Reports from UNMIKistan ...

So the latest non-sex-related gossip in town these days is the "scandal" by a Swedish writer, who "dared" to write a series of articles portraying UNMIK in bad light. Her name is Maciej Zaremba and she ain't repentant folks :) [wait a minute ... why did I automatically assume the writer is female? Talk about bias....]. Maciej is a guy. Interesting set of articles for discource on Kosovo but I can see some holes in some of his claims. Regardless, I applaud the writer for daring to write this and making people think a bit. Who knows? The intended "target" audience might be reading and listening.

The articles can be found HERE in English. Read and enjoy them.

TOC:

• Part 1. Report from Unmikistan, Land of the Future
• Part 2. The UN state and the seven robbers
• Part 3. Complain in Azerbaijan
• Part 4. Prowess, courage and plastic socks
• A foundation for justice in Kosovo
• A bizarre form of government
• Kosovo - a pocket guide

And for those too lazy to go to the site, here is the exerpt of the "Kosovo- a pocket guide":

Kosovan means an inhabitant of Kosovo. A Kosovan can be Albanian (90% of the population), Serb, Roma, Bosnian or even Turk. At least half a million Kosovo Albanians live outside Kosovo.

Albanians are not Slavs and their language is as strange to a Serb as Finnish is to a Swede. Culturally they are Muslims (as a result of the Ottoman occupation, which lasted between the 14th century and 1878), but they are not particularly practicing nor are they orthodox. As an example the end of Ramadan can be celebrated by drinking raki (grape brandy) and dancing.

Serbias claim on Kosovo is based on the fact that the centre of Medieval Serbia was located in the province. It is also based on the late myth (from the 1880s) concerning the importance of the battle of Kosovo Polje (Field of the blackbirds, 1389), when Serbs and others were defeated by the Ottomans.

The present conflict dates back to at least 1912 when the Serbs reoccupation of Kosovo turned into a massacre on Albanians. Six years later they were expected to become loyal citizens of the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes". In post-Second World War Communist Yugoslavia, Kosovo Albanians were considered inferior people, comparable to how Gypsies were regarded in Sweden in the thirties. But the province enjoyed autonomy.

The hostilities started symbolically in April 1987 when a fairly unknown Communist functionary named Slobodan Milosevic in a speech at Kosovo Polje turned into a Serb nationalist. As the president of Yugoslavia he abolished the autonomy of Kosovo in 1989. The Albanians countered by proclaiming independence, with Milosevic in turn dismissing all ethnic Albanians in the provincial government. Thereafter Kosovo was governed from Belgrade as an occupied country.

The Balkan wars started by Serb attacks on Bosnia and Croatia in 1992 and Kosovo was abandoned by the media. Seven years of peaceful resistance (with a parallel clandestine government, school and health care) made little impression on the outside world. Milosevic was forced to give up Bosnia through the Dayton-agreement in 1995 but he was allowed to keep the control of Kosovo.

The Kosovo Albanian guerilla is called UCK (Kosovo Liberation Army). It started attacking Serb police and "disloyal" compatriots in 1996. Milosevic countered by sending in troops and paramilitaries. In 1998 they started torching villages, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people having to flee. Three years after Srebrenica another ethnic cleansing was in the making.

The UN Security Council issued resolutions urging Milosevic to stop the violence. When this did not help the Contact Group(France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Great Britain and USA) proposed a settlement between Serbia and Kosovo. In Rambouillet the parties were faced with an ultimatum: armistice and negotiations about Kosovos future status - or military intervention in Kosovo. Rugovas shadow government signed, Milosevics government refused. And so

On the 24th of March 1999 NATO was engaged in warfare for the first time in its history. It took three months of bombing to compel the Serbs to withdraw their troops from Kosovo. On the 9th of June, with Milosevic already indicted by the Hague tribunal, the UN security council agreed on resolution 1244 concerning UNMIK. United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo was to be the biggest mission in the history of the UN: the UN would be in charge of all governmental functions and keep them until a democratically elected provincial government could take over. The UNs functionaries began arriving in June 1999.

Revenge. When the Serb troops had withdrawn, after killing maybe 10,000 persons, the Albanians took their bloody vengeance. Whole Serb families were massacred. The passivity of the UN can be explained by the fact that in the autumn of 1999 in Kosovo there were 50,000 NATO troops, a few thousand UN functionaries, two thousand foreign journalists but not a single police officer. The international police started arriving much later and at a pace depending on the UN member states willingness to spare their constables.

