuss the future of the Rahovec Mulaku thought the dialect still not being taught in school, mean to the doctor”. In Albanian, it ties, originally from Shkodra, in dialect when contacted by Balkan had some life in it - though its ulti- that the dialect is fast disappear- would be “Dje kam vizitur Albania, and from Prizren and Insight. “The dialect is disappear- mate extinction is inevitable. “It ing. mjekun”. “Lekar” is Serbian Vushtrri, in Kosovo, lived around ing, so I have decided to not speak will be several generations before The origin of Rahovec’s dialect for doctor. Kraljevo and Valjevo in central any more about it,” he said. pure Albanian is spoken in remains an object of dispute Serbia. Krenare Luzha, an Albanian Rahovec,” Mulaku predicted. among historians, linguists and These families left the area dur- teacher in Rahovec, told Balkan locals. Rahovec is nowhere near ing the uprising and settled in Insight there was no way of pre- the Bulgarian or Serbian border. Rahovec, where they brought serving the language apart from Some locals have no idea where their strange mixture of Serbian teaching it at school, which was their words came from. Hajrullah and Albanian speech. He makes not an option. Bajra, an English teacher in no mention of where the Local Serbs were also quickly Rahovec, knows only that it is “a Bulgarian words might have losing the dialect as they left the mixture of Serbian, Albanian come from. area and those who remained and Bulgarian, and the [unique] were being taught standard structure of the sentences and A Disappearing Dialect Serbian at school, he noted. words mean that only the people “Twelve years after the war, of Rahovec can understand it”. While you can still hear the today in the streets of Rahovec, Kosovo academic Mark dialect spoken on the streets of you can hear a pure Albanian lan- Krasniqi believes the dialect the town, most people say it is dis- guage, and this is thanks to pro- Kosovo's only real Irish Pub... reflects Rahovec’s traditional appearing, though no statistics fessors who have for a long time wine-based economy. Before the exist on how many people still been urging parents to communi- Kosovo conflict erupted in the use it. cate with their children in [stan- 1990s, he explains, wine and dard] Albanian,” he said. Every Thursday Ici means ‘here’ in French, and if it One middle- is the best of Gallic cuisine you are school student at 7.30pm looking for, Ici is a good place to from the town For 20% off all bar food! start. said that still charity Sample quality French delicacies heard the such as Foie Gras and fine cuts of dialect but did meat, such as entrecote, at Kosovo’s not understand best French restaurant, Ici. it. “My grand- Why not try some innovative sauces mother speaks with your steak made of seasonal a lot of Serbian quince, fig or orange? words, but I and Ici is open every day from 8am to my brother talk 11pm, and on Sundays from 5pm, for Albanian breakfast, lunch and dinner. because that is what we were Next to EULEX Farmed taught by our 044 418 598 or 049 295515 parents and at Y [email protected] school,” he M said. C K 16 November 26 - December 9, 2010 Food & Drink Not Jolly, But Decent Curry at Bollywood lifted at the sight of a fine selection of Indian dishes, ranging from meaty curries, to lentil dals, nan bread and a variety of rice By Hannibal dishes. For starters we plumped for vegetable momos, the Tibetan style dumplings which were first brought to Prishtina by the ating at Bollywood is a unique experi- Nepalese restaurant, chicken tikka and ence, in good, bad and slightly bizarre some onion bhajis. Eways. The momos were decent but steamed for Wedged between some ugly blocks at the much too long, thus taking on a gloopy con- bottom of the Zanzibar road, off Mother sistency which I haven’t experienced in Teresa, the building looks like it should be a Bollywood’s rival eatery. veterinary surgery rather than an eatery. It The chicken tikka was tasteless and the feels clinical, rather than homely. meat like bullets, but the bhajis were a suc- And despite the enticing, lively title, Bollywood does not have the kind of atmos- cess: piping hot, light, sweet and spicy. phere you would associate with the all- Luckily, things improved drastically for singing, all-dancing, colourful and brash the main course. Our various dishes arrived film-making scene of Indian. in a selection of mini, cauldrons, which When we visited, there were no other cus- kept the food warm throughout the meal, no Bollywood looks more like a vets than a restaurant from the outside tomers and no music. Just silence, which thanks to the absurdly large, flat silver ordering had proved so complicated I decid- but it’s not a bad venue for a meal and can was actually a refreshing change from the plates. ed to let that one slip. still compete with its slightly superior rival usual classical hits played backwards on The chicken Madras and chicken Karai for the South Asian crown, Himalaya in the synthesized saxophone. curry dishes were nicely balanced, with For dessert we were offered a complimen- Qafa centre. After hilarious and protracted attempts to enough spice to tickle the back of your tary sweet, which was a little like a flat order a gin and tonic, my partner settled for mouth, and most importantly, they were not doughnut. Not bad, given that we were not a Coke - the joys of a world-renown brand. I too greasy, the usual pitfall of Indian food. paying. Bollywood Resaurant had a beer, which was also causing a few The palak paneer was an extraordinary Bollywood also offers delivery, but given Hajdar Dushi, Prishtina issues to the waiting staff. green colour but was fresh and smooth. the staffs’ limited grasp of English, a take- 045 463 186, 049 304 153 But the menus arrived, and our spirits We ended up with a plain nan bread home is probably safer. rather than its Paswari cousin, but the This place isn’t going to win any awards, 11am to 10pm

