Koha Digest # 140

Front Page: BETWEEN CIVIL WAR AND COMPROMISE

Date: 12 March 1997

EDITORIAL

ALBANIA REPUBLIC

by VETON SURROI

IN SEARCH OF A STATE

The history of Kosova Albanians during this century is described as an attempt to create a
state, from the times when a unique Albanian state was tried to be formed on the ruins of the
Ottoman Empire and up to the stage in which a Kosovar state was tried to be created on the
ruins of the former Yugoslav socialist state. Albanians from Macedonia, after World War II
have been trying in different forms, to find themselves in the Macedonian state, to transform
themselves in a constituent of the Macedonian state. In a way, the same is the status of the
Albanians in Albania today. The only heirs of the Albanian statehood, they are again in the
position in which the only thing they have from the state are the internationally recognized
borders (territories inhabited by their own people). Albania in 1997 is a frame without any
state institutions. The state that can't protect private property, and even less the one that must
send tanks to safeguard the internal order can't be called a contemporary state.

The justification on the defense of the territorial integrity has a precedent: the state that has
allowed the wealth of its own people to melt in pyramidal schemes, has at the same time
melted the state integrity.

And this is a societal illness, that has captivated all, the ruling and opposition forces. And, in
a way, the wished slogan on the streets ranging from Shkodër to Sarandë should be Albania
Republic.

THE OEDIPUS COMPLEX

The initial reaction of the ordinary Kosovar observers towards the events in Albania, often
even silenced, has been emotional, a kind of mourn for Mother Albania.

One of the break-throughs that can happen these days, is to understand that the relation
between Kosova and Albania can't be that of the lost son and the mother. Kosova, which is
insisting in its right to self-determination outside the minority frameworks, forces itself in
these frames, any time it refers to Albania as the mother.

The weekly Koha (The Times) was published in Prishtina (Kosovo) between 1994 and 1997. Edited by Veton
Surroi, a young Kosovar journalist and one of the pioneers of democratisation in former Yugoslavia, Koha
soon became a symbol of quality among the region's media. In 1997 it started to be published daily under the
name of Koha Ditorë. W ith the kind permission of Mr. Surroi, Koha digests were originally posted on
http://koha.estudiosbalcanicos.org.
-1-
Politically, it is false to say that this relationship has existed. The movement in Kosova
existed in times when Albania was reigned by Ahmet Zogu, Enver Hoxha or Ramiz Alija as it
exists today.

The Kosovar movement is autochthonous, it was an internal engine that makes it move, and,
differing from the Serbian and Croat movements, for example, it is not directed by the center
of the "ethnic Mother".

If we would need romanticism in our political understanding, maybe the best would be to use
twins. Therefore, even the feeling, emerging inevitably in Kosovars because of the suffering
of today's Albania, can be the same as that of the twins, when one feels that the other one is
sick.

DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGE

Today, at the lowest point of the Albanian strength in the Balkans, with unrest in all lands
where Albanians are autochthonous, reconstruction must take place. And, although it is true
that there is a kind of pillow in the middle of the there key Albanian centers in the Balkans
(Tiranë, Prishtinë, Tetovë) that allows the autonomous development of one of the parts
without being influenced directly by the events in the other part, it is also true that these three
parts can communicate in the most optimal and productive way only within the democratic
frame. The dictatorship of one these parts creates a huge wall of separation, much bigger than
the borders.

Albanians, maybe for the first time in their history, are hostages of their own obligation to
build a democratic society, in the place where they are.

ALBANIA

BETWEEN CIVIL WAR AND COMPROMISE

by ARTAN PUTO / Tirana

The crisis that has captivated Albania now has become a political
crisis. The problem could be simplified if it is said that the
"fire was set" by the bankruptcy of "Sude" and "Xhaferri
Foundation", that just accelerated the whole process by
swallowing millions of dollars of savings of the ordinary
citizens.

These, are according to some opinions, are only the consequences.

The main reasons should be sought in the chaotic construction of
the Albanian capitalism which is also known as a "disorganized
organization". Different specialists have evaluated this crisis
as a clash of the legal and illegal economy. Without denying the
economic results in the past years, it must be stressed that the
Government has left the state without a proper banking system in
order to satisfy the needs of the state and second, it was proven

-2-
totally incapable of administering the created situation.