UNMIK is headed by an SRSG, meaning Special Representative of the Secretary General, that is the envoy of the head of the UN. All the seven SRSGs (which in the text are called UN governors) were appointed by Kofi Annan. The UN and UNMIK draft laws (regulations") and exert executive power. A governor has four deputies, each heading a "pillar". Number one is responsible for law and order, number two for civil administration, number three for democratization (led and financed by OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), number four for economic reconstruction, financed by the EU.

In addition there are the NATO forces, Kosovo Forces (KFOR). All five entities are subordinated to the governor, who reports to the Secretary General of the UN, who in turn reports to the Security Council and to the General Assembly.

In this article and in the following ones the expression "UN-people" includes functionaries and soldiers within the four pillars and NATO since they are all operating under the UN mandate even if some are formally employed by the EU or by the Swedish Armed Forces. (See UN S/1999/672)

The seven SRSGs, or the Kings of Kosovo:
Sergio Vieira de Mello (June-July 1999), Bernard Kouchner, until January 2001, Hans Haekkerup, until December 2001, Michael Steiner until July 2003, Harri Holkeri until June 2004, Søren Jessen-Petersen until September 2006, Joachim Rücker - still on duty.

Turkish style ... good for a short break

A commentary for the weekend . . .

Koha Ditore carried an opinion piece today by columnist Enver Robelli. Mr. Robelli thinks Kosovo deserves another government. When referring to the current government of the region, he says, "Not these circus members, sellers of tenders, thieves, cheaters and abusers of public goods. Kosovo has thousands of professional and honest people, who would do the job of a minister at the good this people who have grown weak by the leaders of this crime".

OUCH!!!!

He goes on, “Imagine Kosovo with ministers who would win their posts thanks to their abilities and not thanks to bribe, organized crime, the partnership with drug leaders, threats and arms trafficking, and money laundering?”

Why stop at Kosovo? Imagine any country like he just described. You'd have to have a pretty damn good imagination to imagine such.

Robelli then goes on in the article to suggest "a whole list of names of people who in his opinion could take up posts in a different government, like Muhamedin Kullashi, professor of philosophy at Paris 8 University, Brikena Muharremi, barrister of law in London, Martin Berishaj, professor political sciences in Ljubljana University, Edita Tahiri, a female politician with long experience in lobbying for independence, Ymer Shkreli, one of Kosovo’s best authors, Lulzim Kabashi, one of the best architects in Croatia, Dom Lush Gjergji, founder of the Mother Teresa Association and known for his inter-religious and interethnic tolerance, Virtyt Koshi, telecommunications expert and manager of Vodafone, etc. "

Apparently, according to Robelli, all the non-corrupt Kosovans just do not live in Kosovo . . . touche!

Peja (Rugova Valley)

Sometimes, after staying in Prishtina for long, one could forget that Kosovo is a diverse land with beautiful diverse geographical landscapes. A good friend went to Peja yesterday and sent me some pictures he took there. Thanks B.

While the kingmakers drag their feet, the most unlikely "bishop" is making its moves ...

This just came in this morning. Wow, 2 big shots in less than 3 weeks; must be a bad period to be an ex-genocidal general in Serbia. Kudos to the Serbian government for this progress (yes, some might argue that they could have done this a long time ago but, hey, better late than never, right?)

Serbia Arrests a Fugitive Tied to Crimes in Kosovo

By REUTERS
BELGRADE, Serbia, June 17 (Reuters) — A Serbian police general indicted on charges of crimes against humanity after being accused of ordering the killings of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999, was arrested Sunday and sent to face the charges at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. The general, Vlastimir Djordjevic, is the second Serbian fugitive to be arrested in three weeks, a change of course by Serbia’s new government after a previous record of inaction and defiance. The arrest further raises the possibility that the tribunal’s most wanted fugitive, Gen. Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serbs’ wartime military leader, might at some point be taken into custody. General Djordjevic was arrested in the coastal resort town of Budva in neighboring Montenegro, said Rasim Ljajic, chief of Serbia’s council for cooperation with The Hague.

“It was a joint action of Serbian and Montenegrin police and of the Hague tribunal,” Mr. Ljajic said. “He is on his way to The Hague.”

