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The weekly Koha (The T imes) was published in Prishtina (Kosovo) between 1994 and 1997. E dited by VetonSurroi, a young Kosovar journalist and one of the pioneers of democratisation in former Y ugoslavia, Koha

soon became a symbol of quality among the region's media. In 1997 it started to be published daily under the

name of Koha Ditor. With the kind permission of Mr. Surroi, Koha digests were originally posted on

http://koha.estudiosbalcanicos.org.

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Koha Digest # 60

EDITORIAL

ANNA KARENINA IN A STRIP-TEASE BAR

by VETON SURROI

The situation of the book today, cynics would comment, proves

that the only way Anna Karenina may incite the interest of the

public, is to have it presented in a strip-tease bar. The

possibilities of the mentioned Russian to do this would be

disputable, and why this is so, maybe a Mr. Tolstoy could say so

(and it has nothing to do with the members of the Contact Group whoare trying to convince the Serbian president that he should legalize

Greater Serbia with diplomatic means). Anyhow, in lack of reply, the

big question remains: why wouldn't any presentation of the above

Russian, for example in writing, be interesting? The general trend,

someone would say, because TV, film and computers have replaced the

interest of the human. It is partially true in the case of the

developed countries, even though there, despite the fact that

interest on electronic multi-media is big, the interest on the

written word as invented by Guttenberg has also increased. But, what

would the reasons be, for a underdeveloped society as Kosova? Thefollowers of the political events claim that a lack of interest, and

erosion of political senses of the Kosovan population are evident.

It could be thus, and social psychologists will say that these forms

of depression are manifested in long-term conflicts as is this one

in Kosova. In such a state, the explanation continues, a Turkish TV

broadcast or a video-cassette of polar values produced in Kosova

(all seem to be extracted from a huge minus) is more interesting

than a collection of media analyses served in a novel. It could be

so, and this will be proven by kitsch as the main subculture

category of present Kosova. Starting from the music which is produced (it is interesting to see how similar Albanian, Greek,

Serbian and Gypsy music are, especially played on the synth) and up

to wearing purple and the mimicry of the Istanbul market in many

people on the streets. But, is this all? I don't believe so. As many

other things, there are many coincidences. One month ago, in

Washington, I was explaining to some surprised people, that one of

the most authoritative newspapers of the world "Washington Post" is

cheaper than a sample of an Albanian daily in Kosova. (According to

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the average American income, it comes out that Washington Post is at

least 50 times cheaper than the daily Albanian in Kosova). When

someone asks how is the freedom of expression in Kosova breached,

this is the best example to explain how. This regime is in no need,

since long ago, of censorship and incarceration. Controlling howmuch will what cost with its measures, the cultural production has

taken the correct step to incite the interest of the people on

Turkish TV, polar video-cassettes and the Greek-Turkish periphery

synthesizer. In a strip-tease bar, if possible.

KOSOVA

DISCRIMINATION IN 32 IMAGES

by IBRAHIM REXHEPI / Prishtina

On May 29, the framed trial against the 72 albanian policemen

started with the signs of discrimination against the "accused" and

other Albanians who in other ways participate in it. The indictment

was written and read in Serbian, despite the fact that all the

accused declared that they would defend themselves in Albanian.

After the reaction of the attorneys, the President of the Jury

finally remembered that the indictments should be translated, andtherefore he requested a recess until June 12. This process, since

the beginning, has also other discriminating, denigrating and

offending elements. All the accused were brought into the room with

their hand cuffed behind their backs. They remained thus for a long

time, while the members of their families were looking, from the

gallery of the former Assembly of Kosova, at the backs of those who

face responsibility for "endangering the territorial integrity and

the constitutional order" of the self-proclaimed Yugoslavia. Five

minutes before the Judge came in, as commanded "stand up", the 61

accused stood up and all of them were taken the hand-cuffs off. This

was the only time they turned their heads towards the gallery; someof their relatives greeted them with their hands, some with an

eyesight and others with tears. This happened in the institution

which, according to its name, is authorized to defend the rights of

the citizens. This is the way to demonstrate the force and the

offending and discriminating attitude the Serbian government has

been showing against Albanians since a very long time ago. These

movements can't be characterized as individual actions, for all of

them are regulated by Serbian laws. Looking through the list of the

adopted decisions and laws in the Serbian parliament, as well as in

the parliament of the unrecognized federal state, in some cases,clearly shows that no area of life and work in Kosova has been

exempted from discrimination. Even as the experts on the issue

claim, there is nothing more to do in respect of new legislature,

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apart from their broader application to all territories inhabited by

Albanians. Adil Fetahu, Secretary of the Jurists' Association of

Kosova and author of the book "Emergency Measures in Kosova", says

that the genesis of the discriminatory laws should be sought

somewhere in the eighties, when the YU Program on Kosova wasadopted, which was elaborated in details in another document, of a

cynical title, "The Program on the Establishment of Peace, Freedom,

Equality, Democracy and Prosperity in the SAP of Kosova" adopted in

March 1990. The laws and decisions later adopted by the Serbian

parliament are nothing else but the operationalization of the

determinations of this program, despite the fact that sometimes they

were contrary to the Constitution of Serbia nor "FRY". On the other

hand, the culmination of the ruin and the violation of the rights of

Albanians was achieved in June 1990 when the Law on the Activities

of the Republican Organs in Special Circumstances was adopted. The

notion "special circumstance" is a game of words, to trick theinternational community, and it reality it means the implementation

of the state of emergency in Kosova, which is still going on. So,

since then it was known what will happen in Kosova, as well as its

organs, which were suppressed with another act adopted in July of

that year, and further on in economy, education, health-care,

culture, judiciary, housing, property, use of languages... Mrs.

Nekibe Kelmendi, attorney at law, who has written (a yet unpublished

book) about all the Serbian discriminating laws, adds that apart

from legal and sub-legal acts, the violation of human rights and

Albanians is also done according to the order of a person or organof different levels. There are cases when the rights of Albanians is

proven on the decision of all judicial instances of Serbia, but its

realization is stopped because it doesn't suit a certain person. In

other words, these orders are verbal, so there are no traces behind.

Looked upon the aspect of time, Serbia created a discriminatory

legislature in a very short period of time, and it is only

applicable in Kosova and only against Albanians. Since June 26, 1990

and till the end of October 1992, almost on a daily basis the

parliament of Serbia and its government have adopted different laws,

decision and decrees aiming at the establishment of the "UniqueSerbia". In this period, 32 discriminatory and anti-constitutional

laws were adopted, along with 470 decisions on emergency measures

and 56 decisions on the discharge of Albanians from leading

municipal administration posts. Emergency measures served for the

discharge of 220 Albanian directors of producing and non-producing

enterprises who were replaced by almost 1200 Serbs and Montenegrins

and in the case of Dragash, also some Gorans, loyal to the Serbian

rule. The last figure includes also the members of the organs

appointed for the application of these measures. Kelmendi says that

after this period, there were very few laws adopted which wouldregulate any issue in Kosova. Not because Serbia wouldn't want this

to be, but because until then, it had managed to do them all. Later

on, a law on the suspension of all laws adopted by the Assembly of

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the SAP of Kosova was adopted, and it states that this law is

applicable until "the new multi-party parliament of Kosovo and

Metohija is constituted". In reality, the legislator refers to a

parliament according to its measure and not the wish of the

population in Kosova. Also, a new Labor act was adopted, and itallegedly suppresses the Special Labor Law which was applicable in