In October last, it didn't take into account IMF's advise to

inform the people on the catastrophic consequences of the
pyramidal schemes. On the other hand, it found itself unprepared
to face the created situation, by not presenting transparently
the real financial situation and above all, by creating confusion
and by nourishing distrust on the measures to be taken for
surpassing the situation. A factor that shouldn't be
underestimated is the illusion of Albanians on the "El Dorado of
capitalism", the dream of becoming rich within a night as well
as a total ignorance on the rules of the game in a market
economy, which explains the massive expansion of the pawnbroking
phenomenon.

The problem has its political side. The fact that the problem
became so serious and that it is very hard to find a solution
proves that there is a huge gap between the position and the
opposition in Albania. The roots of this conflict should be
sought in the 26 May elections, when according to international
observers, the free vote was breached and when the opposition was
practically eliminated from the political life of the country.
During all this period, we have been witnessing the political
monologue of the ruling DP and the non-existence or passiveness
of the opposition parties in Albania.

The events took an unexpected direction, or better said an

expected one, but that no one thought would come so soon. The
bankruptcy of the first pawnbroking firms in the first half of
January and the blocking of their money by the Government were
the steps that incited the appearance of the first signs of
collective panic whose direct consequence were the massive
protests. Soon, these protests surpassed the economic limits and
turned into clear anti-governmental guerrilla. The epicenter of
this shock was Vlorë, which was the center of the pyramids and
where the losses were the biggest in the country.

This situation seemed to be favorable for the opposition which

started giving the first signals of resuscitation. By the end of
January, initiated by several intellectuals and ex-political
prisoners, the "Forum for Democracy" was established. This
formation is comprised of leftist parties, the Socialists,
Social-Democrats, the Democratic Alliance and the rightist
parties such as the Right Democratic Party, the Christian-
Democratic, etc. This was a good opportunity for the Socialist
Party, which until then, be it for internal problems or the
aggressive politics of the ruling party, had been eliminated from
the scene, to come back to politics, but this time strengthened
by a strong basis of allied parties. This had a strong
psychological effect on the largest opposition party, because it

-3-
was the first time that the rightist parties sat down around the
same table with the ones that were, till then, qualified as the
"black sheep" of Albanian politics. The main requests of the
Forum, which actually made up the foundations it was built on,
was the creation of a technical government with the support of
all parties, to analyze the new events and the adoption of a new
constitution of Albania.

The ruling party didn't wait long to qualify this coalition as

a new edition of the "Red Front", which aimed at using the
misfortune of the Albanians for political interests. It was clear
that the DP was mainly preoccupied that it's main enemy, the
Socialist Party, defeated in May and October, had managed to
become part of a multi-colored coalition, becoming a clear threat
to its absolute power. This is why is strongly refused any
suggestion coming from the opposition parties, not accepting to
sacrifice the blue (color of the ruling party) Meksi government.
However, by midst February, the students also became part of the
game. Since Berisha refused to fulfil their political demands,
similar that of the Forum, they started a hunger strike. The
tension in Vlorë increased as the days passed by and reached its
culmination on 28 February, which will remain one of the darkest
nights in the period of changes in Albania. According to
opposition sources, a group of secret policemen, in an attempt
to put an end to the hunger-strike and in order to frighten them,
stabbed to death a young student who was guarding the building
of the University. This caused anger among the Vlorans. The
citizens gathered in front of the building of the SHIK (Albanian
Secret Police) and there is where a brutal confrontation between
the people and the police started. On the other hand, sources
close to the government state that terrorist groups attacked
SHIK's premises which actually led to the armed disputes.