A spokesman for the Hague tribunal confirmed that General Djordjevic had been detained and would be handed over soon to the tribunal. The arrest appears to confirm Serbia’s new willingness to engage with the West in the hope of joining the European Union and NATO. General Djordjevic was indicted in October 2003, accused of ordering a crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatist guerrillas in the Serbian province of Kosovo.

At least 10,000 civilians, overwhelmingly ethnic Albanians, died in the Kosovo conflict, which prompted NATO’s first war and ended with the United Nations taking control of the province eight years ago. The Hague’s chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, is to report to the United Nations Security Council on Monday about Serbia’s cooperation with the court, her last report before stepping down in September. The arrest of Zdravko Tolimir, another fugitive, at the end of May helped prompt talks about closer ties between Serbia and the European Union, but the union has said it wants more fugitives behind bars before it signs a deal.

Misadventures of the emperor

Brought to my attention by a reader: From Crooks and Liars

‘What exactly did I say?’

By: Steve Benen @ 5:10 AM - PDT

Bush at a press conference on Saturday:

Q: And on the deadline [for Kosovo independence]?

Bush: In terms of the deadline, there needs to be one. This needs to come — this needs to happen. Now it’s time, in our judgment, to move the Ahtisaari plan. There’s been a series of delays. You might remember there was a moment when something was happening, and they said, no, we need a little more time to try to work through a U.N. Security Council resolution. And our view is that time is up.

Bush at a press conference on Sunday:

Q: Thank you, Mr. President. Yesterday you called for a deadline for U.N. action on Kosovo. When would you like that deadline set? And are you at all concerned that taking that type of a stance is going to further inflame U.S. relations with Russia? And is there any chance that you’re going to sign on to the Russian missile defense proposal?

Bush: Thanks. A couple of points on that. First of all, I don’t think I called for a deadline. I thought I said, time — I did? What exactly did I say? I said, “deadline”? Okay, yes, then I meant what I said.

At which point assembled reporters started laughing at him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Was it stolen or not?

Bush's Stolen Watch Mystery Solved

FUSHE KRUJE, ALBANIA (Reuters) -- Albanian police say the reports of President Bush's watch being stolen while greeting the crowd in Tirana are untrue.

Video from the presidential visit shows that while he began to work the crowd with a timepiece on his left arm, within seconds it was gone. But video shot at another angle appears to show Mr. Bush removing the watch and either giving it to a security guard or placing it in his pocket.

"The story is untrue and the president did not lose his watch," a spokesman for the embassy in Tirana said.

White House Spokesman Tony Snow set the record straight: "It was placed in his pocket…the president put it in his pocket and it returned safely home."

Some newspapers, television stations and websites carried reports that Bush's watch vanished on Sunday when he was greeted by ecstatic crowds in Fushe Kruje, outside the capital Tirana.

"It is not true," said Albania's police director, Ahmet Prenci.

Photographs showed Bush, surrounded by five bodyguards, putting his hands behind his back so one of the bodyguards could remove his watch.

From the Archives

I was going through some old stories from the Economist when I came across the piece below. An interesting article even if very tiny. Talks about the forgotten groups in Kosovo in the struggle between the Albanian and Serb Kosovans. Groups so forgotten that even the Economist could only spare a few lines to mention them. Enjoy ....

Ethnic groups in Kosovo

The minorities within the minority

Nov 2nd 2006 | BROD
From The Economist print edition

Kosovo is lived in by others besides dominant Albanians and minority Serbs
HAMDIJE SEAPI, a local Gorani official, excuses himself to go to the funeral of a woman from a neighbouring village. He did not really know her, but since her village was all but abandoned in 1999, somebody has to. In his village, Mlike, there were 1,380 people before the Kosovo war, but now there are barely 400, 70% of them over 65. “Before, we were somehow like shock absorbers between Serbs and Albanians, but now we have our backs to the walls.”

The Gorani are among the smallest of Kosovo's minorities. Before the war, say officials, anywhere up to 18,000 of them lived in Gora, a rural sliver of land squeezed between Macedonia and Albania. Now a mere 8,000 remain. They are Muslims, living in villages in the remote south and speaking a language close to Serbian and Macedonian. At school they have always been taught in Serbian. Many of them were loyal Serbian citizens, serving in the police and as officials until the end of the war in 1999.

