In the week of September 2- September 9 journalists working for Belgrade media had a vicarious on-the-spot overview of the life of Serbs, ethnic Albanians and other ethnic groups in Kosovo-Metohija under international community interim administration.

Fear, hatred and distrust - those are the three impressions which strike you initially and which you take away from Kosovo-Metohija. Despite efforts made by the international community, the situation in the province evokes that which we have been witnessing in the Middle East for years. No end can be seen to it, and those who are not absorbed by hate towards others and their differences remain captives of the passive and obedient majority, seeing an opportunity to build their own prosperity on the misfortune of others. The isolation and threat to the Serb community is enormous; by all apparent evidence, it faces further uncertainty of its survival in the province. The following lines represent only a modest effort to present in an informative and documented way, the people I met and impressions from Pristina, Lipljane, Laplje Selo, Decani, Kosovska Mitrovica, Gracanica, and Vucitrn…

Monday, September 3 - Interviews with Simon Haselock, Gary Matthews, Tom Koenigs, Matthew Whattley, Dan Everts, Tony Preston, Ali Sadriju, Ilber Raci and local Serbs in the YU program headquarters in Pristina; encounter with Albanian journalists; demonstrations by Klina Albanians seeking missing family members (Constitutional framework, registration, elections, civil administration workings, customs, budget)

Simon Haselock

On the first day of their sojourn to Pristina, journalists had the opportunity to talk to Simon Haselock, Media Deputy High Representative, who took the occasion to make a few introductory remarks. "The preliminary constitutional framework for Kosovo could be taken as an instance of the difficulties the international community struggles with - we're stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea: Albanians are telling us we have not moved much with respect to the independence of Kosovo, whereas Serbs are saying we have gone too far. For our part, it is a question of compromise, but also of Resolution 1244, as we seek to establish a Kosovo government within the UNMIK administration, to build the economy - all of which requires the cooperation of ministers, governments and leaders.

Accordingly, guarantees for minority representatives have been incorporated into the preliminary framework. Albanian political leaders displayed great interest in the future of Kosovo and the Kosovo Protective Corps, and they want it to become a form of National Guard. The constitutional framework is not a formula of an ultimate solution, and that is what Russian president Putin once asked me as well: why we were unable to implement fully Resolution 1244? I replied that the implementation of Resolution 1244 consisted precisely of the introduction of self-government in Kosovo, and that problems could not be resolved separately, as independent mechanisms to be applied."

Naturally, the issue of Serb participation in the elections, as well as the question of registration have sparked up the most debate. " If 200,000 Serbs register and vote, they will make up 10% of the total number of votes and 20 seats in the Kosovo Parliament. Having 20 seats in a parliament with a total of 120 MPs, you obtain considerable power to discuss issues and negotiate. You will have a say on all bills passed in parliament. I sustain that it is far easier for Serb MPs to affect the work of parliament from the inside, and I do not understand the philosophy of remaining out of institutions. In this manner, one gets a chance to stand up in parliament and raise the problems of the Serb community," Haselock argues.

As for the Kosovo Protective Corps, Haselock said that its composition was being monitored and he cited examples of people with dubious histories, one of whom had been sacked, five suspended, and two were being tried for war crimes. "Kosovo Albanians may or may not have liked it, but I once said for a local TV station in Pristina that under Resolution 1244 Kosovo was part of the FRY. They also fret when I speak of Kosovo autonomy and local self-government," he said.

Our next meeting was with Tom Koenigs, Hans Haekkerup's deputy responsible for civil administration. "In terms of health care, all hospitals in the province have been refurbished and are providing service to all communities, and one of our principles has been the free administration of help for all. Schools have also been renovated, since much of the money donated was allocated for that purpose. 400,000 pupils now attend 8,000 schools, and in that area we have the potential for major reforms in order to brings us closer to European standards," he said.

Serb Registration for Kosovo elections

Graph 1 (130 KB) Graph 2 (125 KB) Graph 3 (35 KB) Graph 4 (49 KB) Source: UN Civil mission in Kosovo and Metohija

International transport is possible through Pristina, according to Koenigs the airport has been reopened and more than 20 airlines are operating. "Last year we had upward of 450,000 passengers, this year more than 600,000. In terms of capacity, Pristina Airport will outdo Skopje Airport," he said, adding that UNMIK had repaired around 300km of road networks, and registered about 180,000 vehicles. " We have produced around 910,000 ID cards, and approximately 300,000 passports have been issued," Koenigs said.

