020403
NO MORE PARALLEL STRUCTURE IN STRPCE
(Hysni Recica)
Hello and
welcome to this edition of UNMIK on air with Luan Qorraj and Martin Redi.
Until
recently there was a very peculiar situation in the southernmost Serbian
enclave of Strpce. Inside UNMIK’s building, on three different floors, could be
found three different administrations: UNMIK, elected municipal officials, and
unelected officials who answered to Belgrade and claimed to represent the
municipality. These last – the so-called parallel municipality – caused
something of an embarrassment to UNMIK. And it seems the profusion of
municipalities left the population rather confused.
VOX-POP: How do I feel? I feel bad. Until now we trusted one authority; now
another structure creates, I do not know anything now.
Now, though, the parallel
municipality has gone, told to leave by UNMIK and KFOR. They left quietly, but
they haven’t left town: they’ve moved just down the road, where they still
issue such documents as passports and birth certificates for the Serbs, who are
isolated from Belgrade. But they are no longer the illegal parallel institution
they were, says UNMIK official Charles Messier.
Charles
Messier: Nothing to compare to what we had
before when they were giving the same services that the municipality was
providing; we are talking about building permit, tax inspector now they do not
do that anymore. The documents they issue now belong to the government of
Serbia and we cannot stop that. We do not call that a parallel municipality. We
are working now with the formal structure that we were supposed to for many
years.
Strpce has been a
municipal oddity for years. Though Serbs two thirds of the electorate,
according to OSCE, they boycotted the first municipal elections. The Albanians
who were elected as a result had to be brought to work by armed soldiers,
leading to riots in the streets. In the last elections the Serbs did vote, and
now have the majority in the Assembly. Strpce Mayor Sladjan Ilic, himself
petitioned Belgrade to get the Serbs in the parallel structure removed.
Sladjan
Ilic: When it comes
to the old structures (parallel) we did solve it and now the old structure does
not exist any longer.
Hamdi
Aliu: The removal of the parallel
structures from the building is a step forward toward progress.
We know
that from the very beginning they were illegitimate structures, now they have
left the building, we hope that the legitimate institutions take things over
and push the process forward.
But, he says, there are
still areas illegally under Belgrade’s control.
Hamdi
Aliu: Illegitimate structure still functions when it comes to health,
education, tourism and many other parts.
And there
are other tensions as well. Although municipal elections took place last
October, some of the key positions in the municipality have not yet been
occupied. Both Albanians and Serbs want the best positions for themselves, and
there’s disagreement about how many posts should go to each side. Sladjan Ilic
Sladjan
Ilic: When it comes to the division of the power,
(authority) it will be as reflected in the elections. So it means, the
Albanians will get as much percentage as they are present here and in the level
they participated in the elections. They will get 25 percent and nothing more
than that. That is the real situation on the ground.
Displaced
Serbs from other parts of Kosovo concentrated in Strpce after the war, while many Albanians were leaving. This has
changed the population figures and the latest municipal elections do not
reflect the real situation, says Hamdi Aliu, adding the Albanians want half of
the positions…
Hamdi
Aliu: You can notice some tendencies to
give leading positions to the Serbian side. This may damage cooperation and
consensus, but we hope with the help of internationals things will fall back on
track.
While
officials are fighting for positions people in Strpce are facing other
concerns. Some trusted the parallel structures, others the newly elected, while
you can find many who do not trust either.
VOX-POP: I think that we would be more isolated if the parallel issuance of
documents was removed. We feel more secure when we get documents from Serbia
than from UNMIK.
VOX-POP: It was a lousy situation, for any document we needed we had to find for
some connections, this wasn’t that good. Now, it is better. Tr. 25 You can feel
it will be better.
Though compromises and
agreements are tough to reach, at least the different sides in Strpce are
talking and not fighting. And that’s all for today.