‘You’re crafting a new Bosnia’

 

Conversation with Albin Kurti, Kosovar political leader, Edited by Paolo QUERCIA

 

LIMES Last time we met we couldn’t finish our conversation since the Kosovo Police Service broke into the house to arrest you. You were accused of promoting civil disturbances and rioting against Unmik in protest for lack of self determination. What is your present judicial situation toward the Kosovar state?

 

KURTI In the sixth court session in the case against me, on February 7, 2008, the politically motivated case against me was suspended. The sixth Unmik-appointed defence council in the case did not show up in court, and the president of the Bar Association in Kosovo, Ramë Gashi, issued a statement saying that no other “defence” would be appointed to the case. I never accepted any of the defence councils in the case against me exactly because they were all appointed by Unmik – which is also the judge, prosecutor and an offended part, and whose anti-democratic and unjust rule continues to damage Kosovo. By refusing to actively take part in Unmik’s injustice, Kosovo’s lawyers displayed courage and professionalism and acting according to their ethical responsibility as lawyers: serving justice. This, however, is not the end of the case against me. Unmik will find a way to continue the political trial against me, possibly by transferring it to the Eulex-mission about to be established here. I was arrested on February 10, 2007, the day the movement Vetëvendosje! (Self-Determination!), of which I am one of the leaders, organised a peaceful protest in Prishtina.

Our opposition is systemic and not ethnic: we believe it is crucial that the dissatisfaction of people in Kosovo is directed against the political system here and the neo-colonial Unmik administration, and not against other ethnic groups. During our peaceful protest, Romanian UN police shot dead two demonstrators and injured over 80 others with outdated rubber bullets fired at short range at the heads of the protesters.

The UN itself later proved that the police action was criminal, unnecessary and avoidable. But instead of the responsible officers being prosecuted, I was arrested, kept in prison for five months, and in house arrest for another five and a half months.

 

LIMES And now that Kosovo is independent, will your movement be dissolved or will you eventually enter into politics?

KURTI We are into politics precisely by not being or becoming a political party. Truthful political party pluralism can take place in Kosovo only once we have independence with sovereignty for Kosovo. Presently, this is not the case. Kosovo has no Army and no Ministry of Defense, Kosovo has no Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kosovo has no seat in UN and also Kosovo lacks territorial integrity (due to parallel structures of Serbia which control a quarter of the territory of Kosovo).

On the other hand, the supreme power over Kosovo, the last word on everything every time, will be held by Ico and Eulex, by another unaccountable and non-democratic international rule.

Ico and Eulex by being above our Government, make the latter a puppet of the former.

Ico’s and Eulex’s priority will consist in making sure that implementation of the Package of Ahtisaari takes place. The Package of Ahtisaari was accepted by the Negotiation Team and the Assembly of Kosovo a year ago because it was interpreted as the price for independence, an independence which Serbia and Russia, and consequently the UN Security Council, would accept.

Now, even though the independence declared has not been accepted by Serbia or Russia (and consequently not by the UN Security Council), international rule is imposing Kosovo to implement the Ahtisaari Plan (which was refused permanently by the never satisfied Serbia).

This is so wrong, unfair and damaging. Ahtisaari Plan will create a Bosnia-like Republika Srpska inside Kosovo: 11 Serbian municipalities will have the right to horizontal links between themselves and a direct vertical one with Belgrade (without dismantling in advance the parallel structures of Serbia).

 

LIMES What is your opinion on the last political elections in Kosovo?

KURTI Last elections which were held on 17th of November 2007, served to give legitimacy to the Unmik and to the negotiating team and their concessions to Serbia.

Likewise they forged a broader, stronger coalition between the Democratic League of Kosovo (Ldk) and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (Pdk). Centralizing domestic politics in order to increase the control over them was the goal. Coalition between Ldk and Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (Aak) was doubly weak: weak because it didn’t really have the majority of MPs for backing it, and weak again because Agim Ceku as Prime Minister, in addition, is very weak in his own political party (without real base there).

Therefore, Unmik wanted this Ldk-Pdk coalition to feel sure and certain that whatsoever no surprises will take place.

 

LIMES Kosovo is independent but Unmik is still there and it seems that will stay over, even with a more different profile. What do you think of this?

