Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Skip to main content

10 May 2000

CONTENTS  
  • COMMANDER DRINI STOOD IN SOMEONE’S WAY IN PRIZREN
  • CONZE: WE CANNOT INVALIDATE FRY PASSPORTS
  • "KOUCHNER PASSPORTS" TO BE INTERNATIONALLY LEGALIZED
  • POLITICAL PARTIES: WITHOUT ALBANIAN INVOLVEMENT THERE CAN’T BE AN ACCEPTABLE CONSTITUTION
  • KFOR HANDS OVER THREE FORMER KLA SOLDIERS TO SERBIA
  • MORINA: DIDA'S REACTION IS RIDICULOUS
   

COMMANDER DRINI STOOD IN SOMEONE’S WAY IN PRIZREN

In its report from Prizren about the murder of Ekrem Rexha - Drini, the former Commander of the KLA Operative Zone of Pashtrik, Zëri carried the statement of Ruzhdi Rexha, the brother of the deceased. He told the paper that the best evidence of who Ekrem was, is the fact that entire Prizren had come to condole his death. Rexha was also a former Captain of the Yugoslav Army and a participant in the war in Croatia and later in Kosovo.   "After he left for work, he returned to get help to fix a flat tyre of his car. At least two persons in a red Opel Kadet were waiting for him," recalled Rexha. "Shots were heard, probably fired by a Scorpion gun. While I put my shoes on, the car drove away quickly after shooting Ekrem dead. I don't know if he saw anyone when he returned to get help for the tyre. But he didn't say anything… He could have suspected that someone was following him, but he didn't say a thing! (…) Ekrem had very few enemies. But it seems they were few, but 'strong'. We have never talked about who they could be … he always said, don't worry, they are nothing… he never mentioned any names. Ekrem stood in the way of somebody in Prizren, not in Serbia," said Rexha, contradicting statements of some local party leaders that the Belgrade regime could have been behind his murder. He added that before the war Ekrem had only friends, and after the war he had more friends than enemies.   Rifat Berisha, a relative of the late Commander said that Ruzhdi had noticed a month ago a red Opel Kadet. The same persons had followed Drini in the commemoration ceremony held in Landovica. "Two months ago he (Drini) came for dinner to my house and told me that two of his soldiers from the Pashtrik Zone, have told him to be cautious because he is being followed. I don't see why I should be cautious, I never did anything wrong, Drini told me then," recalled Berisha.   Koha Ditore in its report from Prizren also quoted, Ruzhdi Rexha. Ruzhdi Rexha reportedly rejected the idea circulating in the public about Belgrade’s involvement, saying, "he did not stand in the way of anybody in Belgrade, but he stood in the way of somebody here in Prizren, something he paid for with his life. Please, I am going to speak about this after a couple of months, but I am going to announce the truth publicly," added Rexha.   The paper said that UNMIK Police and KFOR have intensified their investigations, but hadn’t come up with anything so far.   As a sign of respect for the Commander Drini, the local radio stations in Prizren changed their programming, broadcasting mainly news regarding the murder. The entertainment programmes were stopped.   CONZE: WE CANNOT INVALIDATE FRY PASSPORTS   Kosova Sot on page one carried an article on registration and issuance of identification and travel documents, saying that at the moment they were the main issues for the international administration. It was noted that these two issues were linked since logically nobody can receive travel or identification documents without being registered.   However, the paper said that on the issue of the travel documents, things were confusing, especially in the light of the fact that FRY’s office in Prishtina was issuing parallel travel documents.   The paper said there were two challenges facing Kosovo: one was that while the international community says that Serbia would remain outside Kosovo, but in fact it is functioning through its passport office in Prishtina; and secondly of UNMIK’s attempt to establish a co-administration with the local population. The paper added that this was double administration, which was unacceptable to the Albanians.   Commenting on whether issuing of documents by Belgrade could be stopped, Albrecht Conze, UNMIK Director of Civil Documents, told the paper that they could not invalidate the Yugoslav passports since this was not UNMIK’s job, adding that the priority for UNMIK was to issue travel documents for people who currently do not have them.   "KOUCHNER PASSPORTS" TO BE INTERNATIONALLY ACCEPTED   Zëri on pages one and four carried an article dealing with the issue of entry visas for Kosovo residents, in the wake of the decision of the European Union on the UNMIK travel documents expected next week. The representatives of the offices of some Western countries in Prishtina, told the paper that prospective stance of their countries on this issue.   Michael Kulprich of the German Office said that the entry visas for Germany could be issued only in Skopje, since there is no consulate in Prishtina. "The decision is to be taken in the coming days," said Kulprich, adding that the travel documents will be recognized, since UNMIK as an international entity is the government here. "There will be a decision on the Schengen visas," he added.   