02 September 2003

CONTENTS

· Holkeri to present his proposals for dialogue to Contact Group (Zëri)
· Kosovar leaders condemn attack in Cërnica (all dailies)
· Covic: Continuation of violence and terrorist acts in Kosovo (Zëri)
· Daci: Kosovars should listen better to minority problems (Koha Ditore)
· Holkeri: Kosovo should learn from the innocence of children (all dailies)
· Cërnica strengthens the call for handover of weapons (Koha Ditore)
· Shala: The third amnesty (Zëri)
· Burzan: Montenegro won’t participate in dialogue on Kosovo issue (Koha)
· Albanian Parliament adopts resolution in support of Kosovo (Zëri)
· Serbian officials accuse KEK of stealing electricity (Koha Ditore)
· ADI hasn’t paid the money, KTA doesn’t respect deadlines (Koha Ditore)
· Editorial: Stop the downhill slide (Zëri)
· Franko Egro: Serbia’s image (Koha Ditore)

Kosovo Media Highlights

Holkeri to present his proposals for start of dialogue to Contact Group (Zëri)
Citing information provided by UNMIK spokesperson Sunil Narula, Zëri reports that SRSG Harri Holkeri is to participate in the meeting of the Contact Group, to be held in Moscow on 4 September, where will the current situation in Kosovo will be discussed.

Zëri cites international sources in Prishtina as saying that they expect the SRSG to present his proposals for start of dialogue to the Contact Group.

Kosovar leaders condemn attack in Cërnica (all dailies)
All dailies carry reactions from Kosovar and international leaders to the bomb attack in Cërnica on Sunday night. As a result of the attack, a Serb has died and four others have been injured.

SRSG Holkeri: This is a deplorable act and stains Kosovo’s image in the world.

President Ibrahim Rugova: These explosions are directed against the citizens of Kosovo and ruin the image of our country.

Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi: Despite the growing level of security, violent incidents cause an intolerable situation for Kosovar citizens.

PDK leader Hashim Thaçi: Such acts are creating a negative image of Kosovo and they are carried out by individuals and circles that do not wish Kosovo and its citizens well.

Covic: A continuation of violence and terrorist acts in Kosovo (Zëri)
Zëri reports that Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic said yesterday that armed attack against Serbs in Cërnica is a continuation of violence and terrorist acts in Kosovo. ‘I am certain that the new UN representative in Kosovo, Harri Holkeri, is the person who will do everything to bring the perpetrators to justice,’ he added.

Daci: Kosovars should listen better to minority problems (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that Kosovo Assembly speaker Nexhat Daci, together with municipal representatives in Obilic, have inaugurated a multiethnic market in this municipality. The project was financed by the Canadian organization, Canada SIDA, in cooperation with several NGOs and the Norwegian KFOR.

Daci highly evaluated the work of municipal officials in Obilic and said that the opening of the market was a step towards interethnic cooperation. Daci also advised Kosovar Albanians to listen better to the problems of minorities in Kosovo.

Holkeri: Kosovo should learn from the innocence of children (all dailies)
All dailies report that SRSG Harri Holkeri and Education Minister Rexhep Osmani attended the inauguration of the Bajram Curri Elementary School in Sllatina village in the municipality of Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje.

‘Children are the future of Kosovo. Let Kosovo’s children learn in their innocence and let them be educated in the values of tolerance and democracy that are the foundations of a free society,’ said SRSG Holkeri. [more in Media Analysis]

Cërnica strengthens the call for handover of weapons (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore suggests that the killing of a Kosovo Serb and the wounding of five others in Cërnica near Gjilan/Gnjilane is another strong reason for SRSG Holkeri to call on Kosovars on Monday to handover their illegal weapons during the one-month amnesty that begins on September 1.

Holkeri said that the incident in Cërnica brought home to everyone the urgency to get rid of illegal weapons, while ComKFOR General Fabio Mini appealed to Kosovars to change their mentality on the matter of weapons.

Koha Ditore also quotes PM Bajram Rexhepi as saying that he promises he would back all fines after September 30.

