Koha Digest # 80

EDITORIAL

THE POLICE, THE SWALLOW OF POLITICS

by VETON SURROI

"He is not here, we haven't heard of this person", I was told by the duty policeman at the
famous "92", the place where one must first ask about an arrested person in Kosova. "He is
probably in prison", said the policeman. In the prison, asked about the chance for Astrit
Salihu, KOHA's journalist to be there, the surprised guard negatively gesticulated shaking his
head and said: "We haven't received any of those. Ask the police!".

On my way out through the iron doors of the prison, I could see the offices of the State
Security, the place where the person you are looking for is, after receiving two negative
answers in the two previous places. Luckily enough, walking down the street I received the
news that he was not there any more and that he was enjoying relative freedom in a cafeteria.
Astrit is another in the endless list of the people arrested in the evening who are left sleepless
and who is subjugated (after a couple of slaps and kicks) to political interrogation. Naturally,
these cases have also happened to journalists, and not only after arrest. Ylber Hysa, who was
persistently asking for the prorogation of the validity of his passport, was also summoned to
the offices of State Security to explain his political visions.

Even though these "invitations" have become ordinary, people ask why, why now? It can be
justly supposed that all things which are related to information are being followed closely:
phone conversations of "interesting people", their bugging... The situation has reached the
point in which it is very likely to believe that the offices of the political parties, especially the
LDK have more microphones than Radio Prishtina in its best times. Then why the
interrogations?

Because the police can know everything that is happening, as an event, but it can't know what
is going on in people's heads, what they thinks, what they believe. And this is something that
the Serbian leadership is after. The Serbian leadership must make decisions about its future
behavior in Kosova soon: it must know about every detail linked to Kosova.

But, the police has done this always, as someone may say. What is the difference between the
past and present interrogations? In the near past, the main focus of interest of the Serbian
police was directed towards preventing nay physical resistance of Kosova Albanians (and all
sorts of intimidation were used in this direction), today, with the fading of the war rhythm, the
political arena is opened again. Here, the Serbian police, the continuance of the Eastern Bloc
tradition before the fall of the Berlin Wall, finds itself in a very uneasy position. The whole

The weekly Koha (The Times) was published in Prishtina (Kosovo) between 1994 and 1997. Edited by Veton
Surroi, a young Kosovar journalist and one of the pioneers of democratisation in former Yugoslavia, Koha
soon became a symbol of quality among the region's media. In 1997 it started to be published daily under the
name of Koha Ditorë. W ith the kind permission of Mr. Surroi, Koha digests were originally posted on
http://koha.estudiosbalcanicos.org.
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police of the Eastern Bloc, which should have defended the Communist regime - fell, because
it didn't foresee the feeling of the people, the individual.

Serbian policemen have still not understood that this can't be foreseen at all.

Welcome to 1989.

DAYTON - KOSOVA

BUKOSHI: ENCOURAGING MESSAGES FROM WASHINGTON - BUT NOT TO

CAUSE EUPHORIA

by LINDITA IMAMI / Washington

"The purpose of this visit was to ask the American officials to

not neglect Kosova question", said Mr. Bukoshi.

Bukoshi said that the issue of Kosova remains to be solved maybe

immediately after a solution or agreement is reached in Dayton.

"The American party is decided not to stop in Dayton, but the

peace process should continue on, with the solution of other
problems in the Former Yugoslavia", said Bukoshi.

According to Bukoshi, the reason why Kosova remained aside from

the peaceful efforts is the complication of the situation in
Bosnia and the concentration of the attention of the
international community on Bosnia and its priority to stop war
there. " In the meeting with two American officials it was said
that Kosova's issue was not forgotten at all. We were assured
that despite the fact that it wasn't part of the actual peace
conversations, it is an issue which the negotiating team and the
international community will include on the agenda by all means,
at one stage or another phase.

Bukoshi declared to KOHA that the American officials were

conveyed the concern due to the non participation of the Albanian
representatives in the peace conversations about the former
Yugoslavia, which, after the Bosnian problem is solved, could
make Serbia feel triumphant and make it become even more cruel
towards Kosova; they were also conveyed the concern about the
permanent and continuous repression and provocations, as is the
colonization of Kosova with Krajina refugees. "We gave our
arguments why this issues should be included if a real peace and
solution for Kosova is really wanted".

Commenting the American posture towards Kosova, following the

meetings, Bukoshi declared: "The primary preoccupation of the

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government and other American forces is how to stop repression
in Kosova. This was confirmed and emphasized at the State
Department during the meeting with Kornblum. My impression is -
without wishing to cause euphoria - that the message coming out
from these meetings is encouraging: the Kosova question is
identified as the next problem to be solved".

Asked whether the Americans will mediate in the eventual

conversations about Kosova, Bukoshi said: "Since the peace
process was transferred from Europe to the USA and the American
party is playing a leading role in this process, we expressed our
belief that the Americans would be the most suitable to mediate
in the peaceful conversations about Kosova. This was neither
accepted nor refused. This problem should be perceived as an
initial attempt", said Bukoshi.

