Justice in Kosovo discusses the privatisation of NBI Suhareka winery
Justice in Kosovo broadcast a programme about the privatisation process of the NBI Suhareka wine enterprise, including high-profile suspicions about secret deals between businessmen.
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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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Kosovo Albanians Worry about Russia’s Veto
15 May 2007 While the politicians profess confidence in the UN Security Council, ordinary Kosovars have more faith in American power.
By Krenar Gashi in Pristina and Podujevo
“Russians are important,” said Izet, 55, a farmer,
sitting in a traditional teahouse in the north-eastern town of
Podujevo. “The Russians are strong… they won’t let us to become
independent so easy”, he went on, adding sugar to a tiny glass of black
tea – the kind that Kosovo Albanians refer to as “Russian tea”.
Many
Kosovo Albanians are worried that Russia, a permanent member of the UN
Security Council, is about to use its veto powers to block a resolution
on Kosovo’s final status.
A draft resolution
endorsing “supervised” independence and drawn up by the UN envoy,
Martti Ahtisaari, was formally proposed by the US and European states
last week.
However, Russia – like Serbia -
strongly opposes the idea of granting independence to break-away
territories and has said it will oppose the Ahtisaari proposal.
Forcing
any decision on Kosovo’s status would be “counter-productive”, Vitaly
Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, said on May 10 in New York.
Many
Kosovo Albanians, such as Izet, see Russia as an important power in the
global decision-making processes. They don’t know much about the
procedures of the Security Council but they well remember Russia’s
might in the era of the Cold War.
These days the “Russian veto” has become a hot topic in Kosovo’s cafes, bars and streets.
In
the Rreze Llapi tea club in Podujevo, much frequented by retired
persons, Izet was soon involved in a harsh debate with his compatriots.
Another middle-aged Albanian who didn’t want to
introduce himself was convinced the status issue would not be solved
for a long time, and punched the table to ensure he got attention.
“Lavrov gave up on Kosovo once”, he shouted. “He won’t do that again”.
Sergey
Lavrov, today Russia’s Foreign Minister, was the Kremlin’s ambassador
to the UN in 1999 and so represented his country on the Security
Council when it adopted UN resolution 1244 in June 1999.
The
resolution obliged Serbia’s authorities to withdraw from the province
and gave the green light for NATO peacekeepers and a UN administration
to be installed.
However, 1244 did not determine
Kosovo’s final status, stating that for the time being the province
would remain part of Serbia.
Unlike the patrons
of Kosovo’s teahouses and cafés, Kosovo’s politicians are reluctant to
make a direct prognosis on how Russia will vote in the Security
Council.
Outwardly, Agim Ceku, Kosovo’s Prime
Minister, remains confident that Russia will not veto the
Western-inspired resolution on final status.
Russian
diplomats openly say the contrary. “Solving the status issue must be
based on compromise between both parties,” Churkin said after the
Security Council delegation’s recent visit to Kosovo and Serbia. “The
status talks have been too hasty.”
Few Kosovo
Albanians disagree with Ahtisaari’s proposal, which offers Albanians
the cherished goal of independence, alongside special rights for
minorities, especially Serbs, including several new municipalities with
Serbian majorities.
“Antisari took the middle road,” said Izet, struggling to pronounce the name of the Finnish diplomat who was its author.
“He
has carved Kosovo’s status so well that it will fit everybody,” he
added, referring to envoy’s attempt to reach a decent compromise.
Ordinary
people in Kosovo have been paying less and less attention to the local
politicians who have been promising independence since 2000, constantly
changing the timeframe.
Kosovo’s former prime minister, Bajram Kosumi, publicly promised that Kosovo would be independent by June 2006.
When
that promise did not come true, Kosovars became skeptical about pledges
that Kosovo’s status would be settled in the next few weeks.
Bajram,
a former fighter with guerilla Kosovo Liberation Army, said he didn’t
have any faith that Kosovo politicians could deliver on the status
issue.
For Bajram and other Albanians, the only real hope for Kosovo’s independence remains America’s support.
As
a result, the attention of most Kosovars is focused on New York and
Washington, where they believe the big decisions on their country will
be taken.
“Thank God we have America with us,” Izet said. “They are now fighting our cause with the Russians”.
Condoleezza
Rice, the US Secretary of State, traveled on Sunday to Moscow to try to
convince Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, and Foreign Minister
Lavrov, that Kosovo’s status should be reached by a consensus on the
Security Council.
The mission is seen as a final
American effort to soften Russia’s opposition to independence, which
has barely altered since the negotiations on Kosovo’s final status
began.
A source close to US government told
Balkan Insight that if Rice did not get anywhere with Lavrov, the last
resort for President George Bush would be to personally take charge of
the Kosovo issue at this summer’s G8 meeting in Germany, which Russia
will attend.
Izet asks the waiter for another small
glass of tea. He’s worried - but still convinced that the Americans,
who helped Kosovo during the war of 1999, will not let it down now.
“It will be better one day… very soon,” he said.
Krenar Gashi is BIRN Kosovo Editor. Balkan Insight is BIRN’s online publication.
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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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