16 October 2002

CONTENTS

Ibrahim Rexhepi: Disciplining (Koha Ditore)

Koha Ditore carries a commentary by economic analyst Ibrahim Rexhepi who tackles the suspension of Kosovo Post director Adnan Merovci.

Relations have changed. He once used to be Ibrahim Rugova's personal bodyguard, now he cannot enter the company he works for without being escorted. Although he has asked for no escort or bodyguards, this measure entered force on Monday when Adnan Merovci was declared persona non grata at the Kosovo Post and Telecommunications.

Merovci used to be the head of Kosovo Post. This means he held a key position in the most profitable company in Kosovo. However, as of Monday, he will be waiting for another decision from the Kosovo Trust Agency, either the withdrawal of his suspension or his definitive removal from the company.

KTA has its rules, which are still unclear. It already governs 350 socially owned companies and 50 to 60 public companies. It has the competency to replace managers in these companies. However, Adnan Merovci is not someone who cannot understand the role, function and power of KTA. He refused to take them into consideration and keep silent, as he was told to do several times. In commentaries or even interviews, he talked about irregularities at PTK and the influence of the Transport and Communications Minister Zef Morina in all this mess. This means that, according to KTA, he made public a company secret, which he wasn't allowed to do according to his contract. Therefore, he is a victim of stubbornness and failing to accept the fact that he should shut his eyes to irregularities.

However, the suspension of the director of Kosovo Posts was done without explaining the truth of what had already been made public: Is there fraud at PTK, a company which has an annual circulation of hundreds of millions of euros? Public opinion, specifically, PTK customers, are facing numerous enigmas and dilemmas: Is Adnan Merovci an innocent victim or have his criticisms damaged the company's image?

There are lots of similar issues, which haven't been answered yet. The customer, Bedri Shabani, is still on suspension because he 'revealed a secret'. Almost three years ago, then PTK General Director Agron Dida was dismissed because he defended his position, that Kosovo needed Siemens and not Alcatel and Monaco Telecom.

These are three issues where harsh measures were undertaken to discipline people. Not so much to change their beliefs, as to get them used to the rules of the entity they work for. And all this would have been OK, if such decisions would serve to overcome problems and to remove vagueness. However, the suspension of Adnan Merovci has not removed the suspicion among PTK customers that their funds are being improperly managed, that some of those funds go missing, that Minister Zef Morina has benefited illegally from this company, that many international or even local tenders are irregular, and many other issues.

Until light is shed on these issues, suspension and other measures will not have any effect. On the contrary, they might prove counter productive.

This is the reason why those who change door locks when staff members are not present and force the suspended official to enter the company escorted must clarify what his/her fault is. Is he/she charged only with refusing to remain silent and with making public a 'business secret', or is there something else?

It is very important to shed light on all open issues and then people might claim responsibility. If it can be proved that the only guilty person is Adnan Merovci, then so be it.

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Adnan Merovci: I took only an apple from my office, nothing more (Koha)

Koha Ditore carries an interview with Kosovo Post director Adnan Merovci, who was recently suspended from duty following a decision by the Kosovo Trust Agency. He talks about the reasons for his suspension and the manner in which he was removed from office.

Merovci says that after the latest written warning he received from PTK general director Leme Xhema, his salary was raised by 20 percent, but he turned down the offer. A day after his suspension, he claimed the decision was made by Xhema and Roger Reynolds of the KTA.

"Like policemen, they escorted me to my office. Leme Xhema went through my bag. I was told to take only my personal belongings… I only took an apple that I had left on the desk," said Merovci, adding that he was the third person suspended from a management post at PTK. The first two were former general director Agron Dida and financial director Bujar Sokoli.

Merovci told Koha Ditore that the KTA decision made had no legal basis. "On 9 October, I received an invitation to attend an 'independent disciplinary session', led by Roger Reynolds, which would review the current situation in communicating with the public. The invitation also mentioned a panel that would question me during this session," he said. He showed the invitation to the Koha Ditore journalist and claimed that the invitation did not clarify the regulation the disciplinary session was based on.