Some analysts have stated that there should be a change of the

strategy in Kosova, new methods of a more active resistance
should be found, differing from the peaceful resistance so far.
In this regard, Bukoshi said : "The peaceful resistance of the
Albanian people can't be disputed. But the other extreme, to
ritualize this resistance within the new circumstances and the
ever more restricted space is not acceptable either. There are
better ways of organization. It should be thought about it and
other ways should be found, but without having to confront the
Serbs. It is a task and obligation of all our political and
intellectual forces to create mechanisms in this respect. By
organizing ourselves, we must know that we impose ourselves as
a factor and consequently, I believe that we would move some
things in a positive direction". Bukoshi thinks that
demonstrations and protests are a legitimate right of a people
that seeks freedom. "During this process, and other process, that
of the education of the Albanian people has happened... Albanians
have become conscious that Kosova is an issue which can't be
evaded and must be confronted by both the international community
and Albanians", concluded Bukoshi.

DAYTON - KOSOVA

A JOURNEY OF NO RETURN OF A FEDERATION

by BATON HAXHIU / Prishtina

(...) Lord David Owen writes about Kosova's position and the
chances to settle this problem, as he sees it, the most delicate
of the Former Yugoslavia, in his memoirs. He says that he was a
friend of the Milosevic family. According to him, he had accused
Milosevic several times of being a greater-Serb nationalist and

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expansionist. He would never get nervous because of these
accusations. The main problems with Milosevic appeared when
Kosova was mentioned. "Each time I mentioned the topic, and this
was proven by Mrs. Markovic - Milosevic, he would first stand
quiet in order to explode impetuously. He simply tried to evade
the theme about Kosova's status", said Owen. And this seems to
have been proven true in Dayton. According to some unofficial
information, he refused to remain in an informal meeting, because
Kosova's issue arose. The sensitiveness of this issue was
corroborated by a foreign diplomat who visited Kosova recently.
She opened this issue with the question: How to officially
present Kosova's problem to Milosevic?" According to her, opening
this issue is only a technicality?! Regardless of the Serbian
feeling of Milosevic about Kosova, there are different proposals
and plans about Kosova which were recently published by BUJKU,
referring to the well known proposal given by Predrag Simic about
the similarity of the future status of Kosova and the Tirol. The
same newspaper wrote about the so called PLAN K, which can easily
be a speculation, which in its contents doesn't differ much from
Simic's proposal. Nevertheless, this plan is similar to
Resolution of the General Assembly adopted on December 23, 1994.
It was supported by 114 states, 40 states abstained and 2 (Russia
and India) were against. Resolution 48-153, paragraph 3c says:
"The authorities of Serbia and Montenegro are requested to: a)to
create real democratic institutions in Kosova, including the
Parliament and the judiciary, as well as respect the will of the
Albanian people as the best way to evade the escalation of the
conflict".

The only question we asked Simic is why the parallel between

Kosova and Tirol? His reply was the following: "Tirol is a region
of an ethnic community, a multi-ethnic one, which is quite
stable. Secondly, it is the best concept of autonomy ever applied
which would suit Kosova, and finally, this evades the "minority"
notion. Therefore, it would be said that Kosova is inhabited by
two ethnic communities, the Albanian and the Serb. Reacting to
our comment that there is a difference between a disintegrated
Yugoslavia and a stable Italy, Simic said: "Dayton is precisely
aiming at preserving a new federation in this region and this
venue will prove that both Bosnia and the remaining territories
will federalize again, because the change of the territories is
not desired".

So, where is the difference between the two?

Kosova and Tirol are similar in the model and the time needed to
solve the problem. The situation in Tirol was tense and
characterized with terrorist attacks committed by groups of
German minority from Alto Adiggio which has forced Italy and
Austria into state of war. Trying to evade the description of all

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what has happened in the period from Austro-Hungary and up to
1992, we will try to explain the content of the autonomy
contained in a document of 106 pages, guaranteed by two states,
Italy and Austria.

The Italian Parliament barely adopted the document (189 in favor

and 184 against). According to the statute of the autonomy, this
region was given some legislative authority. How sufficient they
are can be concluded from the fact that the government of Italy
still conserves the authority in the army, police, judiciary, tax
administration, communications, PTT network and the border
veterinarian service. There is one single paragraph saying "the
municipality determines the local police which is responsible to
the regional commissioner". The statute does not allow the people
in the area to use a plebiscite and declare themselves whether
they want to stay in Italy or leave. In regard to this proposal,
Fehmi Agani, LDK's vice-chairman says that "it is quite
understanding to see the international community and some Serbian
intellectual circles to try and evade bloodshed, by finding a
solution, even a transitory one, as well as their hope for the
democratization of Serbia". This hope, says Agani, seems to grow
strong, meanwhile these proposals are lacking one thing: they
don't take as ground the fact that the previous autonomy Kosova
had can't be reinstalled, for there is no more SFRY, nor
federation where it used to function! The Republic of Kosova is
the result of the disintegration of Yugoslavia. It also
shouldn't be forgotten that from all the former federal units of
Yugoslavia, besides Slovenia, Kosova has the most favorable
ethnic-social conditions to become independent. Therefore,
Simic's comparison of Kosova to Tirol, and comparing Kosova to
similar principles in Kosova, as several diplomats say, can't
stand, for all states, including Italy, are stable states,
meanwhile Yugoslavia is a disintegrating state", concluded Agani.
Badinter himself, in his document in 1991, ascertained the end
of Yugoslavia and asked for the constitutional rearrangement.
Starting from these premises, an Albanian politician declared to
a diplomatic representative that "Kosova should first have a
sovereign subject which is a good and equal basis for integration
in any federation".

