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Daily Media Monitoring Summary:Monday 10 December, 2001 Daily report
On the eve of this great event there was a feeling that the three main political leaders Rugova, Thaçi and Haradinaj, who have the trust of most of Kosovo's voters, were on the brink of reaching an agreement on co-government and sharing government and responsibility during this most critical time for Kosovo's democracy. However, by the end of the week the concept of co-government, which in principle would unite Rugova, Thaçi and Haradinaj, kept them divided over the detail of sharing out the 10 main posts in Kosovo's government: the presidency, the prime minister, the seven ministers, and the president of the parliament. The relative strengths that came out of the elections proved to be the rotten apple rather than a starting point when it came to interpreting the results. Thus a relative strength becomes instead a relative weakness, or rather a lack of political courage to overcome individual demands and give ground and become part of co-governing Kosovo for the next three years. It is said that one of Skenderbeu's last words for Albanian leaders was a proverb about willows, which are unbreakable if they are united. Divided they brake very easily.
Today is a historic day for Kosovo. For the first time in its long history starting this Monday it will have a parliament elected by a free and democratic vote designed to meet the needs of the citizens. However, it is difficult to predict how history will be written after the first day. Three main political parties have not reached an agreement for co-governing even though everyone knows that they have not won a majority enabling them to form a government without a broad coalition. Here it has to be clear if LDK can reach an agreement with other political parties and include them in the political process. Will any of these steps be sufficient for both the parliamentarian community and the internationals? These questions still do not have a clear answer; it is clear that all sides must avoid disagreements and hypocrisy for otherwise there will be never-ending disunity. To permit the opening of parliament without determining a political agenda is a recipe for chaos. And what has been learnt in Kosovo and the Balkans is that power can sometimes come from the muzzle of the gun but not from democracy. This clouds the picture of all the things that preceded the inauguration of parliament while things should have happened differently; the constituting of the parliament should have been founded on the determination of Kosovo's people for democracy and integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. How will the situation in Kosovo be without a preliminary agreement between political parties to form a joint institution? Firstly LDK has to be clear that the strongest opposition in administrating will come from the international administration in Kosovo, UNMIK. While until now Kosovars have seen UNMIK as an opposition, now the only one still in opposition will be LDK. The second level opposition will be the Serb coalition Povratak that will be surrounded from the start by three different oppositions, which will monitor every step they make. One of the main issues that the elected bodies will have to face is negotiation with Serbia over Kosovo's future status. Next is the relation with the international community and their presence in Kosovo. Security and freedom of movement for minorities will also be another of the major issues. Then remains the problem of unemployment, rebuilding the economy, the lack of electricity, drinking water the list of problems that Kosovo's parliamentarians will face is unfortunately very long. One thing is very certain: of all the problems mentioned today one is for sure - from today we are all Kosovars. Can the problems be solved while there is disunity among politicians
while Kosovo's status is so far away? We are unable to be optimistic
and answer YES.
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