"In the letter that was sent to me on 9 October, [Reynolds] mentions regulations that were sent to me and the others on 11 October," said Merovci, adding that these same regulations were never discussed by the board of directors. "They rushed to endorse the regulations so that they could have the necessary reasons to suspend me".

Merovci said his suspension was illegitimate because he had never received a previous warning of suspension.

"The first comment that I received was related to an RTK show where I talked about my testimony at The Hague tribunal. Three days later, I received a memo from Roger Reynolds asking why I hadn't asked for KTA's authorization to appear on this show," said Merovci. According to Koha Ditore, a final remark was sent to him by Xhema, regarding some information that was published in the daily Zëri. "That was a three-line article on my official visit to Albania. She criticized me for providing this information outside the PTK Information Office," he said.

Koha Ditore added that Merovci hadn't received any comments on his other media appearances, in which he harshly accused Transport and Communications Minister Zef Morina, saying that he received a monthly salary of 10,000 euros from PTK. Merovci also accused general director Xhema of serious fraud.

Merovci claimed that Telecom Director Bedri Rama received a similar warning. He has also published public letters critical of Morina and Xhema.

"I was invited by the biggest postal association in the world - the Universal Postal Union (UPU), to attend their conference in Geneva late this month. My suspension was accelerated so that I couldn't attend the conference," Merovci was quoted as saying.

"For the time being, the media are like a king to me because all institutions pretend to be deaf, so I think that the media are the best way to address problems…I have facts to support all the accusations that I have published about the Communications Minister and the [PTK] general director and fraud at PTK. Look…," said Merovci, while taking documents from his briefcase. He promised to publish them one day.

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Who isn't telling the truth: Minister Morina or Director Rama? (Zëri)

Zëri asks: "Is there an institution in Kosovo that can control the PTK and telecommunications in Kosovo? The contradictory statements regarding the income from Vala 900 lead us to believe that there are great irregularities. "Based on PTK reports, the Vala 900 income for two and a half years is approximately 100 million euros," said Minister of Transport and Communications Zef Morina. While Telecoms Director Bedri Rama said: "Income from Vala 900 for two and a half years was over 150 million euros." Zëri claims that Morina bases his statement on PTK reports, while Rama is PTK itself, he is number one at Vala 900, or "the brain of the telecom", as PTK DG Leme Xhema preferred to call in him in the past.

The fact that the most competent officials at PTK and the minister cannot agree on 50 million euros is a responsibility that someone else must deal with. The one that should be dealing with this (KTA) is following the media to see if any of the PTK mangers are releasing press communiqués without consulting the general director. It is clear that Morina and Rama can't even agree on the profit that Monaco Telecom has made from Vala 900.

"People that do not want to see good things at PTK say that because of the prefix from Monaco Telecom the PTK has lost 50 million euros. You and some other individuals must analyze this issue very carefully. Someone will have to answer for misinformation," Morina warns.

"As a direct result of the contract, Monaco Telecom has profited for the last three years [in the amount of] 50 million euros," Rama said with assurance. This is more or less known by the people of Kosovo. "What has been mentioned very seldom is that the Monaco code was not necessary. The code [issue] could have been resolved within the existing numbers that Kosovo had or through a temporary code ensured by the UN," evaluates the PTK director.

The contract between Monaco Telecom and PTK foresees all income from Vala 900 being divided: 76% of the profit goes to Kosovo and 24 % to Monaco. If Morina is correct that the profit from Vala 900 was 100 million euros, then it seems that in two and half years Monaco has legitimately profited by 24 million euros. Based on Rama's data, according to which Vala 900 had income of 150 million euros, then Monaco's portion is 40 million euros.

Morina told Zëri that Kosovo hadn't lost 50 million euros as a result of the contract with Monaco. However, after meeting with US office head Reno Harnish, he told the PTK magazine, The Postman, that Kosovo was losing a great deal. On page four, he is quoted as saying: "The lack of an international code has cost the Kosovo economy 50 million euros per year."

According to this logic, Kosovo has not lost 50 million in three years, but 150 million. Millions of euros are lost and none of Kosovo's institutions has uttered a single word, according to Zëri.