Michel Tarrot of the French Office also said that the visa services are offered in Skopje and will not be available in Prishtina. "I cannot say anything. There will be a joint decision of the European Union. There will be a concrete, joint decision this week," he said.   An official at the British office in Prishtina told the paper that Great Britain hadn’t still made any decision regarding these documents. "I still don't know whether the travel documents will be accepted for visa purposes. The British visas could be taken in Tirana and Skopje. The travel documents are like passports and the issue is not of the travel documents, but whether the proper document is issued for getting a visa," she said.   The paper noted that the procedures are much simpler in the case of European countries not members of the EU. For example, Switzerland has a liaison office in Prishtina that is issuing visas since 10 January and 900 Kosovo residents have so far received visas from this office. "In principle, we accept the travel documents, but still there is no decision. We have issued visas on the temporary travel documents in emergency cases. I don't see any problems in recognizing the travel documents. Belgrade can oppose it, but the UNMIK Administration is the government here and this is accepted also by Belgrade through resolution 1244," said Andreas Perrin, the deputy head of the Swiss Office.   As for the United States, Razvigar Bazalla of the U.S. Office in Prishtina said that there is no U.S. Consulate in Prishtina, and that it existed in Skopje. "We will see about our position. We accept Kouchner's papers - as we call them. We have allowed people to travel to the United States on Kouchner's papers," said Bazalla.   POLITICAL PARTIES: WITHOUT ALBANIAN INVOLVEMENT THERE CAN’T BE AN ACCEPTABLE CONSTITUTION   Zëri on page three carried the reaction of the three main Kosovo political parties on the preparation of the Kosovo Constitution, an interim legal framework for Kosovo.   Fatmir Limaj, deputy chairman of the Kosovo Democratic Progress Party (PPDK), said that since the beginning of UNMIK here, they had warned that UNMIK or anybody else would find it difficult to act in Kosovo without a clear legal framework. He added that they had requested a legislation that would lead to free elections in Kosovo. According to him, these requests were made in all the meetings that they had with the international representatives, especially in the meeting Thaçi had with the political representatives of the five OSCE countries, where it was said that Kosovo should have a constitution. Limaj added that Kouchner also agreed that Kosovo should have a contract or a legal framework.   Limaj also addressed the problem of the non-participation of the Albanians in the formulation of the constitution. "At the moment this issue is being discussed by the Contact Group, but it is really unacceptable that there is discussion going on for a legal framework or a constitution without the participation of our experts. Kosovo has its experts, who are experienced in constitutional issues and who could give their opinion. A special board created for this work, has been ignored and it seems that everything has been taken over by the Contact Group," said Limaj.   Limaj pointed out that the PPDK wants a constitution that would not just prejudge the issue of the final status of Kosovo, but also a constitution that must have nothing to do with Serbia and former Yugoslavia. "This framework should include all those issues which would lay the foundation for institutional development in Kosovo, which would help establish democratic institutions, and which would not prejudge the final status of Kosovo or the links with the Serb regime. If that constitution stipulates preservation of the Serb or Yugoslav integrity, then this will be unacceptable to us," concluded Limaj.   Kolë Berisha, deputy chairman of Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), told the paper that they hadn’t looked at this issue since they didn't have the draft document. But he welcomed such a document, which would help regulate life in the interim period. Noting that the administrative model the UN is using in Kosovo is unique, Berisha added that a legal document such as the constitution would help outline the interim status of Kosovo and the competencies of the legislative, executive and judicial bodies.   Berisha also commented on the failure to consult the Albanians on the project. "The time when decisions were made in Kosovo without consulting the Albanians is over. No acts even though well intentioned, can guarantee success without the participation of the Albanians," said Berisha. He added that the upcoming constitution must go beyond the Rambouillet agreement, since there is a new reality in Kosovo which makes the agreement outdated. "The new constitution should prepare for a more advanced status of Kosovo, i.e. it should prepare Kosovo for the final status, the aspiration of the Albanian people, which is Kosovo's independence," added Berisha.   Mehmet Hajrizi, a senior official of the United Democratic Movement (LBD), said that the issue of Kosovo's constitution wasn't discussed at the IAC or the KTC, adding that the project that the Albanians have not seen is becoming more of a media story. Acknowledging the need for an interim legal framework for Kosovo, Hajrizi said that this framework, regardless of its name, should have all the characteristics and the substance of a constitution. It should be prepared according to the recognized standards of modern democracies and the Council of Europe. "This constitution cannot be a compilation of the previous constitutions of Kosovo, Serbia and Yugoslavia nor can it be a copy of the Rambouillet constitution, because the new reality in Kosovo, has made these documents outdated," said Hajrizi.   