JAKUP KRASNIQI’S LETTER
(By Luan Qorraj)
Hello
and welcome to UNMIK on Air with….
Last week, Jakup Krasniqi, Kosovo’s minister of Environment and Spatial Planning sent an open letter in which he expressed strong criticism of UNMIK. Acting prime minister when he wrote the letter, Krasniqi expressed his dissatisfaction with UNMIK’s work over the past four years, claiming that the mission had very little to its credit during the period of its existence. The complaints were many, ranging from the functioning of the judiciary to the transfer of competencies. But the letter also left a lot of things unsaid and a number of people in confusion – for example, in whose name was Jakup Krasniqi speaking when he wrote the letter.
Enver Hoxhaj, a well-known political analyst in Prishtina shares that confusion – the letter itself, he things was quite harmless:
CUT
1 : ( ENVER) : The criticism was made on a very personal basis and it is
unclear whether he was speaking as
acting PM, as a Minister or in
his personal capacity. If he was speaking from the first two perspectives, the
criticism would only have been effective if it had been drafted by Kosovar
institutions, whereas if it was a personal reaction, whether it was as acting
PM or as minister, that kind of criticism would have been irrelevant.
LINK: Hoxha says he
agrees with some of the points raised by Krasniqi but that it is unclear why
Krasniqi sent the letter in the first place.
CUT
2 : ( ENVER) : It is difficult for me to know the real
reasons that MR Krasniqi had, but I believe that amongst the various issues
raised by him, a few are real concerns. But the way it was formulated and the
number of issues raised make it impossible for the author to properly explain
them.
LINK: In fact according
to some Kosovo analysts, the letter doesn’t just highlight differences with
international authorities, but problems amongst local officials as well, since
there was no consensus reached or aimed for prior to sending the letter.
The only official UNMIK
reaction came from the acting SRSG Charles Brayshaw. He said it was clear that
Krasniqi’s aim was to push for independence and speed up the issue of final
status. UNMIK spokesperson, Sunil
Narula says the only real support for this controversial letter was from
Krasniqi himself:
CUT
3 : (SUNIL) : It is quite clear that
mr Krasniqi’s view on UNMIK is not supported by most people in Kosovo. And also
not by the international community, if you look at the debate at the security
council, for instance, you look at the statements made by the officers of
Western countries in Kosovo after the letter, you clearly see that they do not
support Mr Krasniqi’s views.
CUT
4 : ( ENVER) : It is certain that
the letter didn’t bring any new movement to our political life, but neither did it contribute to really
worsening the relations between the Kosovar institutions and UNMIK
The letter was more a message sent by MR
Krasniqi, trying to point out the irritations felt by the Kosovar side about
different aspects …
LINK: Still, this kind of letter, especially given
the confusion about whose name it was written in, may not be the best way to
raise concerns, however legitimate they may be. All he is doing, says Sunil
Narula, is to focus on the wrong issues and is not doing a service either to
himself or to the people of Kosovo:
CUT
5 : ( SUNIL) : The security council and these countries also do not support
Mr Krasniqi’s views when it comes to final status – the final status issue
remains open both in substance and in timing. That is an issue that will be
decided by the Security Council. And I think Mr. Krasniqi will better serve the
interests of Kosovo by focusing, by working on the standards and meeting those
standards in a cooperative manner between UNMIK KFOR and the PISG.
B/A: That
does it for this edition of UNMIK ON AIR. Thanks for listening.