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PTK General Director surpasses her competencies once again (Koha Ditore)

Koha Ditore reports that PTK director general Leme Xhema has paid 25,670 euros to a consultant for the work he will do over a seventeen-day period. Xhema signed a contract with Peter Edward Butcher agreeing to pay him 1,400 euros per day for his services as a PTK management consultant, plus 110 euros for daily expenses and food.

This is not the first time that Xhema has surpassed her competencies by investing in expensive consultants without announcing a tender to find a better offer. Last year Xhema signed a one-month contract with the Austrian company, Infonova, paying their consultants 1,200 euros a day. The Infonova contract was worth 9.5 million euros. By signing this contract, Xhema made the same mistake as when she contracted Butcher; she surpassed her competencies by signing a contract for more than 25,000 euros.

Shala: Kosovo's Transparent Problems (Zëri)

Zëri carries an editorial by Blerim Shala concerning the problems at KEK and PTK. Shala says that while millions of euros spent on repairs at KEK didn't bring results, the problem at PTK is completely different. He considers that PTK's major problems are its management and the contract signed with a foreign company. According to Shala, resignation or dismissal is not sufficient for those responsible for the loss of millions of euros.

KEK and PTK are certainly the most famous acronyms in Kosovo during the post war period and it is well known why. KEK continues to face major troubles, which are demonstrated by the expenditure of millions of euros for repairs that never enabled the Kosovo power system to function better.

PTK, at least at first sight, seems to be a success story, one of the most successful in Kosovo in the past three years. This is a profitable company: citizens cannot leave telephone bills unpaid (as happens with electricity bills); and let's not even mention mobile telephony, which has a development record the envy of any such company in the region. However, the numerous accusations from two key PTK people, which appeared in the public arena recently, and the counter accusations from Communications Minister, reveals that three-letter acronym, PTK, could also be read: Kosovo's Transparent Problems. While in the case of KEK, we have to deal with a serious situation because of failures, one after another, at PTK, the problems derive from the management itself and from a contract signed with a foreign company.

As we said before, words spoken in public about the PTK management are serious accusations that cannot be undone with a resignation or a dismissal, but with legal and court action. If Kosovo was damaged by tens of millions of euros, then somebody has to bear legal responsibility for this. Reciprocally, if everything is all right, then it turns out the accusations were serious slanders, which also require a legal response.

It seems the time has come for UNMIK and the Kosovo Assembly to establish a special commission to investigate the situation at PTK.

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Delays and lack of transparency in the work of KTA (Koha Ditore)

As part of its economic supplement, Koha Ditore carries a commentary by Astrit Gashi on the work of the Kosovo Trust Agency (KTA). He notes that the KTA was established four months ago "but since then it has done very little toward announcing the first tender for the privatization of a socially owned enterprise. The work of the agency has been characterized with an obvious lack of transparency."

Gashi claims that the slow pace of the work of the KTA leaves room for doubt that the first tender will be announced late this year, as planned. Meanwhile, the agency hopes to compensate for lost time and is optimistic it will be able to keep its promises.

Koha Ditore quoted KTA spokeswoman Sarah Howell as saying that the agency was optimistic that the first enterprise would be privatized in the first quarter of next year.

Gashi claims that the only thing that KTA has done is to appoint a management board; and the director's post has remained empty ever since German expert Herbert Schmidt resigned, for health reasons, just a few days after he was appointed KTA director by SRSG Michael Steiner. "However, according to some sources, the German expert couldn't adapt to Kosovo," suggests Gashi.

He says the main obstacle is the failure to endorse operational policies and the privatization program, which must happen "before we can start the [privatization] process".

Quoting EU sources in Brussels, Koha Ditore reports that international experts have compiled operational policies and a 100-page document is expected to be endorsed by the KTA Board of Directors.

Gashi claims that the Board of Directors discussed operational policies in a meeting held last Monday behind closed doors; and no information was made public by Tuesday afternoon. "The fact that we are at mid-October and the regulation was endorsed four months ago, we can say that there have been delays," said Riinvest leader Muhamet Mustafa.

