[AKI-News] Kosova's ongoing struggles. Have you forgotten your promises?

[AKI News]

Advocates for Kosova's Independence (AKI)
February 12, 2003

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  ** AKI Newsletter, Issue 13 **
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          AKI STATEMENT

The recent IWPR Balkan Crisis Report focuses entirely on the ongoing
struggles over the final status of Kosova, which the Bush administration
with its proclivity to aggression and its aversion to nation-building, has
washed its hands of. Politicians: Djindic, Rugova, Steiner, have wedded
themselves to different positions.  Djindic to partition, Steiner to a UN
protectorate.  All the while, Kosova's political parties clamor for
independence and a transfer of powers from UNMIK to the Kosova Parliament.

Meanwhile, those who suffer are the poor and disenfranchised - elderly Serb
women in rural Kosova, displaced Roma, Kosovo-Serb refugees outside
Belgrade, anyone who is ill in Kosova, and those struggling to live on a
$28/month pension.

          How is this a just peace?



-AKI Group

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    *   A R T I C L E   *
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IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT
February 10, 2003
Report No. 405


KOSOVO SPECIAL:


UN UNDER PRESSURE TO CEDE MORE POWERS.  Kosovars complain that UNMIK is
taking too long to hand over authority.   Arben Qirezi reports from
Pristina.

FURY AT UN FINAL STATUS CONDITIONS.  Tough pre-conditions dash Kosovo's
hopes of early discussion on independence.  Artan Mustafa reports from
Pristina.

DJINDJIC LAUNCHES BATTLE FOR KOSOVO.  Premier's demand for Yugoslav forces
to return to Kosovo is unlikely to be heeded abroad, but may win him
nationalist votes in forthcoming elections.  Jan Briza reports from Novi
Sad, Zoran Culafic reports from Pristina and Tatjana Matic reports from
London.

INVISIBLE SERB REFUGEES.  Thousands of displaced Serbs are struggling to
survive in unregistered camps across Serbia - seemingly beyond the reach or
the help of the authorities.  Boris Drenca reports from Belgrade.

--

DJINDJIC LAUNCHES BATTLE FOR KOSOVO

Premier's demand for Yugoslav forces to return to Kosovo is unlikely to be
heeded abroad, but may win him nationalist votes in forthcoming elections

By Jan Briza in Novi Sad, Zoran Culafic in Pristina and Tatjana Matic in
London

Serbia's Prime Minister has launched a surprise offensive on the future on
Kosovo to forestall Albanian moves towards independence and bolster his
patriotic image ahead of early elections.

Zoran Djindjic wrote to NATO's commander in south-east Europe, Admiral
Gregory Johnson, earlier this month requesting permission for Serbian police
and military forces to return to the province, which was followed by a
similar letter to the UN Security Council.

Djindjic told Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy coordinator, during his
visit to Belgrade last week, that he wants the international community to
launch talks on the final status of Kosovo by June.

It was the latest in the series of initiatives with which Djindjic, much to
the surprise of domestic and international opinion, has brought the issue of
Kosovo back on to the agenda.

The moves are seen as a response to ever more frequent calls from ethnic
Albanians for Kosovo to gain independence.  At the same time, the campaign
sounds a patriotic note in the run-up to inevitable early elections in
Serbia.

Kosovo's status has remained unresolved following the retreat of Yugoslav
forces from the province in June 1999.  Since then Kosovo has remained
formally part of Yugoslavia under UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

In practice, it is an international protectorate under the administration of
the UN Mission for Kosovo, UNMIK.  The Albanian majority in the province
strongly advocates independence, while the Serb minority has demanded
reintegration into Serbia.

Djindjic's insistence on the protection of Serb interests marks the start of
a counter-offensive against the growing pressure of Kosovo Albanians and
their sympathisers.

In May 2002, the Albanian majority in Kosovo's parliament passed a
resolution demanding independence.  The international administration
declared the motion void on the grounds that it violated Resolution 1244.

But the annulment of the Kosovo resolution only partially calmed the
authorities in Belgrade, as the independence issue was not only championed
by local Albanians but by well-known international organisations.

The International Crisis Group, ICG, in March 2002 drew up a blueprint
called "Guidelines for future of Kosovo", which proposed "conditional
independence" for the region if certain criteria were fulfilled.

A draft proposal based on this report was submitted to the US Congress in
June that year, urging Washington to support a sovereign entity.  The
proposal was re-submitted this January.  Congressmen Tom Lantosh and Henry
Hide have since presented a new resolution on Kosovo to the House of
Representatives, while another local initiative will be presented to the
Pristina parliament on February 13.

