|
CONTENTS: 11 Oct. 2001 ELECTION CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP
Under the front-page headline "Big shots in the campaign", Koha Ditore carried reports on the electoral campaign of the three main Kosovar political parties - the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the Kosovo Democratic Party (PDK), and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK). The Koha Ditore article on page six, "Rugova promises state and independence" reports on the opening rally of the Democratic League of Kosovo. "The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), led by chairman Ibrahim Rugova, launched its electoral campaign with a rally held yesterday in Prishtina," noted the paper. During the presentation of the program of the party and its candidates for the upcoming 17th November general elections, Rugova promised the electorate that his party would influence the recognition of the independence of Kosovo, the integration in NATO and the European Union and on special relations with the United States of America. According to Rugova, his party will mark a victory in the elections with a "solid majority". The paper also reported that during his speech, Rugova often mentioned the term " the State of Kosovo", and at the same time pointed out the commitment of his party for the protection of minority rights in Kosovo. "The LDK will guarantee and protect ethnic groups and minorities, it will undertake the political, economical and social integration in the institutions and the social life of the democratic state of Kosovo. It will defend and develop the cultural and linguistic identity of ethnic groups and respect their traditions," stated the leader of the biggest Kosovar political party. The names of 110 LDK candidates for the future Kosovo Parliament were printed in the article. "We are sure that these candidates have the courage to implement the program of the LDK and the people of Kosovo," said Rugova. On page seven, the paper carried a report of the meeting of the Hashim Thaçi-led Kosovo Democratic Party (PDK) with intellectuals from Kosovo's capital, Prishtina. During the debate there were talks on the party's vision of the future of Kosovo and its independence. Hashim Thaçi, chairman of the party, told the audience that political parties without intellectuals soon turn into stereotypes and sects and that without the contribution of intellectuals political parties cannot carry out their functions. The PDK leader said that the State of Kosovo should first be built in practice, in order to show the international community that Kosovo deserves independence. "There are doubts regarding Kosovo's independence. Doubts live only among people with dilemmas, people who are easily bent," he added. Commenting on the situation of minorities, Thaçi advised the Serb
minority to feel safe in Kosovo and not fall victims of the war for power
in Serbia. In the end of his speech, Thaçi reportedly quoted Sartre saying, "the intellectuals bear responsibility for the past, the present and the future of a nation." Those in attendance also sought clear vision from the PDK for the postwar crime issue, "a problem that aggravates the future of Kosovo", and the fight against this evil phenomenon. "Crime is fought where it is born. Crime is not fought by arbitrarily accusing someone and by profiting from crime, but by specifically identifying it," said Thaçi. "The Alliance promises engagement for Kosovo's efficient institutions," was the headline of the Koha Ditore page-eight article that covered the first rally of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo in the town of Prizren, during this year's electoral campaign for general elections. The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), led by chairman Ramush Haradinaj, is an alliance formed by five political parties, and until now has held more electoral meetings with citizens than any other party in the electoral campaign for 17th November elections. In front of a numerous crowd, Ramush Haradinaj presented the program of the party and the candidates from Prizren for the future Kosovo Parliament. "In its electoral campaign, the Alliance has paved the path of independence," Haradinaj is quoted. Zëri's front page carried a column by its editor-in-chief, Blerim Shala. The column, which was titled "Poetry and power", spoke of the upcoming general elections in Kosovo. Shala wrote: "What will be the electoral campaign in Kosovo? Will there be tensions, problems and incidents? What will be conduct of the three main Kosovar political parties: LDK, PDK and AAK?" "These are the three main questions that preoccupy both the international and Kosovar opinion for the parliamentarian elections due to be held on 17 November." "We all know last year's experience: the local elections in Kosovo were surely the most peaceful in the region during the last ten years. Based on the first week of this year's campaign, the electoral campaign will once again be quiet, whereas the program of both the main and smaller political parties is filled with poetry in one rhyme: freedom, democracy and independence." "Pre-election campaigns, in fact, even in the most civilized cities in the world have their own tensions: the confrontation of political and economical programs, the analysis of the situation in the country during the previous regime, the quest for receipts for economical prosperity, social welfare and political stability, surely create a special and extraordinary atmosphere. Ultimately, a new regime is installed through the elections." "In Kosovo, most probably due to the lack of a genuine power, pre-election promises are easily made, whereas the chances for establishing a powerful government are quite difficult. Power in Kosovo will be, at least in this first mandate, a huge responsibility to bear. It seems that we are still now aware of this."
With the visit of NATO Secretary-General George Robertson in Washington and NATO doing everything in its power to help the USA in its war against terrorism, it is understandable that NATO's main topic of discussion is the situation in Afghanistan. The fact that during the last NATO meeting, a great part of the discussions were dedicated to the situation in the Balkans proves that NATO is not ignoring the missions in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, reported Koha Ditore on page one. According to Zëri, Former COMKFOR Thorstein Skiaker reported on NATO's achievements in Kosovo and its contribution to the security situation in FYROM. According to Skiaker, the level of violence in Kosovo during the last six months has decreased a great deal, but a lot of things remain to be done. Considering the positive changes in Kosovo and the success of the "Essential Harvest", officials in Brussels have evaluated that the general situation in the Balkans is a lot better than it was several months ago when fighting between NLA soldiers and the Macedonian authorities threatened the stability of the entire region. Koha Ditore mentions the electoral campaigns in Kosovo, which are continuing without any problems or violence, the lack of which proves that the situation has improved. It also covers issues being discussed by NATO, the greatest problem present in the Balkans and elsewhere is organized crime. Organized crime is preventing many societies from developing. "We will not allow black holes of the Afghanistan type to take place in the Balkans," stressed NATO Secretary General George Robertson. "The lack of a functioning state, the presence of organized crime and non-functional corrupt societies are a good basis for instability and organized crime. If it was not for NATO and the international community, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia would have all these elements, but NATO prevented this," said a NATO official, reported Koha Ditore. Another topic of discussion was the possibility of decreasing the presence of NATO troops in the Balkans due to USA's engagement in Afghanistan. "The American troops in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina are good in their jobs and they will remain in these countries. If a portion of these troops will have to become engaged in the USA's task, then someone else will take over their place and thus there will be no vacuum," Koha Ditore cited the official. According to NATO officials, apart from the American-British attacks in the battle against terrorism, the contributions of the NATO troops in the Balkans is a way to prevent the eventual terrorism in the Balkans, reported Zëri.