Where to pick up Prishtina Insight? Paddy O’Brien’s The staff at Paddy O’Brien’s have a saying: Prishtina Insight has teamed up with these five excellent venues to offer a limited number of complimentary “It’s easy to walk in, but very hard to leave.” copies of Kosovo’s only English-language newspaper. Grab a copy of the publication and settle down with a There have been many attempts to estab- lish a proper Irish pub in Prishtina, but this drink or a meal to read it. is the only one to hit the spot. Cavallero Mexican Restaurant From classic coffees to cocktails, via, of Filikaqa Sports Bar course, Guinness, you really wont find it dif- ficult to select the perfect drink. A mouth- Prishtina’s best sports bar offers the perfect setting to You can almost transport yourself to the Mexican coast, with watering menu of Irish specialties is also on watch a game on over a dozen HDTV screens, guzzle down a soaring palm trees and an immaculate five star resort, while offer. metre of beer and tuck in to some delicious food. There is dining at Cavallero Mexican Cantina. Mouth-watering appetiz- enough space to accommodate large crowds and still main- ers and savoury main dishes are nicely washed down with tain enough legroom and breathing space between rival sup- countless cocktail options and even imported Mexican beer. porters, or those wanting to watch different games, whether Skopje-based ‘Los Ritmos’ entertain diners every Friday and it is a Liverpool match, NFL game, or cycling race. Filikaqa’s Saturday with their latin beats. For more information, visit menu includes spicy chicken wings, beef nachos, cheese- their facebook page, or contact stuffed pizza, fried chicken, burgers and fries. Every Friday, them. join Filikaqa for karaoke nights. Cavallero, Filikaqa Located next to the ex-UNMIK Rr. Mujo Ulqinaku BL 4/1 building Thursday is pub quiz night, but there is Pejton, Prishtina Prishtina always something going on at the pub, www.filikaqa.com +386 49 619 375 whether it is sport screenings or just a good +381 38 244 288 Facebook page shindig. Paddy O’Brien’s Tringe Smajli Street, 045-420900 Cantina am-pm Restaurant Hotel AFA Te Komiteti Jinglebells Cantina AM-PM is one Prishtina’s best Located in a quiet neighbourhood Te Komiteti’s large trees and a places for a nice evening out with excellent just outside the city centre, Hotel Afa beautifully garden, which surround If your soul is affected by the grey season food and reasonable prices, starting from less can guarantee guests a peaceful night the small outdoor terrace, give you an then pay a visit to Jinglebells, where you will than 5 euro. while being within walking distance of impression of an exclusive place for find all the colours that you’ve been missing. With special day and evening menues, all the action. This biggest, private- ordinary people. And this is exactly Jinglebells is a perfect one-stop-shop for Cantina is the place to be for lunches and din- owned, hotel in Prishtina has won a what it is. From brunch to lunch-time internationals offering a selection of books ners. host of awards for its excellent service snacks and special evening meals, this in various languages and the quickest supply It offers a variety of dishes ranging from to customers. It offers a good range of restaurant offers dishes comprising of international newspapers in town. It also salads and sandwiches to Mexian-style tor- facilities, from an exclusive restaurant quality, varied ingredients, combined offers souvenirs and gifts, such as local hand- tillas and burritos. to pretty, tranquil garden. Rooms start to perfection. Alongside one of icrafts. Try the restaurant’s amazing Mexican at 45 euro for a single, Prishtina’s best ‘modern European’ Taquitas for a great and luxury rooms and style menus, experience. apartments are avail- you’ll also find a Cantina’s cosy inte- able. The hotel’s good selection of rior and friendly staff rooms are well wine, and great will make you not appointed and com- sangria and cock- want to leave. fortable. tails . 15, Rr Ali Cantina AM-PM Kelmendi, Te Komiteti Rr Qamil Hoxha Sunny Hill, Qamil Hoxha Prishtina Prishtina Street Jinglebells. Bookstore and more. Y +386 49 710 710 +381 38/225 226 Prishtina Ernest Koliqi 12, opposite EULEX HQ M www.hotelafa.com +38138 249 663 C +386(0)49 741 170 K By Shengjyl Osmani November 26 - December 9, 2010 17 in Prishtina Timeout Contact Prishtina Insight if you would like your event to feature or to advertise your venue. Email [email protected] Prishtina Diary TAKSIRAT Festival 12

Friday, November 26, 2010 From Friday, November 26, 2010 Duplex Club, DJ Flow until December 4, 2010 the twelve fes- DJ Flow – the man of Hip Hop will be play- tival ‘Taksirat’ will take place in Skopje. ing the very best of Hip Hop & R&B, so Known as the best South Eastern join them and enjoy the night! winter festival, ‘Taksirat’ each year is bring more and more famous artists who make the audience enjoy all night long. Friday, November 26, 2010 This 12 edition of the festival is hosting on its main night: Peppermint Club, DJ Jungle Saturday, December 4. 2010 White Lies, Paradise Lost, Dubioza DJ Jungle will be playing best of Hip Hop Kolektiv, Gentleman & the Evolution, Onyx, Pekinska Patka, Manu and R&B, starting from 11 pm. Chao la Ventura, Metropolis Arena, from 7 pm, tickets 800/1000 MKD [13.20/16.40 ] and VIP 1500 MKD [25 ]