Autonomy, he said, politically has always been a transitory form

and there are no cases in which people were satisfied only with
it. It either disappears or it is advanced into independence.
An interesting project is that of the Democratic League of
Hungarians in Vojvodina. The projected proposals foresee a
broader autonomy in the regions inhabited by Hungarians. Grounded
on this project, local self-administration should be scaled on
four levels. On the first one, the Hungarian Parliament should
be elected, authorized for cultural, lingual and educational
matters of the Hungarian community all over Vojvodina. In the

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second, the fifteen linguistic islands, or some of them, would
make up the dominating ethnic groups enjoying local self-
administration, judiciary and taxing power. In the third, "the
regions with Hungarian majority would gain special status, which
would have councils, judiciary and police". The last level
foresees "undertaking measures to combine the neighboring regions
with special status to establish the Hungarian Autonomous zone
with a unique representative body, a council and government. This
draft convention is grounded on the documents of the Council of
Europe, and indicates the eventual expansion of administrative
powers. However, this plan was rejected by Serbia.

Where is, therefore, the basis the international community finds

to reinstall an already destroyed federation? Recently, a
diplomat declared that , "there can't be any federations composed
of two members and that the future Yugoslav federation will
exclusively depend on Montenegro and the wish of this republic
to live in an unequal federation". All of this remains to be
seen. Nothing is clear yet!

INTERVIEW

Astrit Salihu, KOHA's journalist

THE ALBANIAN-SERB DIALOGUE CONTINUES

Interviewed by Serbian State Security / Prishtina

Even though they are very hard to get, interviews of policemen

and top-policemen have always caused the interest of the public.
Usually, the idea is that they are the guards of the secrets the
public is interested in. With last week's arrest of Astrit
Salihu, the Serbian State Security gave us the chance to make an
unusual journalist enterprise: to publish an interview of a
journalist conducted by the police.

According to A. Salihu, the interview took place in a calm

atmosphere, after a spent night in a cold corner (and several
blows in the face and kicks). Since we believe that the opinions
of our colleague, expressed in this magazine week by week, are
of theinterest for the public, we publish the interview
containing the main questions and answers which he recalls.

* Why did you quit BUJKU?

- Because I like KOHA's concept more. I believe it is more open

than other magazines or newspapers. This is my conviction.

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* What do you think about BUJKU? Is it good that it's editor in
chief is at the same time member of LDK's Presidency?

- I don't like this fact.

* What do you think about the rightists?

- I don't know that there are any rightists in Kosova, if you're

referring to some people who are more extreme, then they are
usually recruited by the ultra-leftists or as they call them
Marxists-Leninists and former political prisoners. Now they have
also become involved in the largest LDK party. For example, one
former political prisoner is now vice-chairman of the LDK -
Hydajet Hyseni. But this is not all that precise since Hyseni is
coming out to be a politically mature person who should be
counted on in the future. He seems to be more flexible.

* And Demaçi?

- I believe that he is very close to Hyseni and that they both

are in the same political line, they seem to be more flexible and
realistic.

* Strange of you not to mention Qosja. What do you think about

him?

- His political option is reduced to the phrase that Kosova

should unite with Albania. I can think the same thing, without
being a great politician, right? He should explain how should
this purpose be reached.

* Which is your posture in regard to dialogue? You have been

writing about the possibilities to have Vllasi as a
collocutor...?

- I would applaud the beginning of the talks. I still believe

that everything must be solved through dialogue.

* Do you think that Rugova and his people alone should be

involved in the dialogue?

- In the same way no opposition leader can start dialogue on

behalf of Serbia, no one can do it in Kosova either. The
conversations should take place on equal levels.

* What do you think, has dialogue really started, as you have

been writing lately?

- My colleague from KOHA Ylber Hysa has been writing about this
topic and you probably had the chance to read it. My opinion is

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that: no, there is no dialogue yet. I believe that it is only a
provocation of the public to see what both sides think. Albanians
got trapped and immediately started attacking Vllasi and Bakalli
as "people who don't represent Albanians". This is known, isn't
it?

* What is Rugova's posture towards the magazine you work in?

- It has been correct so far.

* What do you think about Rugova? How would the Kosova Albanian
people react if it finds out that it will get only autonomy, if
it is told the truth?

- I don't know. It is true that international circles talk about

the solution of Kosova's problem within the frame of autonomy.
But, on the other hand, we must wait and see what is hidden
behind Rugova's optimism. After the beginning of the negotiations
in Dayton he is still optimistic. I have criticized this as an
answer, you had the chance to read it in KOHA, but still, we must
wait and see what is there behind this statement.

