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CONTENTS: 25 October 2001 ELECTION CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP
Under the subtitle "LDK expands pre-election campaign in its most unfavorable municipality", Koha Ditore on page six reported on the election rally of the Democratic League of Kosovo in Drenas/Gllogoc. "LDK officials told some 200 people in Drenas that the party and its leader Ibrahim Rugova can build the state of Kosovo in which every citizen would feel free and safe," reported the paper. Ilir Tolaj, a senior official of the LDK chairmanship, told the audience, "this will be a country in which human rights and the integrity of every individual would be respected. A country in which people won't lose their lives because of their opinions." Mehdi Bardhi, chairman of the LDK branch in Gllogoc, reminded the public that the LDK was the first party that articulated the will and wish of the people of Kosovo for independence. "We won't promise you anything new, but we promise you we will follow the path we have been following for the past 11 years - the path to implement the national interest," was the message of the Albanian Democratic Christian Party (PSHDK) in its election rally in Deçan, reported Koha Ditore on page six. Epoka e Re on page five carried a report on the meeting between Hashim Thaçi, leader of the Kosovo Democratic Party (PDK) and the chairmen of his party's branches. At the start of the meeting, Thaçi said that the election campaign began quietly and with positive messages. He praised the chairmen for their contribution in the election campaign. "I thank you for your democratic engagement during in the election campaign and for the maturity in avoiding all pressures and provocations because we are convinced that democracy will prevail. We consider others as political partners in building a free and democratic Kosovo; therefore I call upon all PDK structures to have inter-party and inter-ethnic understanding and tolerance," Thaçi emphasized. On the other hand, Hajredin Kuçi, PDK deputy leader, spoke about the necessity to unfold the values of the Kosovo Democratic Party and demanded engagement and caution on the part of the party's members in order not to fall for nervous acts of political opponents.
Neither to the left, nor to the right, only straight ahead," is the motto of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, the political entity that has promised surprises in the 17 November parliamentary elections - the first place. AAK, which had the third place in last October's local elections with 7.7 percent of the votes, considers that in the last 12 months it has managed to strengthen itself in the political scene in Kosovo and among its citizens. We have made serious preparations and we have been strengthened with people who have a lot of influence and have great authority among the population of Kosovo. We expect to have a pleasant surprise for both the internal and foreign public. Therefore, we aim to be the first political entity," said AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj in an interview with Koha Ditore, a day before the beginning of the election campaign. Ramush Haradinaj, a powerful former commander of KLA guerillas, at the beginning of last year was also deputy commander of the Kosovo Protection Corps, a half-military organization created after the war following the transformation of the Kosovo Liberation Army. The Corps is considered by Albanians the core of a future army. However, after one year, being unsatisfied with the inefficiency of political entities in Kosovo, polarized in two wings - the "peace wing" (led by the Democratic League of Kosovo) and the "wing of war" (led by the Kosovo Democratic Party), Haradinaj decided to withdraw from the Kosovo Protection Corps and entered politics. He lacked the political experience to make him a politician adored by the people of Kosovo, but he had the authority of a former successful commander and the will to work and make changes. After consultations with friends and international representatives in Kosovo, Haradinaj gathered five small political parties, and on 2 May 2000 created the coalition called the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo. Haradinaj was elected chairman of the coalition, which was later joined by another small political party. In his book, "The general's peace", Haradinaj explained that he chose the name Alliance due to its symbolic aspect. The word alliance reminds the Albanians of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which they love and they will always be thankful for the freedom. In his book, Haradinaj also explained that he made a coalition with the nationalist parties because he considered their members as idealists and reliable. However, the AAK that will take part in 17 November parliamentary elections is not the same AAK that participated in last year's local elections. In the meantime, the National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo and the Kosovo Popular Movement, two illegal political entities during the Yugoslav regime, withdrew from the Alliance. The reasons for the withdrawal of the abovementioned parties were never clarified. However, the reasons of the AAK's transformation are Ramush Haradinaj's efforts for a centralized power within the AAK and to avoid extremism and to move to a moderate center. Haradinaj was not satisfied with the results of the local elections and continued his work in strengthening the influence of the AAK. In its path to the center, the Alliance took another respected former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Naim Maloku, who after the war formed the Kosovo Liberal Center Party. In the last 12 months, the AAK left asides the visual connections with the war and KLA and increased its efforts to identify itself with the ordinary citizen. After the local elections, it strengthened relations with the United Nations Administration in Kosovo. The results of the elections, no matter how unsatisfied Haradinaj was with it, made him the third member (alongside Ibrahim Rugova and Hashim Thaçi) of the Interim Administrative Council. "We believe that the UNMIK Chief will be a successful partner and colleague of Kosovo institutions," said Haradinaj about Hans Haekkerup. On the eve of the election campaign, the Alliance managed to include in its list of candidates, the former communist leader of Kosovo, Mahmut Bakalli, who is respected by the people of Kosovo for his long political experience in the former Yugoslavia. Haradinaj also had the courage to extend his election campaign in the three Albanian villages in northern Kosovo, which are controlled by the Serbs and are feared by the Albanians. Furthermore, unlike his two rivals, Haradinaj also found the time to taste the cookies of a local factory in central Kosovo. "Ramush Haradinaj is an energetic leader and he has been very noticeable. He managed to form a powerful coalition. Today, the AAK is a serious party," said Robert Curis, a senior analyst of the International Crisis Group." The observers of Kosovo politics don't expect the Alliance to win the elections, but given the need for a coalition government in the future parliament, it can be a part in the future government of Kosovo. "I think they will have better results than in the last elections. I wouldn't be surprised if they double their votes. In this electoral system, the Alliance will be a major player," added Curis. "We believe that our place is in the institutions of Kosovo, in co-governance with all political entities," said Haradinaj when asked what will happen in the elections.