Friday, November 26, 2010 Full House, Wiggle Pre Party Wiggle Pre Party with Secret 47, famous YACINE from Morocco, and Ocean 815, together with two young DJ’s from Kosovo Art Gallery Prishtina Uran B. and Florent Cakiq. rom Thursday, ing exhibition from its tion of Macedonian ‘Tourism development in November 25, 2010 collections with 42 paint- painter Tanja Balac. the mountains Sharr Friday, November 26, 2010 Fthe Kosovo Art ings from the artists: Born in Skopje, Tanja region.’ Filikaqa Karaoke night – for reservations call 038 244 288 Gallery is hosting a paint- Ibrahim Kodra, Muslim graduated in 1991 at the Mulliqi, Nysret Faculty of fine arts, the Saturday, November 27, 2010 Salihamixhiqi, Rexhep department of painting. Duplex Club, Audi Party of A1 – Audi will display and pres- Ferri, Nebih Muriqi, In 2008 she received her ent the hottest new car in town & much more on the night, Mustafa Ferizi, Hysni Master’s degree from the with DJ Lil Dirty from Austria! Krasniqi, Ymer Shaqiri, Fine Arts Department in Austria’s DJ Lil Dirty, playing R&B, Hip Hop, Reggaeton and Nikola Gvozdenoviq, Skopje. She has partici- Ismet Jonuzi, Musa Dancehall. Warm up with DJ Boogieman from Skopje. pated in more than 80 Prelvukaj, Budim Lil Dirty’s career started in early 90’s. His passion for music groups, in her homeland Berisha, Zake Prelvukaj was insired by world stars like Michael Jackson and MC and abroad: France, USA, abd Bedri Emra. Hammer. Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia, The exhibition will be Russia, Sweden. And had open until December 7, Sunday, November 28, 2010 more than ten solo exhibi- 2010. For more informa- Peppermint Club, celebrating the tions in the region and tion, call: +381 38/225 627, National ‘Red & Black’ Flag Day with over the Atlantic ocean. 227 833, e-mail: ‘Minatori’ Band & DJ Flow, from 10 pm. Wednesday, December [email protected] 8, 2010 www.kosovaart.com , Sunday, November 28, 2010 Personal exhibition of Address: “Agim The Albanian organizations network is Adem Dermaku, a Kosovo Ramadani” No. 60. organizing a concert ‘Rock per Bashkim’ graphic painter, living in Sunday, November 28, [Rock for Union], on the National Albanian Switzerland. A young, tal- 2010 – national exhibition flag day. The concert will be held in the ented Kosovo guy will on the National Albanian hall 1st of October, from 8 pm, with Bojken present his magnificent Flag Day, by the Kosovo Lako, Bim Bimma, Jericho, the works in the Kosovo Art Figurative Artist Freelancers, The Glasses, and more. Free Gallery. Association. This exhibi- Entry! Wednesday, December tion will last for two 15, 2010 weeks. Personal exhibition of From 18 November the well know Kosovo until 27 November 2010, designer Lyra Zajmi, as Kosova Art Gallery is SKENA UP International Film Festival part of her project hosting a personal exhibi-

ounded in October 2003 by a group of students Fand young artists, Skena Up is the NGO that National Theatre of Kosovo organises the International Students’ Film and Theatre riday, November 26, 2010 & Festival in Kosova. Skena Up Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010 Festival is unique not only in Fstarting from 8 pm: Kosovo, but also in the wider Peer Gynt play in Albanian lan- Balkan region. The eight guage. Cooperation between the International Students Film National Theatre of Kosovo and the and Theatre Festival, Skena Albanian Theatre from Skopje is Up will take place from supported by the ‘IBSEN AWARD Friday, December 3, until 2009’ and the Ministry of Culture of Friday, December 10, 2010, in the Republic of Kosovo, Ministry of Kino ABC, National Theatre, Culture of the Republic of Dodona Theatre, Oda Saturday, December 4, Macedonia, and the Ministry of Theatre, Art Center, Caffe 2010 Culture of the Republic of Albania. Bar Kontra. American Chamber of Peer Gynt is considered one of Jashari, Fisnik Zeqiri, Yllka Mujo, Begolli – an independent play in a For full programme of the Commerce, New Year’s Gala the best plays by the Norwegian Albulena Kryeziu, Vlora Nikci, cooperation with the National festival visit Dinner and Auction dramaturge Henrik Ibsen. Peer Ardian Morina, Ylber Murtezi, Theatre. www.skenaup.com Objective: Collecting Gynt is a Norwegian farm lad Besart Zeneli, Mirlinda Saiti, etc. Monday, November 29, 2010, from A few international names funds for the Pediatric who wastes his time in lazy To see the promo of the play, 8 pm that will be part of the festi- Hematology-Oncology dreaming, boasting and brawling- visit ‘Heshtje’ [Silence] – a theatre play val include Jan Harlan, exec- Service at Prishtina -a symbol of the man who ever http://www.facebook.com/l.php taking place in the National utive producer of greatest University Hospital colours truth and fact in wishful ?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtub Theatre of Kosovo, Monday from 8 films directed by the world Cause: The Pediatric compromises, evasion and selfish- e.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DmDQ4F pm, by the author Rafet Abazi, director, Stanley Kubrick, Hematology-Oncology ness. Bxpb80See&h=e3f4f directed by Arta Kallaba, played by who has confirmed the par- Service’s need of establish- The play is directed by Slobodan Tickets costs 3 euro, while for famous actors: Xhevdet Jashari, ticipation in SKENA UP ing a laboratory support for Unkovski, assisted by Kushtim students and disabled people, only Yllka Gashi, Cun Lajci, Igballe Festival. Jan Harlan, who the diagnosis and manage- Bekteshi, Ivana Angelovska, and 1euro. Qena, Bislim Mucaj, Leonora will chair the jury of the film ment of leukemia and related Kristina Dimitrova, scene director Monday, November 29, 2010 & Mehmeti, Enver Petrovci, Donat during 8th edition of SKENA malignancies in Kosovo Miodrag Tabacki, costume design- Tuesday, November 30, 2010: Qosja. UP, will also give a lecture Auction: AmCham New er Aleksandar Noshpall, music ‘Duke Pritur Godonë’ [Waiting For reservations call 038 224 397 or during this edition. He has Year’s Gala Evening will also Jordan Kostov, choreography Y for Godot], another play by the 044 430 693, or at the National Theatre expressed his desire and feature an auction of pic- Gjergj Prevazi. M National Theatre of Kosovo by from 10 am – 1 pm and 5 – 8 pm; or by enthusiasm to be in Kosovo. tures and jewellery Roles: Bajrush Mjaku, Xhevdet Samuel Becket, directed by Drita email: [email protected] C K 18 November 26 - December 9, 2010 Inside Prishtina DISCOVERDISCOVER YogaYoga inin PrishtinaPrishtina