* Let's suppose Rugova accepts autonomy, do you think this would

weaken his position?

- I can only suppose about his political maturity. Milosevic lost

Knin, but his position is not weakened. Maybe Rugova will also
do something similar, maybe he will find himself in new imposed
circumstances.

* What would Rugova have to do in the eventual negotiations?

- Get the optimum.

* And that is?

- The optimum is all what can be extracted from the present

political constellation. I don't know what it will be, I am not
a prophet, but it can be called as you wish, autonomy, republic
or something else. He has been moderate so far and has not
imposed aggressive postures. For the time being, unfortunately,
there is no alternative.

* Could he be replaced by Hydajet Hyseni, you just said that he

should be counted on?

- What I said is that we must count on another mature and formed

politician, which doesn't mean that he can also be a leader.

* Rugova doesn't claim to be a leader?

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- I know, he doesn't do it because of modesty, but I believe that
you know that he is the undisputable leader.

* How do you think Kosova's issue can be solved?

- This will not depend on me, but I believe that there should be
some federalization of confederacy links, if Albanians are not
allowed to secede and they can't achieve it. Maybe a "draft"
state will be created, open to both Serbia and Albania.

* Who is the editor of the domestic rubric?

- No one. This is done by the editorial board once a week. No one

is directly responsible.

* But Surroi is the Editor in Chief.

- Yes.

* What is your status in KOHA?

- I don't understand the question.

* What does Surroi think about you and the others?

- He probably has a good opinion of me, as well as the colleagues.

* Which journalist is the closest to Surroi?

- All of us are. We are also friends.

* Where did you get the "Podvorica" file?

- From his attorney. I was interested to write about Podvorica's

acquittal.

* Why?

- I believe that this was a good chance to prove that there is no

organized terrorism in Kosova. That, in fact, the existence of
terrorism was not proven even juridically. There is no proof
whatsoever that would prove that Albanians have been organized
in forms of terrorist groups. And, personally, I am happy about
it.

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MACEDONIA

101:19

by SELADIN XHEZAIRI / Shkup

With the issue of the University of Tetova, the whole baggage of

Albanian problems got uncovered. The stand of the Parliament
became a catharsis for the Albanians who were allowed, this time,
to say all they had in mind, mainly in written presentations.

"You know, any proposal which is openly presented to the

parliament is legitimate. I believe that this is the way to solve
any open issue. This is the democratic way to do it: problems are
solved in the Parliament, where laws are adopted".

It is a totally another issue whether the requests of the

Albanian MPs will be respected. "This will be seen in the last
phase of the approval of the law", says Andov's deputy, Tito
Petkoski. As if this statement announces the epliogue which
should come within the next couple of months, the time it will
take for the harmonization of the law. The relation of forces in
the highest ruling body does not give any space for optimism to
the Albanian side, unless something else happens in the meantime.
The present ratio is 101 : 19.

"The draft Act on Superior Education which finally reached the

parliament by the government is disputable for the Albanians,
because it articulates our interests in only one segment. Article
9:2 allows the possibility to train educational staff for
elementary schools in their mother tongue, while the high schools
staff can get training in their mother tongue only in some
particular subjects. We require the reformulation of this
article. We request the change of paragraph 1 of this article
which states that "educational and scientific activities in
superior schools is conducted in Macedonian" which should also
say "and also in the languages of the nationalities, i.e.
Albanian". If this is accepted then the practical legalization
of the University of Tetova", says MP Xheladin Murati. On the
other hand, MP Hysni Shaqiri states that if this request is not
respected, then the state can be destabilized. "I believe that
this ascertainment is exact and grounded". We perceive the
destabilization of Macedonia precisely as a result of the non-
solution of many issues related to Albanians. Actually, the
University is one of the most serious problems which Albanians
face", concluded Shaqiri.

This time, Macedonian MPs were "milder" and their discussions

were reduced to "1001 reasons" not to accept this request,
claiming that we are "creating a state", and that we are lacking

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money; that Albanians have other universities (in Albania); that
the University of Tetova will replace that of Prishtina; that the
Macedonians outside Macedonia are studying foreign languages and
that this draft-act fulfils the international standards, as
Emilija Simoska said at the end.

However, the arguments of the "Albanian party" at the Parliament

were declared as unacceptable by the minister, and she wouldn't
confront them with her arguments. A detail was mentioned: that
until recently, the local Universities have inscribed more
African and Arab students than Albanians, and another one: that
out of 7 thousand new students in the University of Shkup, barely
some 300 are Albanians!

Following the discussions about this very strange draft, a

strange conclusion comes out: Albanian MPs seem not to be very
upset; as if they felt that something will happen in the second
phase of the Macedonian superior education; on the other hand,
Macedonian MPs are extremely relaxed. They are so relaxed because
they know that the draft was elaborated in a ministry composed
of mainly or exclusively Macedonian experts. They also know that
before coming into the hands of the Government, this law had been
circulating in the University, where it passed a test. The
Government also approved it, and the Macedonian MPs know that
there are some members of the cabinet who are Albanians, but
whose say is not respected. They are calm in this aspect: their
purpose is to allow Albanians say whatever they want, but at the
end they will vote as they please. And, this will not happen only
once, but it will be repeated. Something similar happened with
the Constitution, and recently with the Law on Local Self-
Administration; it happened with the Citizenship Act and some
other laws. And who cares..." - said Abdurrahman Aliti.

