Amid the spectacular firework display at 10:30pm, most of the international media focused on the challenges that face Kosovo as it enters into it's fourth year of declaring independence from Serbia. As mentioned the other day, economic problems still plague Europe's newest country with only one of five people under the age of 25 having employment and 14% of the population living below the extreme poverty line.
There were many articles about how cold reality is setting in or how Kosovo is a state of failed expectations, but still those of us on the ground can't help but hold on to the hope that over time problems with corruption, the economic hardship, lack of higher education, and life itself will improve. After all, like a baby, you have to learn how to crawl before you walk and while many had hoped that Kosovo would take off running after declaring independence, it is not fair to expect that things would miraculously change overnight or in just a couple of years.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Life in Kosovo
It has been a while since I've broken away from reporting on the boring old news in Kosovo and wrote simply about life in Kosovo.
The phrase "the more things change, the more they stay the same" truly applies to Kosovo. It seems that the road construction will forever make our lives hell and we are condemned to wait in lines of traffic with KPS acting as human traffic signals or taking our lives in our own hands to dive out in the an intersection with no traffic signs/signals/common sense. Despite the best intentions to make Kosovo a cleaner place by implementing environmental measures at Obilic, Kosovo is a dirty and dusty place with the smell of wood or the stench of coal in the air during the winter and tree-lined streets with bird-$hit covered cars underneath them. But despite all this, I must confess that after 10 years in Kosovo, it is home and when (some friends say "if"!) I leave I will take away many happy memories and fantastic friendships!
There are a few places that I have to mention for those looking for a place to go for a nice meal. The first is Taverna Toscana (044 890 678 located near the entrance to the US Embassy. Serving up homemade pasta and some of the finest cuts of steak we have found in Pristina, the restaurant not only serves fantastic meals but very reasonably priced. For those with a bottomless pit of a stomach, I can recommend taking the set dinner menu which consists of a soup, salad & appetizer, main course, and dessert! You are guaranteed not to leave hungry or with an inch of space left in your stomach for more food!!!
The second place on my highly recommended list is Old Country House in the village of Benice e Eperme (044 656 054). Serving traditional Kosovo dishes such as homemade bread with "long", a bread dipping mixture that is to die for, and tava, Old Country House is a great little getaway from the hustle and bustle of Pristina.
The phrase "the more things change, the more they stay the same" truly applies to Kosovo. It seems that the road construction will forever make our lives hell and we are condemned to wait in lines of traffic with KPS acting as human traffic signals or taking our lives in our own hands to dive out in the an intersection with no traffic signs/signals/common sense. Despite the best intentions to make Kosovo a cleaner place by implementing environmental measures at Obilic, Kosovo is a dirty and dusty place with the smell of wood or the stench of coal in the air during the winter and tree-lined streets with bird-$hit covered cars underneath them. But despite all this, I must confess that after 10 years in Kosovo, it is home and when (some friends say "if"!) I leave I will take away many happy memories and fantastic friendships!
There are a few places that I have to mention for those looking for a place to go for a nice meal. The first is Taverna Toscana (044 890 678 located near the entrance to the US Embassy. Serving up homemade pasta and some of the finest cuts of steak we have found in Pristina, the restaurant not only serves fantastic meals but very reasonably priced. For those with a bottomless pit of a stomach, I can recommend taking the set dinner menu which consists of a soup, salad & appetizer, main course, and dessert! You are guaranteed not to leave hungry or with an inch of space left in your stomach for more food!!!
The second place on my highly recommended list is Old Country House in the village of Benice e Eperme (044 656 054). Serving traditional Kosovo dishes such as homemade bread with "long", a bread dipping mixture that is to die for, and tava, Old Country House is a great little getaway from the hustle and bustle of Pristina.
PDK & AKR to form coalition
After weeks of wish-washing in the press about forming coalitions between PDK and other political parties, it appears that the coalition has finally been formed although the appointment of who will be president has still not been decided. According to the latest news, PDK will form a coalition with Pacolli's AKR with the post of president going to Pacolli, although as leader of his party I can't help but wonder if he won't run into the same constitutional violation that Fatmir Sedijui had last year! But I imagine that all that will be hashed out before he takes office...or at least you hope that they've paid attention and know that the constitution doesn't allow the leader of a political party to be the president.
The Marty report and political problems have cast a shadow over the third anniversary of Kosovo's declaration of independence which comes up tomorrow. Some say that the situation in Kosovo is worse than it was when the declaration of independence was made as the political elite continue to get richer while the poor get poorer and little progress seems to have been made in the areas of education and economic growth. In fact, two Vetevendosje activists were so unhappy with the state of the University of Pristina that they threw red paint on the director during a speech. Consequently they were arrested and sentenced to 30 days in jail.
The Marty report and political problems have cast a shadow over the third anniversary of Kosovo's declaration of independence which comes up tomorrow. Some say that the situation in Kosovo is worse than it was when the declaration of independence was made as the political elite continue to get richer while the poor get poorer and little progress seems to have been made in the areas of education and economic growth. In fact, two Vetevendosje activists were so unhappy with the state of the University of Pristina that they threw red paint on the director during a speech. Consequently they were arrested and sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Leaks Allege that Kosovo PM Thaci is "big fish" in organized crime
It seems that the US government isn't the only body troubled with cable leaks lately. Leaked NATO cables from Kosovo allege that outgoing (and probably incoming) Kosovo Prime Minister Haschim Thaci and the person described as the power behind him, Xhavit Haliti, have close ties with the Albanian mafia. The leaked cables, referenced in an article by the UK's Guardian, come as the Council of Europe Parliament has begun its debates into the Dick Marty report regarding some of the same allegations of Thaci's involvement in organized crime and organ trafficking. NATO/KFOR will reportedly look into how the cables were leaked to the newspaper.
