CONTENTS

· HILL: RESOLUTION 1244 TO BE AUTOMATICALLY EXTENDED
· FRY DELIVERS MEMORANDUM TO SECRETARY-GENERAL ANNAN
· SKOPJE AND BELGRADE RESUME BORDER TALKS
· NEW CLASHES IN PRESEVO VALLEY
· ELECTIONS IN UPSUP – WHAT IS DEMOCRACY IN KOSOVO?
· KOSOVO CANNOT BE IN THE "FRY" - EITHER WITH MILOSEVIC OR AFTER HIM
· QUASI-DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS

HILL: RESOLUTION 1244 TO BE AUTOMATICALLY EXTENDED

Christopher Hill, advisor on Balkans to President Clinton in the National Security Council, in an interview with the Belgrade-based daily Danas, said that the mandate of KFOR and UNMIK in Kosovo, stipulated by the UN Security Council resolution 1244, will be automatically extended after 10 June, reported Rilindja on page two. Hill explained that for any amendments or changes to this document a new resolution is needed, which practically means the compliance of all the permanent members of thle UN Security Council. "In this way, the speculation in some Belgrade circles that another Security Council decision is required to extend the international civil and military presence in Kosovo, is wrong and tendentious. This is only propaganda meant to cheat the public. Resolution 1244 doesn't have a time-limit and it will be extended in the future, automatically," added Hill.

Hill reportedly said that Resolution 1244 represents the platform to develop relevant institutions in Kosovo, but added that it is in itself inadequate and insufficient to achieve this. Hill added that, among other things, elections scheduled for autumn and an interim constitution about which institutions in Kosovo would be established in the interim period, were needed. "I am stressing the word interim, because this constitution will not resolve the final status of Kosovo. But it will decide on the future institutions. I think that work has to be speeded up on these things, especially to determine the status of and the way to protect the Serbs, Romas and other minorities in Kosovo," said Hill.

FRY DELIVERS MEMORANDUM TO SECRETARY-GENERAL ANNAN

The government of "FRY" has delivered a memorandum to the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, protesting the non-implementation of the UN Security Council resolution 1244, reported Koha Ditore on page three.

The memorandum points out that it is the fifth time that the UN is being warned about the dramatic situation in Kosovo, since the deployment of UN Mission and it requested that this document be included in the official documents of the Security Council.

The report said that together with the memorandum, the UN Secretary-General Annan was given a letter from the head of the "FRY" mission to the UN, regarding the report of the UN Security Council delegation, which recently visited Kosovo.

SKOPJE AND BELGRADE RESUME BORDER TALKS

 The joint diplomatic and experts commission for confirmation of the border between the Republic of Macedonia and FR of Yugoslavia, held its tenth meeting yesterday in Skopje, reported Rilindja on page three, under the headline "Territorial pretensions on Kosovo continue". Viktor Dimovski, the Macedonian Deputy Foreign Minister, and Radomir Bogdanovic, an Ambassador at the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry, led the delegations, while the meeting reportedly focused on reviewing the work of the commission since it was established on 2 September 1996. Quoting the Macedonian state news agency MIA, the eleventh meeting of the commission will be held in Belgrade.

 The paper recalled that Macedonia and Serbia have territorial differences over areas in the region of Prohor-Pcinjski monastery. It added that they have other differences too, in areas falling in the Macedonia-Kosovo border at a place called Kodra e Furrës near the village of Tanishevc and in the border triangle of Macedonia-Kosovo-Albania, which the Macedonian authorities say is inhabited by Gorans. The Macedonians have reportedly made claims to this region, known as Restelica. It was noted that in this area recently there was a conflict between the Macedonian forces and the Kosovo Protection Corps, in which KFOR had to intervene.

 The Serbs and the Macedonians are continuing a dangerous game over a part of the border between Macedonia and Kosovo and forgetting that Kosovo even now, under the international protectorate and with a UN civil administration, is capable of defending its borders, continued the paper. No one, therefore, including the Macedonians, can give to Serbia and Belgrade the sovereignty over Kosovo, it was added.

 The paper concluded its report by saying that while the Macedonian institutions and associations have laid claims to Kosovo territory because of the presence of some 12,000 Gorans or Macedonian Muslims, as they refer to them, they forget the fact that more than 600,000 Albanians live in Macedonia.

 Zëri on page three carried an article headlined "Scandalous actions of the Government of Macedonia", which raised the question: What is Macedonia doing with Kosovo borders? It was said that this question has been raised following reports about the meeting held in Skopje between the Macedonian and FRY officials and the latest provocations of the border patrols of the Macedonian Army in the area of Sharr Mountains.