And really, who cares. All did their jobs. The Macedonian pro-
governmental media placed everything in the frame of the
"political marketing" of the Albanian MPs, also stating that "it
was a real satisfaction to have the chance to listen to different
points of view about superior education, unfortunately linked to
ideas of exclusively national background", concludes the
commentator of PULS weekly, advocating in favor of the "European
model of education" and the elimination of ethnic premises. As
if reality were forgotten - the politicians would say - that
Macedonia is multi-ethnic and multi-confessional. The disposition
of the Macedonian authorities about this, including the requests
of the Albanian MPs, is best illustrated by a representative of
an international organization dealing with human rights: "In one
of our reports, due to a translation mistake, it was
"ascertained" that Macedonian and Albanian were official
languages in Macedonia. As soon as the report was distributed,
the Macedonian officials started calling and denying that there

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are two official languages in Macedonia!".

And really, only Macedonian is spoken in Macedonia; the only

script used is cyrillic, even though there have been no remarks
yet that this alphabet and the green areas are the only ones
which don't hurt the sight...

MACEDONIA

(IN)SANE FORCES

by ISO RUSI / Shkup

President Gligorov's cabinet issued a communique announcing his

quick return to his official duties. It informed that "President
Gligorov has been fulfilling part of the usual obligations" and
that the public "will be informed about his full return to
office".

The experts understood the communique as a direct confirmation

that William Perry, the American Defense Secretary, who is
expected to visit Macedonia during this week, will be the first
foreign official to be received by Gligorov after the attempt
against his life on October 3, even though the Government's port-
parole denied it on his last press conference. The communique was
issued following a contact TV emission of a private TV station
about "the security situation in Macedonia", in which the
representatives of four parties - Social/Democrats and Liberals
on one side and VMRO and the Democrats on the other - explained
to the attentive public some interesting details as the one about
the fact that the acting President, Speaker Andov, is the one to
coordinate the meeting of the Security Council of the Republic,
meanwhile President Gligorov was sending his condolences to the
state of Israel after Rabin's killing! Naturally, everything
would be fine, if the justification would be reduced to the
explanation that protocol functions and that the President of the
Republic is not the one to, in fact, write telegrams. The
explanation which was missing during the TV broadcast came later
in the communique.

Just several days before this, a very unusual communique of the

Liberal Party was issued, and the party insisted it to be
published completely by the press and transmitted by the
electronic media. The executive council of this party saw it
necessary to communicate to the public that "in the sensitive
period following the attempt against President Gligorov's life,
our state preserved its stability, internal peace and its
borders". And that "in those conditions the Liberal Party, in the

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best possible way, proved that its participation in the
government and its determination to preserve the political
orientation of the state, as a factor of peace in the region
which verified its posture so far, as an independent state". This
introduction is in the function of what followed: "that the
Executive Board of the Liberal Party, on this occasion, evaluated
highly the contribution and activity of the leader of political
parties and the Speaker of the Parliament, Andov, who, by
applying the constitutional norms, strongly and determinately
stood up to defend the policy promoted by the President of the
Republic, Kiro Gligorov.

In that direction, his statement issued on October 3 strengthened

the confidence of the citizens and their determination to stand
on the path chosen by the state. Their respect of the deadlines
to undertake the acts to open the path to regulate the relations
of our country with the Republic of Greece, grounded on good
neighborhood and mutual trust, as well as the preservation of the
institutions strongly supported by the citizens of the Republic
of Macedonia".

Then came the compliments to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, of

course, also a Liberal: "Several days after the attempt against
President Gligorov's life, with his clear statement in the
General Assembly of the UN, our minister showed to the world that
the Republic of Macedonia will not give up on its foreign policy
and that because of this reason, the goal of the inspirers,
organizers and executors of the filthy terrorist attack was not
achieved".

At the end, the communique mentions the brief visit of George

Soros, and reproaches his criticism of President Gligorov's
policy and his personality as well, in two interviews published
by Nova Makedonija and Vecer. "Apart from this, Soros tried to
confront the Government of Macedonia with Gligorov, saying that
for all the problems he had with Gligorov, he had great
understanding from the Government. The Executive Council of the
Liberal Party wishes to inform the public that this attempt to
divide the public by Soros is rejected, and it is considered that
no minister of the coalition should be sitting in a government
which would have to choose between Gligorov and Soros".
Naturally, the communique caused interest among the public. "Nova
Makedonija" in its Saturday's issue published a note stating that
whatever the Liberals saw in the interviews, was not in the
content of the interviews and Soros's answers. Both the deputy
editor in chief and the editor of the rubric qualified the
communique as "apparently pragmatic and propagandistic" and "a
result of the dangerous political games".