Alketa Xhafa Mripa is an artist, mother of two, and a yoga pioneer in Kosovo spread across the world in recent Alketa told Prishtina Insight. come here, men and women,” was to know about yoga. But I only years thanks, in part, to the Stepping into Alketa’s world Alketa adds. really learned when I started endorsement of stars such as feels like stepping into a different Asked where she finds her inspi- teaching. In England it was good By Inge Baanders Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. reality and you are overcome by an ration for the classes, Alketa that I had my teachers around. Prishtina’s inspiring Alketa oasis of rest. explained: “I find it in everyday “The lack of this when coming Xhafa Mripa is an artist, mother of Yoga seems to come naturally to life. Yoga is everywhere, from to Kosovo definitely formed a chal- two and a yoga pioneer and Alketa and she moves with a going to the supermarket to bring- Sun salutations can energise lenge, but I am enjoying every sec- teacher in Kosovo. In spite of her remarkable ease, which she passes ing my kids to school”. and warm you, even on the busy schedule, she radiates posi- on to those in class. “You have to “After finishing my studies, I ond of it.” “darkest, coldest winter day,” thought I knew everything there Carol Krucoff, a renowned yoga tive energy and makes you instant- focus and feel the movement,” she teacher once exclaimed. ly feel at ease. said. “Your body will find the pos- To skeptics, yoga is seen as a While living in England, Alketa tures itself, I am just here to show fancy form of stretching, but an started practicing yoga in 2000 and the path,” she says. increasing number of people are studied Hatha Yoga at the British When you misplace your left ascribing to Carol Krucoff ’s view, School of Yoga. foot or end up doing an enthusias- even in Kosovo. It is then she “fell in love with tic sun salutation rather than war- Translating as ‘union’ from the whole philosophy [of yoga] rior pose, Alketa is there to gently Sanskrit, yoga aims to create a bal- and its beauty of postures, breath- readjust your pose. ance between body and mind by ing techniques and meditation”, as Although you might discover focusing on breathing and posture. she explains in an interview with muscles of which you were Yoga comprises a variety of the website Kosovo 2.0. unaware, you are left feeling styles; for a smooth introduction After working as a yoga teacher relaxed, with a clear mind and into yoga there is the slow-paced in London for a while, she moved renewed energy to face the reality Hatha-style. Vinyasa forms a more back to Kosovo where she contin- of everyday life. vigorous type of yoga with a par- ued to share her passion for yoga The warm and friendly atmos- ticular focus on breath-movement with those around her. phere makes for a good environ- synchronisation. For those die- Alketa now teaches classes from ment for blossoming friendships, hard yoga-fans there is Ashtanga, her home. “I wanted to remove the and people often stay after class to Y an intense and physically demand- boundaries of a studio, step away sip a cup of mountain tea. M ing branch, also referred to as from the teacher-student relation- Combining different styles in C power yoga. ship. Yoga is more than coming in her classes, they are accessible to K Originating in India, Yoga has

and out of class, it is a way of life”, all. “People from all walks of life Mulla Atdhe by Photo 19 Inside Prishtina November 26 - December 9, 2010 Ecosovo The Green Vote