Shala: The third amnesty (Zëri)
‘In theory everything seems OK. Illegal weapons should not be in the hands of the citizens. The presence of KFOR, UNMIK Police, KPS and KPC, including the presence of Kosovar institutions and the international administration, should create the necessary circumstances when one shouldn’t even have to think about what to do with illegal weapons. But, unfortunately, this impression belongs more to theory than reality in Kosovo. Four years after the war in Kosovo, the big question surrounding the future status of Kosovo and the minor questions related to the failure to solve major crimes in the post-war period create suspicions about the current process in Kosovo. For this reason, we fear that this time too the amnesty will produce only symbolic results,’ writes Blerim Shala in an editorial for Zëri.

Burzan: Montenegro won’t participate in dialogue on Kosovo issue (Koha)
Koha Ditore cites the Montenegrin Minister of Internal Affairs Dragisa Burzan as saying that Montenegro will not participate in the solution of the issue of Kosovo, but that, like other countries in the region, it also cannot act in an isolated manner.

During an interview for a Podgorica-based newspaper, Burzan said that Montenegro wouldn’t impose any options on Prishtina and Belgrade, but would try to encourage dialogue between the two.

Albanian Parliament adopts resolution in support of Kosovo (Zëri)
Zëri claims that after learning about the declaration for Kosovo adopted by the Serbian Parliament, the Albanian Parliament is supporting the politics ran by its Kosovar counterparts.

The paper reports that the Albanian Parliament also adopted a resolution on Kosovo. ‘These failed Serb nationalist policies are the same as the violent processes during the dissolution of the Yugoslav Federation in the last decade, and they seriously endanger the stability of the entire region,’ reads the statement.

Serbian officials accuse KEK of stealing electricity (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that Betty Dawson, spokeswoman for the Kosovo Power Corporation (KEK), has denied speculations by the Serbian Power Corporation that Kosovo was being supplied with electricity from Serbia in an unauthorized way. ‘KEK has no need to steal electricity from anyone,’ Dawson was quoted as saying. [more in Afternoon Media Analysis]

ADI hasn’t paid the money, KTA doesn’t respect deadlines (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that on Wednesday, the Kosovo Trust Agency will launch the bidding for 18 socially owned enterprises that are in the tender for privatization. The paper said that ‘as of Monday, the KTA was not able to find a solution on how to act with the six enterprises that were sold in the first tender’.

Koha Ditore also claims that KTA chief Jurgen Mendrizki is still hesitating to sign contracts with the purchasers of the socially owned enterprises in Kosovo. The company from Albania still hasn’t paid the money for the factory in Skënderaj. ‘The arrival of the new UNMIK Pillar IV chief could remove all the dilemmas,’ added the paper. [extensive coverage in Media Analysis]

Editorial: Stop the downhill slide (Zëri)
An opinion piece by the editorial office of Zëri asks whether UNMIK should change its concept about security and what local authorities can do in this regard. ‘UNMIK should understand that the concept of managing security in Kosovo so far has not produced the desired results, and that the subordinate relations with local structures (KPS and the Kosovo Government) should be replaced with partnership relations and with the creation of new mechanisms, which could be used to solve and prevent crime,’ it was noted. [full translation in Media Analysis]

Franko Egro: Serbia’s image (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore carries an opinion piece by analyst Franko Egro, who writes: ‘Regardless of the fact that in the international plan, Serbia is doing what the conductors of the continental policy want to see, in its internal affairs the country looks more like a sick man that cannot stand on his own two feet.’