KURTI Unmik will stay. The EU mission will be a bureaucratic attachment (rather than substitution) to Unmik, since Resolution 1244 will continue to be valid. Formally, international rule in these past nine years claimed that wanted to integrate Albanians and Serbs.

If something doesn’t change meanwhile, ironically, it seems that international rule will end up divided: in the north of Kosovo (and presumably at other enclaves) will rule Unmik with Serbia’s structures while in the rest of Kosovo (upon Albanians and five non-Serb minorities) will be ruling Ico and Eulex.

 

LIMES You consider the UN as a sort of enemy or a colonial power. Why?

KURTI Unmik denies the will of the people and is an un-democratic regime. Unmik suspended our history and deprived us of future. It suppressed our freedom and deepened social inequality. The salary of a doctor or of a professor is 250 euros, while if you are a driver at OSCE is 800 euros.

The monthly salary of SRSG, Joachim Ruecker, who is enjoying here being a big fish in a small pond since nobody knows him back home in Germany, is 25.000 euros besides other privileges he has. In general, why would a person come here and become Unmik administrator? Is double salary, low cost expenses, rapid advancement in career, no accountability, no taxes, they don’t live the consequences of their decisions, and I am sorry to say this, but the majority of them are mediocre in their own countries.

As every bureaucracy, they seek some kind of self-perpetuation, and this is combined with their desire to show Kosovo as a very successful story. For that reason, they have to hush the opposition, because their legitimacy comes from above, not from the people.

Nobody voted for Ruecker and these guys. They came from above with a parachute. They lack local legitimacy, and they try to compensate this lack of legitimacy in two ways. First is through our institutions that they created and they control, and obedient politicians, who are paid back for their submissiveness by tolerating their corruption (politicians are the richest people in this country), and on the other hand by having the people silent. With the very fact that you are silent, you give somehow consent to them.

When they see that people are not that silent, there is Vetëvendosje!, some other organizations and individuals, they don’t like it. Activists of our Movement are still being arrested and sentenced, even for writing slogans.

Our sentences were always disproportionately high, and there have also been cases where our activists were beaten by the police while in detention.

Unmik wants to silence any voice of dissent. Freedom of speech and assembly, in media and in the streets, are very much respected by Unmik when it has to do with speeches and gatherings which are politically in their favor.

 

LIMES How Kosovo Albanians will behave toward Eulex mission? Will they consider it a friendly partner or a new colonial entity?

KURTI I don’t think that Albanians can consider Eulex a friendly partner. Yet, it might take some time until they start to consider it as just another colonial rule. You can’t be friendly toward someone who is not friendly toward you. Just like Unmik

officials and personnel, the Eulex wants, and will have immunity from Kosovo's law.

Eulex won't be accountable to the people of Kosovo, and we can't hold them responsible – by default. Paradoxically, 2200 policemen and judges that will be above the law, will have as their priority the rule of law. In fact, Kosovo didn't really need an UN mission here, but our own seat at the UN. Likewise, we don't need an EU mission to rule over us, but Kosovo's inclusion into the EU as an independent, sovereign state.

Ico and Eulex will turn Kosovo into the second EU protectorate (after Bosnia). After 8 years of rule, the EU mission in Bosnia didn't bring Bosnia much closer to the EU.

Ahtisaari's Plan and Ico/Eulex will not give us any real independence, but will turn Kosovo into another Bosnia where authoritarian state-building on the one hand and the paradigm of stability (not progress) on the other are two sides of the very same coin.

The result is predictable: integration of politicians of different ethnic background (e.g. Hashim Thaçi and Oliver Ivanovic) but no integration of ordinary people, and perpetuation of the status quo where territorial division of ethnicities is presented as

the only way for peace.

 

LIMES Which form of autonomy and protection do you think Serb enclaves and Serbian holy sites in Kosovo should enjoy?

KURTI Serbs in Kosovo should be equal citizens of Kosovo in front of law. European Conventions on protection of minority rights should be fully applicable and respected in Kosovo. Likewise, for Kosovo should be valid the rights of the minorities according to Hague Conference of the year 1991 which was dedicated to Republics of former Yugoslavia which were becoming new states while Yugoslavia was undergoing the process of disintegration. I am against politicisation of cultural heritage as foreseen in Ahtisaari’s Plan.