By Elizabeth Gowing

ame one policy pledge you have heard from any of Kosovos polit- ical parties in this run-up to the elections next month. It’s not Neasy, is it. And if you passed that test, can you name one environ- mental policy pledge? We contacted each of the major political parties and asked them to tell us their policy on the environment. LDK, PDK, LDD and AAK failed to provide us with any information, (there was some embarrassment as spokespeople and advisers rummaged around for something – anything - to send me. ‘To be honest, this isn’t one of our priorities’ said one advis- er candidly) and there is nothing on their websites (in one case there isn’t even a website) on environmental policy. However, each of the other major parties have published a position on environmental issues, and we present an overview of these here. Many of them were careful to say that there was more to come, and further con- sultation to be done both before the election and once they were in gov- ernment. Voters, or those who have influence on voters, can draw their own con- clusions about what custody of Kosovo’s natural resources might look like in a government led by any one of the parties whose policies are summarised below, or by any one of the parties who had nothing to say TED Event Planned TED Spat on the subject. There were many points of overlap in the manifestos. These are iden- Sarah Silverman tified below, but first we present the Unique Selling Points of each party, for Prishtina TED drew some controversy as regards their environmental policy. The fullest environmental policies came from FER. They are the only “Once everyone is famil- when in 2010 Sarah Silverman was part to propose environmental impact assessment, as provided for in law iarised with the theme, they invited to speak at the conference, but not carried out, composting and product life cycle assessments. will be able to suggest speakers and in response to her speech about adopting a “retarded” child, TED Vetëvendosje are unique in presenting the environment as ‘an integral By Lawrence Marzouk for our event. We want to keep part of freedom’. They commit to the cultivation of agricultural space this event as open as possible, organiser Chris Anderson posted and its protection from building and industrial development. in the spirit of TED.” on his Twitter account, “I know I PSD have an innovative suggestion for the fly-ash resulting from burn- TED, Technology shouldn’t say this about one of my he global phenomenon of ing lignite as KEK does. As this can be used to produce ‘ashcrete’ they Entertainment and Design, is a own speakers, but I thought Sarah TED conferences is arriv- Silverman was god-awful…” say they will investigate the feasibility of setting up an ashcrete produc- global set of conferences curat- Ting in Prishtina, it was Anderson later deleted his tweet, tion facility and requiring construction companies in Kosovo to use a set ed by the American private non- announced this week. but Silverman responded via her proportion of environmentally-friendly building material. for-profit Sapling Foundation, TEDxPrishtina 2011 is the first Twitter account: “Kudos to [Chris AKR’s focus on the environment is largely in the context of agricul- formed to disseminate “ideas event in Kosovo that brings peo- Anderson] for making TED an ture. They commit to raising standards of agricultural produce so con- worth spreading”. ple together to share a TED-like unsafe haven for all! You’re a bar- sumers have more faith in local products. They also pledge a building Since June 2006 the talks have experience. nacle of mediocrity on Bill Gates’ policy requiring future building to have zero calorie loss, and their trans- been offered for free viewing Video and live speakers will asshole.” port policy has environmental benefits through the revitalisation and combine to spark deep discus- online, under a Creative Anderson apologised for his electrification of the rail network. They also promise to create parks sion, according to the TED Commons license, through tweet on his Posterous account, but ‘wherever possible’. Prishtina announcement. TED.com. also wrote “Call me stuffy, but I still The areas where the parties have overlap are as follows: Ardit Bejko, spokesperson for As of July 2010, over 700 talks think humour about terminally ill the event, said: “At the moment, are available free online. By ‘retarded’ kids is an acquired · Vetëvendosje , PSD and FER are all explicit about the need to balance we are finalising the theme of January 2009 they had been taste... And not a taste I personally economic with ecological development (as PSD put it ‘a bad environ- the event. viewed 50 million times. In July want to acquire.” ment costs money’). “We can start identifying the 2010, the viewing figure stood at As of August 2010, the video of · PSD, FER, and AKR all make commitments to the improved manage- speakers for TEDxPrishtina more than 290 million, reflect- Silverman’s speech has not been ment and processing of waste. only after we decide on the ing a still growing global audi- posted on the TED website. · PSD, FER, and AKR are all also committed to investigating or theme. ence. encouraging the use of alternative energy sources. · FER, AKR and PSD all refer to the incentive to improve Kosovo’s environment as a prerequisite for entry into the EU, with FER specif- Shop Review: ically committing to work to reach EU standards on vehicle emis- sions · Vetëvendosje and AKR both identify work they would do to develop Beauty Souvenir and Paintings Store ecotourism in Kosovo. · PSD and FER both refer to policies based on the principle that ‘the ocated just next to the new catholic cathedral polluter pays’, with FER including in their programme the establish- on the edge of Pejton, this souvenir and art ment of pollution measuring stations. Lshop offers up a colourful choice of art and · PSD and Vetëvendosje both commit to action on the specific pollution traditional items. in Mitrovica. Both modern and traditional original paintings · AKR and PSD both pledge development of water treatment and infra- are available, as well as some reproductions. structure. The shop also provides · FER commits to initiatives (local or central, when it is a question of different types of frames to protected areas) against deforestation and the requirement for those complete the package. who exploit and pollute the environment to contribute to reforesta- In the shop, you can find tion or creation of green spaces. AKR offer support for the forestry different souvenirs, mostly industry but say that they want to balance this with a reforestation with traditional motives, policy. and many modern ones. · AKR and FER both have policies on promoting organic agriculture. You can also, somewhat designed with Trepca mine stones, which cost 15 · FER and AKR both commit to increasing the recycling of waste. bizarrely, have your own euro. So who would you vote for? design printed on cups and Paintings vary in cost from 30 to 3000 euro. sculp- mugs for only 6 euro a tures range from 150 to 1500 euro. Elizabeth Gowing is a founder member of The Ideas Partnership, a piece, and all within a day. Y Beauty Shop Other special items M Kosovar NGO working on educational, cultural and environmental proj- Perandori Justinian Street, 9 am to 8 pm include Kosovo maps, C ects. She can be reached at [email protected] Tel: 038 224 952 K If you would like your NGO to appear in 20 November 26 - December 9, 2010 our Making a Difference feature, please Opinion email [email protected]