In other NATO news, KFOR is expected to reduce its troop size by half by 1 March 2011 as security and stability in Kosovo has warranted a drawdown according to the NATO Secretary-General Rasmussen.
The election re-runs have finished and Thaci's PDK party has won the largest percentage of votes at 32.4% followed by Mustafa's LDK at 24.67%. The re-election in Mitrovica resulted in an 11% lower voter turnout than in the December elections and only 10 Serbs voted in the mobile polling stations.
In other NATO news, KFOR is expected to reduce its troop size by half by 1 March 2011 as security and stability in Kosovo has warranted a drawdown according to the NATO Secretary-General Rasmussen.
The election re-runs have finished and Thaci's PDK party has won the largest percentage of votes at 32.4% followed by Mustafa's LDK at 24.67%. The re-election in Mitrovica resulted in an 11% lower voter turnout than in the December elections and only 10 Serbs voted in the mobile polling stations.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Kosovo Teen Captures Hearts on American Idol
Melinda Ademi, whose parents immigrated to the US as war refugees using the Green Card Lottery, captured hearts on the first night of auditions of American Idol, Season 10. Belting out "If I Ain't Got You", Melinda was given three yes-es to move on to Hollywood week.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Back in the Saddle
It has been a while since I updated...so here is the latest and greatest from Kosovo.
EULEX & The North - After deploying to the north of Kosovo at the beginning of January, EULEX has now declared the north of Kosovo a danger zone for their staff following the beating of some of its staff. Outgoing Kosovo Interior Minister, Bajram Rexhepi, has in turn requested EULEX to withdraw from the north and allow KFOR and KPS to provide security if the EU mission cannot.
The "Marty" Report - Issued by Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty, the report digs into the accusations of human organ trafficking by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during and immediately after the war in Kosovo. Outgoing Kosovo PM Haschim Thaci, who reportedly was named in the report, has called the report "monstrous slander" and threatened to sue. According to local media, Thaci also stated that he would publish the names of so-called collaborators who provided evidence to the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe Parliament is scheduled to debate the report on 24-25 January. According to UNMIK SRSG Lamberto Zannier, ICTY had previously investigated the matter but was unable to come up with enough evidence to open the case. Now the matter falls to EULEX to investigate the matter but so far requests for evidence from the Council of Europe and Marty have not produced any results.
Elections - Problems with fraud and corruption marred the Kosovo elections on 12 December resulting the re-voting in several different places. The re-voting will wrap up this weekend in Mitrovica where Vetevendosje made a complaint of fraud. Currently the vote tallies place the political parties in the following order: Thaci's PDK, Mustafa's LDK, Kurti's Vetevendosje, and Haradinaj's AAK. Talks about a coalition government continue as no political party has secured a majority vote alone. The most talk has been about a PDK-AAK coalition although initial reports following the elections were that none of the other political parties except Pacolli's AKR were interested in forming any kind of coalition with PDK.
EULEX & The North - After deploying to the north of Kosovo at the beginning of January, EULEX has now declared the north of Kosovo a danger zone for their staff following the beating of some of its staff. Outgoing Kosovo Interior Minister, Bajram Rexhepi, has in turn requested EULEX to withdraw from the north and allow KFOR and KPS to provide security if the EU mission cannot.
The "Marty" Report - Issued by Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty, the report digs into the accusations of human organ trafficking by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during and immediately after the war in Kosovo. Outgoing Kosovo PM Haschim Thaci, who reportedly was named in the report, has called the report "monstrous slander" and threatened to sue. According to local media, Thaci also stated that he would publish the names of so-called collaborators who provided evidence to the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe Parliament is scheduled to debate the report on 24-25 January. According to UNMIK SRSG Lamberto Zannier, ICTY had previously investigated the matter but was unable to come up with enough evidence to open the case. Now the matter falls to EULEX to investigate the matter but so far requests for evidence from the Council of Europe and Marty have not produced any results.
Elections - Problems with fraud and corruption marred the Kosovo elections on 12 December resulting the re-voting in several different places. The re-voting will wrap up this weekend in Mitrovica where Vetevendosje made a complaint of fraud. Currently the vote tallies place the political parties in the following order: Thaci's PDK, Mustafa's LDK, Kurti's Vetevendosje, and Haradinaj's AAK. Talks about a coalition government continue as no political party has secured a majority vote alone. The most talk has been about a PDK-AAK coalition although initial reports following the elections were that none of the other political parties except Pacolli's AKR were interested in forming any kind of coalition with PDK.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Kosovo Pre-Election
Kosovo has been busy gearing up for the 12 December elections but not all has been going smoothly. A Bosniak member of the Central Election Committee (CEC) was assassinated in his vehicle in the northern town of Leposavic. Additionally, it has been reported that several parties have breached the election campaign rules in Kosovo. Most of the breaches are in reference to involving children in the campaign process by either bringing children into political appearances or blocking regular school hours for campaigning. It also has been reported that 60,000 Euros have been spent by the political parties for campaigning with more than half of the amount being spent by Haschim Thaci's PDK party.
The EU-ICO representative, Peter Feith, has announced that the elections will be "heavily monitored" by EU, international, and local NGOs. France 24 news painted a rather pessimistic and grim outlook for Kosovo post elections but one could hold more hope than their guest expert that the elections will bring needed change and hope for the future.
The EU-ICO representative, Peter Feith, has announced that the elections will be "heavily monitored" by EU, international, and local NGOs. France 24 news painted a rather pessimistic and grim outlook for Kosovo post elections but one could hold more hope than their guest expert that the elections will bring needed change and hope for the future.
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