Djindjic appears to have taken over policy - making from Kosovo from Nebojsa
Covic, deputy prime minister and head of the government's coordination
centre for the region.

The new policy was first aired last December, when Djindjic told the German
magazine Der Spiegel that if Albanians organised a referendum on Kosovo's
independence, Serbs in Bosnia might do the same, in which case the 1995
Dayton peace accord would have to be revised.

On January 16 this year, Djindjic returned to the topic, warning that the
province was "turning before our very eyes into a state" and saying silence
was no longer an option. "Now is the time to start discussions about the
status of Kosovo and Metohija," he said.  "It is better to react now than
when it is too late".

Meanwhile, representatives of Serbs from northern Kosovo on January 20
founded a new local government group, the Association of Serb
Municipalities, with the goal of strengthening contacts with Serbia. Oliver
Ivanovic, a member of the Kosovo parliament presidency, said it was set up
in response to fears that Kosovo was moving fast towards independence.

The association has said it will hold its own referendum in Serbian
districts if this takes place, demanding the separation of northern Serbian
districts of Kosovo, around Leposavic, and their union with Serbia.

Djindjic´s support for this strategy was underlined on January 28 when he
convened a session of Serb representatives from Kosovo to draw up a joint
plan of action.  Members of the Serb National Council of North and Central
Kosovo and the Povratak (Return) coalition attended the meeting, which
gained the blessing of the newly formed Movement for Kosovo and Metohija,
under Momcilo Trajkovic, a day later.

While the fine details of their strategy have been kept from public
scrutiny, leaks from the meeting suggest they intend to build a new network
of local councils in Serb-populated areas.

Ivanovic told IWPR this network would encourage displaced Serbs to return
home as well as create the groundwork for northern Kosovo to request special
status, similar to that of Republic Srpska in Bosnia, should the Albanians
succeed in their drive for independence.

Partition is increasingly discussed as a way out of the Kosovo imbroglio,
said Professor Dusan Janjic, of the Belgrade Forum for Ethnic Relations. "If
it came to Kosovo's separation from Serbia, Leposavic would have every legal
right to request unification with Serbia, as it was only joined to Kosovo in
the 1960s," he said.

Djindjic may have chosen this moment to act, as the global political
situation has shifted in Serbia's favour.  America, the traditional ally of
the ethnic Albanians, is preoccupied with Iraq.  The EU is more inclined to
hear the Serb side, which is why Djindjic has requested EU help in resolving
the problem.  Last May, Michael Steiner, the UNMIK administrator in Kosovo,
said in Berlin that at the end of this year the EU should replace the UN
mission in Kosovo.

Western diplomats remain cautious about the Serbian premier's initiative.
There are reports that Djindjic received discreet backing from Serbia´s old
ally, Greece, which holds the EU presidency and wants the Kosovo issue
settled before the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Others believe the premier counts on support from Germany, which holds the
presidency of the UN Security Council this year.  Berlin is no traditional
ally of Serbia, but Djindjic has developed numerous connections with German
politicians.

Djindjic has a strong political incentive to launch his "Kosovo offensive".
Early elections in Serbia are expected later this year and the premier needs
to improve his patriotic ratings if he is to best his nationalist rival,
Vojislav Kostunica.

Officials in Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia, DSS, are clearly
annoyed by the premier's attempt to claim the nationalist vote.  Dusan
Prorokovic and Dragan Jocic denounced Djindjic's call for the Yugoslav army
to return to Kosovo as "cheap demagogy and preparation for the upcoming
elections".

In an equally cynical vein, radio Deutsche Welle commented that Djindjic's
demand was designed for domestic consumption.  It said in its commentary
that the premier had deliberately chosen a "populist national tune that
suits the Serbs".

But at a time when The Hague is putting pressure on the Serbia to extradite
suspected war criminals - and when cooperation with the war crimes court
remains unpopular in Serbia - Djindjic has every motive to try to neutralise
his unpatriotic image over the tribunal with a patriotic achievement, such
as rescuing Kosovo from ethnic Albanian separatism.

Djindjic's moves to curry nationalist support have also seen him recently
developing ties with the Serbian Orthodox Church, which was formerly
Kostunica's field of activity.  On February 4, amid a blaze of media
publicity, the premier publicly presented diplomas of gratitude to people
who've donated funds for the new St Sava cathedral in Belgrade.

Either way, Djindjic is likely to profit from his Kosovo campaign.  At home,
he will collect patriotic points.  And although his demands are not taken
very seriously abroad, they may speed up the start of a dialogue between
Pristina and Belgrade, at least on economic and other practical issues.
Once more, Djindjic has displayed his strong political instincts for
survival.

