Opinion: How to Solve the Balkan Asylum Crisis Oct 26 - Nov 8, 2012 Issue No. 98 www.prishtinainsight.com Price € 1 NEWS Talks With Serbia Trigger Violence in Prishtina > page 3 NEWS Ferizaj Ex-Mayor Delays Jail, Citing Illness > page 4 NEWS Indictment: Officials Used Returnee Cash for Own Homes > page 6 INVESTIGATION (Photo/Maria Cartas) (Photo/Maria Cheap, and Far from Free: The Migrants Kosovo Oil Company Inks Building Britain > page 12-13 CULTURE $800m deal on Africa Refinery D.J.s Lament Months after license was restored, Peja firm says unnamed American banks are backing proposed facility in Sao Tome. State of Electronic But it’s unclear how the compa- Bank is auctioning off Ferizaj- “As far the American banks that Music Scene By Parim Olluri ny plans to pay for it. Sao Tome based Kulla Oil Recycling, which have trusted and trust us are con- and Principe’s oil authority hasn’t was used as collateral for a loan to cerned, this is also a trade secret responded to a request for infor- Kulla Exim owner Adem and is of no interest to you,” he Peja oil company that once had its refinery license sus- mation about the deal. Kulla Rrustemaj. The bank is seeking at added. Apended in Kosovo is plan- Exim’s operations manager, least 280,000 euro of a loan that ning to build an oil refinery in the Burim Kuqi, confirmed the exis- Rrustemaj apparently never paid Refinery for recognition: African island state of Sao Tome tence of the agreement and said back. > page 14 and Principe, according to a mem- finance will come from American Kuqi said Kulla Exim had had a Sao Tome and Principe official- orandum of understanding signed banks, but wouldn’t say which misunderstanding with TEB Bank ly recognised Kosovo in March. in October 2011. ones. but wouldn’t go into details or Telanon.info, a media outlet in The agreement between Kulla “We recommend you not to get comment on how that might poten- Sao Tome, reported that the recog- Exim and the oil-rich country has involved in such details since con- tially affect the financing of the nition was part of the deal a stated worth of 800 million US fidentiality is protected by law and refinery. between Kulla Exim and Sao Tome Kosovo’s only English-language dollars, (more than 600 million by asking such questions you are “The relationship between Kulla for the construction of the refin- newspaper is available: euro), and reportedly is connected violating it,” Kuqi told Prishtina Exim and TEB bank is not of ery. to Sao Tome’s recognition of Insight. interest to anyone as it’s a trade Delivered to Kosovo. Meanwhile, Kosovo-based TEB secret,” he said. continues page 2 Your Door Invisible Workers Clark Stumps for From Newsstands Deprive Kosovo of Education Fund as He across Kosovo Millions in Taxes Eyes Kosovo Coal Sent To Some 30,000 employed people do not Retired four-star U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Your Inbox appear to have registered in Kosovo’s tax Clark visited a hero's welcome in Prishtina and pension systems, potentially depriving on Oct. 18. Clark was the guest of honour at From institutions of some 20 million euro a year, a gala to raise money for an education foundation. Clark is also looking to do proj- our partners Prishtina Insight can reveal. ect with Kosovo's coal. business page 7 news page 5 see page 16 for more info is supported by: 2 Oct 26 - Nov 8, 2012 news Kosovo Oil Company Inks $800m deal on Africa Refinery from page 1 ing market-ready diesel as crude oil, which is taxed at a lower rate. Behxhet Pacolli, a deputy prime The report, which examined minister and construction mag- company reports from 2007 nate, visited the African island in through July 2010 and was November 2011 to lobby govern- obtained by Prishtina Insight, ment officials to recognise Kosovo. also found “deficiencies and Pacolli’s spokesman, Jetlir defects” in Kulla Exim’s refinery Zyberaj, wouldn’t respond when procedures. There were also dis- asked if the deputy prime minis- crepancies between the refinery's ter was aware of the refinery deal. inflows and outflows. Kulla Exim representatives said The report further criticized the refinery project was a private the customs authorities for inade- initiative and was not linked to quate evaluation of the technical Pacolli’s diplomatic activity. profess of oil refinement. Meanwhile, the company has In May, the suspension of the had major problems with its refin- company license was lifted, allow- ery inside Kosovo. ing the refinery to reopen. Customs spokesman Adriatik Sao Tome and Principe is rich in oil. License suspended: Stavileci said the suspension ended because his agency was fol- No sanctions were levied Customs officials said the case But a ministry spokeswoman, In March 2011, Kulla Exim’s lowing a new set