 The paper pointed out that the border between Macedonia and Kosovo in the Sharr Mountains, comprising 7607 hectares, has been a source of problems since the disintegration of former Yugoslavia. Until 1996, Belgrade and Skopje had apparent disagreements, as seen in the border incidents in the Sharr area and near Kumanovo. General Telefsen, UNPROFOR Commander, had to intervene at the time in order to calm the situation and to establish a status quo at the border. Further, American units - 700 to 800 troops, were deployed near the border between Macedonia and Macedonia in 1993.

 But the situation in Kosovo has changed essentially since 10 June 1998 when UNMIK and KFOR took over civil and military administration in Kosovo, continued the paper. It added that a careful reading of the UN Security Council resolution 1244 and the military-technical agreement of Kumanovo, shows that FRY has accepted an unlimited international administration on Kosovo. If the regime in Belgrade could try to bypass the obligations from the agreement and conditions imposed by the resolution, the actions of Skopje cannot be called anything other than scandalous and a clear provocation to the international community, noted the paper.

 Saying that the Government of Macedonia cannot negotiate with Belgrade on changing the borders of Kosovo, the paper added that the same government has expressed its disagreement with many actions of UNMIK, among others, the decision to issue travel document to Kosovo citizens. According to the paper, in this way, Skopje is continuing its ambiguous policy: on the one side, it intends to become part of the West, and on the other side, it doesn't hide its affinity with Belgrade.

 The paper concluded by saying that it is necessary for UNMIK, the Interim Administrative Council and the Kosovo Transitional Council, to react clearly and decisively on such actions of the Government of Macedonia. The inviolability of Kosovo boundary has been emphasized in the Rambouillet Agreement, which was empowered by the UN Security Council resolution 1244, it was noted.

 NEW CLASHES IN PRESEVO VALLEY

 In the villages of Carr and Pribovc in the municipality of Bujanovac, situated near the administrative boundary Kosovo-Serbia, there was an exchange of fire between the people of these villages and Serb policemen and gangs, reported Zëri on page two. Quoting Gani Shaqiri, chairman of the Association of the Expelled People from Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, this exchange lasted for more than an hour and started after the Serbs tried to enter the village of Carr. There are people still living in this village, while Pribovc is empty of its residents, because of the Serb violence. It was added that no casualties were reported among the locals.

 The paper said that the attack on these villages and the discovery of a corpse with its hands tied behind its back has created panic among the remaining residents of these areas. Therefore, the Association has called on the international community to undertake measures to prevent such actions of the Serb authorities.

ELECTIONS IN UPSUP – WHAT IS DEMOCRACY IN KOSOVO?

 Ilir Syla, a student of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, was elected chairman of the Independent Students Union of Prishtina University (UPSUP) with 2,802 votes or 75.76 percent, it was announced by Xhevat Bajrami, chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), at a press briefing, reported Koha Ditore on page five. Bajrami termed the election as free, transparent and democratic. However, the paper pointed out that the OSCE representative, Richard Chambers, had declared the elections invalid, saying that the OSCE position on these elections would be conveyed to UNMIK, which will take the final decision.

According to the CEC, there were 3,708 students who voted in the elections. Another candidate, Arben Fetoshi, a student of the Law Faculty, got 770 or 20.76 percent of the votes. The paper said that the OSCE and the ESIB were observers for the elections and were present along with the CEC during the opening of the boxes and counting of votes.

At the press briefing, the CEC representatives said that it was their duty to confirm the legitimacy of the elections. In this regard, Driton Lajçi, former chairman of the UPSUP, said that the attitude of Chambers was not realistic and it was an individual opinion, announced even before the results of the elections were published. “This whole thing has a personal colour to it,” said Lajçi. Referring to Chambers’ statement that the CEC failed to implement the OSCE suggestions, he added that they were surprised with Chambers report because he had participated in the whole process and all the OSCE suggestions were accepted.

Regarding to the resignation of a CEC member a few hours before the elections, Bajrami was reported to have said that it was unreasonable. He termed as a personal decision, the withdrawal of three candidates for the post of chairman. Commenting on the accusations that the electoral silence was violated, Bajrami said that the accusations had no legal basis.

Harri Hiekkanen, the ESIB representative, said that he still hadn't presented his report to his organization, saying that he had many complaints about the technical part of the polling, meaning thereby that many things could have been done better and the organization could have been improved. But, he said, he was happy to participate in the process and see how it went. Asked if Hiekkanen considered the elections as valid, journalists received an answer from Lajçi, who didn't allow the ESIB representative to answer. Lajci said that Hiekkanen had stated that he was satisfied by his participation in the elections.