Whichever the version, the consequences of this confrontation are

extreme and deserve to be part of a war bulletin - nine people
were killed and tens of them were wounded. This was the event
that threw Albania into a spin of an uncontrolled chaos. "The
illness" of rebellion started affecting other southern towns too:
Gjirokastër, Delvinë, Sarandë, where the situation came out of
control and where the presence of the state was totally lost.
This was the most serious event that forced premier Meksi out,
and also made President Berisha convene an urgent meeting with
the representatives of the opposition to discuss the situation.
The meeting took place in a very tense atmosphere, because there
were no final results. According to the Socialist Party, the
President didn't accept to discuss about political solutions, by
refusing to accept the creation of an experts' government with
the support of all parties. On the other hand, the President
accused the socialists of destabilizing the situation and not
accepting new elections he had suggested should take place within

-4-
45 days. The result of the failure of this meeting and the
further deterioration of the situation was the proclamation of
the state of emergency on 2 March. The ruling party thought this
act necessary, as long as the constitutional order was being
threatened. The opposition considered this an irresponsible act
that aimed at solving the problem by force and not politics. This
situation made it almost impossible for all opposition parties
to have any kind of political activity and at the same time
deprived the country from any free and reliable information,
which was put under a harsh censorship.

In the meantime, the situation in the south of Albania became

extremely explosive as of last Monday. The protesters had turned
into rebel insurgents that acted in territories fully detached
from the control of the state. But, even in a state of emergency,
Berisha was proclaimed president for another five years, on 3
March.

The reaction of the opposition was immediate, when it qualified

this act as lost in space and time, proposing the election of the
president until the political solution is found.

The President's act can be commented as his wish to prove that

he was not taking into account the requests of the armed
protesters, who were asking for his resignation, but that he was
rather decided to solve the situation as he saw it best. But, in
fact, the effect was totally different. This event not only that
enraged the protesters even more, but also split the military,
already dissatisfied with his authoritarian intervention.

It is a fact that the Chief of Military Staff was replaced by

Berisha's military counsellor, because he refused to send the
tanks down south. Meanwhile, the military barracks were falling
easily into the hands of the rebels. In these moments of
extremely dangerous chaos, not only for Albania, but the whole
region, the intervention and pressure from abroad increase and
force Berisha to give up on the military solution of the problem.
The ideas on the government of national reconciliation and the
preparation of anticipated elections start getting stronger..

After some hesitation, Berisha finally gathers in a round table

the representatives of all parties on 6 March, to try and find
a solution. In a statement signed by representatives of all
parties, it was said that they were all in favor of stopping all
military actions in the south, in favor of the amnesty of all
armed people who have committed no crimes and who hand-in their
weapons within 48 hours and the appointment of a premier as
agreed by all parties, who would later form a new government. All
parties expressed their wish to continue with the dialogue.
Although the opposition parties express their scepticism about

-5-
the eventual results, the reached agreement and dialogue were
evaluated as much more valuable than the rocks, the street and
the weapons.

Ordinary Albanians have always seen the difference between the

politics of the Americans and that of the Europeans. In their
vocabulary: "The US is targeting Berisha's regime", while "Europe
is spoiling him". There seems to be something true in this
regards, since the May elections. Then, the State Department
issued a series of clear an unequivocal messages by qualifying
the elections as "a step behind in democratization" and proposed
the anticipated elections. Europe, on the other side, after many
meetings, reunions, consultations didn't manage to come to a
clear posture although it criticized the irregularities of the
elections, it didn't prove to be decisive enough in its request
for new elections. According to analysts, this posture is
explained with the fear from destabilization, situation calmed
with the fragile Dayton agreement. But, the reason was more
concrete. Two EU members, Italy and Greece, were much more
preoccupied with what was happening in Albania than the other
states, because they didn't want any complications in their
homes, and moreover, they feared from another wave of Albanian
emigrants.

This difference in postures became evident in the case of the

pawnbrokers' affair. The State Department first harshly condemned
the repressive posture of the state against the activities of the
opposition, although it also criticized the violence experienced
in the South, always finishing its statements with a proposal for
a political solution of the problem. The EU again proved its
ambiguous politics, when on 23 February it made a call to the
ruling party and opposition to meet and solve the problem
promising technical assistance, but not putting any clear
political conditions. Analysts claim that the situation was
calmed a bit by the two neighbours as well as the impression that
the Albanian government has been a factor of stability in the
region. The DP considered this posture as a support for Berisha,
who took this as an encouraging message and started a
presidential campaign in some tows of Albania. The "Forum...",
although hiding its dissatisfaction, tried to treat this as an