Jan Briza is a journalist with the daily Novi Sad paper Dnevnik; Zoran
Culafic is a Serbian journalist in Kosovo; and Tatjana Matic is a
correspondent for Deutche Welle in Pristina and an IWPR associate.

--

UN UNDER PRESSURE TO CEDE MORE POWERS

Kosovars complain that UNMIK is taking too long to hand over authority.

By Arben Qirezi in Pristina

Relations between Kosovar leaders and United Nations officials are
deteriorating as the former becoming increasingly exasperated with the
latter's reluctance to ease their grip on power.

Now enjoying their first experience of democratically elected government,
Kosovars are showing a growing appetite for self-rule.

As a result, they are beginning to chafe at the continued firm control of
the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, over foreign relations,
justice, law and order, finance and regulation of former guerrillas in the
Kosovo Protection Corps, KPC.

UNMIK dismisses the complaints as a ruse to cover up the Kosovan
government's own failures. In a speech in January, the UN chief in Kosovo,
Michael Steiner, said he was tired of being blamed for the government's poor
performance.

The UN Security Council established UNMIK in June 1999, following the
withdrawal of Serb military and police forces from Kosovo. The objective was
to create democratic institutions to take over "substantial autonomy" during
an interim period until the final status of Kosovo is resolved.

Since then, UNMIK has organised elections each year, enabling Kosovars to
develop advanced electoral processes.

After a parliamentary ballot in 2001, they had their first democratically
elected assembly. But the parties became deadlocked over how to share out
cabinet seats. UNMIK stepped in and provided a framework enabling Kosovars
to elect a president, a prime minister and an inclusive cabinet composed of
both majority and minority representatives.

But the government resented UNMIK's continued refusal to hand over its
reserved powers.  Kosovars began to look on the international authority with
suspicion when Steiner's predecessor, Hans Haekkerup, agreed with the
Serbian government in November 2001 to work together on issues such as
return of refugees, police cooperation and justice.

Soon after he was appointed in January 2002, Steiner appeared to overcome
much of the distrust that had been a feature of his predecessor's term in
office.

The new UN boss took a tough position on Belgrade, warning it not to try and
interfere in Kosovo affairs, and encouraged the development of the local
assembly.

But the honeymoon period soon came to an end when Kosovars realised that he
would not be prepared to hand over substantial powers over to the
legislature.

The mood was summed up by Ramush Tahiri, principal political adviser to the
President of the Kosovo Assembly, Nexhat Daci.  "The UN's mission aim from
the beginning was to build institutions, transfer responsibilities and
create substantial autonomy," Tahiri told IWPR. " In view of this, an
overlong process of transferring power must rank as a mission failure."

An example of this exasperation came in December, when members of Kosovo's
assembly criticised UNMIK for disregarding their opinion on the 2003 budget.
Sabri Hamiti, head of the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, said the
international authority was depriving parliament of an elementary democratic
self-rule principle - controlling its own revenues.

The UN has taken a different view on such matters. During last week's
meeting of the Security Council, Secretary General Kofi Annan accused
Kosovars of continuous attempts to exceed their authority and of an
"increased desire to grab UNMIK's reserved powers instead of concentrating
on the urgent issues over which they have responsibility".

Kosovars challenged Annan's assessments. Ernest Luma, the spokesman of the
Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, told IWPR that UNMIK had chosen
paternalism over partnership in its approach to the region. He said the
conflict between Kosovars and UNMIK is "a natural articulation of the
necessity for an accelerated transfer of powers".

For his party, justice and police should have priority in this process.  For
others, the economy remains important.

Sahit Berisha, a former political prisoner and a history teacher in a
Pristina secondary school, told IWPR that increasing poverty in Kosovo could
lead to politically-oriented protests which would further damage relations
between Kosovars and the international community.

Analysts say that relations between UNMIK and local Albanians are beginning
to take the absurd shape of a ruling party facing an opposition. But in
spite of all the pushing and squabbling, both are careful not to split too
far, as this would jeopardise Kosovo's development.

Speaking for many ordinary Kosovars, Shpetim Memshi, a student of chemistry
at the University of Pristina, told IWPR, "People want politician to have a
greater say, but not at the risk of open confrontation with the
international community."

Arben Qirezi is a regular IWPR contributor

--

FURY AT UN FINAL STATUS CONDITIONS

Tough pre-conditions dash Kosovo's hopes of early discussion on
independence.

By Artan Mustafa in Pristina

Kosovar Albanians, yearning for independence, have been enraged by a raft of
UN conditions which must be met before they can even talk about sovereignty.

