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Life in Kosovo discusses the ruling coalition

20 05 2010  Life in Kosovo discussed the latest developments in EULEX’s investigations in the country which have caused friction within the ruling coalition of the Democratic League of Kosovo and Democratic Party of Kosovo.

The questions considered included: Should senior government officials be investigated? Should such investigations be announced publicly? How are these investigations reflected in the ruling coalition? What will be the impact on Kosovo’s political scene? Will there be changes in the coalition? What are the chances of early elections? Is the ruling coalition sustainable?

To discuss these issues, host Muhamet Hajrullahu was joined in the studio by the following guests:

Bajram Rexhepi, Kosovo’s minister of internal affairs; assembly member from Democratic
Party of Kosovo (PDK)
Eqrem Kryeziu, member of presidency of the Parliament of Kosovo; assembly member from Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK)
Blerim Shala, assembly member from Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK).

Asked to comment on the recent actions taken by EULEX, the panellists agreed that EULEX had the right to intervene based on the competences granted by the Republic of Kosovo’s constitution.

Eqrem Kryeziu reiterated the LDK’s support for the rule of law in Kosovo, and said that the country is experiencing ‘separation of powers’ for the first time. “This is a good lesson to have,” he said. “It is a challenge for us and our leaders.”

Blerim Shala, from the AAK, was asked to comment on the impact of corruption upon the governing coalition and the state of Kosovo more generally.

He replied that EULEX would have to become involved if corruption does not stop in the higher levels of government.

“AAK has already…explicitly said that all local and central governments created since the elections
can and should be included in any investigations by Kosovo’s judiciary or EULEX.

What Kosovo wants least is the opinion to be created that all politicians are the same: corrupted and able to manipulate power. There should be a clear line between corrupt politicians and clean ones... If Kosovo’s judiciary were functional, EULEX wouldn’t have to intervene,” he said.

Another problem Mr Shala mentioned was the lack of investment in court buildings and facilities: “much more needs to be done for the judiciary to become functional.”

More generally, Mr Shala laid out the four problems he believes Kosovo faces: “corruption, the LDK-PDK relationship, social problems such as unemployment and poverty, and the technical talks between Prishtina and Belgrade.”

Eqrem Kryeziu, from the LDK, confirmed that elections would be held when the government’s four-year mandate comes to an end.

Other reports

In a report about the PDK’s Gjilan branch, Artan Haraqija spoke about how the mayor, Qemajl Mustafa, gave different information to two different sets of journalists.

He firstly said that the reason for his resignation was that he had refused to accept the list of directors “imposed” by PDK headquarters.

Mr Mustafa said “I resigned from the mayor position because of the imposition that happened at the beginning of 2008. If they continue to act in this way, I will leave the party”.

Izmi Zeka, on the other hand, said that the PDK imposes nothing and that the party’s approach is consultative and based on sharing opinions.

Mr Mustafa continued by saying that “I have put up with a lot these last two years, especially since the director of education has taken on more competences than the mayor.

He has taken decisions, hired and fired people. He specifically blamed the head of the PDK as the main individual responsible for such occurrences.”

The same day, Mustafa told another media organization that the PDK has actually not interfered at all in his work. He even said that Hashim Thaci, the head of the party, has given complete autonomy to the municipalities.

“A problem not yet solved, however, remains the neighbourhood of Zabel, which still suffers waking  up to the smell of Gjilan’s sewage that is now on the surface,” he said.

In another report, Isa Gacaferi spoke about the lack of criminologists and forensic scientists and that some are resigning due to the low salaries.

There are two institutions in the country working in these fields: the department of missing people and legal medicine which functions within the Ministry of Justice, and the forensics laboratories belonging to the Kosovo Police.

Arsim Gerxhaliu from the department of missing people and legal medicine said that the department needs a DNA laboratory.

He also accused Kosovo’s judiciary of failing to fulfil obligations such as paying bills for the work done in such laboratories.

Islam Azemi, a municipal court administrator, said that the reason such services are not paid for is because the organisations are not legally registered as businesses.

Another worrying fact is that some medical examinations are performed by family doctors, which brings their accuracy into question; this is of concern as they can be crucial for decisions made by courts.

Other reports

BIRN broadcast an investigative report by Artan Haracia, who talked about the problems of
appointing directors in Gjilan municipality.


Justice in Kosovo

A report by Isa Gacaferi covered the question of laboratories and experts for criminal investigations in Kosovo.

Life in Kosovo is a co-production between Kosovo Public Television,  RTK and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN. It is  broadcast every Thursday, starting at 20:20.