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25 05 2007 Exclusive interviews with international political figures were broadcasted in BIRN's televised show this Friday.
The interviews featured in the programme were conducted in the United States and United Kingdom, including:
Geoff Hoon – the UK's Minister for Europe;
Rolf Meyer – a leading player in the negotiation process that ended Apartheid in South Africa;
Ashraf Ghani – former minister of finance in Afghanistan; and
Skender Hyseni – spokesman for Kosovo's negotiating team
During the interview, Meyer explained his experience in the negotiating process that ended Apartheid in South Africa and also his views on the challenges that Kosovo is going to face after the resolution is ratified.
"I think the biggest challenge will be the constitution of the way of governing and how the whole leadership will bring on board the support of the people", he said.
Ghani explained how a state becomes effective. According to him the state is an instrument for the realization collective goals.
"It is not the power over the citizens, but the power of the citizens", he said.
Hoon described that Kosovo needs progress and that the progress will bring stability.
Regarding the status definition timeline, Hoon said that it is not sensible to impose an artificial time.
"It would be good to arrive to the end of the process very soon, because that's what the people in Kosovo want", Hoon said and rated the overall process of Kosovo's status resolution as very good one.
Asked about the UK's opinion about Kosovo and if they support its independence, Hoon said that his country is a strong supporter of the UN plan for Kosovo drafted by Martti Ahtisaari.
"The report that Ahtisaari has written leads towards this result. It's important to be united during this process" he said and added that "we [the international community] should bring this process slowly to an end."
At the beginning of 2010 BIRN network published Digging Deeper - A Guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans, written in cooperation with Sheila Coronel, Director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and professor of professional practice at Columbia University, New York.
