your *free* dose of liz :: kosovo

Me Ramushin

Today Ramush Haradinaj is flying with his wife to the Hague, where he will turn himself over to the War Crimes Tribunal for await his trial at the War Crimes Tribunal.

Driving back into Pristina last evening from Skopje, the first thing X and I noticed were the massive red billboards with a simple italic serif R with 'Me Ramushin' underneath. This means 'with Ramush'. Ironically enough, a half hour later we were at our local  Sunday night restaurant when a party of 5 Kosovars came in all wearing matching caps and scarves saying Me Ramushin. It turns out that the dinner party was a part of Ramush's entourage - his spokesperson, marketing person, etc, and they informed us that that afternoon there had been a press conference with Ramush. This press conference will be his last for awhile, as his trial is expected to take 5 to 6 months, potentially followed with jail time. During the conference, he apparently he called for peace and passivity in response to the call for demonstrations and attacks on the UN as a result of the deaths of 3 local Kosovars in last week's demonstration that turned violent.

X and I were each given a red scarf, although it was acknowledged that it might not be the most appropriate thing for X to wear to work...after all, the guy is being charged with heinous war crimes against the Serbs in the period just following the 1999 NATO bombings.   

The Kosovo Hiring Process

Here in Kosovo, jobs for locals are slim pickings. I already mentioned the appallingly low salaries (~300€ a month for a doctor/dentist; 150€ a month for a teacher), but what I didn't mention is the bribery that is taking place in order for people to even be hired. Imagine this: you are one of the few qualified individuals with a university degree in business management, and a job comes available at the regional phone company. You think, great! I want to apply for the job, and maybe because of my work experience and university degree, I'll get the job. Right?

Wrong. Here, it's all about who you know, and how much money you'll pay. People end up paying 3 to 4 months salary for a job that only pays 200€ a month! How is it possible? It's possible because the people in most high-powered positions in Kosovo, including in government posts, are there because they are either fallen war heros (ie. Part of the KLA) or because of who they know (ie. their clan), but is certainly not based on what you know. Since these people are getting paid peanuts themselves, it seems to be a way of upping the standard salary and keeping the corruption cycle going. I don't have any information about what the international presence is doing to crack down on this corrupt employment cycle, but for the moment it seems the priority is elsewhere. However, this feeds into the unemployment issues, and ultimately the status of Kosovo as the poorest region in Europe.

The weekend war.

While X and I were enjoying galloping over the Macedonian hills, a small war was waging in Pristina. Internationals were told to leave the region for the planned protest on Saturday, but no-one knew quite what to expect from the radical Albanian's stance. Rumours swirled that they wouldn't have enough of a turnout (since most seem fairly satisfied with the Athisaari's plan (Download Kosovo_Report.pdf ). They did get enough of a turnout, however, and things turned violent after the protesters broke through a police barrier and riots broke out. Sadly, two people died on Sunday as a result of their wounds. There was a vigil last night near the Mother Theresa monument. Check out my friend's blog for pictures and lots more information. He braved the warnings and documented the day in pictures and film despite the teargas, threats and risk.

The Serbian Elections

As most of you know, yesterday was the Serbian parliamentary elections, a pretty big deal in places like Kosovo. The future status of Kosovo has been held up until after these elections, and with with the result showing a majority of votes going to the pro-nationalist Radical party it should prove for an interesting period in the history of the region.

As I understand it, the Special Envoy of the UN(ex-Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari) will finalize the recommendation to the Security Council on the status of Kosovo by early February. The UN Security Council, comprised of 5 permanent countries dating back to WWIII (US, UK, China, Russia and France), in combination with the 10 non-permanent members will vote based on this recommendation. Only when there is a 9/10 agreement will the recommendation be adopted as a binding Resolution, and if one of the permanent five members vetos the vote then it will not be adopted. In the case of Kosovo, Russia plays an important role as they are pro-Serbian and have already stated that they won't support an independant status for the region.

Here's Reuter's article on the subject.

Of special interest to political marketeers, each of the Serbian political parties and their slogans translated into English at  Wikipedia.