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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 # 80

EDITORIAL

THE POLICE, THE SWALLOW OF POLITICS

by VETON SURROI

"He is not here, we haven't heard of this person", I was told by the duty policeman at the

famous "92", the place where one must first ask about an arrested person in Kosova. "He is

probably in prison", said the policeman. In the prison, asked about the chance for Astrit

Salihu, KOHA's journalist to be there, the surprised guard negatively gesticulated shaking his

head and said: "We haven't received any of those. Ask the police!".

On my way out through the iron doors of the prison, I could see the offices of the State

Security, the place where the person you are looking for is, after receiving two negative

answers in the two previous places. Luckily enough, walking down the street I received the

news that he was not there any more and that he was enjoying relative freedom in a cafeteria.

Astrit is another in the endless list of the people arrested in the evening who are left sleepless

and who is subjugated (after a couple of slaps and kicks) to political interrogation. Naturally,

these cases have also happened to journalists, and not only after arrest. Ylber Hysa, who was

persistently asking for the prorogation of the validity of his passport, was also summoned to

the offices of State Security to explain his political visions.

Even though these "invitations" have become ordinary, people ask why, why now? It can be

justly supposed that all things which are related to information are being followed closely:

phone conversations of "interesting people", their bugging... The situation has reached the

point in which it is very likely to believe that the offices of the political parties, especially the

LDK have more microphones than Radio Prishtina in its best times. Then why the

interrogations?

Because the police can know everything that is happening, as an event, but it can't know what

is going on in people's heads, what they thinks, what they believe. And this is something that

the Serbian leadership is after. The Serbian leadership must make decisions about its future

behavior in Kosova soon: it must know about every detail linked to Kosova.

But, the police has done this always, as someone may say. What is the difference between the

past and present interrogations? In the near past, the main focus of interest of the Serbian

police was directed towards preventing nay physical resistance of Kosova Albanians (and all

sorts of intimidation were used in this direction), today, with the fading of the war rhythm, the

political arena is opened again. Here, the Serbian police, the continuance of the Eastern Bloc

tradition before the fall of the Berlin Wall, finds itself in a very uneasy position. The whole

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police of the Eastern Bloc, which should have defended the Communist regime - fell, because

it didn't foresee the feeling of the people, the individual.

Serbian policemen have still not understood that this can't be foreseen at all.

Welcome to 1989.

DAYTON - KOSOVA

BUKOSHI: ENCOURAGING MESSAGES FROM WASHINGTON - BUT NOT TO

CAUSE EUPHORIA

by LINDITA IMAMI / Washington

"The purpose of this visit was to ask the American officials to

not neglect Kosova question", said Mr. Bukoshi.

Bukoshi said that the issue of Kosova remains to be solved maybe

immediately after a solution or agreement is reached in Dayton.

"The American party is decided not to stop in Dayton, but the

peace process should continue on, with the solution of other

problems in the Former Yugoslavia", said Bukoshi.

According to Bukoshi, the reason why Kosova remained aside from

the peaceful efforts is the complication of the situation in

Bosnia and the concentration of the attention of the

international community on Bosnia and its priority to stop war

there. " In the meeting with two American officials it was said

that Kosova's issue was not forgotten at all. We were assured

that despite the fact that it wasn't part of the actual peace

conversations, it is an issue which the negotiating team and the

international community will include on the agenda by all means,

at one stage or another phase.

Bukoshi declared to KOHA that the American officials were

conveyed the concern due to the non participation of the Albanian

representatives in the peace conversations about the former

Yugoslavia, which, after the Bosnian problem is solved, could

make Serbia feel triumphant and make it become even more cruel

towards Kosova; they were also conveyed the concern about the

permanent and continuous repression and provocations, as is the

colonization of Kosova with Krajina refugees. "We gave our

arguments why this issues should be included if a real peace and

solution for Kosova is really wanted".

Commenting the American posture towards Kosova, following the

meetings, Bukoshi declared: "The primary preoccupation of the

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government and other American forces is how to stop repression

in Kosova. This was confirmed and emphasized at the State

Department during the meeting with Kornblum. My impression is -

without wishing to cause euphoria - that the message coming out

from these meetings is encouraging: the Kosova question isidentified as the next problem to be solved".

Asked whether the Americans will mediate in the eventual

conversations about Kosova, Bukoshi said: "Since the peace

process was transferred from Europe to the USA and the American

party is playing a leading role in this process, we expressed our

belief that the Americans would be the most suitable to mediate

in the peaceful conversations about Kosova. This was neither

accepted nor refused. This problem should be perceived as an

initial attempt", said Bukoshi.

Some analysts have stated that there should be a change of the

strategy in Kosova, new methods of a more active resistance

should be found, differing from the peaceful resistance so far.

