[spectre] (no subject)

[Zarevac Tanaskovic]

Funny that no one mentions the final ethnical cleansing of the Kosovo Serbs
is taking place nor that UNESCO "protected" orthodox monasteries dating from
12th and 14th century were burned...
Best,
Zarevac

----- Original Message -----
From: "geert" <geert at desk.nl>
To: <spectre at mikrolisten.de>
Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2004 9:22 PM
Subject: [spectre] (no subject)


> TRAGIC DEATH OF A POLICY AND PEOPLE FROM IT
> By TRAGIC DEATH OF A POLICY AND PEOPLE FROM IT  (Veton Surroi, Koha
Ditore)
>
> 1. While entering Kosovo yesterday through the Prishtina airport, I saw
> everything was different compared to the situation of a few days ago when
I left. I
> started getting news two nights ago about the death of the Albanian
children
> in the village of Çabër and before leaving the airport building I was
informed
> by phone calls about the wave of clashes in Mitrovica, then Prishtina and
> until I finish this article who knows where else. I heard and saw the
change from
> the Prishtina airport to the newspaper’s editorial-office. The increasing
> number of those killed and injured, most of them Albanians, was being
updated
> every five minutes. There were information that none was intervening to
stop the
> reciprocal shots in north Mitrovica. People close to me informed me about
the
> Albanian residents stuck in Albanian enclaves in Mitrovica north, whose
hopes
> for life was only in God’s hands. There were information that Prishtina
> Albanians set off for blocking the Serb village of Cagllavica. I was
seeing in Fushë
> Kosovë how some Albanian youngsters were being pushed by KPS members after
> they had assaulted two Serb women and a man, all of them over fifties. In
> Prishtina, the usual mass of youngsters who would take a walk on a sunny
day was
> replaced by the mess of ambulances’ and police sirens and almost full
blocking of
> main roads. In two hours, following the landing at the Prishtina airport,
> there was a feeling in Prishtina that none was controlling Kosovo and it
is close
> to full anarchy. In 24 hours, Kosovo was transferred from normality to a
> situation close to anarchy.
>
> 2. In fact, for Mitrovica citizens, this was only one episode, a bloody
one,
> of the situation, which was for them everything except a normal one. This
town
> has been living divided for five years and has become a microcosm of
Kosovar
> ethnic divisions. The Serbs in north have taken Albanians’ apartments
after
> the left their homes in other Kosovo regions. The Albanians could not
return to
> northern part of the town, respectively, they could return as much as the
> Serbs who fled could return. KFOR was between both communities. For almost
five
> years, residents of this town have been told that Kosovo is making a
progress
> and efforts are being made for them. For almost five years, a consensus
has been
> reached that it may be lived like this- citizens do not have what to do,
> politicians have started to mention Mitrovica in electoral campaigns,
> administrators in Kosovo municipalities keep changing and all of them
mention Mitrovica at
> the beginning and the end of their mandate that Mitrovica issue has to be
> fixed and KFOR is pleased if the situation does not worsen if it does not
get
> better. In Belgrade, three governments support Mitrovica’s division, so,
the one
> of Kosovo too, by parallel structures starting from those in the education
> system to security, including secret police and army intelligence.  There
was a
> silent consensus that if the Mitrovica issue is not discussed an illusion
of
> normality may be created then. The breaking of illusions was tragic,
starting
> from the children from Çaber, who according to the first stories were
running
> from their Serb neighbors, then for Mitrovica residents, who were killed
and
> wounded, most of them Albanians, but Serbs as well, and for Kosovo as a
whole a
> kind of a revenge of Mitrovica residents why Kosovars have forgotten them
so
> far.
>
> 3. Kosovo, which I had left a few days ago, was still living in illusions
> that such a situation, five-year long, was normal. When I returned, this
illusion
> was broken by violence. Almost during the whole day, there was not state
or
> political authority who could stop the violence. Appearance of SRSG
Holkeri and
> President Rugova looked like a kind of anachronism. Holkeri was saying he
was
> not understanding why the violence took place in Çaber, like it was
important
> in those moment to know the psychological motives of violence. Rugova said
to
> the people, “we are working on Mitrovica issue,” one of his stereotype
> answers about any problem and a stereotype answer which does not deserve
lots of
> attention. Actually, the situation will become even tenser in the coming
days,
> not only because of destructive consequences of violence, but also because
of
> basic knowledge that neither UNMiK nor Kosovo institutions have something
new
> to offer except the formula “it is being worked on.”
>
> 4. A policy died yesterday in Kosovo and it took human lives in the most
> tragic way. It was a policy where UNMiK and Kosovars argued for a long
time which
> competence when and to whom should be transferred. It was a policy, which
does
> not have leading visions and deadlines to finalize them. It was a policy,
> which instead of concepts and solutions offered generalized empty
formulations of
> the style “we are working on”, praising about the past and thoughts that
the
> future will come by itself. As of today, we, as Kosovo, may be in a
> self-destructive race. On one hand is the policy not wanting to accept it
died and
> failed as a concept. On the other hand, there is an accumulated energy of
> violence, which is unloading to detriment people lives and an elementary
peace. Kosovo
> would be lucky if both competitors leave the race. This policy with its
> representatives and the violence coming from the huge political and
institutional
> emptiness.
>
> Source: MONITOR FINAL EDITION PRISTINA MEDIA HIGLIGHTS- OSCE Mission in
> Kosovo- Office of Press and Public Information, 18 March 04
>
>
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