"special circumstances", but it states that all disputes that refer

to the period before the adoption of this act, must be solved

according to the old act. This in practice means that all those

Albanians who have started a judicial procedure after dismissal,

will have to "solve" them according to the act they were dismissed

on! A recent act is that on the Publication of Books, Auxiliary and

Educational Means, in which it is stated that all books are to be

published in Serbia and only in Belgrade, and if needed, they should

be translated to the languages of the "national minorities". The

same act suppressed the Provincial Institute for the Publication ofSchool Books and Auxiliary Means in Prishtina, which in the moment

the act was being approved, was under emergency measures. The organs

of the self-proclaimed federation adopted also some decisions and

decrees which mainly refer to the colonization of Kosova, as well as

the way to provide necessary financial means. The parliament of the

so called Yugoslavia witnessed the following statement: "Serbia has

deprived Albanians from power, however it has enabled them to grow

rich". This is where the request for the further continuation of the

discriminatory measures in the material plan relies. But, looking at

it realistically, even though it seems that Albanians hold thewealth in their hands, they, according to the official Serbian

statistics, have influence on only 8,2 of the capital as a whole.

This means that the other part is in the hands of the Serbs, if not

as a private capital, then as a state owned capital or as a part of

enterprises and institutions of Serbia. After the application of

emergency measures and the dismissal of 123 thousand Albanian

workers, the national break-down of the employed has drastically

changed, since from the majority of those who made up 70 of the

employed people in Kosova, Albanians today don't even make one third

of those who work in public enterprises. The massive dismissal ofAlbanians didn't only aim to make them lose power, but also deprive

them of everything they have created since a long time. On the other

hand, Fetahu says, the prolongation of emergency measures

represented a violation of all laws, even those adopted by Serbia.

They were prolonged until experts from Serbia didn't come to teach

the locals how the transformation of property was to be done. The

formula was: at least 51 of the property should be transferred to

enterprises of institutions in Serbia, while the workers, the ones

who are still employed can count only 17 of the property. The oneswho were dismissed because they didn't accept the Serbian laws, have

no right to have any shares whatsoever. Thus, 251 Kosovan

enterprises were transformed (sold), and this makes 90 of the total

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number of public enterprises Kosova had. The only municipality which

remained outside this process was Gjakova, which had done its

transformation based on Markovic's laws, but right now, these

enterprises are in a very difficult material situation, and under

constant police surveillance, a police which analyzes the modus oftransformation, for in the meantime, we had the adoption of another

act which foresees the revalorization of the transformation process.

The workers were discriminated in other ways too: even though

declared "technological surplus", they were not paid accordingly,

neither did they get 24 salaries. Now, since more than two years

since their dismissal have passed, they lost this status too, which

places them in the lists of the unemployed, without any material

support. In 600 cases, sometimes even without any legal grounds,

Albanians, mainly the ones dismissed, were also evicted from their

apartments. The open discrimination was evident even in the case of purchase of apartments, because the Albanians were requested to

present proof of employment, which they couldn't do. This provision

is not contained by any of the legal acts. Also, 274 thousand

children were deprived from the right to health-care protection. On

the other hand, there are special discriminatory provisions for

workers and/or owners of private enterprises, and it is manifested

by plundering. Around 17 thousand private firms, where only 10 are

not owned by Albanians, and about 40 thousand private shop owners,

are forced to pay special taxes, much higher than their colleagues

anywhere in Serbia. Last year alone, they and the other tax payerspaid a total of 440 millions dinars to Serbia's budget. The owners

of firms and shops are forced to keep all books and correspondence

in Serbian, meanwhile the inscriptions, not only in shops, but also

the inventory, must be in Serbian and Cyrillic alphabet. If they

don't respect this provision, they can be fined up to 50 thousand

dinars (as many DEM according to the official rate) or the

close-down of the firm. And, to have the absurd even bigger, the

campaign for the cyrillic inscriptions started in the place with

almost no Serbs - Gllogovc, and then continued throughout Kosova.

"The use of the Albanian language in Kosovo will be regulated

according to the statutes of the municipalities or that of theProvince" - says the Act on the Official Use of Languages and

Scripts, adopted in July 1991. And, if we have a case in which the

parties speak different languages, then "the language to be used

will be determined by the organ, i.e. organization". As Kelmendi

says, when it is obvious that these "organs and organizations" don't

have any Albanians, then it is obvious that the language chosen is

Serbian. But, the sole fact that this issue is to be regulated by

the statute of the municipality proves the kind of discrimination we

are dealing with. There are many proofs of discrimination: names of

localities, streets and institutions are written only in Serbian,mainly in Cyrillic. Private shops or enterprises owned by Serbs are

not obliged to have their inscriptions also in Albanian. The

municipal courts, prisons and different state institutions have

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inscriptions only in Serbian and in Cyrillic. To this, we must add

that, after the dismissal of Albanian judges and prosecutors,

Albanian is rarely used in trials. Otherwise, all police processes

and investigating procedure is done in Serbian, because 3,5 thousand

policemen were dismissed from these organs. Despite the fact thatthe law acknowledges the right of an individual of a "national

minority" to communicate in his/her own language, this right is

denied by the individual that represents the government. This

affects the personal life of Albanians, because even the simplest

documents, e.g. a birth certificate, or the ID card and passport are

issued in Serbian language and alphabet, apart from the name and

last name of the person. At the same time, information in Albanian

is banned, because thanks to a special law, Serbia takes all the

rights over the media. To claim that Prishtina Radio and Television

broadcasts in Albanian is absurd, because that would be listening to

a very distorted Albanian as dictated by the Serbian editor."Rilindja" is banned, or rather allowed only within the phantom

enterprise called "Panorama", has been replaced with the daily

"Bujku", which is nevertheless, facing many daily problems and

dangers. After the implementation of emergency measures in eight

private radio stations there is no more broadcasting in Albanian,

meanwhile in a competition to get hold of emitting frequencies,

Kosova is not supposed to be covered by them at all. This means that

no one who would be interested to have a private radio station in

this Albanian territory could apply for a frequency. Albanian

students, even though in very difficult conditions organized inhouses-schools, would lose all prospects if they would eventually be

educated pursuant the Serbian laws. The University Act, adopted in

August 1992, says: "The educational process at the University and in

faculties is developed in the Serbian language" and then continues

"studies at the University can also be conducted in the languages of

national minorities, of nationalities or a foreign language", but

"the decision must be adopted by the founder, after it receives the

opinion of the University, i.e., the faculty". This law doesn't

allow anyone else but the Parliament of Serbia to be the founder of

the University, in other words the same institution of power which

introduced all discriminatory measures against Albanians. This isthe reason why the use of Albanian at the (occupied) University of

Prishtina depends on the good mood and mercy of the Parliament of

Serbia. And this is not it, since "the Parliament of Serbia, with

the proposal of the Government, will establish the network of

faculties". "The adoption of this act...allows the University of

Prishtina to start functioning". Will the University of Prishtina

start working again in its premises or not, it will depend on the

Serbian government, but when it is known that it never even

discussed this problem, then it can be implied that it is not

planning to get a positive opinion about the issue. The same patternwas applied in the case of the high and elementary schools, attended

by 327 thousand Albanians. Even before the adoption of determined

laws and in the name of the fact that Albanians were refusing Serb

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dictates, Serbia stopped financing the education. Afterwards, out of