In this regard, Bukoshi said : "The peaceful resistance of the

Albanian people can't be disputed. But the other extreme, to

ritualize this resistance within the new circumstances and the

ever more restricted space is not acceptable either. There are

better ways of organization. It should be thought about it and

other ways should be found, but without having to confront the

Serbs. It is a task and obligation of all our political andintellectual forces to create mechanisms in this respect. By

organizing ourselves, we must know that we impose ourselves as

a factor and consequently, I believe that we would move some

things in a positive direction". Bukoshi thinks that

demonstrations and protests are a legitimate right of a people

that seeks freedom. "During this process, and other process, that

of the education of the Albanian people has happened... Albanians

have become conscious that Kosova is an issue which can't be

evaded and must be confronted by both the international community

and Albanians", concluded Bukoshi.

DAYTON - KOSOVA

A JOURNEY OF NO RETURN OF A FEDERATION

by BATON HAXHIU / Prishtina

(...) Lord David Owen writes about Kosova's position and the

chances to settle this problem, as he sees it, the most delicateof the Former Yugoslavia, in his memoirs. He says that he was a

friend of the Milosevic family. According to him, he had accused

Milosevic several times of being a greater-Serb nationalist and

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what has happened in the period from Austro-Hungary and up to

1992, we will try to explain the content of the autonomy

contained in a document of 106 pages, guaranteed by two states,

Italy and Austria.

The Italian Parliament barely adopted the document (189 in favor

and 184 against). According to the statute of the autonomy, this

region was given some legislative authority. How sufficient they

are can be concluded from the fact that the government of Italy

still conserves the authority in the army, police, judiciary, tax

administration, communications, PTT network and the border

veterinarian service. There is one single paragraph saying "the

municipality determines the local police which is responsible to

the regional commissioner". The statute does not allow the people

in the area to use a plebiscite and declare themselves whether

they want to stay in Italy or leave. In regard to this proposal,Fehmi Agani, LDK's vice-chairman says that "it is quite

understanding to see the international community and some Serbian

intellectual circles to try and evade bloodshed, by finding a

solution, even a transitory one, as well as their hope for the

democratization of Serbia". This hope, says Agani, seems to grow

strong, meanwhile these proposals are lacking one thing: they

don't take as ground the fact that the previous autonomy Kosova

had can't be reinstalled, for there is no more SFRY, nor

federation where it used to function! The Republic of Kosova is

the result of the disintegration of Yugoslavia. It alsoshouldn't be forgotten that from all the former federal units of

Yugoslavia, besides Slovenia, Kosova has the most favorable

ethnic-social conditions to become independent. Therefore,

Simic's comparison of Kosova to Tirol, and comparing Kosova to

similar principles in Kosova, as several diplomats say, can't

stand, for all states, including Italy, are stable states,

meanwhile Yugoslavia is a disintegrating state", concluded Agani.

Badinter himself, in his document in 1991, ascertained the end

of Yugoslavia and asked for the constitutional rearrangement.

Starting from these premises, an Albanian politician declared to

a diplomatic representative that "Kosova should first have asovereign subject which is a good and equal basis for integration

in any federation".

Autonomy, he said, politically has always been a transitory form

and there are no cases in which people were satisfied only with

it. It either disappears or it is advanced into independence.

An interesting project is that of the Democratic League of

Hungarians in Vojvodina. The projected proposals foresee a

broader autonomy in the regions inhabited by Hungarians. Grounded

on this project, local self-administration should be scaled onfour levels. On the first one, the Hungarian Parliament should

be elected, authorized for cultural, lingual and educational

matters of the Hungarian community all over Vojvodina. In the

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second, the fifteen linguistic islands, or some of them, would

make up the dominating ethnic groups enjoying local self-

administration, judiciary and taxing power. In the third, "the

regions with Hungarian majority would gain special status, which

would have councils, judiciary and police". The last levelforesees "undertaking measures to combine the neighboring regions

with special status to establish the Hungarian Autonomous zone

with a unique representative body, a council and government. This

draft convention is grounded on the documents of the Council of

Europe, and indicates the eventual expansion of administrative

powers. However, this plan was rejected by Serbia.

Where is, therefore, the basis the international community finds

to reinstall an already destroyed federation? Recently, a

diplomat declared that , "there can't be any federations composed

of two members and that the future Yugoslav federation willexclusively depend on Montenegro and the wish of this republic

to live in an unequal federation". All of this remains to be

seen. Nothing is clear yet!

INTERVIEW

Astrit Salihu, KOHA's journalist

THE ALBANIAN-SERB DIALOGUE CONTINUES

Interviewed by Serbian State Security / Prishtina

Even though they are very hard to get, interviews of policemen

and top-policemen have always caused the interest of the public.