-6-
Finally, the events in Albania, depending on what will come out,
could bring a totally unpredictable situation. If the Albanian
army intervenes, there could be massive bloodshed and if the
number of armed people in a small space is counted, then civil
war could be very probable, and will bring terrible consequences,
regardless of who would win. If the situation continues with all
its confusion, and produces no suitable political solution, then
a situation of chaos will reign, and it seems not to have an end.
If in any way foreign forces would get involved, especially the
military forces, then Albania, willingly or not, would undergo
a trusteeship. If Berisha, who has great problems in
consolidating his armed forces manages to win a military battle,
the victory wouldn't be complete without the political measures
that would be acceptable to all. Especially if the things go as
far as the division of the North and the South...

KOSOVA

INTERVIEW

Fazli BALAJ, attorney at law

NAIT HASANI WAS COVERED AS IF HE WERE DEAD

Interviewed by GJERAQINA TUHINA / Prishtinë

KOHA: You have defended many Albanians accused of committing

political crimes. Would you tell us something about the
characteristics of these trials?

BALAJ: I work as an attorney since 1984 and I have been a

defending attorney in many political trials, and with big
responsibility, I can say that the majority of them were framed-
up. In times of the former Yugoslavia, the majority of Albanians
were judged for hostile propaganda, the verbal delict. At the
same time, they were also being condemned for counter-
revolutionary threat to the societal order. This was a typical
and undefined provision of totalitarian regimes, and any activity
of a citizen could fit in there. A group of people was always
treated as a hostile group. I also remember the trials against
Albanians serving in the Yugoslav Peoples' Army. It was a series
of same verdicts in which only the names were different. The
procedure was the same, which only proves that Albanians were
victims that ended up in prisons.

Now when SFRY doesn't exist, Albanians are judged as citizens

that create hostile groups, and as any hostile group, they have
only one aim: to make Kosova independent and the unite with

-7-
Albania. They are treated as separatists, and this is done by
force.

KOHA: Could you tell us some more about the pre-penal and penal
procedure breaches?

BALAJ: The accusation, the judges and the interrogators, are all
set up. Even before the people are arrested, the investigating
judge is known, as well as the prosecutor or the judge. This is
an old tactics. Danica Marinkovic and Jovica Jovanovic are not
new names. Since some years, Jovica has become a "specialist" in
representing (as assistant district attorney) the state in trials
held at the Regional Court.

Let's talk about a concrete case. The Constitution of this

Yugoslavia states that a citizen deprived from liberty has a
right to a defending attorney since the first moment. This
provision is not applied by any of the Courts and when we mention
it to the judges, we get the reply that this provision is not
contained in the Law on Criminal Procedure, which is not true.
There is no independent judiciary in this country, there are no
real judges. We live in a totalitarian state and this is why we
don't expect justice from the courts.

KOHA: What measures did you undertake to prevent the use of force
against your clients and with what success?

BALAJ: The violence is applied against the political prisoners

for one reason only. Because there are no facts. The officials
must force someone to admit something he/she hasn't done. The
violence is applied to "prove" that there is a hostile group.
According to the judicial opinion of Serbia, all Albanians should
be liable to persecution for threatening the territorial
integrity of the state. Our only means, as attorneys, are paper
and words. All we write and say is in vane, for there is no rule
of law.

KOHA: You have been attorney of two of the most drastic cases:
the murdered Besnik Restelica and the disappeared Nait Hasani.
Could you tell us more about the latter?

BALAJ: Hasani was arrested in Prishtinë on 28 January. The

brutality of his arrest was witnessed by many people. Then, he
was sent to the hospital, where he remained a couple of days. He
was withdrawn from the hospital and taken to an unknown
direction. The information I have is that he was covered by a
sheet as if he were dead - and thus carried out from the
hospital.

KOHA: Did you see him while in the hospital?

-8-
BALAJ: No, neither his family saw him, because he was guarded by
the police. My attempt to get into the hospital and visit him was
seemingly the reason why he was taken out so abruptly. He was
kept in an unknown place till 28 February when he was finally
taken to the Investigating Judge's office to be interrogated.
This is one of the most tragic cases. He was in extremely
difficult psychological state while in the hospital.