830 elementary schools, 139 underwent emergency measures, 26 were

closed for Albanian pupils, while high school students were expelled

from 62 high schools throughout Kosova, and seven superior schools

and 13 faculties of the University hold no more Albanian students intheir premises. This means that classes continue being organized in

160 private houses, without any normal conditions of work. Recently,

the Serbian government has adopted a decree and closed down two high

schools in Gllogovc, and the reason stated is that "there are no

Serb students"! Developing education in these conditions is

difficult enough, because they too, are persecuted by the Serbian

regime. But, according to the laws that regulate this area,

Albanians are practically allowed to have only elementary education

in their mother tongue and it should be done according to the

curricula and different decisions adopted in Belgrade, as well as

using the books published there. Some time ago, Rasim Gashi fromPrishtina was evicted from his house by the police. He had bought

it, ten years ago, from a Serb. The motive of eviction was the fact

that "he had forced the Serb to flee". Bardhi family from

Lutogllava, can't count on 3,5 hectares of land any longer, "because

it purchased it by pressuring the former owner". In fact, there is a

document issued by the police organ that the owner of the house was

not pressured by anyone to sell out her property. The Qeli family,

from Bec (Gjakova) was deprived of 1,7 hectares of fertile land,

because allegedly this was property of Milomir Obradovic, former

installed President of the Municipality. However, his ownershipcan't be proven by any document. There are certainly more examples

in which Albanians are deprived of their property. In April 1991,

the Serbian parliament adopted the Law on the Restriction of

Real-Estate Turnover. As of the first article, it is clear that this

is a discriminatory law, because it is applicable only in Kosova.

The right to transfer the property, without the consent of the

respective Serbian ministry is acceptable in the case of Albanians

only if inherited. Otherwise, all forms of purchase or sale are

prohibited, especially if the seller is Serb. Based on this law,

there are requests for the revision of all contracts signed betweenSerbs and Albanians since 1940. The purpose is to take away as much

property as possible from Albanians. According to the data provided

by Serbian authors, since the pre-war years and up to today, Serbs

have lost between 100 and 200 thousand hectares. According to the

requests heard in Serbian extremists meetings, then this land should

be taken away from Albanians, as well as the procedure for the

return of colonizers should be reactivated. It should be stressed

that these colonizers were given a total of 111.602 hectares of land

between two wars. This restriction too, aims at restraining the

living space of Albanians. If to this we add the laws oncolonization, which offer many benefits to the Serbs who come to

Kosova, then Albanians will have it hard to live here. Two acts

alone, ruin the urbanism plans of localities, which foresee the

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construction of orthodox churches in centers of towns, then the plan

is to construct 138 apartments for colonizers in Prishtina, 33 in

Prizren, same as in Peja, 20 in Ferizaj, 48 in Mitrovica, 5 in

Sknderaj, 7 in Podujeva, 8 in Istog, 24 in Zvean and 30 in Gjilan.

It is very interesting to stress that this law was declared

anti-Constitutional by the Constitutional Court of "FRY", because

the "owners of real-estates in one region are placed in an unequal

position compared to the others". However, this decision, as Nekibe

Kelmendi says, represents "res inter alias acta", i.e., something

that does not oblige. Adil Fetahu says that after the completion of

discriminating laws, Serbia has nothing else to do but deepen their

application. Another act is being prepared: the Citizenship Act,

which could represent the finale of all discriminating laws. If it

departs from the ascertainment that "there are 300 thousand

emigrants in Kosova and that it should be looked whether others havethe same origin", then many can be deprived of the right to continue

living in Kosova. According to the official figures of the former

Yugoslavia, there are only 712 emigrants from Albania.

Realistically, only they could be disputed the residence, but it

should not be a big surprise to see the Serbian policy invent

something new and expel Albanians from their lands. This law will

not allow the comeback of those who have established their residence

in former Yugoslav republics, now independent states, not to speak

of those who were born there. Also, all those who have solved theirstatus in a way in Western Europe will not able to come back either.

A recent feature is that of the Serbian border officers, who are not

allowing Albanians, who have spent a long time abroad, to come

inside Kosova. There is no special law that regulates this issue,

but the disposition of the official can declare one persona non

grata, because someone may have requested asylum abroad. This fact

can be a reason to deny the Albanians local citizenship. Therefore,

if it is true that there are around 500 thousand Albanian

asylum-seekers, then the fear is that they will become stateless

people.

DISCRIMINATION

KEEPING EYES CLOSED

In a quite voluminous manuscript, Nekibe Kelmendi collected all

discriminatory legal provisions against Albanians. This is why we

will concentrate only on the unwritten discrimination even for theinternational institutions which, according to Mrs. Kelmendi, as if

were closing their eyes to Kosova and the Albanians, especially in

the framed political trials.

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KOHA: According to you, is there something not comprised in the

described forms discrimination?

KELMENDI: Discrimination against Albanians in Kosova starts at

birth. If the born child is the fourth one, then according to theSerbian laws - he is outlawed. Analyzing the demographic processes

in Serbia, then it is easily concluded that this provision is

applicable in the case of Albanians, since they have large families.

I would add that since the dismissal of Albanian teachers in

kindergartens, the Albanian children are constantly in contact with

a different environment, the Serbian one. This means that this is

the place where the institutionalized work starts to make the

children get used to these circumstances.

KOHA: Albanians, despite the measures, don't oppose much thediscrimination. How is this situation resisted?

KELMENDI: It seems that traditional norms are still dominating

in our society, i.e., overcoming the misunderstandings outside the

judicial instances. Maybe this is better, because the people would

judge in a more qualified way than a judge delegated by Serbia. At

the same time, people is strongly lead by moral feelings and a hope

that what is going on is provisional and that one of these days

these laws, decisions and decrees will disappear.

KOHA: Is there a way to find a form of organization to solve the

issues outside the Serbian institutions?

KELMENDI: Not much chance for that, since all issues should be

officially solved. For example, selling real-estate is not possible

until the consent of a Serbian ministry is obtained. I believe that

we can do more if all of us would do our share in alarming the

international public. As it seems, we are more dealing with

politics, regardless of our capacities.

KOHA: Why are we relying so much on international institutions,when they don't do much for Kosova? I would just want to remind you

of the 161 Albanian ex-policemen facing trial right now, while the

trials are not followed by any international observer.

KELMENDI: You are right, taking into account the lack of

interest to follow the trials. I have sent letters to all

governments of the members of the EU, the OSCE and Amnesty

International. I invited them to come and follow these framed-up

trials, reminding them of the time when five Greeks were being

judged in Albania, the whole of Europe was alarmed, while here wehave 161 Albanians facing trial, and no international observers at

all. I am worried about one more thing: why aren't the documents on

Kosova being applied? Why doesn't Bourtos Ghali apply the Resolution

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of the Security Council, which foresees the establishment of

observers in Kosova and the return of the CSCE missionaries? Has the

world started treating Kosova only as a problem between the Serbian

government and the discriminated and persecuted Albanians?