Outside In Comment: Will Serbs Ever Why Can’t Learn to Love NATO? Ibrahim Rugova The Serbs’ staunch opposition to the Alliance is hampering the development of a common security position in the region. Rest in Peace? capacity. including the most vocal New Serb Serbian opposition to NATO is not lim- Democracy, NOVA, and the Democratic ited to Serbia. It is equally strong among Serbian Party, DSS. By Jelena Radoman and the Serbs in Montenegro who make up 32 The Serbian minority, which strongly Bledar Feta per cent of the country’s population. In rejected the 2006 referendum dissolving By Kreshnik Hoxha Bosnia, 63 per cent of the population in the State Union of Serbia and the mainly Serb Republika Srpska oppos- Montenegro, has accepted the new state he Western Balkans may not fea- es NATO membership, according to a poll but still overwhelmingly oppose brahim Rugova, the man who died a hero ture high on NATO’s current agen- conducted by the National Democratic Montenegro’s entrance into the Alliance. after spending his life resisting Serb oppres- Tda due to other, more pressing con- Institute for International Affairs, NDI, in By contrast, the great majority of Serbs Ision through peaceful means, is unable to cerns in other parts of the globe. But in August 2010. in Montenegro support the process of rest in peace due to the misuse of his image and the region itself, the Alliance is still seen Bosnian Serb opposition to NATO is incorporation into the European Union, legacy in Kosovo’s daily politics. as relevant. easily explained, taking into account primarily due to the belief that entering The image and legacy of Rugova are used as a Among other issues, the presence of NATO’s decisive action in ending the the EU will bring economic progress and vote generator by all rebellious channels within peacekeeping troops in Kosovo and the country’s 1992-5 civil war, the bombing of a higher standard of living. LDK who want to have it their way and frankly prospect of NATO membership for the Yugoslavia in 1999 and the Alliance’s role This split among the Serbs over Euro- have nothing creative and original to build their Western Balkans, as part of a wider Euro- in terminating Serbian control over Atlantic integration stems partly from values on. Atlantic integration plan, are widely Kosovo in 1999, which then declared inde- the failure of their respective political The first channel came to existence in the viewed as crucial to maintaining the pendence from Serbia in February 2008. elites to enlighten them as to what Euro- region’s stability. aftermath of Rugova’s death in 2006, when the The Serbs’ close economic, political and Atlantic integration really means. But there is one key exception to this LDK witnessed the most shattering fragmenta- religious ties to Russia – which fiercely Serbs in Bosnia and Montenegro and view. Public opinion among Serbs in tion in its history with Nexhat Daci going his opposes NATO’s eastwards expansion – is their elites are likely to continue to follow Serbia, Montenegro and the Bosnian Serb own way to form the LDD. This fragmentation another factor. this pro-EU, anti-NATO trend until Serbia entity, the Republika Srpska, remains officially marked the start of a new era that In Bosnia, popular opposition among itself changes its strategy, since Serbia’s sharply opposed - both to NATO itself and would question and challenge the definition of Serbs to the Alliance undermines the abil- official line influences the Serbian popu- to the prospect of NATO membership. Rugovism. ity of the country to embrace a NATO- lation no matter where they live in the NATO’s image among Serbs remains The perception of Rugovism in LDD clearly centered security policy. Although all region. tainted by vivid memories of the was not genuine enough to generate the votes Serbian parties officially support a parlia- NATO’s negative image among Serbs Alliance’s bombing campaigns against they aspired to. Their theory of Rugovism today mentary declaration that has committed cannot be changed overnight. The diplo- the Bosnian Serbs in 1995 and against translates into 5 to 6 per cent of overall votes and the country to working toward Bosnian matic tools that NATO has successfully Yugoslavia in 1999. The two interventions this sheds light to the vagueness of it. membership, the Republika Srpska’s pow- employed in other candidate states are are fodder for often-repeated accusations On the other hand, Fatmir Sejdiu led the LDK erful Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, has unlikely to bear fruit among this commu- that NATO is an “anti-Serbian” organiza- for just under four years by always trying, but voiced increasing skepticism. nity in the near future. tion. failing miserably, to portray his leadership as a Dodik and his party, the Independent There is still an opportunity for NATO In Serbia, the political establishment continuation of Rugova. I say he failed miser- Democrats, SNSD, have even threatened to engage with domestic stakeholders takes it as a “given” that public opinion is ably, because apart from the obvious Daci frag- to call a referendum on the issue of over defence reform and international against membership. In a poll conducted mentation, the LDK started to shatter from Bosnia’s NATO membership. If the cur- peacekeeping operations. But for that to by state-run Radio Television Serbia in rent political crisis in the country contin- happen, the Serbs will need to reach more inside due to the lack of a unifying tone in January 2010, more than half of the ues, Dodik’s SNSD, and the second biggest of a consensus than they have so far over Sejdiu’s voice, who paid more attention to the respondents rejected membership of the Bosnian Serb party, the Serbian what it means to be protected and by comfort he got from the coalition with the PDK. Alliance as an option. The political estab- Democratic Party, SDS, may move whom. This subsequently made Melihate Termkolli lishment invests little energy in trying to towards more outright opposition to Jelena Radoman is a research fellow at walk out of LDK to find a new shelter where dissuade the distrustful public of this NATO membership. the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy Rugovism was most likely to blossom, which of opinion. Instead, since 2007, Serbia has Montenegro, on the other hand, is pro- and a research associate at the Athens all places happened to be AAK. tried out the politics of military neutrali- gressing toward NATO membership, Working Group: Transforming the And as time went by the ever-so-dull tone of ty as an alternative. although its leadership faces significant Balkans, a programme of the Hellenic Fatmir Sejdiu resulted in a growing threat to his Meanwhile, Serbia is interested in par- opposition from Serbian public opinion. Centre for European Studies. position as leader of the party. ticipating in peacekeeping operations There is a visible line of demarcation in The most recent threats emanated from Bujar under the United Nations flag or the the country between the parties of a so- Bledar Feta is junior researcher Bukoshi, who claimed that his and Uke Rugova’s European Union umbrella. In this way, called “pro-NATO orientation,” and those at the Athens Working Group: leadership would reinstall Rugovism in LDK. Belgrade officials balance neutrality with opposed to such a step. All the key Serbian Transforming the Balkans. However, unable to surmount the Sejdiu powers an ambition to develop Serbia’s military parties oppose NATO membership, http://www.ekemprogram.org/csis within, Bukoshi and Rugova junior sought shel- ter by choosing AAK as the final destination. And all of a sudden, a party whose foundations were never based on Rugovism became the nest for preaching it. And just as Fatmir Sejdiu thought he tri- umphed in the battle with Bukoshi he lost the entire war with a humiliating defeat to Isa Mustafa. The newly elected leader called upon Rugovism and promised that his configuration will pave the way to a national LDK victory. But, it soon became clear that his definition of Rugovism implied small cosmetic changes to the core of LDK in this way repelling Daci’s LDD from reunification. It emerges that the problem with Rugovism is that it’s not set in stone and it mutates depend- ing on personal interest and individual calcula- tions. But, it demonstrates that even after nearly five years since Rugova’s death, Kosovo is still smothered by pseudo-Rugovas, who seem to have never grasped the fundamentals of the former Presidents. Y And in doing so, they manage to successfully M accomplish only one thing: tarnishing and C destroying Rugova’s legacy. K “No to Nato’ - Anti Nato graffiti scrawled across a wall in Belgrade November 26 - December 9, 2010 21 Community Focus If you would like your NGO to appear in our Making a Difference feature, please email [email protected] Hope for the Street Dogs of Kosovo