Asked what if UNMIK declares the elections irregular, the paper said that the journalists got a “poor” response from Lajçi, who said that they met with Daxner and he expressed his satisfaction at the holding of the elections. So, Lajçi tried to convince the participants that the ESIB and the international administration were well satisfied, noted the paper.

However, the paper added that neither of these organizations had said until now whether they were satisfied with the process of elections. It was noted that the international bodies have only said that they were satisfied that the elections had been held and that they had the opportunity to observe it, whereas the OSCE had stated that the elections were open to abuse and manipulations. The paper recalled that the OSCE representative said he would work closely with UNMIK in order to make a constructive decision on this issue.

The paper said that Lajçi, without hiding his anger with the OSCE views, accused the international bodies of not being functional and said they could not expect "elections as in England or Germany". He added that "there were terrible things happening under the noses of the internationals personnel and if the OSCE was asking for more order then it should have created an atmosphere of security and stability in Kosovo". Lajçi also said that that there were “political reasons” behind this.

The paper said that even though the CEC considers the results of the elections to be legal, it was up to UNMIK to make the final decision and as for the ESIB, it depends on its representative when to give the report.

The paper said that the CEC announced the results regardless of the fact that the local committees of five faculties of the Prishtina University (High School of Economics, the Faculty of Agriculture, the Faculty of Physical Culture, the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Philosophy) boycotted the elections and would hold it again. He didn't explain how these elections could have been announced without the results from these election centers.

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ANNEX 1 - transcript of the reaction of Mahmut Bakalli, a former Kosovo communist leader, on the interview of SRSG Kouchner with Newsweek, Koha Ditore, p. 10

KOSOVO CANNOT BE IN THE "FRY" - EITHER WITH MILOSEVIC OR AFTER HIM

I read the interview of Dr. Bernard Kouchner with the American paper Newsweek, also published in Koha Ditore of May 12, regarding the future status of Kosovo, in which Dr. Kouchner prejudges the future status of Kosovo as "substantial autonomy"?! I feel the need to comment on this, not only because I formulated the ideas that gave autonomy to Kosovo, but also to emphasize that the orientation for the future of Kosovo as autonomous is wrong and it doesn’t solve either the issue of Kosovo or that of stability in Balkans. On the contrary, it can lead to new conflicts in the region, because it is deeply in conflict with the aims and the will of the Albanian people of Kosovo, who will see any kind of autonomy as slavery and they are no longer willing to endure slavery.

Dr. Kouchner seems to have the impression that a large number of people in Kosovo think that they were better off during the time they had autonomy based on the Constitution of 1974 and that "those were good times". But it would be wrong to think that the Albanian people want that kind of autonomy, because even that autonomy was only a step (important but not definitive) towards making Kosovo independent from from Serbian rule. This was and will be the aim of the Albanians of Kosovo. Therefore, autonomy was a matter of the past but not for our future. I know how difficult it was to get away from Serbia's jurisdiction.

I am one of the creators of the 1974 autonomy and its implementation in Kosovo and the former Yugoslavia. That autonomy, however successful it had been, although it was out of Serbia's state competencies, was only a step towards the independence of Kosovo, and not a permanent solution, depending on the development and the fate of former Yugoslavia, of which Kosovo was a part as well. That Yugoslavia disintegrated. And it disintegrated due to Serbia's hegemonic aspirations to rule all of Yugoslavia after Tito's death or to create a Greater Serbia. Due to this, Milosevic started wars and bloodshed in Yugoslavia but lost every war and created a ghost - the "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia". Is it worthwhile for the international community to believe in this ghost and to respect its integrity?

With Yugoslavia's disintegration, the issue of Kosovo remained unsolved and Milosevic abolished the autonomy it had and established Serbia's rule, the draconian rule of apartheid against the Albanians. From autonomy you either move on to independence or it should completely disappear. Milosevic violently abolished Kosovo's autonomy with the intention of extinguishing the people's will for independence, but he ran into the resistance of the Albanian people. The Milosevic regime used violence and macabre crimes to break the resistance of the Albanian people and did all that happened in Kosovo. It would be a fatal historical mistake that in solving the issue of Kosovo and Balkans, autonomy is given once again. This would mean repeating the negative and tragic events of the past, instead of learning lessons from them and not repeating them. The freedom-loving Albanian people, who want independence of Kosovo, were not broken either with Milosevic's violence or with his crimes, and they will not be broken with nebulous formulations and diplomatic games. The aim and the will of the Albanian people must be appraised, supported and acknowledged.