Koha Ditore also quoted Basri Jupolli, secretary general of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, as saying, "The approach to move with a slow pace is a wise step; nonetheless, there have been delays in compiling operational policies."

Gashi says that another worrying fact is the failure to keep the promise that the agency would be transparent in its work. Mustafa agrees: "We don't have any information on the content of these procedures because they are held within KTA circles. However, we hope…they will take into account numerous valuable suggestions offered by Kosovar and international experts".

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Serb deputies obstruct work of Kosovo Assembly (Kosova Sot)

Kosova Sot reported from yesterday's Kosovo Assembly meeting that two Coalition Povratak deputies did not participate in the meeting. They gave as the reason for their absence that the Assembly did not make available equal transport available for the other members and deputies. According to the chairmanship, it stands ready to fulfill this requirement, but it remains for UNMIK Police to resolve this problem after they receive the request in writing.

Kosova Sot reports that the assembly speaker, Nexhat Daci, reportedly said that no matter what the obstructions, no one, not even minority deputies, can present an obstacle to the progress of work.

The proposal of the speaker and the prime minister for the recently nominated government permanent secretary, Mehmet Hajrizi, to participate at the chairmanship meetings, as well as for the assembly secretary, Isuf Demaj, to participate at government meetings was approved. This decision was made in order to intensify cooperation between the legislative and executive branches of the assembly.

Kosovo Assembly Chairmanship appealed for maximal engagement by all the deputies in order to hasten the ratification procedure. Hydajet Hyseni and Bajram Kosumi reportedly said they were struggling to increase cooperation with the government on drafting laws, but that Serb deputies were clearly obstructing the work.

Belgrade wants changes in the Constitutional Framework! (Zëri)

Zëri claimed yesterday to have secured the original document for "the decentralization of Kosovo" that Nebojsa Covic sent to SRSG Michael Steiner. Yesterday the daily paper published what it called "the most interesting part of the document", The basis of the political platform for democratic decentralization in Kosovo and Metohia and strengthening of self-government for local, national and regional communities.

Today, under the headline Belgrade wants changes in the Constitutional Framework, Zëri published the remainder of the document, which it claims it acquired via diplomatic channels.

Two EU deputies present two different solutions for Kosovo (Kosova Sot/24 Orë)

Kosova Sot and 24 Orë report that two European Parliament deputies, Suladakis from Greece and Lagendajk from the Netherlands, presented two different resolutions on Kosovo's status. Lagendajk proposed a team of senior experts to discuss the most suitable and acceptable status for all in Kosovo, without excluding any option, from the return of Kosovo to Yugoslavia to full independence for Kosovo.

Greek deputy Suladakis, asked for Kosovo's status to be resolved without any change of borders and based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

Both deputies were convinced that work on Kosovo's final status should start now; otherwise, mistakes from the past would be repeated. Lagendajk suggested that Kosovo's status be resolved step by step.

One of the two resolutions is expected to be approved soon at a European Parliament plenary session, report Kosova Sot and 24 Orë.

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Nowizki: Issue of shelter is a critical problem in Mitrovica (Kosova Sot)

Kosovo Ombudsperson Marek Antoni Nowizki visited Mitrovica on Tuesday to review the complaints of citizens regarding human rights violations, Kosova Sot reported.

"People mainly focused on presenting the issue of shelter, which is quite a critical problem here," he said, adding that people living in southern Mitrovica were anxiously waiting to return to their homes in the northern part of town.

Nowizki pointed to the case of an Albanian from the village of Suhodoll, who isn't allowed by KFOR to build his house, even though he has all the required documents issued by the municipal administration. "If KFOR stops the construction, this leads to an absolutely unacceptable solution," he said.

Commenting on SRSG Michael Steiner's seven-point plan for Mitrovica, Nowizki said that any solution for Mitrovica should take into consideration complaints from people who "have an undisputed right to return to the north".

"I hope that Steiner's plan can open new perspectives to solve the Mitrovica problem; however, this is a political issue and the ombudsperson is not an official who can judge political issues. It is clear that the current situation cannot continue any longer. If Steiner's plan is implemented, it would make my work easier," he concluded.