INTERVIEW

ROBERT DOLE, Senator and Leader of US Republicans

EUROPE - INCAPABLE, USA - LACKS LEADERSHIP

Interviewed by VETON SURROI / Washington

Robert Dole, Republican senator from Kansas, is a long-terminfluential figure at the American Congress. Even though a veteran

of World War II, he still shows vitality and energy in his

presentations. Words expressed by Senator Dole, leader of the

Republican majority in the Senate, are carefully evaluated by any

American administration and since some time the American legislation

can't be even imagined without Dole's presence. And the American

administration is not the only interested in Dole. The days this

interview was being prepared, Czech premier Klaus, who was

officially visiting Washington, also asked to meet with Dole. The

Senator himself was taking care of the schedule going from onemeeting to the other. Still considered as a serious candidate for

the next presidentials, Dole keeps the interest of the domestic and

international public alive with his criticism of the present

administration. Finally, he does it also by making public his

foreign policy platform ("Nixonian", it was named), which is

supposed to lead the US towards a more active international role. In

the Balkans, where he is considered an "anti- Serb eagle", supporter

of the "Croatian separatists" or "Albanian separatists", he is maybe

the only US presidential candidate to had ever visited Belgrade and

Prishtina on the same day, Senator Dole gives his first interview to

an Albanian media.

KOHA: Which should be the basic postulates of foreign policy

under your leadership?

DOLE: America is the remaining superpower in the world and thus

its firm and consistent leadership is essential in the post Cold War

era, Simply put, we must say that we mean, mean what we say and

stick to our principles. America's core principles should be:

preventing the domination of Europe by any power; maintaining a

balance of power in Asia; promoting security and stability in ourhemisphere; preserving international access to natural resources

such as oil; and strengthening international trade and markets.

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KOHA: Is Europe still a priority in US political and military

involvement?

DOLE: Definitely. The United States will always remain committed

to a preserving the peace and prosperity of a free and democraticEurope. Our common heritage and our successful fifty year fights

against Fascism and Communism have only deepened that commitment.

KOHA: What would an optimal UN role be in a crisis like the

Former Yugoslavia? What would the US position be in defining such a

role?

DOLE: It is difficult to imagine an optimal role for the UN in

the Former Yugoslavia in wake of its ineffectiveness to date. Maybe

if UN forces had been sent to Croatia and B&H prior to the onset of

aggression against them, they may have had a deterrent effect.However, we are now in a situation where the UN has been discredited

because UN forces have failed to implement UN Security Council

resolutions. It seems to me that in this case, we will not get a

change in the international community's approach without US

leadership. The current crisis in the former Yugoslavia is an

example of what happens when a US administration does not lead and

waits for a consensus to happen.

KOHA: Is there a lack of ideas or interest in involvement in the

former Yugoslavia?

DOLE: In my view, what is lacking with respect to the Former

Yugoslavia is not ideas, but US leadership. Clearly, Europe is

unable to handle this situation successfully. The US should take the

lead in searching for a just solution in the Former Yugoslavia - not

just Croatia and Bosnia, but in Kosova as well. America's position

as the world's leader demands that we do so.

KOHA: What major obstacles affront your initiative to lift the

arms embargo on Bosnia?

DOLE: The Clinton administration's objections to lifting the

arms embargo on Bosnia is the chief obstacle to Congressional

efforts to lift the arms embargo on Bosnia. As earlier votes

demonstrate, the majority of the Members of Congress believe that

the arms embargo has furthered Serbian aggression and punished the

Bosnians who are the victims. Lifting the embargo would allow the

Bosnians to exercise their fundamental right to self-defense, a

right that is recognized in Article 51 of the UN Charter.

KOHA: What should the US policy towards Kosova be?

DOLE: Having visited Kosova and seen the oppression of the

Albanian people with my own eyes, I believe that the United States

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must keep the Milosevic regime accountable for its blatant and

continued abuse of human and civil rights there. That means that

sanctions against Serbia should not be lifted unless full human and

civil rights are restored to the majority Albanian population in

Kosova - that includes the restoration of political autonomy whichKosova enjoyed prior to the imposition of martial law in 1989. In

addition, the US must continue the Bush and Clinton administration

policy of drawing a line in the sand in Kosova.

KOHA: How does Shkupi fit into the picture of the US foreign

policy?

DOLE: The US has made a commitment in Macedonia by placing

American troops there in harm's way. I hope that Belgrade

understands that commitment.

KOHA: Are there any Congressional initiatives related to the

Former Yugoslavia?

DOLE: In addition to legislation to lift the arms embargo on

Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are provisions in and amendments to

the State Department authorization and Foreign Aid authorization

bills which would: 1) restrict US funding for UN operations in

Bosnia; 2) would seek to establish an official US government

presence in Prishtina; and 3) would set conditions on the lifting of

sanctions against Serbia, to include the restoration of autonomy andhuman rights to the people of Kosova.

KOHA: Is there any particular interest of the US in this region?

DOLE: I believe that the US has an interest in stability in the

Balkans which ultimately affects the stability and security of

Europe as a whole. Furthermore, I believe that America has an

interest in promoting and supporting democracy and human rights in

the region.

WEEKLY

THE TRIAL AGAINST 72 STARTED

Y.H. / Prishtina

On March 29, the trial against the 72 former Kosovan policemen

accused of attempting to create the "Ministry of Internal Affairs of

the Republic of Kosova" started. The "Trial Against the 72" is howthe largest political trial against Albanians ever organized is

called. It comprises former policemen from Gjakova, Ferizaj,

Kaanik, etc. Out of the 72 former employees of Kosova's police, 61

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appeared in court, while the other 11 are fugitive. In the

improvised room of the Assembly of Kosova (Parliament), where the

trial was being improvised, one could feel a very tense atmosphere,

with a large presence of guards and policemen. The accused were

arrested in November/December last and are accused of committing twocrimes: "...association for hostile activities" and "...endangering

the territorial integrity" sanctioned according to the Penal Code of

the self- proclaimed "FRY". Two other accused from Kaanik, T. aka

and B. Berisha, are also accused of illegal possession of weapons.

As the defending attorneys state, the court had made a series of

procedural mistakes, not informing the attorneys on time about the

session, among others. This was the reason why the trial was

postponed for June 12. During the first session, in fact, only the

general data on the accused were collected. A large number of

journalists were accredited to follow the trial, of both domestic

and international media. There were also some representatives ofhuman rights' NGOs, and it is expected that several Western

Embassies in Belgrade will send their observers.

KOSOVA

THE KEYS OF TIRANA'S OFFICE IN PRISHTINA

B.H. / Prishtina

A year passed since Kosova's office in Tirana closed down. Its

functioning lacked effectiveness because of the mixture of

competencies of the LDK and the Government. The office, as such,

created more dissatisfaction and problems, than it contributed to

the solution of the problems of Kosova Albanians. Our people there

didn't do much to propagate well the issue of Kosova. Since then,

even though quite an amount of money was invested in Kosova's

residence in Tirana, nothing was done to appoint a person to

represent Kosova, and try to help Kosovans solve their problems. The

last ones to lock the door of this office were Anton Kolaj andSknder Zogaj. Since then, nothing has been done. There were rumors

that the next representative would be Ilijaz Ramajli, Chairman of

Kosova's Parliament, but reliable sources tell us that he will not

accept this duty because of personal reasons. A former member of

LDK's Presidency told us that the keys to Kosova's office in Tirana

are in Prishtina! The problem of Kosova's offices in the world has

become a personal and private issue of individuals. The opening of

these offices in the world is being prolonged because of individual

interests of those who can't agree upon the representatives to be.