Kosovo Press Headlines

Koha Ditore

Front page
· Vaksinca under siege, AKSH requires withdrawal of military [Macedonia]
· ADI Company did not pay, KTA does not respect deadlines
· SBASHK and Ministry of Education in game of percentages
· Surroi: How Naser lost his town
· Daci: Kosovars should listen better to minorities’ needs
· Cernica enforces demands to hand in weapons
· Coal miners’ ultimatum: We want to return to work

Other headlines
· Burzan: Montenegro will not participate in dialogue on Kosovo (2)
· Kaçanik: Salaries and undefined status, reason for strike (5)
· KEK has no reason to steal electricity (5)
· FTA with Albania cannot be implemented (5)
· KFOR begins action to compensate damages to citizens (7)
· Bomb scare in Prishtina (7)
· Killing of Sali Rexhmati results in harsh polemics in Albania (7)
· Gjilan: Hand in weapons, get an ambulance (7)
· September in Kosovo begins with strikes (8)
· Rahovec: First grape exhibition (9)
· Prizren: Consumers owe €1,300,000 (9)
· Rahovec: Intervention in 150 fields and mountains [fire fighting unit] (9)
· Bajrami: When fear defeats freedom (10)
· Egro: Serbia’s image (11)

Zëri

Front page
· Macedonia is at risk as in 2001
· One Serb dies, four are wounded
· Shala: Third amnesty
· Editorial: Stop downhill slide
· Holkeri will present proposals for dialogue to Contact Group
· KFOR/UNMIK are doing everything for safe environment in Kosovo
· General Wesley Clark is aiming for the White House

Other headlines
· Rugova: These explosions are against Kosovo’s citizens (2)
· Rexhepi and Holkeri: Attack in Cernica is unacceptable (2)
· Thaçi: These acts are creating negative image for Kosovo (2)
· Haradinaj: Citizens’ lives and property must be at risk (2)
· Covic: Continuation of violence and terrorist acts in Kosovo (3)
· FTA with Albania hasn’t begun to be implemented (3)
· Albanian Parliament adopts resolution on Kosovo (3)
· PM Rexhepi meets with French Liaison Office chief Garancher (4)
· Albanians evacuated from northern Macedonia (4)
· Daci inaugurates multi-ethnic market in Obilic (4)
· Tadic: Return of Serbian army means war with entire world (4)
· Serbian obstructions failed [southern Serbia] (4)
· Union: Strike begins, Ministry: Classes begin (5)
· Harri Holkeri: Kosovo to learn from children’s innocence (5)
· Strike is more attractive than classes (6)
· Partial strike in Prishtina (6)
· Rexhepi: Weapons in wrong hands cause killings, tragedy and sadness (8)
· Strikers’ demands: Return us to work [coal miners’ strike] (9)
· Kaçanik: Strikers demand salaries and definition of their status (9)
· Gjilan: Every place that hands in 150 weapons will get an ambulance (9)
· Two graves for Besim Paçarrizin (10)

Bota Sot

Front page
· Holkeri: Children are Kosovo’s future
· Strikes have partially confused classes
· Political slogans in Kosovo
· Bugbears of failed policy and servants of left wing in Kosovo
· Holkeri: Kosovo’s citizens should feel safe when handing in weapons
· Osmani: First day, partial strike, second day will have normal classes
· Return of Skenderbeu’s sword and Kadare’s books

Other headlines
· Lipjan: According to educational directorate schools worked (2)
· Garancher: It was my pleasure to work with reps of Kosovo institutions (3)
· Strikers demand to return to work [coal miners’ strike] (5)
· Municipal leaders should change mentality (6)
· Kosovo railway between modernization and total failure (7)
· Rugova condemns incident in Cernice (8)
· Holkeri, Mini and Rexhepi condemn explosions in Cernice (7)
· Serbian Security camp is operating in Vranje [Southern Serbia] (8)
· Baleta: Serbia leaves Albanians two choices, humiliation or no dialogue (9)
· People evacuated from Vaksinca and Llojani [Macedonia] (10)

Kosova Sot

Front page
· Minister Osmani: Teachers are under huge pressure from union leaders
· AKSH: We will act if forces don’t withdraw in 24 hour [Macedonia]
· Coal miners only demand to return to work
· Weapons in wrong hands cause tragedy
· Why are customs duties high?
· Explosion in Cernice kills one and wounds four Serbs
· Editorial: Who is assassinating Kosovo?

