Life in Kosovo discusses the fourth anniversary of independence
Tonight, Life in Kosovo will discuss the achievements and challenges witnessed over the four years since Kosovo was declared to be an independent state.
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Every Thursday starting from 20:30, Radio Television Kosovo, RTK, broadcasts the TV debate show "Life in Kosovo", a joint production of BIRN and RTK.
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Justice in Kosovo interviews Nazim Bllaca, former member of SHIK
27 November 2011 Justice in Kosovo broadcast an exclusive interview with Nazim Bllaca, a former member of the Kosovo Information Service, SHIK.
Two years after his first public appearance, at which he testified about murders and other post-war crimes, Mr. Bllaca confessed to journalist Kastriot Jahaj about crimes committed during the 1999 war in Kosovo. What is the ‘dark side’ of the war that Mr. Bllaca claims has never been discussed before? How many people did he arrest in 1998, and what happened to those people?
Is Mr. Bllaca a witness in the investigation into organ trafficking in the ‘Yellow House’ case? Why is Mr. Bllaca a witness for the ‘Limaj’ case covering war crimes that allegedly occurred in Klecka prison? How does Bllaca feel two years after his first public appearance? How did he feel after fellow former SHIK agent Fahredin Gashi, known as Faruk, was sentenced? Is he satisfied with his 18-year imprisonment conviction? What will Mr. Bllaca’s sentence be for cooperating in the murder of Salih Gashi? What is Mr. Bllaca’s evidence that Azem Syla was the leader of SHIK?
The interview began with Mr. Bllaca telling his story, saying that since he went public with his claims two years ago, he has heard a lot of gossip claiming that he is “a crazy man”, “a betrayer”, “a collaborationist” and so on.
“After the court decision, people understood that I am not mentally ill, I am not illiterate and I can remember hundreds of dates,” he said.
Speaking about his role in the war, Mr. Bllaca revealed that he participated in many arrests. He declared that he handed in at least three people in Blinaje, a zone for which the commander was Shukri Buja, currently mayor of Lipjan.
Mr. Bllaca admitted that he took part in several executions, but that the court “has amnestied” him. He reported that they said: “the murders that Mr. Bllaca has presented have been undisclosed and not researched for 10 years…they have been forgotten and Mr. Bllaca [talking in third person] has succeeded in dusting off this old forgotten information and brought it into view again.”
He remembers very well, ten years ago, while working the land with a combine harvester, that he was “ordered” to go to Prishtina to commit a murder. Asked how he feels when he remembers the murders, Mr. Bllaca replied “it’s a feeling of grief; it is not easy to kill a man.”
Further, he said that anyone who has been against the PDK has been collaborationist. “After every murder, we were celebrating and drinking all night long,” he said.
Mr. Bllaca confirmed that he is a witness in the Klecka case, in which Fatmir Limaj is one of the accused. “The Klecka prison was not established by Fatmir Limaj. How is it possible that, in one prison with 100 prisoners, only one person knows this. Klecka prison was established after a meeting, with headquarters and with minutes…KLA had its head, and the head was Azem Syla,” he said.
Also, he claimed that the leader of the Kosovo Assembly, Jakup Krasniqi, has accused him of being a witness in the
‘Yellow House’ case, but Mr. Bllaca said that he doesn’t even know where the town of Burrel is. Among others, he denies that these charges were intended to damage PDK’s image. “I don’t want to harm anyone, I just want to withdraw the incorrect contribution I have made previously,” he concluded.
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The opinions expressed in Balkan Insight are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.
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