I started to feed her,” she said. “After a while I decided to take the dog, named Daisy by then, to the shelter. We took By Inge Baanders some pictures of her which we printed in an American newsletter.” This turned out to be a success. Alexandra continued: “Someone from he large number of stray dogs in the US forces responded that she wanted Kosovo does not do much for the to adopt the dog and take her to her Timage of the country, or the dogs, home in Seattle. I flew the dog to New and the sight of ‘man’s best friend’ sniff- York, where she was picked up by her ing through litter bins is all too familiar new family.” and disturbing. Some dogs have also found homes with But despite the widespread problem, the local population. Alexandra and the presence of a dog shelter on the explains that the general culture in outskirts of Prishtina since October Kosovo is not used to having dogs as 2003, the issue remains largely ignored. pets. “We strive for an educational com- An enthusiastic group of volunteers, ponent of love for animals, starting in assembled under the name of Hope for schools,” she added. the Street Dogs of Kosovo, is determined Susan, a teacher at Prishtina High to change this. School, agrees and has noticed that stu- One of the group’s core members, dents, when introduced to the idea, take Alexandra, told Prishtina Insight how a real interest. “I have taken a few stu- the group was formed. dents to volunteer at the shelter and oth- “When I worked in Sarajevo, I tried to ers have gone to volunteer at their own,” raise support for the stray dogs there by she said. “Some of them have gathered bringing them to a shelter, collecting and are drawing up a plan to improve money for vaccinations and finding the area [in the shelter] for cats.” them homes,” she said. “It was amazing, The shelter is in good general condi- people from all over Europe drove to tion and local pet shop Crazy Pets has Bosnia to adopt our dogs.” donated bowls and offers discounts on When coming to Kosovo in 2009, she vaccinations. learned about the shelter and started Recently, KFOR and Dyn Corps in going regularly to walk the dogs. Prishtina donated 200 meters of weath- This is where she met a kindred spir- erproof sheeting to protect the dogs it, Kim, who by coincidence had also from the approaching winter weather. been in Sarajevo and now works in The group has many success stories, Prishtina. but help continues to be much needed. “We noticed not many people came to Some 50 to 60 dogs remain in the shelter, the shelter and decided we wanted to do waiting to be taken for a walk or given a something about this. So then we started loving home. a dog walking group and spreading a Hope for the Street Dogs of Kosovo also newsletter to raise awareness,” strives to halt the increase in the number Alexandra said. of dogs in Kosovo. “We try to do what we Currently, the newsletter has more can as a small group, but we cannot than 100 subscribers. There is a core address the plethora of dogs,” Alexandra group of some twelve volunteers who go explains. to the shelter every week to walk the The group calls for spaying instead of dogs and to bring food. shooting of dogs, and for this calls on the Additionally, Hope for the Street Dogs municipality for support. of Kosovo receives many individual donations and support in the form of If would like to sign up for the newslet- food, collars, volunteers to help out at ter or feel inspired to devote a little bit of the shelter and people who actively your time to this good cause contact reach out to find families for the dogs. [email protected]. For more “Members of the international com- information munity here have adopted lots of dogs on the dogs and on the group’s and provide valuable support,” monthly meetings visit Alexandra told Prishtina Insight. http://kosovostreetdogs.typepad.com. “When I saw a dog around our offices, Kosovo Journalist Wins 2010 Balkan Fellowship Prize ajlinda Aliu from Kosovo bars”, and third prize, and 1,000 Members of the jury praised Vienna was hosted by the vides financial and professional has won first prize in this went to Jeton Musliu for his arti- the quality of reporting of all ERSTE foundation, and was support to foster quality report- Myear’s Balkan Fellowship cle “Kosovars Turn Blind Eye to three winning fellows and noted attended by eight journalists ing in the Balkans region. for Journalistic Excellence Fake Foreign Marriages”. that articles covered topics pre- who participated in the 2010 Additionally, the programme Programme for her article The three prize-winners, viously unexplored in the main- Programme of the Balkan encourages regional network- “Trapped in Black: Balkan War selected by a panel of judges stream media and felt that they Fellowship for Journalistic ing among journalists and pro- Widows”. including Croatian journalist could serve to bring about Excellence. vides balanced coverage on Majinda, a journalist with and writer Slavenka Drakulic, important debates on issues of Initiated by the Robert Bosch complex reform issues that are Kosovo public television RTK, Gerald Knaus, president of the relevance to Balkan society. Stiftung and ERSTE central to the region as well as received an award of 4,000 euro. European Stability Initiative and This year’s writers addressed Foundation in 2007, in co-opera- to the European Union. Second-place, and a prize of Josef Kirchengast from the the topic of ‘Taboo’ from a host tion with the Balkan The eight journalists partici- 3,000 was awarded to Austrian daily newspaper Der of different angles, exploring Investigative Reporting pating at this year’s seminar Macedonian journalist Ruzica Standard, were announced at an issues that shape and change Network, BIRN, each year the were chosen from among 149 Fotinovska for article “Freed award ceremony in Vienna on society. Balkan Fellowship for applicants from nine Balkan prisoners remain caught behind Friday, November 12. The awards presentation in Journalistic Excellence pro- countries. 22 November 26 - December 9, 2010 my kosovo