Six months have passed since the time when an American official

requested the opening of Kosova's office in Washington. In an

information published recently, it is said that Kosova's issue has

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lost importance in the American circles because of our negligence

and the lack of the vision of the "will" to solve the problem of

Kosova's issue. The same problem is with the office in Bonn: there

is a consent, but there is still no appointment.

UITUK

DIALOGUE, WHY NOT?

Recently an information was published claiming that the leaders

of the UITUK accepted a dialogue with independent trade-unions of

Serbia "Nezavisnost". This is the first and direct contact with a

subject from Serbia. The Chairman of the UITUK, Hajrullah Gorani

claims that this reply is in accordance with the motto "We are infavor of dialogue, what about you?", which UITUK cultivated from the

very first day. Gorani further states that there were other attempts

for trade-union contacts. However, all of them failed. The present

contact was done with the request of the international trade-union

organizations, concretely, EFTU's request. The request came on April

20, and after the UITUK leadership studied the circumstances, it

decided to reply positively to the initiative. The request was not

rejected because the initiative came from an international TU with

which we are in close cooperation. "We believe that dialogue can't

harm us and we will see what comes out of it". Gorani concluded bysaying that the topic of discussion will be only TU matters. "The

first thing will be to request form "Nezavisnost" to condemn all

persecutions the Serbian regime has subjected the Albanian workers

to. It is not our preoccupation to prepare the terrain for political

talks. If this suits someone, that is their matter of concern".

LORD OWEN'S RESIGNATION

The news of great importance to the international media is

without any doubt the announcement of the resignation of theco-chairman of the ICFY, Lord David Owen. The news which was

transmitted by some media, was first confirmed by his office.

"Instead of the loud requests for rapid military attacks in the

field, I suggest more patience for slow coversations", is said to

have been written by Owen in his advisory statement to his

substitute. Owen himself replaced Lord Carrington, held the post for

three years, the longest. For the time being, the reason of his

departure remains unknown, even though the dissatisfactions about

his work have been present for long. This even made him get another

slang name "Lord Owensky", because of his Slavophil tendency, andprecisely in times when his candidacy to the new chief of NATO was

being forecasted. Owen is the second British Lord who inherited the

post of the most important person for the solution of the problems

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in the former Yugoslavia. It is not certain whether Owen's

replacement will be from the list of "lords", however, French

prime-minister Jupp, whose country presides the EU, declared that

time should not be wasted finding Owen's substitute!

EX-YU

BIG PACKAGE, GREATER SERBIA, GREATER CROATIA...

by KOHA / Belgrade, Washington, Prishtina

Senior American diplomat Robert Frasure appears in Belgrade for

the second time, trying to convince the Serbian president to accept

a package which could put the conflict in Bosnia under control. Or

at least this is the intention. Western media have, so far, informedabout the first package that Frasure brought to Belgrade: B&H and

the self-proclaimed FRY would recognize each other, and this will be

a special task for Izetbegovic and Milosevic in a joint meeting. The

grounds for the reciprocal recognition would be the Contact Group

Plan which would convert Bosnia in a union of Karadzic's Serbian

Republic and the Bosnian Federation (Muslim-Croat). Then the

suspension (lifting) of the sanctions against the so called FRY

would follow. Up to this point, analysts say, everything was fine,

but at the topic of the sanctions, "the 15 consent which was to make

up the 100 , was not reached". The Contact group (Frasure acted infull concordance with the other four states) agreed that if

Milosevic would recognize Bosnia he would be rewarded in the area of

the sanctions. But they didn't agree that this sphere contains also

the sanctions in finances and oil imports. Even more, they wouldn't

agree in any way to fall in Milosevic's trap, to lift the sanctions,

and if the Contact Group would consider Milosevic's further

activities non-dignifying, then the sanctions would be implemented

again with the consent of the Security Council. This trick would

give Milosevic the advantage of Russia's veto in any future voting

of the Security Council in regard to the sanctions against Belgrade.

According to western evaluations, the one week long conversations

didn't end successfully because of the issue of sanctions. But the

fact that Milosevic has expressed his willingness to recognize B&H

was a signal to the diplomacies of the Great Powers to continue

seeking for the path to reach Milosevic's consent. And, the signal

was not stopping, it even became public with the public presentation

of Belgrade's Foreign Minister Jovanovic, who declared that Belgrade

had always considered that B&H should be recognized, and the only

thing to be discussed would be the conditions under which the

recognition would take place. Why this change in the relationsbetween the World and Milosevic? The truth is that there should be

no evaluations that there are any changes. Since June last, when

differences between Milosevic and Karadzic became public in Serbia,

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the West had set itself the task to bring Milosevic closer and make

him stand as far as possible from Karadzic. This is not a big

problem for Milosevic, because he controlled and still controls the

internal "political and security" scene, further more knowing that

he had previously given up on people he didn't need any more in thepast. The easing of the sanctions started as a reward for the verbal

support towards the Western efforts (and acceptance of international

monitors at the Serb-Bosnian border) The West (and Russia) on the

other hand, evaluated and still evaluate that isolating Karadzic

from Milosevic, will make negotiations about some kind of agreement

on Bosnia easier. After the crisis created following the NATO

bombings and the blue-helmets taken hostage in Bosnia (the moment

this article is being prepared, negotiations with Milosevic have not

ended and none of the over 400 hostages has been released), many

capitals of the world evaluated that the moment had come to make a

qualitative changes in the Milosevic-Karadzic relations, and thatrecognition of Bosnia should be brought on the agenda. This could be

Frasure's baggage for his last trip to Belgrade last week. This

time, as it is understood from diplomatic sources, he again comes

with a big package, but anew in full accordance with the other

states, members of the Contact Group. The difference between the

second and the first time is that the package has been expanded with

Bosnia's issue, maybe it touched Croatia, and indirectly even

Kosova. Again according to the same sources. This time, Frasure

offered Milosevic the suspension of the sanctions in finance and

fuel (some say by conditioning this also with the recognition ofCroatia) but always insisting on the term "provisional six months

suspension", and not their conditioned lifting. Milosevic could

agree to this package, taking into account the huge psychological

effect of lifting the oil embargo, even though cynics claim that

fuel is now cheaper in Belgrade than in Germany. But, this

agreement, if reached, would either have to be reached now, or

several days after Seselj's announced big meeting in Belgrade (17

June), i.e., after the euphoria of the "extremists" is over, and

when Seselj will not be able to gather any more people on the

streets. However, Frasure's expansion of the package is really

noticed in a small, technical detail, almost disregarding. Accordingto the proposals of the Contact Group, the whole process of

Milosevic's distancing from Karadzic should be followed by OSCE

monitors from the Serbian side of the border, who would replace the

monitoring group of the ICFY. If OSCE monitors are allowed back,

then Washington, as a reward, would engage itself in the integration

of Belgrade in this organization, which would represent a long-term

precedent of Milosevic's treatment by the international community,

because for the first time the recognition of what he calls

Yugoslavia would take place. This would be of double consequences

for Kosova: first, the process of the international recognition ofMilosevic's Yugoslavia would start with Kosova under occupation, and

second, the whole problem of Kosova would fall under OSCE

mechanisms, through the eventually renewed monitoring mission of

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this organization. Even though it is, really, not known what is

happening with the negotiations between Frasure and Milosevic, it

could be said for sure that this is a very important phase in the

solution of the crisis in the Former Yugoslavia. If these agreements

would be accepted in package, then some important columns in thefurther development of the crisis would be established. First, the