It follows three years of the UN Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, persistently
sidestepping the subject of Kosovo's future.

The eight standards were introduced by the UNMIK a year ago to set a course
for the region's development. But in the second week of January, the
international authority insisted that they had to be met in advance of final
status talks.

Kosovans angrily accused the UN of approaching matters the wrong way round -
they want status discussed before standards are set.

Tensions over the issue escalated last week following the creation of new
EU-backed union between Montenegro and Serbia, under which Kosovo
unequivocally remains in the latter.

Forty-two deputies in the Kosovo parliament threatened to declare
independence. Some newspaper columnists said while they had a right to be
angry, such unilateral action would be ill-advised as it got the region's
nowhere in the past.

The territory's Albanian majority has been campaigning for independence ever
since 1989 when they were ruled from Belgrade.  After NATO forces prised
loose Serbia's grip in 1999, Kosovo became a UN protectorate governed under
Security Council resolution 1244.

The resolution obliged UNMIK to "facilitate a political process designed to
determine Kosovo's future".

But the authority's head Michael Steiner has lately been playing down this
aspect of his mission.  In messages to the public in Pristina, Belgrade and
on February 6 before the Security Council, he stressed that 2003 was still
too early to talk about Kosovo's final status.

The checklist of challenging standards that must be fulfilled before final
status can be discussed include the return of Serb refugees, freedom of
movement for the minority, dialogue with Belgrade, the formation of
democratic institutions and the establishment of the rule of law.

Ethnic Albanians, who make up 95 per cent of the Kosovo population, reject
the UNMIK principle of "standards before status". Their leaders also worry
about the lack of any time frame for these conditions to be reached.

Bajram Rexhepi, the prime minister of Kosovo, told IWPR that making the
question of status a hostage to standards was unacceptable. "There must be,
at least, a set deadline for these standards to be achieved'," he said.

But Oliver Ivanovic, the Serbian member of the presidency of the Kosovo
parliament, told IWPR that Serbs fully agree the "standards should be met
before (final) status (talks)".

This reflected the view of minority Serbs that Kosovo is still part of
Yugoslavia.  They are in no hurry to see an Albanian-dominated Kosovo state.

For the Albanians, the return of Serbian refugees is probably one of the
most difficult and painful issues on UNMIK's checklist. According to UNMIK
sources, only 6,000 out of about 200,000 refugees, mainly Serbs, who left
their houses after the NATO bombing, have returned to Kosovo.

The International Crisis Group, ICG, in Pristina argues that the lack of a
defined final status for Kosovo discourages refugees from returning home.
Serbs do not know whether they will be coming back to an independent Kosovo
or a territory that still has links with Serbia.

UNMIK says it can assist in the return process but it could not provide
indefinite security for those who do come back.

The second painful issue on the list is the suggestion that dialogue between
Pristina and Belgrade must be established

Most Kosovo Albanians do not support such talks and consider that ties with
Belgrade ended with the ethnic cleansing campaign during which more than
half a million Albanians were driven out of their homes and thousands left
dead or missing.

Enver Hasani, an international law professor at the University of Pristina,
said this dialogue would have to start sooner or later.  But he thought it
should not begin now, at a time when the Greeks are heading the EU
presidency for the next six months to be followed by the Italians. "Both
(these countries) are known for their sympathy towards Serbia, and I think
we would suffer from this," Hasani said.

The most recent blow to Albanian politicians in Pristina was the new union
between Serbia and Montenegro, as they have been trying to convince
themselves and the public that as each day goes by Kosovo has less and less
to with Belgrade.

There is a sense that the debate on independence is moving backwards to the
underground age of 1990s Kosovan politics when Ibrahim Rugova unsuccessfully
tried to persuade western governments to recognise the virtually
self-declared Republic of Kosovo.

But then as now, Rugova and his allies are unlikely to meet with any
success.  Steiner has already insisted the UN will not allow unilateral
decisions by Belgrade and Pristina to prejudice the independence issue -
which would be for the Security Council alone to decide.

Meanwhile, the UN is emphasising the importance of its preconditions for
final status talks.  Mason Whitney, a UNMIK official, said, "These standards
can neither be lowered nor negotiated, they should be met so that we can
start building a normal society."

UNMIK is trying to promote the standards through short video clips shown by
local TV stations.  The videos produced some sardonic responses.  One
journalist wrote to Steiner on December 31 asking him whether Kosovars "meet
the standards for celebrating New Year".

Artan Mustafa is a journalist of the daily Epoka e re in Kosovo.