Usually, the idea is that they are the guards of the secrets the

public is interested in. With last week's arrest of Astrit

Salihu, the Serbian State Security gave us the chance to make an

unusual journalist enterprise: to publish an interview of a

journalist conducted by the police.

According to A. Salihu, the interview took place in a calm

atmosphere, after a spent night in a cold corner (and several

blows in the face and kicks). Since we believe that the opinions

of our colleague, expressed in this magazine week by week, are

of theinterest for the public, we publish the interview

containing the main questions and answers which he recalls.

* Why did you quit BUJKU?

- Because I like KOHA's concept more. I believe it is more open

than other magazines or newspapers. This is my conviction.

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* What do you think about BUJKU? Is it good that it's editor in

chief is at the same time member of LDK's Presidency?

- I don't like this fact.

* What do you think about the rightists?

- I don't know that there are any rightists in Kosova, if you're

referring to some people who are more extreme, then they are

usually recruited by the ultra-leftists or as they call them

Marxists-Leninists and former political prisoners. Now they have

also become involved in the largest LDK party. For example, one

former political prisoner is now vice-chairman of the LDK -

Hydajet Hyseni. But this is not all that precise since Hyseni is

coming out to be a politically mature person who should be

counted on in the future. He seems to be more flexible.

* And Demai?

- I believe that he is very close to Hyseni and that they both

are in the same political line, they seem to be more flexible and

realistic.

* Strange of you not to mention Qosja. What do you think about

him?

- His political option is reduced to the phrase that Kosova

should unite with Albania. I can think the same thing, without

being a great politician, right? He should explain how should

this purpose be reached.

* Which is your posture in regard to dialogue? You have been

writing about the possibilities to have Vllasi as a

collocutor...?

- I would applaud the beginning of the talks. I still believe

that everything must be solved through dialogue.

* Do you think that Rugova and his people alone should be

involved in the dialogue?

- In the same way no opposition leader can start dialogue on

behalf of Serbia, no one can do it in Kosova either. The

conversations should take place on equal levels.

* What do you think, has dialogue really started, as you have

been writing lately?

- My colleague from KOHA Ylber Hysa has been writing about this

topic and you probably had the chance to read it. My opinion is

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that: no, there is no dialogue yet. I believe that it is only a

provocation of the public to see what both sides think. Albanians

got trapped and immediately started attacking Vllasi and Bakalli

as "people who don't represent Albanians". This is known, isn't

it?

* What is Rugova's posture towards the magazine you work in?

- It has been correct so far.

* What do you think about Rugova? How would the Kosova Albanian

people react if it finds out that it will get only autonomy, if

it is told the truth?

- I don't know. It is true that international circles talk about

the solution of Kosova's problem within the frame of autonomy.But, on the other hand, we must wait and see what is hidden

behind Rugova's optimism. After the beginning of the negotiations

in Dayton he is still optimistic. I have criticized this as an

answer, you had the chance to read it in KOHA, but still, we must

wait and see what is there behind this statement.

* Let's suppose Rugova accepts autonomy, do you think this would

weaken his position?

- I can only suppose about his political maturity. Milosevic lostKnin, but his position is not weakened. Maybe Rugova will also

do something similar, maybe he will find himself in new imposed

circumstances.

* What would Rugova have to do in the eventual negotiations?

- Get the optimum.

* And that is?

- The optimum is all what can be extracted from the presentpolitical constellation. I don't know what it will be, I am not

a prophet, but it can be called as you wish, autonomy, republic

or something else. He has been moderate so far and has not

imposed aggressive postures. For the time being, unfortunately,

there is no alternative.

* Could he be replaced by Hydajet Hyseni, you just said that he

should be counted on?

- What I said is that we must count on another mature and formedpolitician, which doesn't mean that he can also be a leader.

* Rugova doesn't claim to be a leader?

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- I know, he doesn't do it because of modesty, but I believe that

you know that he is the undisputable leader.

* How do you think Kosova's issue can be solved?

- This will not depend on me, but I believe that there should be

some federalization of confederacy links, if Albanians are not

allowed to secede and they can't achieve it. Maybe a "draft"

state will be created, open to both Serbia and Albania.

* Who is the editor of the domestic rubric?

- No one. This is done by the editorial board once a week. No one

is directly responsible.

* But Surroi is the Editor in Chief.

- Yes.

* What is your status in KOHA?

- I don't understand the question.

* What does Surroi think about you and the others?

- He probably has a good opinion of me, as well as the colleagues.

* Which journalist is the closest to Surroi?

- All of us are. We are also friends.

* Where did you get the "Podvorica" file?

- From his attorney. I was interested to write about Podvorica's

acquittal.

* Why?