West in a way is telling Milosevic and Tudjman that they can go for

Greater Serbia and Greater Croatia, respectively. If the plan of the

contact group is realized as it is being drawn on the table,

Milosevic should only count on the time factor in order to develop

closer relations with the occupied territories by Serbs in Bosnia,

up to their annexation when the favorable time comes. The same

thing, but in the form of the Muslim-Croat Federation could be

attempted by Tudjman, by the end of this decade. But, since the maps

don't match, and Greater Serbia implies also the territories of Serb

rebels in Croatia, then it could easily happen to have secreteCroat-Serb negotiations for the exchange of territories, always

damaging the Muslims. And having this whole process followed by

constant fighting during this summer for the cleansing the enclaves

from "non wanted people" in the future territories of Greater Serbia

and Croatia, respectively. If the whole flow of events goes in this

direction, then the new diplomatic package which is on the table,

contains more explosives than the bombs released by NATO planes.

MACEDONIA

DIPLOMATIC VICTORY OF ALBANIANS

by SELADIN XHEZAIRI / Shkup

Mevlan Tahiri, PPD MP, demonstratively walked out from the

Commission which discussed and adopted the draft Rules and

Regulations of the Parliament of Macedonia. The main document of the

highest organ of government in Macedonia foresees that the only

language of communication in it is Macedonian. Immediately afterthis incident, Stojan Andov, Chairman of the Parliament declared in

Macedonian TV that Albanian MPs "were never promised that the

Regulations of the Assembly would support a determination which is

contrary to the constitutional regulation. The official language of

the statal organs in Macedonia and the Parliament, which is an organ

of state, is Macedonian only...At the Parliament, only aliens can

speak their own language. Languages of nationalities are not

official languages in the Parliament... These are final

determinations and I see no reason why Albanian MPs create

additional problems in this sense...", said Andov. On the otherhand, PPD's secretary Naser Zyberi giving a statement to KOHA,

declared that this "green light" to the draft is not final yet.

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Conversations with coalition partners still continue and this act,

itself, is closely followed by the European Council, therefore, we

must wait: "The topic of conversation is the document. There are

tendencies, especially expressed by Chairman Andov and his Liberal

Party, to adopt it without the provision which foresees the use ofthe Albanian language. We told the President, what we have repeated

many times, that Albanian MPs, at least those of the PPD have

nothing to in the parliament if this happens", said Ismet Ramadani,

PPD's Coordinator at the Parliament, after the meeting of the

delegation of his party, headed by A. Aliti, with President

Gligorov, on May 31. On this occasion, we asked Ramadani to comment

a statement made by Macedonia's #1 to the foreign press "...that

Albanians were not hard to include in the Government, because they

have not put any conditions for this". He said: "In a way, we also

spoke about this with Gligorov. We often listen to his or Andov's

statements, as if they were our advisors. Let's be totally frank: weare not children in politics any more, we know what we are doing. We

don't take their pronunciations seriously, because we are convinced

that our political action will be reasonable as long as our

activities are productive in institutions. We don't need others to

teach us. Nevertheless, there are signals: we are convinced that

this document will not pass, then we are getting convinced, in our

activities and meeting with international factors, that in moments

we have their support. I would just mention the recently finalized

visit of the English parliamentarian delegation, which unpleasantly

surprised the Macedonian party, when British MPs openly anddecisively asked why Albanians can't have a University in their own

language", concluded Ramadani. Really, the visit of the British

parliamentarian delegation, headed by Baroness David, surprised many

people in Macedonia: the Macedonian side because as commented by the

Macedonian Radio "the delegation was very well acquainted with the

problems of Albanians, and didn't know the name of the Premier of

Macedonia", but also the Albanians, because this was the first

delegation from the West that proved to have "ears" for the problems

of Albanians. This visit, maybe for the first time, has produced a

lot of points for the "Albanian diplomacy" in relation to the

Macedonian one: several months ago, British Foreign Office wasvisited by Ljubomir Frckovski, who was followed by A. Aliti. Shkupi,

jokingly comments that this was Aliti's first victory over

Macedonia's Minister of Interior...

MACEDONIA

RECTOR FADIL DEFENDS HIMSELF IN FREEDOM

Finally, after many promises and "bargaining" between Fadil

Sulejmani's attorneys and the Macedonian judicial organs about the

"price" he had to pay to be released and wait for the second

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instance judicial decision, on May 30, the Rector of the University

of Tetova was released from preventive detention where he had been

"staying" since February 17. The judicial organs gave no explanation

why instead of 200 thousand DEM, they accepted the payment of a 100

thousand DEM bail. "It is well known that we were detained, notbecause we were guilty, but because we put ourselves at the head of

an initiative, of a necessity of the Albanian population in

Macedonia, for education in Albania. They thought that with the

isolation of some professors and activists of the University of

Tetova, they will stop it. On the contrary, the University continued

working, because it has the support of the whole Albanian population

in Macedonia and the Albanian political factor. immediately after my

release, I visited the students and professors, and the premises

where the lectures take place. I was surprised to see such a good

organization. The things are flowing normally", stated Sulejmani. In

a statement given to the Macedonian press, he claimed that he wasnot mistreated while in prison.

MACEDONIA

LITTLE THINGS THAT MAKE LIFE

by ISO RUSI / Shkup

What happened in the past months in Macedonia, is another proof

that the Balkans are full of irrationalities. In one of the former

SFRY republics, which was lucky to win its independence without war,

and which at the same time had the most difficult path toward

international recognition, many things happened, thing which in

normal condition would "draw the deserved attention". There are many

examples of "strange" events played by culminating politicians, and

which at the same time confirm the thesis about the commodity, or

said in other words, of apathy, lack of reaction, of people who live

in the "peace oasis". Let's try to illustrate this with facts.

Recently, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Gligorov,

visited Italy and the Vatican and at the end, held a press

conference. The questions asked had to do with the actual problems

in the relations of the two largest populations in Macedonia -

Macedonian and Albanian. The largest private TV station, A-1

broadcasted the whole press conference. What Gligorov declared about

the education in the languages of the nationalities, for example, as

the Constitution of Macedonia defines the other populations, is the

least disputable compared to what really exists in everyday life. If

it were true what Macedonia's President told the Italian public atthe press conference, with a modest participation of Italian and

foreign journalists, then it will be enough to solve the acute

inter-ethnic disagreements and the problem of the state he is

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leading. Especially having in mind that this can be a message

directed to the Macedonian public, because it was evident that there

were more Macedonian journalists than Italian ones! Concretely -

there would have been no problems in the area of education in any

language, of any nationality, if what Gligorov said were a part ofreality. The politically marginalised professor, promoted to a

national mega-star, as is Fadil Sulejmani, for sure wouldn't ask for

more, at least when it refers to Albanians in Macedonia. If our

hearing sense doesn't fail, Gligorov said that Albanians have

elementary and high school education in their own language, and that

in two pedagogical academies within two Macedonian state

universities, staff is being capacitated to conduct education in

those two levels. In regard to data about information in Albanian,

no comment! TV can stand anything. The same TV station, which one

day before this press conference, broadcasted a long interview with

Macedonia's Minister of Interior, Frckovski, created the sameimpression. The minister, who probably has reliable information

because of the work he preforms, which means that he probably knows

everything, was talking as if he were referring to another country

and not Macedonia! Frckovski's optimism, of the person who is in

charge of what is called political system, is really a phenomenon.