By Behar Belani

i my name is Behar Belani, I’m from Fushe Kosove, and I’m 16 years old, but I was born in Prishtina. . HMy favourite hobby is photography and during my free time I try to make different photos and I like all types of photos. I ended first place in a photo competition during an event for refugees, where many peers were participating from different parts of Kosovo. That was the first time I had the opportunity to show my work and skills. If only I had the opportunity to have a better camera, like the one with which I made these photos, I would be able to become a professional photog- rapher. In these photos, I have shown how Kosovo looks and have tried to compare similar objects, like for example a beautiful, colourful house and another with no garden. We, at Prishtina Insight, would like you to send us your photos of Kosovo so we can share your special story with other readers on this page. Don’t be shy, just email them to [email protected] 1

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1. In Kosovo we have this but also this. 2. No electricity and no water 3. Rubbish in the road 4. Learning by lamp 5. The road that children walk along to Y school. This is disease. M C K November 26 - December 9, 2010 23 Classified Contact Prishtina Insight if you would like to advertise Email [email protected]

Research and Profiling Embassies and Liaison All you need to make informed decisions in the time, presented in an approachable and highly Balkans readable format. Offices in Prishtina About BIRN Research and Profiling Products and Services BIRN’s network of correspondents and contacts We offer a range of services tailored to your indi- American Address: "Nazim Hikmet" no. 30 across the Balkans provide an unparalled insight vidual needs covering all of the western Balkans - into politics, business and society. Arbëria/Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Phone: +381 (0) 38 549 516 Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Austrian Whether you are looking for a regional overview or Address: "Ahmet Krasniqi" no. 22 Romania and Serbia. And because we have a detailed analysis of a specific business sector in Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina one of the territories that we cover, you can be experts permanently stationed on the ground in Phone: +381 (0) 38 249 284 each country, you can be certain that we are able Belgian sure that we are able to provide relevant, insightful Address: "Taslixhe" I, 23 A and up to the minute information. to provide a service which is relevant and timely. 10000 Pristina Phone: +381 (0) 38 734 734 Contact Simon Cottrell on +381-11-3283322 with British Our skills and background in investigative journal- Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 6 ism mean that BIRN’s research and profiling serv- your requirements or for an exploratory discus- Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina ice is thorough and detail-rich, but at the same sion, or visit birn.eu.com Phone: +381 (0) 38 254 700 Bulgarian Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 12 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 038 245 540 Danish Address: "Nene Teresa" no. 2 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 249 995 Dutch Address:" Xhemal Berisha" no. 12 Velania, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 224 61 Finnish Str. Perandori Justinian No. 19 Pejton 10 000 Pristina Phone: +386 43 737 000 French Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 67 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 22 45 88 00 Greek Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 68 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 243 013 German Adress: "Azem Jashanica" no. 17 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 254 500 Italian Address: "Azem Jashanica" no.5 Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 244 925 Japanese Address: "Rexhep Malaj" no. 43 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 249 995 Classified Ads Luxemburg Address: "Metush Krasniqi" no. 14 Do you have a flat to rent? Position to fill? Students to find for a language course? Why not speak directly to Kosovo’s international com- Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina munity through Prishtina Insight’ classified ads. Phone: +381 (0) 38 226 787 Almost every international organisation, embassy, NGO and many others subscribe to Kosovo’s only English language newspaper, which Malaysian is also on sale at newsstands in seven cities and received in electronic format by scores of paying clients across the world. Address: "Bedri Shala" no. 48 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 243 467 Norwegian Address: "Sejdi Kryeziu" no. 6 10000 Prishtina Phone: +381 (0) 38 232 111 00 Easy Medium Hard Saudia Arabian y| y | |y Address: Dardania SU 7, building 2, #1 10000 Prishtina 2 849 69 72 Phone: +381 (0) 38 549 203 Slovenian 2 3 147 8 5346Address: "Anton Ceta" no. 6 10000 Prishtina 36 5 89 8547 Phone: +381 (0) 38 244 886 Swedish 849 92 654Str. Perandori Justinian No. 19 Pejton 635 728 54 71 3110 000 Pristina Phone: +381 38 24 57 95 165 69 18 6 Swiss Address: "Adrian Krasniqi" no. 11 58 3678 10000 Prishtina 867 Phone: +381 (0) 38 248 088 4 6 831 2 7486 Turkish Y Address: "Ismail Qemajli" no. 59 M Arbëria /Dragodan, 10000 Prishtina C 923 1 35 31Phone: +381 (0) 38 226 044 K 24 November 26 - December 9, 2010 marketing

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