- I believe that this was a good chance to prove that there is no

organized terrorism in Kosova. That, in fact, the existence of

terrorism was not proven even juridically. There is no proof

whatsoever that would prove that Albanians have been organized

in forms of terrorist groups. And, personally, I am happy about

it.

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MACEDONIA

101:19

by SELADIN XHEZAIRI / Shkup

With the issue of the University of Tetova, the whole baggage of

Albanian problems got uncovered. The stand of the Parliament

became a catharsis for the Albanians who were allowed, this time,

to say all they had in mind, mainly in written presentations.

"You know, any proposal which is openly presented to the

parliament is legitimate. I believe that this is the way to solve

any open issue. This is the democratic way to do it: problems are

solved in the Parliament, where laws are adopted".

It is a totally another issue whether the requests of the

Albanian MPs will be respected. "This will be seen in the last

phase of the approval of the law", says Andov's deputy, Tito

Petkoski. As if this statement announces the epliogue which

should come within the next couple of months, the time it will

take for the harmonization of the law. The relation of forces in

the highest ruling body does not give any space for optimism to

the Albanian side, unless something else happens in the meantime.

The present ratio is 101 : 19.

"The draft Act on Superior Education which finally reached the

parliament by the government is disputable for the Albanians,

because it articulates our interests in only one segment. Article

9:2 allows the possibility to train educational staff for

elementary schools in their mother tongue, while the high schools

staff can get training in their mother tongue only in some

particular subjects. We require the reformulation of this

article. We request the change of paragraph 1 of this article

which states that "educational and scientific activities in

superior schools is conducted in Macedonian" which should also

say "and also in the languages of the nationalities, i.e.Albanian". If this is accepted then the practical legalization

of the University of Tetova", says MP Xheladin Murati. On the

other hand, MP Hysni Shaqiri states that if this request is not

respected, then the state can be destabilized. "I believe that

this ascertainment is exact and grounded". We perceive the

destabilization of Macedonia precisely as a result of the non-

solution of many issues related to Albanians. Actually, the

University is one of the most serious problems which Albanians

face", concluded Shaqiri.

This time, Macedonian MPs were "milder" and their discussions

were reduced to "1001 reasons" not to accept this request,

claiming that we are "creating a state", and that we are lacking

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money; that Albanians have other universities (in Albania); that

the University of Tetova will replace that of Prishtina; that the

Macedonians outside Macedonia are studying foreign languages and

that this draft-act fulfils the international standards, as

Emilija Simoska said at the end.

However, the arguments of the "Albanian party" at the Parliament

were declared as unacceptable by the minister, and she wouldn't

confront them with her arguments. A detail was mentioned: that

until recently, the local Universities have inscribed more

African and Arab students than Albanians, and another one: that

out of 7 thousand new students in the University of Shkup, barely

some 300 are Albanians!

Following the discussions about this very strange draft, a

strange conclusion comes out: Albanian MPs seem not to be veryupset; as if they felt that something will happen in the second

phase of the Macedonian superior education; on the other hand,

Macedonian MPs are extremely relaxed. They are so relaxed because

they know that the draft was elaborated in a ministry composed

of mainly or exclusively Macedonian experts. They also know that

before coming into the hands of the Government, this law had been

circulating in the University, where it passed a test. The

Government also approved it, and the Macedonian MPs know that

there are some members of the cabinet who are Albanians, but

whose say is not respected. They are calm in this aspect: theirpurpose is to allow Albanians say whatever they want, but at the

end they will vote as they please. And, this will not happen only

once, but it will be repeated. Something similar happened with

the Constitution, and recently with the Law on Local Self-

Administration; it happened with the Citizenship Act and some

other laws. And who cares..." - said Abdurrahman Aliti.

And really, who cares. All did their jobs. The Macedonian pro-

governmental media placed everything in the frame of the

"political marketing" of the Albanian MPs, also stating that "it

was a real satisfaction to have the chance to listen to differentpoints of view about superior education, unfortunately linked to

ideas of exclusively national background", concludes the

commentator of PULS weekly, advocating in favor of the "European

model of education" and the elimination of ethnic premises. As

if reality were forgotten - the politicians would say - that

Macedonia is multi-ethnic and multi-confessional. The disposition

of the Macedonian authorities about this, including the requests

of the Albanian MPs, is best illustrated by a representative of

an international organization dealing with human rights: "In one

of our reports, due to a translation mistake, it was"ascertained" that Macedonian and Albanian were official

languages in Macedonia. As soon as the report was distributed,

the Macedonian officials started calling and denying that there

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are two official languages in Macedonia!".

And really, only Macedonian is spoken in Macedonia; the only

script used is cyrillic, even though there have been no remarks

yet that this alphabet and the green areas are the only oneswhich don't hurt the sight...