The impression is that the ordinary citizen of Macedonia is still

not aware of actually living in paradise and all the evil happening

in daily life, is happening to someone else. In the past days, the

same TV station broadcasted images of the open, official contacts ofthe Macedonian delegation visiting Italy. Because of the "nastily"

long sequences, many details slipped, details which themselves prove

something. Let's say: the large suite of Macedonian journalists had

been invited to Gligorov's apartment at the Grand Hotel. It's

ceiling had drawings of many suns (of 16 stripes), which actually

represent the object of dispute between Greece and Macedonia. The

comments of the large number of journalists are not worth mentioning

- they are tasteless. Broadcasting and filming the meeting of the

Macedonian delegation with the Pope, on which occasion the chief of

cabinet and two counsellors of the President were presented as

members of delegation; Gligorov, after the Pope's remark that theGreeks are jealous, mentioning both the Slavic and Greek Macedonias

commented: "...we'll reach an agreement", so "afterwards" he

continued talking about problems that the Pope is not well

acquainted with! Closely related to this topic, was the meeting with

the negotiators in this dispute, Vance and Nimitz. There was not

shooting from this meeting, therefore, several days after this

encounter, Athens sent the message that the Greek diplomacy is

encouraged with the "new exchange of messages" between Athens and

Shkup. At the same time, Macedonia's Defense Minister was being

hosted by his homolog William Perry. The suite of journalists whoaccompanied him didn't spend one word to explain the things that are

being talked about. As for example that the Macedonian minister

missed the row of honor which was standing there to homage him.

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Then, in a press conference which was the main event to him, he

ignited the thesis that "the Macedonian language, by melodic, is

close to Homer's language"! Not to mention the information,

according to the same sources, that it was mentioned on the press

conference that this minister, Hadzinski, speaks seven languages,including the neighbors' languages, which only provoked two Greek

journalists to ask him questions in Greek, and thus make his stay in

the US less comfortable! Instead, Hadzinski was harshly criticized

for having declared that there can be talks about the Macedonian

flag in the Macedonian-Greek talks. The journalists, who were

travelling with him, of course didn't publish this, even though they

commented it with their colleagues. A British parliamentarian

delegation visited Macedonia, invited by the Macedonian parliament,

at least this is what the lady heading the delegation stated. The

delegation met with the coordinators of the parliamentarian groups.

First the representative of the Social- Democratic Party presented

his postures, then PPD's representative presented the postures of

his party, totally opposite to those of the first speaker. Then,

finally, the representative of the Liberal Part, Ace Kocevski,

played his show. First he criticized the "steering committee" for

not giving him stand first, then he criticized the PPD to finally

end by criticizing the Brits. Later on they met with members of some

parliamentarian commissions, where they again asked uncomfortable

questions, which resulted with cynical comments of the media under

governmental control. An institute in Washington organized aseminar, one of the many of the kind, about the transition of a

Communist society into a democratic one. The same media, regardless

of the topic of discussion, were bothered by the fact that the

representative of the non-profitable private Foundation is Albanian,

and why so many Albanians were present in the meeting. And a local

TV in Shkup even stated that some of them are students of the

University of Tetova!! Naturally, no one disputed what was said

there. Maybe it may sound exaggerated, but the presented examples

could also be perceived as a proof of "small" events in the past

couple of months, which coincide with the post-electoral glory of

the League for Macedonia - or more precisely of that who personifiesit - a coalition which stopped existing after the elections. Despite

of this, it is clear that no one is upset, the ruling politicians

are cool which can also be interpreted as a groundless security but

also as arrogance. The opposition and the people are practically

mute... Even though it is clear that there is no "public", it is

unbelievable how some things don't even incite a basic public

evaluation or reaction.

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INTERVIEW

MARK KRASNIQI, Chairman of the Albanian Christian-Democratic

Party

WE LACK A POLITICAL CENTER

Interviewed by BATON HAXHIU / Prishtina

KOHA: How do you perceive the political relations, especially in

Kosova?

KRASNIQI: Right now, our situation is worse than the one we used

to have. And the reason is simple: Serbia doesn't want us to have

freedom and equality as the other people, and this policy was built

by Serbia in continuance. The tendency of the this policy is to makeAlbanians flee their ancient and historic lands. On the other hand

we haven't shown good organization either, we don't have a clear and

unique platform which all of us would try to realize. We are spread

in many parties and groupings and we are more dealing with ourselves

than the national problem, which is primary right now.

KOHA: Do you believe that Kosova should be politically active in

one center or many parties?

KRASNIQI: In the conditions we are living, I think that maybe itwould be better to have only one political center. Thus we could use

our intellectual, economic and political potential in one center -

in one direction. It is true that all of us are following the same

direction, that we all have a unique purpose: the realization of the

right to self- determination of the Albanian people. But, in this

journey, we are not using the same roads, but we are all spread is

small paths, which come together somewhere far away in the highway.

But, until we reach the highway, in the meantime we are wasting a

lot of energy. We are more concentrated on organizing different

parties, instead of a joint center, therefore political pluralism inconditions of monism is a need. But in the conditions of occupation

in which we find ourselves, under Serbia's occupation, this

political pluralism of Kosova Albanians is partitioned and we have

more than enough pluralism. Many parties, too many groupings, too

many wishes, too many particular purposes and preoccupations. Maybe

in these conditions it would be much better to have only one more

party which would correct the largest party because of the possible

monopoly. And no more.

KOHA: Then why, in our opinion, have the Albanians dispersed somuch?

KRASNIQI: The truth is that we don't have political experience,

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because we didn't have a state of our own. We had nothing else but

that autonomy of '74 where monism of the one-part system reigned.

But, we must not forget that we have been dealing with politics

since some time, some with more and others with less success, but we

should have learned something from this period, maybe even from theothers. However, the problem is that we are missing the

concentration of our forces and that we can't agree with each other.

Especially when it comes to the most important things and purposes.

Therefore, our success and realization will take time. Or it could

even fail totally. I will not say that it is all our fault. It is

also the fault of the others. But, this doesn't exclude our

responsibility for the lack of organization and cooperation. On the

contrary, we will lose the right to self-determination and our final

goal. What we have promised - the will of the people, which declared

itself unanimously in favor of the democratic and independent stateof Kosova.

KOHA: You are presiding one of the largest parties in Kosova,

also represented in Kosova's parliament. Have you ever been invited

by the Presidency or the Government and try to clarify the actual

dilemmas in Kosova?

KRASNIQI: No. The Coordinating Body of the Political Parties

exists. This is the only place where we have gathered. It is more

than one year that we have been invited by the Government or thePresidency to discuss about these problems - maybe there was not

need, even though I doubt it, but it would be better if we were

together in that Coordinating Body, which should assemble more

often, than it did so far.