Kosovo Campaign Coverage

All dailies report on the arrival of more the two million ballots for the 26 October municipal elections. Some of the papers attempt to give space to all entities and to respect campaign regulations; however, others report on the activities of certain entities, but choose for a headline a quotation from campaign speeches that place the entity in a bad light.

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK)
Dailies report on LDK rally in Malisheva/Malishevo, Therandë/Suva Reka and Rahovec/Orahovac. Bota Sot reports that President Rugova participated in these rallies. This daily quotes Rugova as saying that "independent and democratic Kosovo will soon be integrated into NATO and EU". 24 Orë quotes him as saying in Theranda/Suva Reka, "Wait and see the beautifications; in each village we will build city houses." Reporting on the LDK rally in Rahovec/Orahovac, the same daily says: "Architect Rugova say the "municipalities are doing all right". Koha Ditore reports on the same rallies, saying that "Rugova was activated to maintain LDK votes".

Kosova Democratic Party (PDK)
Dailies report on PDK rallies in Llap region and Vushtrri/Vuçitrn, Viti/Vitina, Deçan and Skenderaj/Srbica. Koha Ditore quotes Thaçi as saying, "We are not perfect, but we are the best", while Zëri quotes him as saying that "Kosovo and Llap are determined to change, because this is also what West wants". 24 Orë reports that PDK's Selmanaj criticized LDK for "a flood of announced tenders during the election campaign".

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Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK)
Dailies report on AAK rallies in Prizren, Lipjan/Lipljane and Han të Elezit/ General Jankovic. Haradinaj reportedly said that minorities and the international community should respect KLA values. "If this respect is absent, it would be difficult for the Kosovo population to behave respectfully towards others," he said for Koha Ditore.

Kosovo Social-Democratic Party (PSDK)
PSDK launched its election campaign in Theranda/Suva Reka. 24 Orë reports that PSDK leader Kaqusha Jashari said to supporters: "It is not a coincidence that we have chosen Duhlë today, because our party will soon start to complete the project for rebuilding Duhël-Malishevë-Kijevë road."

Kosovo Liberal Party (PLK)
Bota Sot reports that PLK has released a communiqué threatening to stop its campaign, because "some media in Kosovo openly support their preferred entity, and sometimes one gets the impression that the journalists are candidates for mayor themselves".

Belgrade Media Update

Kostunica to meet Kosovo Serb representatives (B92)
Political representatives of the Kosovo Serbs are due to meet with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and discuss the issue of the Serb national community's participation in the municipal elections in Kosovo, scheduled for October 26.

KP caucus whip Rada Trjakovic confirmed that the meeting would take place and announced that along with Serb AMs, the SNC of Kosovo and Metohija and northern Kosovo representatives would also participate in the meeting. Trajkovic reiterated that without the requested guarantees of the decentralization of Kosovo authority, Serbs would not "participate in the municipal elections".

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Steiner in Belgrade on Wednesday (Beta)
SRSG Michael Steiner is arriving in Belgrade on Wednesday where he is to meet with Serbian Patriarch Pavle, the CCK head Nebojsa Covic and EU Ambassadors. KP officials announced that Covic would not meet with Steiner "due to the late arrival of the invitation and his earlier scheduled obligations in southern Serbia and the scheduled municipal assembly session in Bujanovac." Serb AMs in the Kosovo Assembly added that Covic had proposed, in agreement with SRSG, to meet in Kosovska Mitrovica. Kosovo Serb political representatives protested against SRSG Steiner's announced visit to Belgrade just one day following the "murder" of the Serb woman, Svetlana Stankovic, in the village of Klokot. They said that Steiner's visit was "late in coming, since daily incidents in which Serbs are being killed in Kosovo point out that there is almost no way for Serbs to be persuaded to take part in the local elections."

I will not call on Serbs to participate in the upcoming elections, says Bishop Artemije (Beta)
The Bishop of Raska-Prizren Eparchy Artemije said that he would not call on Serbs to vote at the upcoming municipal elections in Kosovo, scheduled for October 26.