KOHA: Have you seen him afterwards?

BALAJ: On 28 February I was invited to participate in the

procedure as his attorney. The month he was missing, no one knew
whether he was dead or alive. I asked for information from the
police in Prishtinë, the district attorney, the judge, the
hospital where he was registered as N.N., the prosecutor of the
republic, the Minister of Justice of Yugoslavia, the federal
prosecutor; but none of them gave an answer. The only answer was
that of the regional prosecutor who replied that this person was
not under persecution, although his name was coming all the time
during the interrogations of the others. In the investigation
documents his name appeared several times. At the end of his
first interrogation by the investigating judge, I asked her where
had he been kept. She said that she didn't know, for Nait Hasani
had been arrested on 25 February, as the police documents proved.

KOHA: How does he look physically?

BALAJ: He is not looking good. I spoke to him about his health.

It is evident that he is scared. Before we met, we were both
warned that we shall not speak about the month he was missing,
and neither were we allowed to talk about the accusation. It is
interesting that while in prison he told me that he had been
arrested on 28 January, while in front of the judge he said that
he was arrested on 25 February. I think that Nait has lost the
perception of time.

KOHA: This means that he didn't tell you where he was all this
time.

BALAJ: He didn't, because he doesn't know. He was more or less

kidnapped, then he was taken to the hospital and then to an
unknown direction. He had told to the judge that he had come to
her office with a mask on his head.

KOHA: Has he admitted all he is accused of?

BALAJ: No. I have his written statement in which he states that

he is member of no organization, but that he knows of the
existence of these groups, that he has provided them with money
and that he knows many of these people and that he had been

-9-
driving them occasionally. In a way, this statement in very
confusing, but he doesn't admit many things he is imputed. Even
in this state of mind, he explains things differently. I wouldn't
take much time in analyzing his statement in this phase of the
procedure. He is also accused of killing eight people, which he
categorically denies. But he also says that Rexhep Selimi has
admitted that his group committed the crimes.

KOHA: What is the official explanation of his disappearance?

BALAJ: There is no explanation.

KOHA: You have requested the exemption of several judges from the
procedure, based on the law. Has any of your requests been
approved?

BALAJ: Eight attorneys have requested the exemption of

investigating judge Danica Marinkovic, because of procedural
breaches and because she did nothing to prevent the violation.
However, the Supreme Court of Serbia has not decided yet. In the
past, we have often requested this measure, but were never
successful, for the higher judicial instances usually refused
them based on ridiculous justifications.

MACEDONIA

THE REÇIC· E VOGËL UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

by ISO RUSI / Shkup

The distance between Shkup and Tetovë is 35 kilometers on a road

which until recently was considered as one of the best in
Macedonia. Lately this road is being observed as one of the most
dangerous, and this is why there have been increasing talks on
the construction of the road between the capital and the center
of Albanians in Macedonia. As if it reflects the situation of
inter-ethnic relations - it is not good now, but tomorrow it will
be better. By car, it takes you half an hour to come from Shkup
to Tetovë. If you enter Tetovë from this direction and turn on
the first stop-light to the left and then again to the left, you
will find yourself in the so called "Gostivar road", and after
some fifty minutes you will reach a road that turns right and
takes you directly to Reçicë e Vogël. There are no signs to show
you the way to this place that became famous for its Albanian
university three years ago. The Government declared it anti-
constitutional and illegal, and sent the special units that
caused the first victim... Since then, the "illegal" university
has been functioning normally. So, on one hand it doesn't legally

- 10 -
exist, and on the other it works without any obstacles. The UT
and Reçicë e Vogël became famous because of what happened in
inter-ethnic relations and because of the intervention of foreign
mediators, missions, institutions...

There is almost no media that refers to Macedonia and that fails

to mention the University and Reçicë. The same goes with the
reports on inter-ethnic relations in Macedonia. Even in Japan,
there have been four articles published in this regard.

The streets are paved, the biggest part of the buildings are new,
contemporary construction, with vast space of living. The
impression is that the people have a good life and when it comes
to houses, there is no saving. The fact that there are still
houses under construction makes one conclude that the owners are
gastarbeiters who invest their savings on familial housing. We
evade using the term village, for Reçicë is almost part of
Tetovë.