KOHA: How many times have you been invited to the Coordinating

Body so far?

KRASNIQI: I believe that I participated only twice, and I just

told you that the Body has not gathered for over a year.

KOHA: Do you believe that there was no need for the Coordinating

Body to meet?

KRASNIQI: In this difficult situation, it is necessary for us to

meet and consult each other more often. We don't want to take over

any competencies of the government or the presidency, however, we

must consult more often. The conversations are welcome, especially

in this situation.

KOHA: Three years have passed since the elections in Kosova. Hasyou party requested the constitution of the parliament and have you

asked for any responsibility for its non constitution?

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KRASNIQI: We haven't asked for the constitution of the

Parliament, because we think that the conditions to have it

constituted here are not suitable. We don't need a parliament which

can't function.

KOHA: Then why were the elections held and what happen with

legitimacy?

KRASNIQI: Legitimacy is now being questioned. It is another

issue whether the Parliament can be constituted abroad and whether

it can function, to what I can't give an answer. What I am convinced

is that Parliamentarian commissions can function and thus do the

things that belong to the parliament.

KOHA: The opinion is that because of these political

deficiencies, Kosovan policy is going towards its erosion, the lackof political vision. What is your opinion?

KRASNIQI: It is evident the people are not enthusiastic nor

mobilized like two or three years ago. People have familial reasons,

different problems that are becoming more difficult, and it is

normal to see people try to take care of themselves and their

families. But, I think that political parties are functioning in a

way and the work is going on.

KOHA: The impression is that apart from enthusiasms andorganization, we have also lost the feeling of professionalism in

institutions of Kosova. How much are professionals included in

Kosova's institutions?

KRASNIQI: I believe that institutions such as the Academy of

Sciences and Arts, the Institute of History and Institute of

Albanology are obliged to show professionalism and scientific work.

But, in our conditions, I believe that we should make another

orientation - we must help the cause and our policy for the

realization of our rights. Therefore, jurists and historians should

contribute more in the realization of our purposes. So far, whateverhas been published, it was published only in Albanian, and this

won't help us. We would use translations in English, French, etc.

Serbs have published a whole literature about the issue of Kosova in

foreign languages. Around 120 publications. But all of these were

first written in foreign languages and were later translated to

Serbian. We must convince the world about our rights with scientific

arguments. This is what we miss.

KOHA: And how much is the Academy to blame for this?

KRASNIQI: The Academy has financial problems. But, it could have

done more - it could have. We must not concentrate on voluminous

things, symposiums, congresses, but we could directly deal with the

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historical, cultural ethnic and demographic laws and rights.

KOHA: Would you say that financial problems are the only reason

that doesn't allow production in this area?

KRASNIQI: If an individual is enthusiastic and decided to

contribute in the national plan, then he could do something more.

But, there is a disconnection between the financiers and the

institutions, which is trying to replaced by donors.

KOHA: Isn't it also a problem of the Government?

KRASNIQI: I don't have a clear idea about this. It could be a

problem of the Government or the Presidency. I don't know how much

money they have at their disposal, but I believe that the Government

should find money for such important tasks, because this would serveit and wouldn't serve the individual much. People must understand

the need of the political and national professional-scientific

orientation. The conviction is that science can't be politicized,

but Serbs did it. They extremely politicized science for national

purposes. Therefore, science should serve the national goal right

now, fighting back the Academy of Sciences of Serbia for a series of

lies about Kosova. We have some voluminous publications, 300 or 400

pages long, which we can't use, especially the foreigners won't read

them. The aliens would want to read something brief, let's say a 50

pages long brochure. We lack the kind of things. The Serbian publications don't have scientific back-up. They contain no

arguments. But our misfortune is that we are lacking the scientific

Albanian reply. We have never followed what is written about us, but

we rather concentrate on what "Bujku" says. We shouldn't care about

what "Bujku" publishes. It remains in Kosova and publications on

national issues must go aborad and not remain here.

KOHA: The impression is that all important people around Dr.

Rugova have left the LDK. Does this mean they are trying to evade

the responsibility?

KRASNIQI: I don't know who are the people around Rugova. But I

can say that Rugova is not alone, he has the Christian-Democratic

Party behind him. His politics has its deficiencies, but there are

also deficiencies in the internal organization and the not the

foreign politics he is leading. He, as a president, is very active

here and abroad. Maybe, and I say this conditionally, the teams

surrounding him are not professional enough. This is what he is

lacking, good advise from professionals. Believe me, we have the

people, but they remain outside these processes. They should be

rewarded if necessary to have them beside.

KOHA: So who is to blame? Do you think there is obstruction

inside the party or president Rugova himself is to be blamed?

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KRASNIQI: I wouldn't know. But as far as I know Rugova, he gives

all he has. He must be helped, especially by people around him. But,

there are people around him who believe that they should be

presidents of Kosova. They are harmful. I believe that the national

cause should be lead by the ones chosen by the people. And if thisperson is slow, we must hasten him, if he is soft, we must make him

harsher.

KOHA: Have you had a chance to tell President Rugova this?

KRASNIQI: Once I told him that he should use his fist and hit

the table. He told me that he is capable of doing that. And this

fact made me happy.

KOHA: You being a realist, tell us what is achievable right now?

KRASNIQI: I don't know, for it doesn't depend on us, but I know

what is the most justly thing for us. So any just solution is

achievable. Maybe we only need time.

KOHA: You meet quite many foreign delegations. What are your

impressions about the problem of Kosova?

KRASNIQI: What we are asking for is quite clear: and independent

and neutral state open to Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia.

But some delegations tell us that there is no change of borders andthat all we should get is an advanced autonomy. National rights are

random mentioned, while the human and cultural rights always are.

They mean nothing to us. We, as usual, tell them that these are not

acceptable for us. An autonomy within Serbia keeps us under

occupation, in a worse position than the one we had ten years ago.

KOHA: Then, what do the delegations tell you?

KRASNIQI: That they will see, that for the time being this is

all they "offer" and that these are their political postures. There

may be political changes in the future, but for the time being, thisis it. I believe that there will be changes, as there were changes

in relation to the Former Yugoslavia.

KOHA: Do we have any political activities which wold make these

changes appear?

KRASNIQI: Yes. For example, the requests of Albanians in

demonstrations in Bonn, Washington, Bern, Stockholm, etc. The

demonstrators ask for the Republic of Kosova. I have said it and I

believe that we are not close to the realization of our nationalgoal. I believe that Kosova will soon be on the agenda. What I am

saying is that our goal is known, but it is not supported right now.

Our goal is to win an independent ethnic state.

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KOHA: Do you fear from a conflict with the Serbs?

KRASNIQI: Serbia is doing all it can to start a bloody conflict

in Kosova. I say this because Europe is allowing Serbs to do

anything they want. We are bearing apartheid and statal genocide inKosova in all areas, just to evade the conflict. I am not optimistic

that we will evade it.

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APPENDIX

J A V O R E / Albanian weekly

P.O. BOX 202

38000 PRISHTINA

Issued by the KOHA Editorial Board

English Edition: KOHA

Contact Person: Filloreta Bytyqi

Phone & Fax: +381 38 31 031

+381 38 31 036

Modem: +381 38 31 276

E-Mail: koha_pr@zana-pr.ztn.zer.de