Life in Kosovo Interviews Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni
This Thursday, Life in Kosovo interviews Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni.
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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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Comment: Kosovo`s Choice Between Justice and Organised Crime
13 September 2007 Following the murder of a popular policeman, Kosovars can no longer plead ignorance about the extent to which mafia crime has penetrated the country.
By Krenar Gashi in Pristina
“Who watches your back now?” was the banner many people were carrying on September 4 next to a giant portrait of Triumf Riza, the police officer shot dead one week earlier, allegedly by a notorious gang. Thousands marched in Pristina’s streets on that day, taking part in a peaceful rally against organised crime in Kosovo.
Riza, an elite member of the Kosovo Police Service, KPS, was known for his commitment to the fight against crime. His colleagues say he was never reluctant to chase criminals, even when they were close to the authorities or politicians.
“A cowboy with a badge” was the nickname given him. Many others believe he is a hero of Kosovo’s new history.
Riza was murdered by shots from an automatic weapon in a crowded district of Pristina in broad daylight. His murder clearly intended to terrify people: to set fear into their hearts and send a message that crime rules the no man’s land of Kosovo. Those few who dissent from this can expect to be killed in front of our eyes.
It only took hours for fellow officers to declare they had found the alleged murderer of their colleague. A young man, identified only as A.B., surrendered two days later, and admitted the crime. He may face a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
Riza’s colleagues, however, are not satisfied with A.B.’s arrest, and the investigation into the case continues.
In the close-knit society of Kosovo there is no feeling that justice is being done. There is an overall understanding that behind A.B. stands a notorious criminal gang, whose leader’s name cannot be uttered in public -- only whispered among close groups of friends.
Reading reports on the event and listening to the conversations taking place in cafes about Riza’s battles with a notorious gang, I was reminded of the children’s bestseller, “Harry Potter”.
In J.K. Rowling’s famous series, the characters refer to a particularly malevolent evil magician as “you-know-who”.
This evil but powerful person has terrified the world of the novels to such a degree that people are afraid even to mention his name.
“We all know who the actual person behind this murder is, we just can’t prove it,” a police officer told me. “You know who I am talking about”. Indeed.
The name – rightly or wrongly - on the lips of many Kosovars is that of Enver Sekiraqa, a controversial businessman well known to most people who ever watch television news or read newspapers in Kosovo.
Involved in at least two reported incidents with Triumf Riza, one of them including firearms, he is seen by many in Kosovo as the real suspect behind Riza’s murder. Police sources told me that this Sekiraqa had been caught many times by the KPS in possession of illegal weapons but was never convicted of the offence which carries a minimum sentence of six months.
In the meantime, one can only wonder why Kosovars, eight years after they survived a vicious campaign of ethnic cleansing, seem equally afraid to pronounce or even write down the name of their most fearsome gangsters. What has happened in Kosovo that the situation has reached this point?
Riza was by no means the only murder victims in Kosovo since 1999. Hundreds of murder cases lie unresolved in police files, begging the question of whether it takes the murder of a policeman for law enforcement in Kosovo to really act.
The police should think hard about why they have not arrested hundreds of other criminals in connection with this - and other - murders, when they were racketeering, bribing and stealing.
On other hand, when the police prepare cases for trial, the courts often release the defendants. This apparent inability of the courts to convict the accused is, one fears, inspiring and encouraging criminals.
I can only conclude that the judiciary has failed to deal with many of the “you-know-whos” in Kosovo.
That was exactly the message coming from thousands of protesters who symbolically turned their backs on the Kosovo courthouse. It was an eloquent expression of the loss of their trust in the state of law, order and justice in Kosovo – for which ultimate responsibility remains with the UN administration.
But now and for the first time in Kosovo’s recent history, people are raising their voices against this weak and impotent judiciary.
They are arguing that many people would still be alive if certain notorious criminals had been put behind bars.
As this case has developed, it is also deeply worrying to think that Kosovo’s society is able to produce young killers, ready to commit premeditated murder, knowing what kind of sentence awaits them if caught.
What kind of desperate environment makes people take each other’s lives and why? For money, revenge, or is it just to gain advantage in a competition for notoriety?
The feeling of rage among the population is overwhelming. Nothing has succeeded in awakening a sense of civic consciousness among them more than this murder.
Riza’s death was not just yet another murder, but was a challenge to Kosovo’s institutions, in the opinion of the Interior Minister, Blerim Kuci.
It was more than that, I believe. This murder was a chance for Kosovars to decide whether or not they want organised crime to dominate their country.
Kosovo’s own process of restoring justice needs to start now, following this particular tragedy.
It is time for Kosovars to insist that Riza be the last police officer shot by criminals in this fashion. The criminals who have lorded it over us for so long must be named, and hunted down.
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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