This has incurred much enmity from Kosovo's Albanians. Since 1999 Serbia has continued to pay Gorani teachers like Serbian ones, and they have continued to use the Serbian curriculum. Now the Kosovo authorities want to force them to change. If they did, Gorani children could not go to Serbian secondary schools. Serbia pays its teachers in Kosovo at least twice what the Kosovo authorities do. As a result of this dispute, several hundred Gorani children are now locked out of their schools.

In the village of Brod, locals still burn manure for fuel. Hakija Cuculj, a member of the local council, says that since the UN took over in Kosovo it has redrawn local boundaries so that Gorani are now outvoted on everything by Albanians. Immediately after the war many Gorani left for Serbia; now they go farther afield. Mr Cuculj's son works in Italy and sends home money. “People are just living in uncertainty,” he says. “They just want to survive.”

There are no reliable figures for anything in Kosovo. But a rule of thumb is that some 90% of the province's 2m people are Albanians. At least half of the remaining 200,000 are Serbs. The biggest minority after that are local Slav Muslims, many of whom, since 1999, have chosen to identify themselves as Bosniaks (ie, Bosnian Muslims). Then come Roma, some of whom are called Ashkali and some Egyptians; Turks; Gorani; and, finally, a tiny number of Croats. Since the early 1990s most Croats have left, many to settle in places in Croatia from which Serbs have fled. The Gorani are now the smallest of the small.

... says the Economist

Serbia and Kosovo

Crimes and misdemeanours

Jun 7th 2007 | BELGRADE AND PRISTINA
From The Economist print edition

Serbia tries to please the European Union—but Kosovo still waits

FOR months, diplomats said that this would be the week when Russia's Vladimir Putin and America's George Bush struck a deal: not about Kyoto, but about Kosovo. The hope was that Mr Putin would assent to Kosovo's independence in exchange for a concession elsewhere. Yet this is clearly not now going to happen.

Kosovo is still technically part of Serbia, though it has been run by the United Nations since 1999. Some 90% of its 2m people are ethnic Albanians who want independence. A plan drawn up for theUN by a former Finnish president, Martti Ahtisaari, proposes this with minor constraints, but also gives concessions to Kosovo's Serbian minority. The problem is that, without Serbian agreement, Russia will remain opposed to the Ahtisaari plan—and seems ready to veto it at the UN Security Council.

American diplomats have hinted that, if this happens, they might encourage the Kosovo Albanians to declare independence anyway, and then recognise their new state unilaterally. This may still be the plan, but it will meet resistance from the European Union. The Ahtisaari plan proposes to replace the UN structure in Kosovo with an EU one and an international governor, as in Bosnia. But without a UN resolution, such a change may not be legal.That is why some diplomats now reason that it would be better to postpone the whole issue until September. But since September is even closer to Russia's parliamentary election (in December) and presidential one (next March), there seems no good reason to expect the Russians to change their minds. At least the talk of postponement is not yet stirring trouble in Kosovo. Far from reaching for their guns, says Visar Reka, erstwhile spokesman of the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army, those who might be tempted to return to war are, for now, happy to wait.

This will obviously come as a relief not only to Western diplomats, but to the Serbs. If fighting broke out again in Kosovo, its Serbs would surely be among the first victims. Besides, Serbia's new government has its own EU ambitions to attend to. On these, it has played a shrewd game. In May 2006 the EU suspended talks with Serbia on a stabilisation and association agreement, widely seen as a first step towards membership, because of its failure to co-operate with the Yugoslav war-crimes tribunal in The Hague. But now talks with the EU are about to resume, boosted not just by the new government but also by its arrest on May 31st of Zdravko Tolimir, one of six Serb war-crimes suspects who were still at large. Mr Tolimir, who is charged with genocide, was living in a flat in Belgrade. After the decision to arrest him, police piled into his flat and bundled him out in a body-bag, according to some reports, and then spirited him to the Serb part of Bosnia, where he was officially arrested. This way Serbia's prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, who dislikes the tribunal, appears not to have betrayed his principles.

EU officials insist that talks with Serbia cannot be completed without the arrest of General Ratko Mladic, Mr Tolimir's wartime superior. Whether that happens remains to be seen—Carla Del Ponte, chief prosecutor at the Hague tribunal, now speaks of its being done within weeks. If Mr Kostunica wanted to weaken EU resolve over Kosovo, he would do well to arrest the general. Those against Kosovo's independence might then argue that even a co-operative Serbia was being punished. The trouble is that if Kosovo loses any prospect of independence, war and instability could return. Politics in the Balkans, as elsewhere, is about hard choices.