KFOR HANDS OVER THREE FORMER KLA SOLDIERS TO SERBIA   Not all Albanian hostages kept in Serb prisons were arrested before 12 June. Some were arrested even after the deployment of NATO troops and not by the Serb security forces. Three months after the end of the war and the deployment of NATO troops in Kosovo, KFOR Russian forces arrested and handed over three Albanians to the Serb police in Serbia, it was said in the introduction to an article in Koha Ditore on pages one and four.   According to the paper, in September 1999, Bekim Susuri a former KLA soldier, and two of his friends went to visit another friend in Kamenica, but ended up in the Nis prison, in Serbia. "All this thanks to the Russian forces deployed in Kamenica," Ilaz Susuri, father of Bekim Susuri, told the paper. Bekim's family was concerned because he didn’t visit for over three months. Then an official of the ICRC informed them that Bekim was in the prison in Pozarevac in Serbia. In a telephone conversation from the prison with his father, Bekim said that, "my two friends, Shefqet Makshana and Xhemajl Berisha and I were arrested by the Russian KFOR forces in Kamenica… they handed us over to the Serb police in Serbia". At the time of the arrest, the paper noted, Bekim Susuri was wearing a KLA uniform. He and his friends are currently in the Serb prison in Nis.   The paper went on to explain that the Military Court in Nis, had charged them with terrorism on 12 April. The indictment signed by Captain Aleksandar Kalicanin, the deputy prosecutor, didn’t note the place, time or the way in which the three Albanians were arrested. The indictment describes their membership of the former KLA, their training in Albania, and the way they smuggled weapons into Kosovo.   According to the indictment, Bekim Susuri admitted that he had murdered two soldiers of the Yugoslav Army and that after the war he smuggled weapons from Albania to Kosovo to carry out attacks against the members of the Yugoslav Army. On the other hand, the paper went on to point out that according to the Kumanovo Agreement signed on 10 June 1999, between representatives of the Yugoslav Army and NATO, all military and paramilitary formations of the Yugoslav Army were to leave Kosovo within 10 days. Therefore, by the end of June of 1999, the time when Susuri accused of smuggling weapons from Albania to Kosovo and carrying out attacks against the Yugoslav soldiers, all the Serb security forces had already left Kosovo, concluded the paper.   MORINA: DIDA'S REACTION IS RIDICULOUS   Kosova Sot on page five carried the reaction of Zef Morina, the co-head of the Department for Post and Telecommunications, regarding yesterday's statement of Agron Dida, the suspended PTK General Director, on corruption in UNMIK. " Dida’s statement  is ridiculous because he is not doing anything in the PTK’s interest and I am very sorry because I couldn’t revert to his job," said Morina.   Commenting on Dida's statement on corruption within UNMIK, Morina said that it would be good if the gentlemen name specific people. "Otherwise I wouldn’t be the head of this department and I never participated in any contract," Morina added.   Regarding Dida's claims that some PTK workers dealing with staff issues were being backed by Morina, the co-head of the Department for Post and Telecommunications, said that on a request from PTK workers, he had a meeting with them once in UNMIK's building. But he said that they didn’t take a stand. "They expressed their dissatisfaction with the PTK Managing Board, led by Dida, who orchestrated every act even though he was suspended," said Morina. At the same time, Morina said that he requested the contract from the PTK Managing Board, but they didn’t bring it, "which means we have to look for corruption within their side".   As for Dida's statement that, "what can you expect when a construction engineer does the work of the minister of telecommunication," Morina responded that, "maybe Dida has a problem with Mr. Kouchner's profession as well, because according to Dida Kouchner should have been a political science expert and not a doctor".   Regarding Dida's claim that Morina was opposed to the internet project in Kosovo, when he had argued that "you cannot build internet in Kosovo, when people are still hungry", Morina said that he was not against internet. However, he believed that assistance should be given to the needy people - the ones without shelter and living on humanitarian aid and not only to the PTK.   Dida also mentioned that in April this year, he signed a contract with the security company Kobra, but that a certain Leme Xhema, an UNMIK official, blocked the implementation of the contract by not allowing the monthly payments to Kobra. Asked about it, Xhema told the paper that, "I had no contact with Agron Dida regarding the contract with Kobra. I don’t know where Dida got the information that we blocked the implementation of the contract." Xhema explained that they had commented on the imbalance of salaries between the PTK employees and those of Kobra.