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CONTENTS: NOV 9 2001 SHALA: CRISIS AND THE DRUMS
Zėri on page three carried a report by its editor-in-chief Blerim Shala commenting on the agreement signed in Belgrade by UNMIK Administrator Hans Haekkerup and Serb representative Nebojsa Covic and its consequences. "Albanians are playing the drums, meaning that they are making a lot of noise regarding Haekkerup and Covic's common document. They will continue playing the drums until their hands hurt, but this will not change anything. And eventually they will give up, forget the document and start dealing with the number of the votes. On the other hand, thanks to several Albanian-speaking men, Haekkerup has the right to say that there are contradictory opinions in Kosovo as far as the document is concerned. What is worse, in an interview given to Zėri on 5 November, Haekkerup said that a majority of the Kosovar media supports his deeds and the document. If we leave by side the common document, which we consider to be political pyrotechnics for short-term political target, the most problematic issue in this document is point 6. Point 6 confirms the establishment of a high working group under the 'authorization of the SRSG, and will include UNMIK and FRY representatives and after a while, the interim self-governing institutions. The group will offer constant and long-lasting approach of cooperation in fields of joint interest and concern in order to assure proper coordination and consultation (paper's remark: UNMIK's translation).' We do not have to be very smart to figure out that the Serb regime can use this formulation in order to play an important role in the political processes in Kosovo after 17 November. Thus, the high working group is not only a consultative group because the word coordination gives a higher position to this group. Furthermore, point 6 does not define the fields in which the group will function. The announcement to establish Belgrade's working group proves that Belgrade attempts to legalize and strengthen its presence in Kosovo during the interim period. Thanks to the Haekkerup-Belgrade agreement, point 6 shows that the final authority for Kosovo Serbs remains Belgrade. Although Kosovo Serbs will participate in the November elections, have a part in Kosovo's assembly and at least one mandate of ministry in Kosovo's assembly, the common document makes it possible for Covic to be the main Serb politician in Kosovo. Someone might say that Belgrade would be the only authority for Kosovo Serbs even without the agreement, however the document legalizes the presence of the Serb regime in Kosovo. Therefore, through the joint group, we rightly expect Covic and Belgrade Serb politicians to create many procedural and political obstacles for Kosovo's assembly and government. Thus, Kosovo's legislative and executive center will turn into an arena of endless debates. The above-mentioned group will make the complicated procedure of issuing laws and making decisions even more problematic. As a result, everyone will have the impression that very little has happened in Kosovo before and after the general elections. The Serb regime will try to materialize this by concluding that Kosovars do not deserve independence because they are not capable of properly governing Kosovo and do not want to address the issue of Kosovo Serbs. This can be an ominous sign, which are light years away from reality. Furthermore, UNMIK officials can say that this is only an exaggeration and pessimistic way to interpret a document, which according to them is not an agreement, does not oblige and does not have any legal consequences for Kosovo. Kosovar politicians would take a deep sigh if this would be the case. All UNMIK Administrator Hans Haekkerup would have to do is to issue a statement of 5-6 lines, in which he would say that the common document does not have any legal consequences for Kosovo and that the only legal and valid document during the interim period would remain the Constitutional Framework. This would get rid of all the Kosovo Albanians' concern."
Zėri carried on page one and four an exclusive interview with UNMIK Chief Administrator Hans Haekkerup. The international community says that the Common Document is within 1244. If so, then why have you needed to have such intense negotiations with Belgrade? The resolution clearly states that UNMIK has all of the authority in Kosovo. Nevertheless, the international community struggled to push Belgrade and especially Kostunica to go forward and support Kosovo Serbs to participate in 17 November elections and what we have done is that we struggled to aid in bringing this decision. We searched for ways as to what to tell Kosovo Serbs to convince them to participate in elections. However this does not change UN Security Council Resolution 1244 or the Constitutional Framework or alter UNMIK authority in Kosovo. In the document we have defined several fields of cooperation between Belgrade and UNMIK, which would help Kosovo Serbs in the future. The international community says that the Common Document is within 1244. If so, then why have you needed to have such intense negotiations with Belgrade? I have informed IAC leaders and informed them of the difficult points of this process and this does not imply that they had no knowledge of the process. They did not receive the document before it was signed, however I strived to let them have a summary of the negotiation process. Belgrade has decided that Serbs should participate in the upcoming elections and Covic has said that this means that Kosovo will be reintegrated into Serbia. Do you agree? I entirely do not agree with what Covic said. There is nothing on Kosovo's integration to Serbia. There is no mentioning in the document. Regarding the final status the document is neutral, this shall be discussed at a later stage. Kosovo Serbs are participating on the basis that they think that Kosovo will be reintegrated into Serbia. Do you think this could produce tension and pressure at a later stage? I believe that some of the Serbs feel this way, however there are also Serbs that do not agree with the document and do not contribute to the process. This is a very neutral agreement. We feel that the process must go forward and naturally Serb participation is very important, not only for elections but also for the governmental institutions that would enable to join Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo. And this the only way we can change the situation in Kosovo. The future government institutions are limited in terms of authorization granted by 1244. By signing the Common Document with Belgrade, Belgrade in a way becomes a representative for the Kosovo Serbs. Do you think that the future institutions of Kosovo could be able to themselves function or perhaps will you have to intervene in all the areas? A part of the given to by the UN Secretary General will transfer to future institutions. Some of the fields to be discussed should be cowered by the future ministers here and those in Belgrade. The Common Document discusses education. It says that the education system in Kosovo should be based on the system in Serbia, with the same curriculum. Does that mean that your mandate on education has been handed over to Serbia? No, Educational System will be under the framework of the future Educational Ministry. In the document we emphasized several joint points, which are characteristic for all of the communities. In other words, we are speaking of the right to learn in mother tongue. The program will be organized in such manner that will enable those finishing one level of schooling will be recognized in Serbia. Nevertheless, the Educational Ministry be in charge of administration and that is the way it is being done in Europe. If the Kosovo Serbs are connected to the Serbian education system and ministry, what effect will it have on the overall education system here in Kosovo? Won't it be a parallel system of education between the Albanians and the Serbs? No it is not. This is how all of educational systems in Europe are organized. The authority remains with the Educational Ministry. We will have to be sure that the education that Serbs are receiving will be acknowledged in Serbia if anyone wants to continue schooling there. This is the same in other European countries. This is not a parallel system. It is based in European standards. Any hope that the same principles will be applied for the Albanians in Macedonia and Southern Serbia? I do not know how the regulations are there. The Tetovo University exists and has close cooperation with the one in Prishtina. We have some of the same professors. However, Tetovo University is not legalized by the Macedonian government, does not recognize it or does it finance it. No. However, there is cooperation between Prishtina University and the one in Tetovo. What are the things that must be coordinated with Belgrade and Prishtina other than humanitarian concerns like missing people? Some of these issues are mentioned in the document. Their solution cannot come about without cooperation between the two sides. There are other confusing areas within the document For example when it comes to the mention of railways, there is some linguistically confusion which could lead people to believe that Kosovo is being integrated into Serbia. We have had a war between the Albanians and Serbs in reaction to the Serbian regime over the Albanians and one of the greatest problems has been to bring back the ethnic tolerance to Kosovo. Do you think this Document over a period of time has ideas of the future and steps to be taken to make up for the bad signals given to Albanians and Serbs as well? No, it is the opposite. I believe that this document is very important to change the current situation. The railroad is a good example. There were conflicts and wars before and the railroads were open. This is truly one of the ways of communicating. It is natural that there is need to travel to Belgrade and Skopje. If we are allowed to travel with UNMIK documents This is also true. However, this is another issue. It is clear that the administrations support the document, but what do you think of the media's reaction? Most of the media were positive. I believe that there was a pause for all of us, and after reading the document the explanations for the document can be very reasonable. After reading the document it can be concluded that it is in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the Constitutional Framework, the document consists of its own authorizations which are not taken from UNMIK. What is specific of the document is the cooperation in certain fields and the possibility of Serbs participation in 17 November elections. The document enables the reconciliation of the communities within Kosovo.
According to Serb news agency B92, DOS leadership has appointed on Wednesday a list of 60 Serb candidates for the 17 November elections reported Zėri on page four. According to B92 another 20 candidates were appointed yesterday. The
leader of the coalition list "Povratak" was appointed "University of
Prishtina Dean" Gojko Savic who said: "I will try to motivate the Serb
population in Kosovo, which have been for the last two years in an agony
that has not changed". "An obstacle for participation of around 170,000 Serbs will be the decision of several local leaders to oppose the participation in 17 November elections," even though some have changed their minds after Belgrade's criticism.
Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Daan Everts expressed yesterday in Vienna his hopes that the elected Serb will not obstruct the future Kosovo Parliament reported Zėri on page six. "I hope that Serb deputies will be loyal and will not obstruct the work in the parliament because if the majority of Serbs participate they could be the second force in the Kosovo Parliament," explained Daan Everts. Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Daan Everts expressed his satisfaction for the reached agreement with the Yugoslav authorities and praised the signing of the UNMIK-Belgrade agreement. "The document is very important because it defines FRY-UNMIK cooperation". Everts added that this does not suggest that Belgrade jointly with the international community will co-administer Kosovo. UNMIK Chief Administrator Hans Haekkerup must explain this to the Albanians," emphasized Daan Everts. Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Daan Everts said, "The UNMIK-Belgrade agreement enables the 17 November elections to be held in FRY territory and this is of great importance. Even though there is very little time to organize the elections, I believe that we will be successful". He added that 177 polling stations opened in Serbia and 18 in Montenegro.
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