"The substantial autonomy" can have a meaning only in the transitional stage leading to the independence of Kosovo, with the help and the presence of the international community in that transitional stage. But neither the "substantial autonomy" nor any kind of autonomy under Serbia or "Yugoslavia", therefore not even the autonomy we once had, which was abolished by Milosevic, can be solutions to the permanent status of Kosovo, either with Milosevic or after him. Democratic political forces in Serbia and Montenegro, if they are truly democratic, must support (and not impede) this unavoidable process of Kosovo becoming independent, to avoid future conflicts and to create trust, good neighbourhliness and cooperation in the future. The new political reality - after the mass crimes of Serbia against the Albanians, after the resistance and the fight of the Albanian people, before and after NATO's intervention in Kosovo, can only lead Kosovo towards independence, and not towards any kind of autonomy and not to "substantial autonomy". You can name that transitional stage towards independence anyway you want, even "substantial autonomy" if you want, but in no way under Serbia's jurisdiction. Therefore, it will not be under the jurisdiction of the "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (as an illegitimate creation of Milosevic's regime) and will only be as a transitional stage towards the independence of Kosovo.

The resistance, the victims of this resistance and the fight of the Albanian people, NATO's successful intervention, the engagement of the U.S. and the European countries in Kosovo has created conducive conditions for implementing the democratic aspirations of the Albanian people for the independence of Kosovo. Even the UN Security Council resolution 1244 gives a leeway for the independence of Kosovo in the future, after a transitional stage, in which we in Kosovo along with UNMIK led by Dr. Kouchner, would create democratic state institutions, civil society, co-existence and interethnic tolerance. The sooner we do this, the better it will be for us, for peace and stability in the region and for the international community.    

ANNEX 2 - transcript of a column by Shkëlzen Maliqi on the elections in the Students Union of Prishtina University, Zëri, p.7

QUASI-DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS

 If the elections for the chairman of the Independent Students Union were the first test and a preview of the future process of establishing democratic institutions in Kosovo, there were no encouraging elements in them. On the contrary, there were number of irregularities and manipulations in these elections, motivated by the fight for power between the student groups, which acted as fronts for various political forces. Some leaders wanted the UPSUP to move to another political orientation. It can be said that the student elections were a clash between the "Thaçists" and "Rugovists" and the Thaçists were triumphant. The reason why Thaçists were triumphant was simple: they previously controlled the organization and the entire process of preparation and formulating rules and voting itself, by not allowing their opponents to participate in it. Their opponents, in any case, failed to come up on a joint platform or a candidate or an alternative strategy.

Everything that happened in the elections from the boycott by some faculties (the Faculty of Agriculture and the Faculty of Physical Culture) to the fact that only a small number of students participated in it (only 20 per cent) to the withdrawal of three candidates a day before the elections and other procedural mistakes, showed that the old system of controlled elections remains unchanged. In this system the one who organizes the elections creates the conditions to win. For example, what the LDK did with the elections of 1992 and 1998, when it won a convincing victory as it had gained full control in preparing and holding the elections, has now been repeated at the level of the student organizations. But with a the opposite result in that this time the LDK activists were disorientated by the fact that their opponents now controlled the electoral process.

If we take the concept of orchestrated elections as a legitimate model to fight for power in quasi-democratic conditions, the results of elections for the UPSUP chairman can be considered legitimate. The votes went where they had to and if the other groups didn’t unite and couldn’t mobilize the majority of the students to vote for the their candidate, who is to blame for this?

The problem is not with the elections but in the concept of the student organization, which is still understood as an ideological organization, in which the leadership must control the amorphous mass. Earlier, during communist times, the student organization was controlled by the communist vanguard, while in the period of resistance and transition, populists and nationalists, who controlled it and considered the leadership of the student organization as an important part of the national movement, took over the role of the vanguard. The students and their organizations everywhere and not just in Kosovo, often play the role of catalysts of revolutions and political and social changes.

 Even though the latest elections were called the first democratic elections, I would nevertheless insist that they were quasi-democratic elections and let us hope the last of their kind. One of the consequences of the UPSUP's ideological rule will be the splintering of the student organization. If this is the will of a large number of students, who could stop them from doing so? The same way we have political parties with two wings, we are going to have factions of the student organization.

But the great success of these elections is what the others consider as a failure: the boycott of the elections and the non-participation of eighty per cent of the students. It cannot be simply said that this majority didn’t show interest in the elections, but that it was against politicizing the elections along ideological lines. The democratic conscience of the students is to be seen in the silent majority that resisted the manipulations rather than those who fought for power and not for defending the interests of the students.