According to it all the orthodox cultural heritage should be called Serb cultural heritage! So, for example, if an Albanian Muslim wants to convert into an Orthodox, he will become a Serb! That is according to the Ahtisaari: he becomes automatically a Serb, because the Orthodox Church here is now the Serb Orthodox Church and moreover a branch of the one in Serbia.

Our national hero, Skanderbeg, was an Orthodox. His gift to the Monastery of Decani is still there. The Orthodox heritage belongs to all the people of Kosovo, because its part of our history, religion isn’t just particular to one ethnic group or another. And it’s not just our heritage that they are usurping, but also more territory. One could understand if a monastery would need 3 or 4 hectares, but why one thousand hectares?!

The special zone contains one thousand hectares around the monastery of Decani. 7 km with 1.5 km. The people who own the land now only have the right to cut the grass there, nothing more. They want to take the mountains – here is the monastery of Decani, is 8 km with 1 km and 200 m.

Why? There will be 45 zones like this all autonomous from local and central government. Including 250 hectares to Gazimestani monument which was build in 1953 (during infamous Rankovic’s period) and where the notorious Milosevic’s speech in 1989 announcing future wars took place. Here they want to take Saint Archangel, which is in the outskirts of Prizren; here in the middle of town Lipjan the same which could turn Lipjan into second Mitrovica. Belgrade is playing this card of clashes of civilizations as well, saying that ‘Serbs are somehow defending the European Christianity in Kosovo’, which is nonsense.

Kosovo is not the cradle of Serbia but they want to make it so. When they say ‘Kosovo is the cradle of Serbia’, they tell you their project: with this cultural heritage they want to make Kosovo dysfunctional and at the same time to develop this new thesis about Albanians.

The Serbian old thesis (from Garasanin to Cubrilovic and even Ivo Andric) is that Albanians are primitive people, not really civilized and the Serbs should rule over them. But because this is merely a racist theory (which however was fitting with colonialism a century ago) now it is very inappropriate. T

hey come up with this new thesis and that is that Albanians are not native people. According to them Albanians came from Albania. They want to take over the Medieval phase of Kosovo, to remove the link between antiquity and modernity. To say that Albanians came in the best case after 1690, after Carnojevic.

Obviously, this is Milosevic with other means. Milosevic was trying not only to have Kosovo, but to have it without Albanians.

 

LIMES How do you consider the situation in the North of Ibar?

KURTI We consider north of Kosovo to be occupied by Serbia, namely by Serbia’s parallel structures in Kosovo. They are on the payroll of Government of Serbia. After Kosovo’s declaration of independence, the reaction of Serbia has taken many forms.

The symbolic arrival of protesting Serbs from the North only until the bridge over the River Ibër speaks loudly for Serbia’s objective. Serbia does not consider that bridge as a place where citizens of Kosovo can pass freely, but as a spot where something finishes – where Serbia ends and Kosovo begins. Also, they have burnt the customs houses on two border points between Kosovo and Serbia in the northern part of Kosovo. What will happen with the customs points in the North? Will they become international border points? Here will be seen and tested the independence of Kosovo.

 

LIMES In Europe there is a discussion on the relation between independence and criminal activity in Kosovo. Somebody says that independence will reduce criminal activities in the future, other analysts are of the opinion that independence will create more opportunities for criminal gangs. What is your opinion on this?

KURTI Real independence with sovereignty would create the opportunity to fight organise crime with success and to decrease corruption.

 Let’s not forget that whenever the corruption in Kosovo was measured with a six digit number of euros it could have been only local one.

But, when the corruption was characterised by a seven digit number there was a partnership between local politicians and international bureaucrats while when it got to a eight digit number it was only internationals. International Community’s rule in Kosovo proved to be more keen to make deals with corrupted politicians and don’t mind about the people in order to ensure short-term stability.

I don’t think that Ico/Eulex will be much different regarding this.

 

LIMES If you would be an ethnic Serb of Kosovo leaving in an enclave, would you remain in Kosovo?

KURTI Of course. Serbia treats Serbs from Kosovo very badly. Traditionally Serbia used Serbs of Kosovo for the sake of the territory and not the other way round. Serbs of Kosovo can have a far better life in Kosovo with Albanians than in Serbia whose state uses them as instrument.

 

 

http://www.eheartland.com/_lib/_docs/2008_02_the_popolar_game.pdf