What is concerning is that some political circles are trying to

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differentiate Macedonian media and journalists "according to
their attitude" after the attempt against Gligorov. The idea is
not new, it was done earlier, the difference is that the purpose
is not concealed any more.

The "sane" forces are, of course, those which were loyal to the
President during all the time, believing that he will come back
to political life, while the others calculated about his
replacement. Thus, there is more and more talk about the division
of media in these two categories, there is also talk about an
alleged lunch organized by Stojan Andov, one day after the
attempt, with the managers of some Macedonian media and about the
visits of some journalists to the Speaker offering "services" in
the period after he took over the temporary presidency.
The conflict on the League of Macedonia, between the Social-
Democrats and the Liberals allegedly emerged, and the communique
of the Liberals came out as an explanation or proof of loyalty
to the President who is going back to his duties. Soros's
intervention came from the same basis, because his sympathies for
Premier Crvenkovski are known since long ago. The liberals, who
of course know about the postures of the financial magnate about
Gligorov's policies intended to incite the president in
Gligorov's eyes. The concern in some editorial boards is
increasing, therefore the shock of those who in one way or the
other were mistaken, is reasonable.

ECONOMY

PLUNDERING IN KOSOVA

by IBRAHIM REXHEPI / Prishtina

The process of transformation in Serbia and Montenegro was done

in the most unacceptable way. Instead going towards
liberalization of this process, the state has taken over it. When
it comes to Kosova, there is nothing much to say, for the process
has taken place without the presence of the Albanians and by not
respecting its interests.

Nebojsa Backovic, in one of his publications says that the

process of property transformation in Kosova has ended. The
problem is only how to revitalize the enterprises, i.e. how to
make the integrations function. According to him, this process
was developed in two directions. First, 12 enterprises became
public (statal). Then, 238 other enterprises transformed. Hence,
22 Kosovan enterprises found themselves within the Belgrade
Agricultural Combine, then 8 enterprises became part of Juko
(Zitiste), 2 enterprises were taken over by Sartid 1913

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(Smederevo, and one each by Branko Krsmanovic (Paracin),
Univerzal and Grmec (both Belgrade). Many other enterprises,
mainly those verified as trustworthy in the present economic
system in Serbia, appear in Kosova with over 51% of the capital.
At the same time, the 103 enterprises found no partners for
integration, deserted their capital to the different Serbian
funds. Regardless of the fact that this whole process is
evaluated positively by Backovic, when it is perceived from
different aspects, it can't be called otherwise but plundering
and the application of political interests of Serbia, so the
economy of Kosova would function only within Serbia and in no way
independently. Nevertheless, the Serbian authorities claim that
the mergers were mistakenly made, and that they should be
corrected.

Some Albanian analysts tried to study this issue, but didn't

manage to give an evaluation of the damage caused by this
transformation, which was in essence, the transportation of the
basic equipment and the capital to Serbia. The ascertainments
that the whole process was made without the participation of
Albanians and therefore is not acceptable for us, can't justify
the lack of seriousness in the approach.

Mustafë Blakaj, followed on all type of plundering Kosova economy

underwent since 1990. The following are the main conducted until
1994, which Blakaj published in an analysis:

- The GNP in 1990 was 1,8 DEM lower than foreseen, without
counting the direct plundering.

- When the Bank of Kosova was formally registered as share-

holding, its pure capital was 81,6 million dollars. After the
introduction of the emergency measures and the initiation of the
bankruptcy procedure, everything could be withdrawn from the
bank, i.e. 66 individual parties of currency savings worth 98,2
million dollars taken over by "Jugobanka", which is now refusing
to pay back to the clients.

- In 1990 Serbia took over the budget. It cashed in 393,1 million

dinars in Kosova, but it engaged only 0,6% of this sum in Kosova!
Can the situation go back to its previous state? according to the
flows so far, especially in times when the Serbian government
refers to the shares as the right to participate in the capital,
then it is pretty hard to restore the situation as it used to be
in 1990. The situation can't go back in many enterprises, and
only in case Kosova is recognized as an independent state can
they be part of the separation balance with Serbia, which would
be forced to compensate the caused damage.

Previous chronicles explained the transfer of equipment to

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Serbia, allegedly for repairs, but which were never returned.
Only some cases are listed below, without any pretension to claim
that this is the whole list. The Pump Factory in Deçan "lost" its
main producing machines, therefore there has been no production
in the past five years. "Kluz" in Gllogovc has become a garbage
deposit, because none of the machines are there and there is no
evidence of where they have ended. The building of "Sankos" in
Kaçanik is being used as an accommodation center for Krajina
refugees, because the machines were previously taken to Shtërpce,
becoming private property, but have not started producing yet.
"Mineks" in Ferizaj was deprived of its production line of
"eurocream", which was actually never put in function...

Analyzing the reaction of the Serbian workers, there are

indications that many of these equipments are now in the hands
of private owners. These workers feel betrayed, for they gained
nothing from these transformations, a feeling which is leading
towards the strikes and protests. But as long as these
circumstances continue, any protests are vane.