MACEDONIA

(IN)SANE FORCES

by ISO RUSI / Shkup

President Gligorov's cabinet issued a communique announcing hisquick return to his official duties. It informed that "President

Gligorov has been fulfilling part of the usual obligations" and

that the public "will be informed about his full return to

office".

The experts understood the communique as a direct confirmation

that William Perry, the American Defense Secretary, who is

expected to visit Macedonia during this week, will be the first

foreign official to be received by Gligorov after the attempt

against his life on October 3, even though the Government's port-parole denied it on his last press conference. The communique was

issued following a contact TV emission of a private TV station

about "the security situation in Macedonia", in which the

representatives of four parties - Social/Democrats and Liberals

on one side and VMRO and the Democrats on the other - explained

to the attentive public some interesting details as the one about

the fact that the acting President, Speaker Andov, is the one to

coordinate the meeting of the Security Council of the Republic,

meanwhile President Gligorov was sending his condolences to the

state of Israel after Rabin's killing! Naturally, everything

would be fine, if the justification would be reduced to theexplanation that protocol functions and that the President of the

Republic is not the one to, in fact, write telegrams. The

explanation which was missing during the TV broadcast came later

in the communique.

Just several days before this, a very unusual communique of the

Liberal Party was issued, and the party insisted it to be

published completely by the press and transmitted by the

electronic media. The executive council of this party saw it

necessary to communicate to the public that "in the sensitiveperiod following the attempt against President Gligorov's life,

our state preserved its stability, internal peace and its

borders". And that "in those conditions the Liberal Party, in the

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best possible way, proved that its participation in the

government and its determination to preserve the political

orientation of the state, as a factor of peace in the region

which verified its posture so far, as an independent state". This

introduction is in the function of what followed: "that theExecutive Board of the Liberal Party, on this occasion, evaluated

highly the contribution and activity of the leader of political

parties and the Speaker of the Parliament, Andov, who, by

applying the constitutional norms, strongly and determinately

stood up to defend the policy promoted by the President of the

Republic, Kiro Gligorov.

In that direction, his statement issued on October 3 strengthened

the confidence of the citizens and their determination to stand

on the path chosen by the state. Their respect of the deadlines

to undertake the acts to open the path to regulate the relationsof our country with the Republic of Greece, grounded on good

neighborhood and mutual trust, as well as the preservation of the

institutions strongly supported by the citizens of the Republic

of Macedonia".

Then came the compliments to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, of

course, also a Liberal: "Several days after the attempt against

President Gligorov's life, with his clear statement in the

General Assembly of the UN, our minister showed to the world that

the Republic of Macedonia will not give up on its foreign policyand that because of this reason, the goal of the inspirers,

organizers and executors of the filthy terrorist attack was not

achieved".

At the end, the communique mentions the brief visit of George

Soros, and reproaches his criticism of President Gligorov's

policy and his personality as well, in two interviews published

by Nova Makedonija and Vecer. "Apart from this, Soros tried to

confront the Government of Macedonia with Gligorov, saying that

for all the problems he had with Gligorov, he had great

understanding from the Government. The Executive Council of theLiberal Party wishes to inform the public that this attempt to

divide the public by Soros is rejected, and it is considered that

no minister of the coalition should be sitting in a government

which would have to choose between Gligorov and Soros".

Naturally, the communique caused interest among the public. "Nova

Makedonija" in its Saturday's issue published a note stating that

whatever the Liberals saw in the interviews, was not in the

content of the interviews and Soros's answers. Both the deputy

editor in chief and the editor of the rubric qualified the

communique as "apparently pragmatic and propagandistic" and "aresult of the dangerous political games".

What is concerning is that some political circles are trying to

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differentiate Macedonian media and journalists "according to

their attitude" after the attempt against Gligorov. The idea is

not new, it was done earlier, the difference is that the purpose

is not concealed any more.

The "sane" forces are, of course, those which were loyal to the

President during all the time, believing that he will come back

to political life, while the others calculated about his

replacement. Thus, there is more and more talk about the division

of media in these two categories, there is also talk about an

alleged lunch organized by Stojan Andov, one day after the

attempt, with the managers of some Macedonian media and about the

visits of some journalists to the Speaker offering "services" in

the period after he took over the temporary presidency.

The conflict on the League of Macedonia, between the Social-

Democrats and the Liberals allegedly emerged, and the communiqueof the Liberals came out as an explanation or proof of loyalty

to the President who is going back to his duties. Soros's

intervention came from the same basis, because his sympathies for

Premier Crvenkovski are known since long ago. The liberals, who

of course know about the postures of the financial magnate about

Gligorov's policies intended to incite the president in

Gligorov's eyes. The concern in some editorial boards is

increasing, therefore the shock of those who in one way or the

other were mistaken, is reasonable.