of guidelines for against Kulla Exim, although the was referred to Kosovo’s Oil Arta Istrefi, said the Oil refinery license was suspended overseeing activity in the oil sec- Law on Oil Trade adopted in 2005 License Office, which is part of Licensing Office hadn’t received after a customs audit that month tor, which allow the refinery to states that licenses are to be the Ministry of Trade and any details about possible legal found numerous problems, includ- operate under appropriate super- revoked in cases of fraudulent Industry, to determine if the violations on the part of Kulla ing that the company was import- vision. activity. refinery should stay open. Exim. Kosovo's Hashim Thaci and Serbia's Ivica Dacic met in Brussels. Dacic and Thaci Meet in Brussels, Make History Serbian Prime Minister, Ivica Dacic, sat down at the same table with his Kosovo counterpart, Hashim Thaci, in Belgium last Friday – in spite of the fact that Serbia has an arrest warrant out for the Kosovo leader. ing the topic of the meeting was soon,” the statement added. claimed in 2008, and has since In Serbia, the Kosovo leader the continuation of EU-mediated Dacic told the Serbian media boycotted any events where was sentenced to ten years in Serbia-Kosovo talks, which started after the meeting that Serbia had Kosovo officials represented prison for terrorism. By Bojana Barlovac in March 2011. not changed its position on never themselves under the name of In July, Thaci and Boris Tadic, “We agreed to continue the dia- recognising Kosovo’s independ- “Kosovo”. the former Serbian President, logue on normalisation of rela- ence. Paradoxically, the first top shook hands at a Croatian sum- he historic meeting took tions between the two sides and But, he added: “I think it’s Serbian official to meet Thaci mit in Dubrovnik. place in Brussels last Friday both are committed to working time for a historic agreement, was the former right-hand man At the time, Dacic was critical Twith the EU foreign policy together,” the statement reads. and we are ready for final status of the late Serbian strongman of the move, noting that Thaci chief, Catherine Ashton. Before According to the statement, talks.” Slobodan Milosevic, who fought was suspected in Serbia of links the joint meeting, the two Balkan the joint meeting took place in a The joint meeting came as sur- a war with NATO to keep the to organ trafficking. “Boris officials met Ashton separately. good and constructive atmos- prise, as Serbia bitterly opposes mainly Albanian then province Tadic’s move is an absolute enig- Ashton issued a statement say- phere. “We will meet again Kosovo’s independence, pro- of Kosovo inside Serbia. ma to me,” Dacic said back then. Y M C +381 38 602042, +377 44 243367, +386 49 243367 K news Oct 26 - Nov 8, 2012 3 Serbia Talks Trigger Editor’s Word Censorship Reveals Violence in Kosovo Capital Greater Menace Clashes erupted in Prishtina following the historic meeting between Kosovo and Serbia leaders, which some in Kosovo see as a sell-out. By Faik Ispahiu By Fatmir Aliu he decision of Kosovo’s public broadcaster, RTK, not to air the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network inter- Tview with reputed gangster Enver Sekiraqa because of rishtina’s main Mother Teresa Vetevendosje leaders and supporters clashed with Kosovo police in Prishtina. For more photos, possible legal ramifications was a thoughtless leap in censor- square was the scene of major see Life in Focus on Page 22. ship. It showed that many in Kosovo journalism live in a bub- Pclashes on Monday when oppo- ble at a time when media around the world are dealing with sition supporters clashed with spe- Albanians and the people of Kosovo, says the Western powers clearly expect far more sensitive and controversial topics such as Wikileaks, cial police in a showdown highlight- Serbia still owes us a lot,” he added. Kosovo and Serbia to eventually sign a Britain’s phone-hacking scandal and the trial of mass-killer ing tensions over the government’s Last Wednesday, 66 activists from the peace treaty, although Belgrade Anders Breivik. declared wish to further reconcilia- same movement were arrested after remains unenthusiastic about the The interview with Sekiraqa, Kosovo’s most wanted fugitive tion with Serbia. attempting a similar scenario to process. until he surrendered to EULEX police Sept. 28, instead appeared After Vetevendosje (Self- Monday’s. “The first Thaci-Dacic meeting has Determination) Movement activists in excerpts on Gazeta Jeta ne Kosove, Prishtina Insight’s Dozens of protesters crossed the happened. Other meetings will be easi- Albanian-language web counterpart. tried to block the Prime Minister, security fences and entered into the er to set and will be more acceptable.