No patriot
I enjoyed a pleasant Sunday afternoon walk through Pristina yesterday. Its alleys are crowded. But it also boasts vistas. Variety is one of the things that makes a place interesting. And with variety comes the unexpected, both good and bad.
Normally I wouldn’t comment on what amounts to an individual criminal act. The bad is inevitable. But the wounding Saturday evening of a Serb traveling south of the Ibar river just a few miles from where I am spending a couple of days merits a blog post, because it has broader significance.
The country I am enjoying on my third visit this year is a peaceful one that has established institutions rating a positive EU report suggesting it is ready to negotiate a Stabilization and Association Agreement. This is a big deal, not only for the benefits that will accrue to Kosovo once the agreement is signed but also for the seal of approval “contractual relations” (i.e. signing an agreement) with the EU will give to Pristina’s still young institutions, which are now more or less at the half-way point of recognition as sovereign by other UN member states.
The safety of Serbs is one of the key ingredients in determining EU attitudes on contractual relations. Brussels wants to know that the Pristina institutions are committed to protecting everyone who lives in or visits the territory under their control, without regard to ethnicity.
Of course 100% security is not possible, and I’ll admit that I am a bit surprised that a former Serb police chief felt free to travel after dark in Kosovo. And there is of course no knowing the ethnicity of his attacker, who was reportedly masked. We’ll have to await the results of the police investigation.
But that is just the point. There should be a serious police investigation and some results, which are far too infrequent in such cases in Kosovo. Too many crimes against Serbs and other minorities go unsolved.
Whoever perpetrated the attack Saturday evening is putting at risk Kosovo’s claim to be ready to negotiate an important first step in its eventual accession to the EU. I don’t know the person’s identity or ethnicity, but this much I do know: he is no Kosovo patriot.
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7 thoughts on “No patriot”
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” There should be a serious police investigation and some results, which are far too infrequent in such cases in Kosovo. Too many crimes against Serbs and other minorities go unsolved.”
Are you assuming, by any chance, that the Kosovo police – watched over by EULEX – make less of an attempt to solve crimes against Serbs in Kosovo? If so, have you considered that Serbs may be less likely to cooperate with them, if there’s a chance that the perpetrator may be another Serb? (In the U.S., at least, most crimes are between members of the same race.) And in this specific case, of the former Serb police chief of the area, there would seem to be any number of persons with a possible grudge that has nothing to do with ethnic origin. Although, considering the events in Istog during the war, I’m surprised a former chief of the SUP decided to enter the region.
It turns out there may be an obvious suspect – the man shot owns/owned 15 hectares in the region, although he has been living in Serbia proper for years. The passenger riding with him says they had been followed during the day, so if either took down a license plate number, the prosecution should have a chance of making a case.
Some Serbs going back to inspect their property after a decade or more have had problems in the past with the people who have been using it in the meantime – it would seem to be a good idea to establish a central location where encounters between claimants could be held and monitored.
Straightening out property claims, considering the informal approach taken to recording transfers in the past, is going to be a problem for years, although having the property records available should make the process somewhat more straightforward.
As for the general security situation in the country, Milorad Šarković – head of the Communities and Returns office in Klin – said in an interview (http://www.radiokim.net/vesti/sarkovic-nema-sredstava-za-odrzivi-povratak.html#comment_anchor) that the reason more Serbs aren’t returning to Kosovo these days is lack of funding (from the gov’t in Prishtina) – not problems with freedom of movement or the security situation, which he says is good. (Apparently incidents have fallen off since the period when tensions over the log-sitters were at their height.)
If what is actually involved here is only a property dispute rather than blind ethnic hatred it would be a hopeful sign.
BTW, did you get out to see how the new Palace of Justice complex is coming? A recent article said it is supposed to be completed by 2013, but the photo only showed a framework. Having a secure place to hold trials and protect witnesses can only help.
Pictures of that building can be found here http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=97261148#post97261148
Thanks for the link. (“By 2013” still seems awfully optimistic. Maybe they mean “sometime in 2013.”) I’ve thought it interesting that the EULEX/EU complaints about justice and crime-fighting in Kosovo have focused on physical facilities, the lack of state-wide databases, that sort of thing. It’s good to see that the problems are being dealt with.
“It’s good to see that the problems are being dealt with.”
So tell us, Amer, how many people have been prosecuted for the shooting of 6 Serb school children in Gorazdevac in 2003, or for Podujevo bus bombing which killed 12 Serb passengers in 2001, or for the 14 Serb farmers killed while tending their fields in Staro Gacko in 1999, or for the wanton destruction of Serb monasteries and churches in 2004?
If the problem is how to drive out the remaining Serbs in Kosovo, I’d say the Kosovo Albanian authorities are doing a tremendous job.
@ Simon – the incidents you refer to all happened on the internationals’ watch, and should serve as a warning against trying to use short-term foreigners to solve crimes in a community where they have no sources.
If you want an overview of the current situation, the SG’s report to the Security Council is available at http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2012/818.
@ Amer – So who’s responsible for solving those crimes? You point the blame on the internationals, when it’s local institutions of law and order which should prosecute those crimes. Unless there’s a statute of limitations on murder or other violent crime in Kosovo.If the Kosovo Albanians are serious about building trust and confidence with their Serb neighbours, perhaps they should try solving some of the more heinous crimes committed on their watch.
As for an overview of the current situation a recent report in Spiegel does a fairly good job:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/veteran-insider-provides-grim-account-of-eulex-efforts-in-kosovo-a-865650.html
It confirms what was written in the Marty report in 2010 and what UNMIK nor EULEX don’t have the courage to report: that major criminals are untouchable due to traditional clan structures and the old-boys’ networks within the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). I don’t think a shiny new building will change that.
One last point, I’ve noticed in your previous posts that you consistently try to pin the blame on Kosovo Serbs for crimes on Kosovo Serbs. You never take the Kosovo Albanians to task for their misbehaviour. Fortunately people like Mr. Server do.