ECONOMY

PLUNDERING IN KOSOVA

by IBRAHIM REXHEPI / Prishtina

The process of transformation in Serbia and Montenegro was done

in the most unacceptable way. Instead going towards

liberalization of this process, the state has taken over it. Whenit comes to Kosova, there is nothing much to say, for the process

has taken place without the presence of the Albanians and by not

respecting its interests.

Nebojsa Backovic, in one of his publications says that the

process of property transformation in Kosova has ended. The

problem is only how to revitalize the enterprises, i.e. how to

make the integrations function. According to him, this process

was developed in two directions. First, 12 enterprises became

public (statal). Then, 238 other enterprises transformed. Hence,22 Kosovan enterprises found themselves within the Belgrade

Agricultural Combine, then 8 enterprises became part of Juko

(Zitiste), 2 enterprises were taken over by Sartid 1913

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(Smederevo, and one each by Branko Krsmanovic (Paracin),

Univerzal and Grmec (both Belgrade). Many other enterprises,

mainly those verified as trustworthy in the present economic

system in Serbia, appear in Kosova with over 51% of the capital.

At the same time, the 103 enterprises found no partners forintegration, deserted their capital to the different Serbian

funds. Regardless of the fact that this whole process is

evaluated positively by Backovic, when it is perceived from

different aspects, it can't be called otherwise but plundering

and the application of political interests of Serbia, so the

economy of Kosova would function only within Serbia and in no way

independently. Nevertheless, the Serbian authorities claim that

the mergers were mistakenly made, and that they should be

corrected.

Some Albanian analysts tried to study this issue, but didn'tmanage to give an evaluation of the damage caused by this

transformation, which was in essence, the transportation of the

basic equipment and the capital to Serbia. The ascertainments

that the whole process was made without the participation of

Albanians and therefore is not acceptable for us, can't justify

the lack of seriousness in the approach.

Mustaf Blakaj, followed on all type of plundering Kosova economy

underwent since 1990. The following are the main conducted until

1994, which Blakaj published in an analysis:

- The GNP in 1990 was 1,8 DEM lower than foreseen, without

counting the direct plundering.

- When the Bank of Kosova was formally registered as share-

holding, its pure capital was 81,6 million dollars. After the

introduction of the emergency measures and the initiation of the

bankruptcy procedure, everything could be withdrawn from the

bank, i.e. 66 individual parties of currency savings worth 98,2

million dollars taken over by "Jugobanka", which is now refusing

to pay back to the clients.

- In 1990 Serbia took over the budget. It cashed in 393,1 million

dinars in Kosova, but it engaged only 0,6% of this sum in Kosova!

Can the situation go back to its previous state? according to the

flows so far, especially in times when the Serbian government

refers to the shares as the right to participate in the capital,

then it is pretty hard to restore the situation as it used to be

in 1990. The situation can't go back in many enterprises, and

only in case Kosova is recognized as an independent state can

they be part of the separation balance with Serbia, which wouldbe forced to compensate the caused damage.

Previous chronicles explained the transfer of equipment to

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Serbia, allegedly for repairs, but which were never returned.

Only some cases are listed below, without any pretension to claim

that this is the whole list. The Pump Factory in Dean "lost" its

main producing machines, therefore there has been no production

in the past five years. "Kluz" in Gllogovc has become a garbagedeposit, because none of the machines are there and there is no

evidence of where they have ended. The building of "Sankos" in

Kaanik is being used as an accommodation center for Krajina

refugees, because the machines were previously taken to Shtrpce,

becoming private property, but have not started producing yet.

"Mineks" in Ferizaj was deprived of its production line of

"eurocream", which was actually never put in function...

Analyzing the reaction of the Serbian workers, there are

indications that many of these equipments are now in the hands

of private owners. These workers feel betrayed, for they gainednothing from these transformations, a feeling which is leading

towards the strikes and protests. But as long as these

circumstances continue, any protests are vane.

Burhan Kavaja, one of the former leaders of the UITUK speaks of

the methodology of this trade-union to evaluate the caused

damage. "Deprivation from salaries and different allowances,

based on our calculations, meant a loss of 4,5 billions of

American dollars for our workers. The UITUK evaluated that this

is what the Serbian government owes the Albanian workers andtherefore they would send a bill to the Serbian Government each

month, saying that if the bill is not paid in within the legal

term, interests would be calculated".

It is not known whether the government of Serbia received the

bills or not, but it is true that it didn't pay one dinar to the

dismissed workers. It is not in its mind to compensate the amount

or admit the general damage it caused Kosova. But, even if it

were ready to do so, no Kosovan institution really knows how much

to ask for. This means that no one knows how much has Kosova

lost, because everything was stopped on the appeal "that thismatter should be elaborated as soon as possible".