Burhan Kavaja, one of the former leaders of the UITUK speaks of

the methodology of this trade-union to evaluate the caused
damage. "Deprivation from salaries and different allowances,
based on our calculations, meant a loss of 4,5 billions of
American dollars for our workers. The UITUK evaluated that this
is what the Serbian government owes the Albanian workers and
therefore they would send a bill to the Serbian Government each
month, saying that if the bill is not paid in within the legal
term, interests would be calculated".

It is not known whether the government of Serbia received the

bills or not, but it is true that it didn't pay one dinar to the
dismissed workers. It is not in its mind to compensate the amount
or admit the general damage it caused Kosova. But, even if it
were ready to do so, no Kosovan institution really knows how much
to ask for. This means that no one knows how much has Kosova
lost, because everything was stopped on the appeal "that this
matter should be elaborated as soon as possible".

DOSSIER JUSUF ZEJNULLAHU

HISTORY IS BEING REPEATED

by YLBER HYSA / Prishtina

KOHA: How did change of the government take place?

ZEJNULLAHU: I think that since the suspension came, both the

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alternative and we worked individually. There was no
coordination, at least there was no unique strategic orientation.
Kosova finally entered a situation it had never faced before.
Practically, it was a situation of state of war. It was a new
situation for both us and the alternative. Even though we had the
support of the people, neither us or the alternative have
evaluated the situation nor had we set our policy of action. I
believe that this is a huge gap which still remains... I believed
that Kosova had lost its political factor the moment journalists
in "Rilindja" decided to leave the Communist League of Kosova.
It was replaced by the alternative and we believed that we should
find support in them. But a government couldn't function only
through statements and interviews: we needed to take decisions.

There was huge confusion after the suspensions. It was almost

impossible to establish any coordination in the work of the
suspended organs and the ones which were still functioning. The
confusion was even more increased with the created atmosphere
that all institutions, especially the statal, administration and
judiciary, must be deserted. This was present before and after
the suspension of the Government and parliament. This request was
later expanded to economy and social services. There was this
race to quit jobs and the harsh tagging of all those who were
still working. The level of patriotism was measured by the
velocity of quitting the job. Many circles and individuals gave
themselves the right to evaluate the posture and attitude of
other people. This was a huge euphoria... People thought that
everything would end within two weeks and that they would come
back. This is why the Serbian government found it even more easy
to dismount the whole network of institutions. On the other hand,
even though the Government and Parliament were suspended,
Kosova's representatives in the Federation were still there, and
the idea was to create an impression that no des-
institutionalization had taken place in Kosova. The functioning
abroad was not coordinated either. Kosova had many envoys aborad,
and many of them were not authorized. In many cases they confused
the Europeans and Americans who didn't have it clear who were the
representatives of Kosova!

In this situation, some individuals, lead by their personal

interests, and considering that time had come for them to become
part of history, started a campaign for the formation of the new
government, ignoring all legal representatives, the Government
and Parliament which still existed. Radio Zagreb - in Albanian -
was then controlled by individuals and political parties from
Kosova, and was used widely for this campaign.

KOHA: How were you informed about the change in the government?

ZEJNULLAHU: From the press. The justification was that a multi-

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party government was elected, and there was nothing wrong with
this. Thus is happened that this government was changed three
times and suspended twice within one year!

KOHA: Did you have any dilemmas in this respect?

ZEJNULLAHU: There were bo dilemmas about the completion or even

replacement of the government. But, this could have been done by
respecting the constitutional provisions and the situation which
was imposed on us, counting on the fact that all forces which
supported the executive and parliamentarian acts should become
part of it. On that occasion, without any reason, some actions
which were contrary to the Constitution were undertaken when the
Government was changed. Many individuals started taking
responsibilities which didn't belong to them, and there was such
a confusion that it wasn't clear who was dealing with politics
and who was dealing with the executive matters! I didn't deal
with matters of political parties, but they did take over some
executive powers. I was willing to change the government,
according to the Constitution, but this was not interesting for
the ones who were rushing to make the changes... I heard later
that there were talks that the Government and Parliament were not
necessary any more. This is something like the "use and throw"
system...

I didn't want to talk about this, but I must say that the
Government could have been replaced constitutionally in only two
possible ways: to have the Parliament vote non-confidence to the
Government, and with my resignation. There was no possibility for
the first option to take place, and the second one could have
been easily done.

It is interesting to state that the Parliament decided to vote

in favor of a new government without even discharging the old
one. Thus, the Parliament which proved itself with too much
sacrifice, became a simple formality. From then on, Kosova lost
its parliament and lost its administrative structure which was
replaced with associations and councils.

KOHA: You were involved in the preparations for the meeting in

Stublicka-Toplica, the meeting of Albanian political parties, but
you didn't participate in it. Why?