This school year, two curricula will be implemented in Kosovo - Serbian and Albanian, both according to European standards. "Our wish is to coordinate reforms with Serbian education officials, and that will not be easy, though it is viable. It would be advantageous for the Serb community to learn Albanian and vice versa, as their potential on the labor market is thus increased, but no one will be forced to do so. What we want is a balanced approach," Koenigs said.

Following the discussion with Koenigs, we made our way to Gracanica. On our way there, passing through downtown Pristina, we saw a group of 200 Klina Albanians demonstrating, carrying posters and photographs of missing relatives, demanding that they be accounted for… the aftermath of the war is still painfully felt.

A discussion followed in Gracanica with Matthew Whattley, UNMIK officer responsible for the registration of minorities in Kosovo. "Registration was rather paltry and proceeded slowly at the beginning, and we had been wasting time until recently. Now, following the appeal from Serbian authorities, the situation is improving."

After the interview with Whattley, we visited the Kralj Milutin primary school in Gracanica, where registration was under way. Judging from what we saw, we got the impression that the number of registered Serbs had increased and that appeals made by Serbian political leaders and Patriarch Pavle had paid off.

Dan Everts, Head of Mission for the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, gave us a short interview in the school. "Our responsibility is the development of institutions and of a democratic society to secure the future for the citizens of Kosovo. We are both loyal to and critical of UNMIK. As a promoter of human rights and the rule of law, I can say that we have been dissatisfied with some of the things done in the past, especially concerning the Serb community," Everts said and asked, "why have we been putting so much effort into the registration of Serbs? The answer is pretty clear: the Serb community must be included in developments both inside and around Kosovo; if the Serb community remained uncounted, it could not participate in political processes. It must be part of the process. Pressure must be put both on the international community and on the Albanian ethnic community and its leaders to help resolve the four main issues troubling the Serb community, namely, missing persons, repatriation, security and property rights."

From Gracanica, we made our way back to Pristina, to the customs house in the vicinity of the orthodox cemetery. We were met by Tony Preston, UNMIK official in charge of the Kosovo budget, and his associates. "The 2001 budget stands at DM500m and that is an adequate sum for the normal work of the government in Kosovo. By way of example, half of the budget goes towards salaries, whereas, social welfare, for instance, is allocated around DM80m. The proportion in percentages is as follows: 45% for education, 20% for health care, 16-17% for social welfare and 8-10% for other areas. Approximately DM20m are earmarked yearly for the Kosovo Protective Corps. We have gathered some DM12m in tax levies and I expect that in the future we will be collecting about DM1m a week, if everything goes as planned," Preston said.

Ali Sadriju, central budget co-head, was slightly irritated by the insistence of Belgrade journalists on Resolution 1244 establishing Kosovo as part of FRY. However, Sadriju was candid: "Kosovo has its own territory and borders. Those borders have been in existence for a long time, and now administration is being carried out within them."

Ilber Raci, head of the UNMIK customs authority, took a similar stance: "I get the impression that some things remain unclear to you. As journalists, you should know that according to Resolution 1244, UNMIK has sole authority to administer Kosovo. Serbian and Yugoslav laws do not apply here and are invalid."

After some unpleasant talks, we set off to the YU programme building in Pristina, where some 200 Serbs still live. British members of KFOR look after them - they have to accompany children to school and back. They feel isolated and threatened. Two particularly harsh incidents took place recently - they were attacked with a bomb and once with a rocket. They gather at a cafe owned by their Turkish neighbour. That is where they spend their evenings. The sites were horrific, especially when one sees guard posts in front of the buildings they live in.

A cocktail with younger Albanian reporters and UNMIK representatives marked the end of that day. Many Albanian reporters were interested to hear from their Serbian colleagues about political situation both in Kosovo and in Serbia. Both sides expressed their sorrow because of Serbian and Albanian casualties during the conflict which continues through Serb and other non-Albanian suffering in Kosovo. In an atmosphere of reason and tolerance, they expressed a mutual desire for the continuation of communication which would set aside political differences. However, many of the Albanian reporters who were asked to come did not show up - perhaps out of fear, they say.

Five days in Kosovo-Metohija
Tuesday, September 4
Wednesday, September 5
Thursday, September 6
Friday, September 7