DOSSIER JUSUF ZEJNULLAHU

HISTORY IS BEING REPEATED

by YLBER HYSA / Prishtina

KOHA: How did change of the government take place?

ZEJNULLAHU: I think that since the suspension came, both the

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alternative and we worked individually. There was no

coordination, at least there was no unique strategic orientation.

Kosova finally entered a situation it had never faced before.

Practically, it was a situation of state of war. It was a new

situation for both us and the alternative. Even though we had thesupport of the people, neither us or the alternative have

evaluated the situation nor had we set our policy of action. I

believe that this is a huge gap which still remains... I believed

that Kosova had lost its political factor the moment journalists

in "Rilindja" decided to leave the Communist League of Kosova.

It was replaced by the alternative and we believed that we should

find support in them. But a government couldn't function only

through statements and interviews: we needed to take decisions.

There was huge confusion after the suspensions. It was almost

impossible to establish any coordination in the work of thesuspended organs and the ones which were still functioning. The

confusion was even more increased with the created atmosphere

that all institutions, especially the statal, administration and

judiciary, must be deserted. This was present before and after

the suspension of the Government and parliament. This request was

later expanded to economy and social services. There was this

race to quit jobs and the harsh tagging of all those who were

still working. The level of patriotism was measured by the

velocity of quitting the job. Many circles and individuals gave

themselves the right to evaluate the posture and attitude ofother people. This was a huge euphoria... People thought that

everything would end within two weeks and that they would come

back. This is why the Serbian government found it even more easy

to dismount the whole network of institutions. On the other hand,

even though the Government and Parliament were suspended,

Kosova's representatives in the Federation were still there, and

the idea was to create an impression that no des-

institutionalization had taken place in Kosova. The functioning

abroad was not coordinated either. Kosova had many envoys aborad,

and many of them were not authorized. In many cases they confused

the Europeans and Americans who didn't have it clear who were therepresentatives of Kosova!

In this situation, some individuals, lead by their personal

interests, and considering that time had come for them to become

part of history, started a campaign for the formation of the new

government, ignoring all legal representatives, the Government

and Parliament which still existed. Radio Zagreb - in Albanian -

was then controlled by individuals and political parties from

Kosova, and was used widely for this campaign.

KOHA: How were you informed about the change in the government?

ZEJNULLAHU: From the press. The justification was that a multi-

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party government was elected, and there was nothing wrong with

this. Thus is happened that this government was changed three

times and suspended twice within one year!

KOHA: Did you have any dilemmas in this respect?

ZEJNULLAHU: There were bo dilemmas about the completion or even

replacement of the government. But, this could have been done by

respecting the constitutional provisions and the situation which

was imposed on us, counting on the fact that all forces which

supported the executive and parliamentarian acts should become

part of it. On that occasion, without any reason, some actions

which were contrary to the Constitution were undertaken when the

Government was changed. Many individuals started taking

responsibilities which didn't belong to them, and there was such

a confusion that it wasn't clear who was dealing with politicsand who was dealing with the executive matters! I didn't deal

with matters of political parties, but they did take over some

executive powers. I was willing to change the government,

according to the Constitution, but this was not interesting for

the ones who were rushing to make the changes... I heard later

that there were talks that the Government and Parliament were not

necessary any more. This is something like the "use and throw"

system...

I didn't want to talk about this, but I must say that theGovernment could have been replaced constitutionally in only two

possible ways: to have the Parliament vote non-confidence to the

Government, and with my resignation. There was no possibility for

the first option to take place, and the second one could have

been easily done.

It is interesting to state that the Parliament decided to vote

in favor of a new government without even discharging the old

one. Thus, the Parliament which proved itself with too much

sacrifice, became a simple formality. From then on, Kosova lost

its parliament and lost its administrative structure which wasreplaced with associations and councils.

KOHA: You were involved in the preparations for the meeting in

Stublicka-Toplica, the meeting of Albanian political parties, but

you didn't participate in it. Why?

ZEJNULLAHU: I was informed that there was going to be a meeting

of political parties and other personalities about the future

actions. I was not informed about the organizer, the

participants, but the idea was to reach an agreement about thefuture actions of Albanians in general. Naturally, this was of

my convenience. Even though we were the legal government and

parliament, we couldn't reach any success without any

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coordination with the political factors. Our posture was that

until the free elections we must support all political factors

which are acting in Kosova... This was the basis of the

preparations which were set in a meeting held in Izola

(Slovenia). The request was to complete the government inaccordance with the political factor... but I never participated

in the meeting, because I was never invited to it! Later I heard

that some people commented that I didn't want to attend the

meeting, which is completely false. It seemed that this move was

a result of the unpreparedness to determine the orientation and

the working concept according to the created situation and the

situation we were expecting. The media, again, were my source of

information about the meeting celebrated in Toplica, where

representatives of all political parties in the Former Yugoslavia

had met. The impression I got was that the issue of Kosova

wouldn't be presented concretely but generally, which was thebest way to keep the situation stalling and inert.