ZEJNULLAHU: I was informed that there was going to be a meeting

of political parties and other personalities about the future
actions. I was not informed about the organizer, the
participants, but the idea was to reach an agreement about the
future actions of Albanians in general. Naturally, this was of
my convenience. Even though we were the legal government and
parliament, we couldn't reach any success without any

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coordination with the political factors. Our posture was that
until the free elections we must support all political factors
which are acting in Kosova... This was the basis of the
preparations which were set in a meeting held in Izola
(Slovenia). The request was to complete the government in
accordance with the political factor... but I never participated
in the meeting, because I was never invited to it! Later I heard
that some people commented that I didn't want to attend the
meeting, which is completely false. It seemed that this move was
a result of the unpreparedness to determine the orientation and
the working concept according to the created situation and the
situation we were expecting. The media, again, were my source of
information about the meeting celebrated in Toplica, where
representatives of all political parties in the Former Yugoslavia
had met. The impression I got was that the issue of Kosova
wouldn't be presented concretely but generally, which was the
best way to keep the situation stalling and inert.

KOHA: The indictment against you considers the meeting you,

accompanied by Agim Mala (director of TV Prishtina - now in
exile), had with Ante Markovic, incriminating...

ZEJNULLAHU: The incriminating act is our alleged creation of an

informal group which requested the assistance of some factors of
the republics and the federation, which is absolutely false. All
we did is to say that Kosova is a constituent of the Federation,
and that if Kosova is suspended, the Federation can't function.
I met with Ante Markovic, and Agim Mala had come to the meeting
to, on behalf of TV Prishtina, ask for his intervention and the
restoration of the normal TV broadcasting. What I told Markovic,
I had already written in a letter, therefore, nothing was secret.
The situation didn't change after this meeting.

KOHA: You came back for exile which lasted several years. What
made you decide so and what is your status now?

ZEJNULLAHU: It was not my idea to remain outside Kosova forever.

I happened to be abroad when the order of my arrest was issued...
I never though of me as an emigrant, and therefore one day I
decided to come back. I was conscious of all repercussions of my
act, but the moment was such that my arrest could have some
meaning...

KOHA: There have been articles in the Serbian press about your
"political re-engagement". What is the truth and what does J.
Zejnullahu do today?

ZEJNULLAHU: I believe that intrigues and speculations do not

deserve any attention. I can say that some Albanian intriguers,
afraid that the Albanian question could be solved without their

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presence, are spreading all sorts of rumors, trying to remove the
attention from what is important. Sometimes, these people are
more afraid of Albanians than people from the Serbian regime!

KOHA: Would you come back to politics?

ZEJNULLAHU: Dealing with politics in these conditions is no

satisfaction at all, nor does it give security. In fact, I am not
apolitical when it comes to the liberty of my people. No Albanian
can be so. It is something else to concretely make decisions and
have the responsibility for that. I doubt that the politicians
today feel any satisfaction, but they deal with it for the sake
of the declared aspirations...

KOHA: What is your status today?

ZEJNULLAHU: In relation to the Serbian government, I am under

investigation. I don't feel safe, and you can notice this from
the answers I have been giving to you...

KOHA: From this distance in time, how do you evaluate the

situation during 1989 and 1990. What has been done and what has
not?

ZEJNULLAHU: I believe that many things which were decided were

never accomplished, and I believe that this is reality. Our
decisions and declarations were never brought to life. The form
exists but the realization doesn't have the content and makes no
sense. It is an organization which is without effect. The reasons
for this can be elaborated, but personally I am not willing to
talk about it.

KOHA: What is your posture?

ZEJNULLAHU: I have always believed that the situation of Kosova

is very serious. Our wishes for independence and freedom were
ignored each time they were presented. This has happened because
Albanians have often hoped that the others - the "democrats and
the developed" in Europe and the world - would take care of our
problems. It seems that history repeats itself only in the case
of Albanians, and we must not allow it... Everyone of us knows
how the things are moving. The peaceful concept the Albanians are
following, determines clearly the orientation towards the
conversation with the party in conflict - with Serbia...

KOHA: What could the talks be about concretely?

ZEJNULLAHU: About the clear orientation of Kosova to become free.

Serbia knows this, and everything is clear. Postures of both
sides are clear. The situation we have been living the past five

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years doesn't suit us. We have only negative effects from this.
We say that we have a parallel rule in Kosova, and this is not
true. This is a kind of resistance which doesn't harm Serbia.
Such a rule can only be factive, and this is what Serbia's rule
in Kosova is like. It is quite clear who is entitled to talk on
behalf of the Albanians, it's the president of the Republic,
Ibrahim Rugova, and this is clear. I even believe that Milosevic
himself is not willing to make any manoeuvres with anyone else,
because this can't solve the problem, regardless of the
conclusion.

From the strategic aspect, I don't consider it favorable for the

Kosova issue to be discussed after all other former Yugoslav
problems are solved. This practically places Kosova outside the
corpus of problems of the former Yugoslavia and makes it a matter
of Serbia alone. This can also be the purpose of Serbia,
regardless of the pressure it may face. It is also very
unfavorable if the issue is opened on a local level by Serbia.

Naturally, this will depend on the "concessions" Serbia will make

in Croatia and Bosnia, which can be proven negative for Kosova.
Also, if Kosova will be discussed after the problems in the
Former Yugoslavia are solved, then it will be forced to accept
the solution decided upon without its participation. Therefore,
we shouldn't be surprised in any way if this happens!

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