Other headlines
· Beginning of the school year in Prishtina (2)
· SBASHK: Teachers dismissed from work may escalate situation (2)
· Right of self-determination (3)
· German Institute: More engagement in Kosovo (3)
· Holkeri and Rexhepi condemn incident in Cernice (4)
· Rugova: These explosions are against Kosovo citizens (4)
· PDK: These acts create negative image of Kosovo (4)
· AAK: More work to find perpetrators (4)
· Covic: It seems that hunt for Serbs has begin (4)
· Towards good interethnic relations (5)
· Albanian residents evacuated [Macedonia] (5)
· Determination to diminish effects of the strike (6)
· Board is talking about results, student union prepares for strike (7)
· Commercial contracts (8)
· FTA between Kosovo and Albania begins (8)
· Italian KFOR leaves Ramiz Sadiku factory (8)
· How to organize management structure? (8)
· Holkeri: We should do more for Kosovo children (8)
· Healthcare services still have problems (10)

Epoka e Re

Front page
· Teachers are under pressure and blackmail
· Resolution in Albanian Parliament: Self-determination for Kosovo
· Demaçi: Rambouillet leaders should go
· Drenica supports Fatmir Limaj fund
· Five hundred coal miners begin strike
· Moral portrait of Idajet Beqiri, alias Alban Vjosa
· Kosovo’s status should be resolved as soon as possible
· Spiral of silence and public opinion
· Return of Meta [Albania]
· Former fighter makes accusations

Other headlines
· Extremists are out of control (2)
· Montenegro will not participate in Kosovo issue (3)
· Tadic: It is tragedy if we fight against the entire world (3)
· Commander Enver Hoxha: We are NLA and not AKSH (4)
· Kosovo should learn from the innocence of children (5)
· Fog over Cernica…(5)
· Rexhepi: Weapons amnesty begins (5)
· Strike divides teachers, SBASHK and Ministry exchange accusations (7)
· Teachers’ dismissal may escalate the strike (7)
· Garancher and Rexhepi exchange final compliments (9)
· Edi Rama promises further changes [Albania] (9)

Belgrade Media Highlights

· Milomir Savic from Cernica died (Danas)
· Holkeri denounces attack on Kosovo Serbs in Cernica (Politika/Tanjug)
· Covic: As if the hunt against Serbs had begun (Glas)
· UNDP program for arms surrender (Danas/Beta)
· Tadic: Sending soldiers to Kosovo would be a tragedy (Blic)
· Cammerhoff to replace Mini (Vecernje Novosti/Tanjug)
· International forums on Kosovo and Metohija (Vecernje Novosti)
· Pentagon generals support unrest (Balkan)
· SaM parliament to hold session on Kosovo (Politika/Tanjug)

Milomir Savic from Cernica died (Danas)
Milomir Savic (1968), seriously injured in an explosion in the village of Cernica near Gnjilane, died in the US hospital at the Bondsteel base, UNMIK spokesman Andrea Agnelli confirmed. Nobody in Cernica was able to confirm when the funeral of Milomir Savic will be held because the autopsy by the authorized service is awaited. There was immense disturbance among the Serbs in Cernica, especially because American soldiers within KFOR attempted to enter by force and search the house of the late Milomir Savic despite the large number of locals and relatives who had gathered to express their condolences to the family, the Information service of the Raska-Prizren Eparchy quotes Serb sources in Cernica. According to Milorad Todorovic, the Minister-Coordinator for returns in the Kosovo government who is from Cernica, Milomir Savic died because he was not given aid on time. ‘He literally bled on the ground because nobody had given him aid for 2 hours and 40 minutes. He left three children behind him. This is a horrible family tragedy. His sister was killed in 1999. His brother and parents have also been injured in similar attacks. He is the seventh Serb in Cernica to be killed since the arrival of the international mission,’ Todorovic told Danas.