KOHA: The indictment against you considers the meeting you,

accompanied by Agim Mala (director of TV Prishtina - now in

exile), had with Ante Markovic, incriminating...

ZEJNULLAHU: The incriminating act is our alleged creation of an

informal group which requested the assistance of some factors of

the republics and the federation, which is absolutely false. All

we did is to say that Kosova is a constituent of the Federation,and that if Kosova is suspended, the Federation can't function.

I met with Ante Markovic, and Agim Mala had come to the meeting

to, on behalf of TV Prishtina, ask for his intervention and the

restoration of the normal TV broadcasting. What I told Markovic,

I had already written in a letter, therefore, nothing was secret.

The situation didn't change after this meeting.

KOHA: You came back for exile which lasted several years. What

made you decide so and what is your status now?

ZEJNULLAHU: It was not my idea to remain outside Kosova forever.I happened to be abroad when the order of my arrest was issued...

I never though of me as an emigrant, and therefore one day I

decided to come back. I was conscious of all repercussions of my

act, but the moment was such that my arrest could have some

meaning...

KOHA: There have been articles in the Serbian press about your

"political re-engagement". What is the truth and what does J.

Zejnullahu do today?

ZEJNULLAHU: I believe that intrigues and speculations do not

deserve any attention. I can say that some Albanian intriguers,

afraid that the Albanian question could be solved without their

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presence, are spreading all sorts of rumors, trying to remove the

attention from what is important. Sometimes, these people are

more afraid of Albanians than people from the Serbian regime!

KOHA: Would you come back to politics?

ZEJNULLAHU: Dealing with politics in these conditions is no

satisfaction at all, nor does it give security. In fact, I am not

apolitical when it comes to the liberty of my people. No Albanian

can be so. It is something else to concretely make decisions and

have the responsibility for that. I doubt that the politicians

today feel any satisfaction, but they deal with it for the sake

of the declared aspirations...

KOHA: What is your status today?

ZEJNULLAHU: In relation to the Serbian government, I am under

investigation. I don't feel safe, and you can notice this from

the answers I have been giving to you...

KOHA: From this distance in time, how do you evaluate the

situation during 1989 and 1990. What has been done and what has

not?

ZEJNULLAHU: I believe that many things which were decided were

never accomplished, and I believe that this is reality. Ourdecisions and declarations were never brought to life. The form

exists but the realization doesn't have the content and makes no

sense. It is an organization which is without effect. The reasons

for this can be elaborated, but personally I am not willing to

talk about it.

KOHA: What is your posture?

ZEJNULLAHU: I have always believed that the situation of Kosova

is very serious. Our wishes for independence and freedom were

ignored each time they were presented. This has happened becauseAlbanians have often hoped that the others - the "democrats and

the developed" in Europe and the world - would take care of our

problems. It seems that history repeats itself only in the case

of Albanians, and we must not allow it... Everyone of us knows

how the things are moving. The peaceful concept the Albanians are

following, determines clearly the orientation towards the

conversation with the party in conflict - with Serbia...

KOHA: What could the talks be about concretely?

ZEJNULLAHU: About the clear orientation of Kosova to become free.

Serbia knows this, and everything is clear. Postures of both

sides are clear. The situation we have been living the past five

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years doesn't suit us. We have only negative effects from this.

We say that we have a parallel rule in Kosova, and this is not

true. This is a kind of resistance which doesn't harm Serbia.

Such a rule can only be factive, and this is what Serbia's rule

in Kosova is like. It is quite clear who is entitled to talk onbehalf of the Albanians, it's the president of the Republic,

Ibrahim Rugova, and this is clear. I even believe that Milosevic

himself is not willing to make any manoeuvres with anyone else,

because this can't solve the problem, regardless of the

conclusion.

From the strategic aspect, I don't consider it favorable for the

Kosova issue to be discussed after all other former Yugoslav

problems are solved. This practically places Kosova outside the

corpus of problems of the former Yugoslavia and makes it a matter

of Serbia alone. This can also be the purpose of Serbia,regardless of the pressure it may face. It is also very

unfavorable if the issue is opened on a local level by Serbia.

Naturally, this will depend on the "concessions" Serbia will make

in Croatia and Bosnia, which can be proven negative for Kosova.

Also, if Kosova will be discussed after the problems in the

Former Yugoslavia are solved, then it will be forced to accept

the solution decided upon without its participation. Therefore,

we shouldn't be surprised in any way if this happens!