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INVISIBLE SERB REFUGEES

Thousands of displaced Serbs are struggling to survive in unregistered camps
across Serbia - seemingly beyond the reach or the help of the authorities.

By Boris Drenca in Belgrade

The old, run-down barracks lie next to a dirt road some ten km from
Belgrade, on the outskirts of the village of Resnik.

Abandoned some time ago by their original occupants, these ten or so
buildings now house 95 Serb families who fled their homes after the war
ended in Kosovo in 1999.

Most of their possessions were left behind in the rush.  When Serbian forces
pulled out of Kosovo, they were followed by around 218,000 Serbs, fearful of
possible Albanian reprisals.

At the time, refugees were directed toward camps in various locations in
south Serbia. But many of these  were already full of those Serbs who had
fled Croatia and Bosnia. This forced the Kosovo Serbs further north.

As the existing camps were not big enough to accept all who made the long
journey, thousands of displaced persons broke into empty factory premises
and warehouses and made their homes there - unaware that by doing so, they
would make themselves "invisible" in Serbia.

Vesna Petkovic, a public information assistant with the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees, told IWPR that there are 62 unregistered camps,
with more than 3,500 inhabitants, in a number of municipalities.

There are nearly 300 recognised refugee centers, which are home to around
22,000 people.

While those living in unofficial camps are getting some form of help, it is
minor when compared to the aid given in the official ones, where UNHCR
covers the residents' living costs.

For those who live in the latter, food and other assistance is available -
but more importantly, the refugees are given an identity card which allows
them to seek employment and qualify for health insurance.

The inhabitants of the Resnik camp - like many others dotted across Serbia -
legally do not exist.  They have no address, no identity card and thus are
completely unable to support their families.

Resident Predrag Zdravkovic, who is originally from the Istok region of
Kosovo, told IWPR that he and his fellow refugees sometimes do unskilled
labour work for black marketeers to earn some money. "Sometimes we feel as
if we are in this country illegally," he said.

Goran Pitulic came to Resnik with his wife Stanka and their four-year-old
son in 1999, and his daughter was born in the camp some 14 months ago.

Like all other camp residents, Goran's family lives in two unsanitary rooms.
One barrack has twenty such accommodation units, their doors facing each
other across a narrow corridor.  "See what it's like here. When I open my
door I literally walk into my neighbours' room," he said.

Their furniture and kitchen equipment have been salvaged from scrap-yards,
repaired and pressed into service.  "This is junk for someone, but I took it
and fixed it - and for me it is good," said Stanka.

The rooms are divided by thin, damp chipboard.  Stanka worries constantly
that the old electrical wiring could lead to a fire in the building -
especially during the winter months, when the residents burn wood in stoves
to keep warm.

Their bathroom is a run-down unheated building some 50 metres from the
barracks.

It has ten squat toilets and solitary washbasin.  The water in the basin is
as frozen as the puddles on the floor.  The shower units, however, are
supplied from three hot-water tanks bought by residents with help from their
neighbours in Resnik.

This helps to keep the children clean and healthy, even if the temperature
of the building is scarely warmer than it is outside.  "We are toughening
the kids up," said Goran ironically as he showed IWPR around the bathroom.

The camp residents believe that it is a miracle that none of the children
have come down with a serious illness, given the conditions they are forced
to live in.  They do, nevertheless, point out that two of the camp residents
have been diagnosed with the Koksaki virus, which attacks the heart.

Beyond the basic considerations - washing, keeping warm, eating regularly -
the Resnik families have many other worries to contend with, none of which
are helped by their illegal status.

At one point last year, they feared that their electricity supply would be
cut off because of unpaid bills amounting to 16,000 euro - a debt disputed
by the families, who claim that the bulk of the power was used before they
arrived.

Thanks to the intervention of Nebojsa Covic, head of the Yugoslav
coordination centre for Kosovo, the power was not cut off.  But the bills
have still not been paid. Camp residents have instead been given a new
deadline to settle the debt, which is growing all the time.

In spite of the poverty and hardship, the majority of Resnik's displaced
persons told IWPR that they would not go back home now.  "Our houses have
either been burned down, or are being occupied by strangers.  Even if we
were to go back, what would await us there?" asked Goran.

Predrag also believes that he can never return to Istok.  He feels strongly
that Kosovo's Serbs were misled by the previous Serbian regime, which kept
telling them that they could stay in their villages - and then gave them
just a few hours to pack and leave.

"I don't think we can ever go back there," he said, preparing for another
long, cold day as one of Serbia's hidden refugees.

Boris Drenca is a freelance journalist based in Serbia.

IWPR ON-LINE: www.iwpr.net



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