Holkeri denounces attack at Kosovo Serbs in Cernica (Politika/Tanjug)
UNMIK Head Harri Holkeri strongly condemned the late Sunday attack at Kosovo Serbs in Cernica, near Gnjilane, when one Serb got killed, and four others wounded. ‘These are criminal acts which are directly aimed against the future of a multiethnic Kosovo, the new UNMIK head told the press in Pristina. Regarding the invitation to hand over illegal arms without legal punishment, Holkeri once again called on all citizens to hand over arms and stated that it did not serve for defense but was in most cases the cause of violence and crime.

Covic: As if the hunt against Serbs commenced (Glas)
The Head of the CCK Nebojsa Covic has assessed that this attack is the ‘continuation of violence and terrorist acts’ in the province. As if the hunt against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija has commenced,’ said Covic and expressed conviction that Holkeri would undertake everything in his power to bring to justice the perpetrators of such crimes.

UNDP program for arms surrender (Danas/Beta)
UNDP has launched a program entitled ‘Arms in exchange for development’ within which the first three Kosovo municipalities that collect most arms in UNMIK’s operation of handing over illegal arms will be awarded with $225.000 each. The UNDP program will support UNMIK’s one-month operation of collecting arms that are illegally owned.

Tadic: Sending soldiers to Kosovo would be a tragedy (Blic)
Sending soldiers of the SaM Army to Kosovo outside international legal documents and decisions would mean war with the entire world and a tragedy, SaM Defense Minister Boris Tadic stated. At a press conference on the occasion of the return of three SaM military officers from the peace mission in East Timor, Tadic said that UNSCR 1244 clearly specifies under which conditions SaM Army members can go to Kosovo and what they can do there. ‘Our policy is directed towards European integrations, partnership with the US, and this is a nightmare for extremist Albanian politicians in Kosovo. Therefore, if this is a nightmare for them, then it is an interest for us,’ said Tadic.

Cammerhoff to replace Mini (Vecernje Novosti/Tanjug)
Germany will take over the command over the international peacekeeping forces in Kosovo as of October, and it will be led by General Cammerhoff, the present commander of the European corps in Strasbourg, the German Defense Ministry told Tanjug. This will be Germany’s second command period, the first being from 1999 until 2000, when General Klaus Reinhardt was commanding the international forces in Kosovo.

International forums on Kosovo and Metohija (Vecernje Novosti)
According to still officially unconfirmed information from Moscow, the Contact Group meeting at the level of political directors of the foreign ministries where Kosovo and Metohija would be discussed should be held in Russia’s capital on 4 September. The elaboration for holding the gathering is that Kosovo, Macedonia and B-H are still ‘ dangerous potential sources of conflict.’ It is further stated that there has been frequently more criticism in the region of former Yugoslavia, but also among western analysts, concerning the past policy of the international community because it had led to the creation of a protectorate in the region, but not to lasting solutions.

Pentagon generals support unrest (Balkan)
The strategy of terrorist activities in Kosovo and southern Serbia has been worked out at the operative meeting that was held in Pristina on Sunday. The meeting was organized by Veton Suroi, while it was attended by leading Albanian politicians and commanders of terrorist structures, Balkan learned from well-informed sources on the events in Kosovo and Metohija. The creators of the ‘new strategy’ are former generals and retired high Pentagon officers, gathered in the private company MPRI that had offered its services on the territory of the former SFRY during the war. The strategy of the former Pentagon generals is not based exclusively on the region of Kosovo and Metohija, but also on Serbia’s south, claimed by the Albanians. The essence of their strategy, which has been accepted at the meeting of the Albanian leading structures, is contained in the continuation and deepening of unrests that had spread over Kosovo and Serbia’s south several weeks ago. They recommend that incidents and murders of Serbs continue until violence becomes constant, more precisely, a daily thing.

SaM parliament to hold session on Kosovo (Politika/Tanjug)
DSS caucus whip in the SaM parliament Zoran Sami expressed expectation that the parliament would hold a session on Kosovo and Metohija during the week. Sami told a press conference he expected that SaM parliament speaker Dragoljub Micunovic would keep his promise and discuss the situation in Kosovo during the session.