"We have not got a single reason in our hands to call on Serbs to go to the polls. Even if we would do it, I am pretty sure that people would not listen to us," the Bishop Artemije told Beta.

He assessed that he "would be despised and rejected by his people" if he would call on Serbs to participate in the elections.

"After everything that has happened - no safety, no freedom of movement, no returns of IDPs, the attack on Serbs in Pec, the stoning of the train and murdering of Serbs, I have to say that I would not dare call on anyone to participate in the elections," said Artemije.

According to his words, political representatives of Kosovo Serbs are only, at this point, a "scenery" in the Kosovo Assembly, as so far not a single of their initiatives has not been introduced in the Assembly's procedure.

"Work of the interim institutions has been directed in only one direction - towards an independent Kosovo, which is directly opposed to the interest of the Serbian people," the Bishop Artemije stated.

Kosovo model envisaged by Steiner and UN is only a facade for independence, says Djindjic (Vecernje Novosti)
Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic has assessed that it is difficult to accomplish the model of a multi-ethnic Kosovo as now envisaged by SRSG Michael Steiner, according to the UN project. "I think this model is only a façade for independence, which is, in my opinion, a very bad option," Djindjic said in an interview to Vecernje Novosti. "A project on something that had not been achieved either in Bosnia or in Macedonia or some other places should be applied in the most difficult region of Europe, that Kosovo certainly is. This is totally illogical. I am for entire Europe to be multi-ethnic, but let's do this where it is easier and less painful, and not experiment where it is most difficult," said the prime minister.

Djindjic stated "he was trying to persuade his collocutors from the international community that Serbs needed their national institutions in Kosovo, either through local self-government or some other amendment in a constitutional arrangement. Without some safe guarantees, Serbs will not return to Kosovo. They don't need stories that they will be protected as citizens because they are not attacked as citizens but as Serbs," said Djindjic. According to him, "the latest incidents that are very dramatic, point to the need of revising the project on a multi-ethnic Kosovo." "The biggest opponents of this project on multi-ethnicity are not the Serbs but the Albanians," concluded Djindjic.

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Kostunica to meet Kosovo Serb political leaders at 8pm (SRNA)
The cabinet of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica has scheduled a meeting with the political leaders of Kosovo Serbs for 8 pm tonight. Official invitations have been sent to Milan Ivanovic, the President of the SNC of northern Kosovo, to the Bishop of Raska-Prizren Eparchy Artemije, to KP representatives and leaders of the Serb political parties. The invitation has not been sent to the SPOT leader Momcilo Trajkovic. It is expected that Kosovo Serb leaders would approach with a unified standpoint that there are no conditions for Serb participation in the municipal elections. The Serbian Orthodox Church is also expected to give its official stance on the issue upon his Holiness Patriarch Pavle meeting with the chief of UNMIK Michael Steiner.

Regional Update
Macedonia

BDI insists on Foreign Ministry
A source within BDI said that party officials are insistent that they receive the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while LSDM has not agreed to this demand. LSDM officials say that Branko Crvenkovski, who has the mandate to form the new Macedonian government, has said he will be involved in talks only "when certain names are given for the ministerial posts," reports Koha Ditore and Zëri.

Trajkovski doesn't want EU troops, he wants NATO
Macedonia believes that NATO military presence will be limited next year, there will only be troops guarding the state borders, which will be coordinated with a brigade of border police to be formed soon. Members of the special police troops, the "Lions", will make up the bulk of the new unit, according to President Trajkovski, reports Koha Ditore.

EU welcomes negotiations between WTO and Macedonia
After successful negotiations between World Trade Organization and Macedonia, it remains for Macedonia to develop the regular procedure for membership that should be accomplished by end of April 2003, reports Zëri.

Masked Macedonians maltreat Albanian pupils
Masked person abducted leaders of the Lehtësimi student association, Faton Kryeziu, Rexhep Smahajli and Agim Ismaili, reports Koha Ditore and Zëri. They were reportedly physically maltreated and the letter "L" was carved with knives on their bodies.

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