"The only ones who have the right to lead the KEK are the local experts. They can do this with the help of the international experts, whom we respect for all they have done for us," stated Head of the Independent Power Union of Kosovo (IPUK) Sherif Fejzullahu. According to him, eleven thousand KEK employees refuse to work under the leadership of corporations or international officials, reported Koha Ditore on page eleven. Koha Ditore quotes Fejzullahu, "If they think they can take over KEK without even asking the Kosovars, they are wrong. We will boycott such a leadership," stressed Fejzullahu during a press briefing. He pointed out that only Kosovo's Parliament, not UNMIK, has the right to take such big steps. "We will not accept any decisions made without being discussed by the parliament and without having implemented the laws and norms. We are approaching the elections and people get the idea that they can take something which does not belong to them at all." Zëri informed on IPUK appealing to all political parties to deal with this issue seriously because Kosovo's wealth is at stake. "According to the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, UNMIK does not own the KEK. UNMIK's job is to supervise the work of the KEK until Kosovo solves the final status. However, there are individuals who will do everything in order to reach their target, including the violation of law and resolutions," stressed Fejzullahu. Remarking on a statement made by UNMIK Spokeswoman Susan Manuel, regarding UNMIK considering the possibility of international teams leading KEK, as in the case of "Hygiena-Teknika", Fejzullahu said that you cannot compare the KEK with a corporation that is numerous times smaller and less important, reported Koha Ditore. "KEK remained a corporation without a legal status for two years now," remarked the IPUS. Koha Ditore quotes Fejzullahu, "eight months were not enough for the Supervisory Board and the Department for Public Services to decide that the 75 thousand social cases of consumers should not pay for their electricity. They mixed the relations between KEK and the consumers and the results were that the ones who did not want to pay, did not have to." The paper also reports on discrimination among the consumers due to UNMIK not allowing electricity supply being cut for the Serbs, which was not the case with the Albanians. "Behind all of this, lie the tendencies to turn KEK into enclaves and employ 1700 Serbs. But we will never accept this," stressed Fejzullahu. The IMPUK members blame the Department for Public Services and KEK's Executive Board for all that has happened. The members requested that the Executive Board and Rrapi carry out their obligations toward the Kosovars and inform them on what they have known about KEK's management being transferred to the internationals, reported Koha Ditore.
Koha Ditore carries a column on page ten by Ylber Hysa, who commented on the Yugoslav Committee for Kosovo. "The so-called Yugoslav Committee for Kosovo came out with several new ideas and acts. One act was the leader of the committee Nebojsa Covic publicly making up with Kosovo Serb Momcilo Trajkovic. This was an event followed by the media and the press. The act came after many disagreements between these two Serb representatives regarding their opposite approaches to solve the problem of Kosovo Serbs. The second event was to appoint Kosovo Serbs and Serbia's Serb officials within this committee. Thus, Oliver Ivanovic from the Serb National Council in Mitrovica is responsible for the economic and development issues. Momcilo Trajkovic is responsible for the civilian administration. Former Chief of Police, Prelevic, is from now on responsible for human rights and security. According to the article, this is a step to continue Belgrade's institutional policy toward Kosovo, which is to assure legitimacy and control over Kosovo. The step is also aiming towards dividing the cake called Kosovo among the various Serb representatives and pretenders. The officials are to be appointed just before Kosovo Serbs decide whether they will participate in the general elections. Covic is aware of the fact that the international community is increasing the pressure on the authorities regarding the participation. Serb participation was also discussed in the East River, New York. The international officials came to the conclusion that Kosovo Serbs should participate in the elections due to the fact that all the technical and organizational conditions have been fulfilled. The approach to represent various Kosovo Serb convictions made it possible for Branislav Krstic to become a favourite of this committee. I recall that it was the same case with Covic writes Hysa. Who is Krstic? Krstic is the author of a famous book, which was published in the nineties and suggested the division of Kosovo in four various variants. In order to achieve this, the author tried to incite a public debate among the Serb population. This was followed with the President of the Serb Science Academy Despic, who criticized Milosevic and kept repeating that with Milosevic's policy, Serbia will lose Kosovo. Despic offered to preserve a part of Kosovo by 'amputating' the Albanians. A Kosovo Serb politician who wants to establish a coalition with the Albanian politicians While the Yugoslav Committee for Kosovo is discussing similar decisions, a Kosovo Serb representative, who lives in an enclave in Kosovo told Radio Kosovo that it would be great if future Serb parliamentarians would establish a coalition with the Albanian politicians and parliamentarians. This politician was concrete in what he was saying but he did not mention the names of the potential candidates. The politician continues, "if Covic foresees including someone who supports the division of Kosovo, why can't he include someone who believes in the future of a Kosovo, which is not under Belgrade's control or influence. The political spectrum would be complete only then."
|