Digging Out

After many a winter in Kosovo, I have to say that I can't remember one where there has been so much snow in a short period of time!  In the past two days, Kosovo has received a couple feet of snow with high winds which has whipped the snow into drifts that come up to my waist (not difficult when you are only 5'4").

The biggest complaint by far has not been the power situation, which in our neighborhood on the outskirts of town near Film City has been fairly constant with the occasional one hour outage, but rather the lack of snowplows clearing the roads in Pristina.  The responsibility for plowing the roads lies with the municipality and the mayor of Pristina, Isa Mustafa, has been getting hit pretty hard with criticism on the local news channels for leaving people stranded.

But the upside to all the snow in Pristina is that there is a ton of snow in Brezovica and the skiing is likely to last well into the spring this year after a dismal season last year.  The conditions on the mountain can be checked from IPKO's Brezovica webcam.

To give an idea of how much snow there has been, check out this fantastic photo from Snow Njeri :)


Downtown Pristina - Newborn Sign



Vetevendosje Clashes with Police

Kosovo Police clashed with Vetevendosje demonstrators as the Self-Determination Group gathered to block two Kosovo borders, protesting reciprocity measures against Serbia, on Saturday, 14 January.  Many people were injured, reportedly Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti, as protestors hurled rocks at the police and the police responded with pepper spray, water cannons, and tear gas.  More than 140 people were arrested and around 50 people, mostly police, were injured during the protest.

After the protests concluded, the blame game began with Kosovo politicians criticizing Vetevendosje's methods and Vetevendosje accussing the police of brutality and Prime Minister Haschim Thaci of encouraging the crackdown.  Protesting the use of force against the Vetevendosje demonstartion, 50 NGOs gathered outside the Kosovo government building today.

Many have criticized Vetevendosje's actions likening them to intimidation used in the 1999 war and the EU Rapporteur for the Western Balkans calls them a "provocation promoting isolation "

Happy New Year

It has been a while since I posted...so here's a quick catch-up!  Plus Happy New Year!  This year will mark 11 years of being in Kosovo.  Many laugh at the notion but I truly do call Kosovo home.  Some have called me crazy after ranting about how bad it is in Kosovo when they find out just how long I have been here...but honestly, they have no idea what bad is in Kosovo.  I am glad to say "Kosovo, you've done good" in the incredible amount of progress I have seen since hitting the ground in July 2001.  Granted there is still a ways to go but I am thrilled that Kosovo has managed to rebuild and grow!

Kosovo, KFOR, and the Serbs continue their back and forth over the roadblocks in the North.  No real viable solution seems to be in sight despite Serbia telling the Kosovo Serbs to remove the barricades and their assurances that freedom of movement will be established. 

In mid-December, a Russian aid convoy captured headlines when it was stopped by EULEX customs officials when entering Kosovo.  EULEX said the convoy would either have to accept an escort, a move seen to get EULEX, KFOR, and Kosovo police past the still present Serb barricades, or pass through a Pristina controlled border point.  A few days later the convoy would be allowed to pass with an EULEX escort.

More than a year after losing his job due to corruption charges, the Director of Kosovo's Central Bank, Hashim Rexhepi, was cleared of all five charges levied against him by EULEX in what was widely criticized as a politically motivated case.

Trial of KLA Fighters Begins

The very publicized and widely debated trial of 10 KLA fighters has begun today with much of the focus on Fatmir Limaj.  Many of the articles fail to even mention the other nine defendants facing charges of war crimes, torture and murder of kidnapped civilians and paramilitaries in 1999.  All 10 defendants have plead not guilty to the charges. 

Limaj's defense has requested a delay of the trial until January citing the late presentation of evidence for examination by the prosecution.  Additionally, it is rumored that the trial is waiting for the forensic results for the death of Agim Zogaj, also known as Witness X, who was the prosecution's star witness until his alleged suicide in Germany. 

Yesterday, EULEX prosecutor Maurizio Salustro was reported to have interviewed Kosovo PM Haschim Thaci, one of the few former KLA commanders who have not faced war crimes charges, on the request of Limaj's defense team.

One Serb Killed, Two Injured in Northern Kosovo

One Serb and two were injured in a clash on Wednesday evening in the north of Kosovo.  According to a statement from OSCE, one of the injured is reported to be a Kosovo police officer who responded to the initial shooting.  Stories on what happened are varying depending on the source.  Some say that the shooting is alleged to have taken place during a quarrel between Albanians and Serbs although it is unclear who did the shooting.  And other reports are that the shooting occured in response to a robbery when Serbs were trying to break into Albanian homes.

All international organizations and the governments of Serbia and Kosovo have condemned the shooting.  Serb residents and politicians are calling for a swift investigation into the incident by EULEX.

KFOR Begins Removing Roadblocks

KFOR has confronted angry groups of Serbs in the North of Kosovo as they begin to remove barricades.  Using pepper spray, tear gas, and loudspeakers requesting the groups to disperse, KFOR has acted on the Serb's refusal to agree on removing the roadblocks which have been impeding movement of EULEX and KFOR in the North of Kosovo for the past three months.  Stating that the protestors were in a KFOR protected zone, people were warned to go home or else force could be used.

What's Important in Kosovo - Local News

Often there is a disparity between what the local newspapers write about and what appears in the international media.  Of course, the situation in the North of Kosovo is a hot topic but there is a lot of other issues of importance being discussed in Kosovo that don't even appear or only appear as a brief blip on the international radar.

Take for instance, news today about 27 different request for Kosovo PM Haschim Thaci to travel to Europe have been refused due to allegations of corruption (blip) or Fatmir Limaj's war crimes trial is scheduled to begin on 9 November (not reported).  Or maybe even more interesting, there are new allegations of corruption in the tendering process with a completely new Ministry of Transportation for road construction .

Another item appearing only as a blip in the international media has been the cancellation of planned privatization of PTK, Kosovo's Post and Telecomms, due to allegations of corruption.  The cancellation of the privatization has a very big impact on the economic situation of Kosovo as the proceeds from the sale were expected to fill budgetary gaps in the Kosovo government.  Now without the funds from the sale going into the government budget, it will be interesting to see how Kosovo will finance the planned budget which relied heavily on the sale of PTK.