Kosovo Chief Administrator Hans Haekkerup will this week met with Belgrade officials, as part of steps to convince Kosovo Serbs to take part in the upcoming general elections due to be held this November, reported Koha Ditore on page one. Haekkerup will meet with officials of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), the coalition which ousted Milosevic from power and now governs the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia. According to the paper, the leaders of DOS meet regularly and discuss various problems and issues, including Kosovo and the Albanians. The Banja Luka-based Reporter has secured the transcript of one these meetings, which were held after the briefing of Nebojsa Covic at the United Nations Security Council. The DOS appointed Covic as the coordinator for Kosovo. And though there were other issues on the agenda, the issue of Kosovo reportedly became the main topic. Based on the Reporter article, DOS has decided to verify the coalition "Povratak" for Kosovo elections only to gain time and win the sympathy of the international community. "Come on, let us be honest and not change the thesis. Tonight we are not talking about participation in the elections the verification only means gaining time," said Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic in the meeting held on 19 September. In the meeting, the 16 representatives of DOS also agreed to demand from UNMIK certain conditions for participation in the elections, conditions which they are well aware cannot be fulfilled by 17 November. Federal Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic, who also attended the meeting, was quoted as saying, "I think that we have to play the necessary game and this means to try and win the sympathy of the international community. This can be done through the verification for elections in Kosovo and by demanding conditions for elections that are impossible to fulfill." Furthermore the Reporter noted that the verification contained three conditions: the removal of the candidates of the two Albanian parties included in US President Bush's list, handover of all archives on missing Serbs and the handover of all details of those who had registered. On the other hand, there were eight conditions for the participation in the elections. "The continuous expulsion of Serbs from Kosovo, the security of the Serbs, the problems of national background in judiciary, lack of freedom of movement for the Serbs, a solution to the missing and kidnapped Serbs, the Serb property usurped illegally and the slow return of Serb refugees in Kosovo," Covic was cited as saying. According to the DOS leadership, after the Serbs verify their coalition and when it is clear that the conditions for participation cannot be fulfilled, it would then be proved that there were absolutely no conditions for holding the general elections. Among the "aces" of the Serb officials, the Kosovar Albanians being held in Serbian prisons were mentioned as the most important. "I have asked that no Albanian prisoner be released from the prison. We need them because there is a certain combination that we will do with them," Covic reportedly told Interior Minister Vladan Batic. "I ask you not to release anymore Albanian prisoners because we can exchange them with Serbs in Kosovo prisons. On the other hand, we can apply pressure on the issue of missing and kidnapped Serbs," Covic added. Commenting on the meeting of the UN Security Council, Covic said that he humiliated Kosovo's Chief Hans Haekkerup, who had no defense against Covic's arguments.
Michael Schmunk, the head of the German Office in Kosovo, presented the work of the German office and its future plans in Kosovo and used the opportunity to praise OSCE's work in preparing for 17 November general elections, in a press briefing on Wednesday in Prishtina, reported Koha Ditore on page three. "We are four weeks away from the elections and I want to thank the OSCE for the preparations for the elections. I consider that the citizens of Kosovo and the politicians are doing a good job for these elections," Schmunk said. Commenting on the general elections, Schmunk was quoted as saying, "I am optimistic regarding the success of the elections because they will also help solve the issue of Kosovo. However, I think that the Serbs should also participate in the 17 November elections because it is for their own good." "One of the most important issues for the time being," added Schmunk,
"is the return of Serb refugees. For this we have organized a project
together with our French friends in the village of Osojane, in order to
enable the Serbs to return." |