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Russia’s illegal office in Kosovo (indeksonline.net)

By   /  22/01/2014  /  No Comments

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Russia opened a human rights center in Kosovo on Monday as part of a public action to assist the Serb population. The office however was opened illegally because its managers failed to submit a request with Kosovo institutions, namely with the Ministry for Local Government. “The Russian center, in January 2014, was not registered as a non-governmental organization with the Ministry for Local Government; they did not even submit a request. In order to be registered, international NGOs need to fill up the registration application in compliance with the Law nr.04/L57,” Zeqir Bekolli, a representative of the Ministry for Local Government told Indeksonline. “Attached to the request should be the complete documents translated in official languages. It needs to specify evidence for the foundation of the organization, its headquarters, mission, activity and the logo of the NGO.” Regardless of these criteria, the Russian NGO has started operating and its offices are located in the northern part of Mitrovica. Meanwhile, security experts in Pristina believe this NGO has certain goals and that it is up to the Kosovo Intelligence Agency to verify the organization. Police officers in the region are not aware about the activities of the organization. Florian Qehaja, security expert, said all foreign organizations coming to Kosovo, especially those coming from the East, should be verified. “I think security mechanisms need to verify the opening of this center because this is the first time that we are faced with such an issue. At the same time there need to be assurances for the freedom of association which is guaranteed by the Constitution. I also think that organizations from eastern countries and from Russia that want to open their organizations in Kosovo, need to undergo a verification process by the Kosovo Intelligence Agency,” Qehaja said. “This organization comes with certain objectives, to assist the Serb community, which means that it will provide assistance to only one community and this will further fragmentize the political and social scene in Kosovo.” Naim Maloku, security expert, said this is a step that will bring the two countries closer and that the day will come when Kosovo will open its embassy in Russia. Maloku also said the Russian center needs to respect rules and regulations and that it will help improve relations between Kosovo and Russia. “Russia does not recognize Kosovo as a state; there are many other countries that have not recognized Kosovo. The NGO needs to respect the rules and laws of functioning. I think that one day Kosovo will have to improve relations with Russia and Kosovo will have to open a center in Russia. The fact that Russia is against Kosovo’s recognition now does mean that it will always have the same position,” Maloku said. Maloku also said that the opening of the Russian center will have no negative impact on Kosovo. “I don’t think this will have any negative impact on public security in Kosovo,” he added. Kosovo Police deputy director in the north, Besim Hoti, said he has no information about the Russian NGO. “No, we have no information. We haven’t been informed about such a center,” Hoti said.

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