The ones who have ascertained that Reçicë is the Students' Town,
are right. The majority of people we met were young, mainly
standing in front of the buildings that serve as university
premises. It was a sunny day and this is why the students
spontaneously formed a corso, stood in front of the cafes,
wearing normal outfit.

In a house in the middle of the locality, in the base floor, a

premise dedicated to become a cafe/restaurant, is the Rectorate
of the UT.

In the office, we met with Milaim Fejziu, chairman of UT's Senate

and Shaip Emërllahu, responsible for information. We take the
data.

The UT is composed of 11 faculties with 26 cathedra. In the first

three years of studies, there is a total of 2500 students. When
we visited the students' service, we saw that all files were
processed electronically and that they all included a photograph.
Rector Fadil Sulejmani says that these files definitively prove
that the number has not been "inflated". There are a total of 200
teachers, classes are held six days a week, five houses have been
completely ceded to the UT and so far there are 23 fully equipped
classrooms. The information we get is that the curricula is
identical with that of the "Kiril and Metodij" University of
Shkup, and that lecturing in Macedonian has been postponed for
later, because of the lack of qualified staff. UT has approached
the University of Shkup for assistance, but no reply has come
yet. In the Faculty of History, four semesters are dedicated also
to the history of the Macedonian people. There are rumors that
some of the professors and students are non-Albanian too.

- 11 -
However, it becomes evident that non-Albanians fear to come to
Reçicë e Vogël.

Three and a half million DEM are spent each year for the more or
less normal functioning of the UT. The money is collected from
funds organized in and outside the country. The idea that all
Albanians should give one mark each, is respected by one fourth
of them. The students pay 100 DEM per semester, the salary of a
professor is 400 DEM, professor-assistants are paid 300, the
deans receive another 160 DEM and the rector additional 200 DEM
for their functions. As soon as the financial situation improves,
the salaries will rise too. All income is carefully accounted by
the accounting service. Only the faculties that could function
in these conditions have been established. Thus, there is no
faculty of medicine, although there is sufficient teaching staff.
The conditions are the ones lacking. The University, we are told,
has immediately established the good relations with other
universities. The first official letter came from the American
university "George Washington".

Sulejmani confirmed what he had declared at the beginning of the

semester - that there is no space for politics in the university
and that he would put a distance from any political party.
The chairman of the Senate, Fejziu, stresses that the University
was established in harmony with the law in force, and that he is
deeply convinced that it's existence will become official some
day, because this is a need of the citizens of Macedonia.
We start visiting the houses that serve as premises. At the
Academy of Arts we meet a group of students of graphic design.
"The conditions are O.K.. The students are quite good and I am
satisfied", says dr. Hivzi Muharremi, from Pejë and a Belgrade
student. At the Music cathedra, we meet Ismail Hoxha, the dean.
"We have some 30 students. We teach the same subjects as in
Shkup. One month ago, we purchased three pianos, for so far we
have used synthesizers".

In the Faculty of Computer Sciences we meet students sitting in

front of color monitors. There are a total of 50 Pentiums worth
over 100 thousand DEM. We are told that over 600 students will
be trained in computer skills. There is another special cabinet
in which all students from other faculties go through computer
training. Vice-Rector Agni Dika explains that the most
contemporary software has been provided for computer training and
that UT is connected to Internet...

The impression that Reçicë e Vogël is really a University campus

is imposed after visiting the places where classes are organized
and the buildings concentrated around. A students' magazine
called "Studenti" is published, and there is a special book-shop
that sells all the University forms and publications issued by

- 12 -
UT. There is also a students' restaurant with low prices...
We depart towards Tetovë and go to the house that is serving as
the faculty with the biggest number of students, that of
Philosophy. The image is the same. Teachers lecture in the
languages department, while outside, where the "smoking lounge"
is, stand gathered fellow students.

The actual government could recognize or not the UT, but it is

working as such since three years ago, and it is not far from
truth to consider Reçicë e Vogël a university center. No sign
will take you there, but everybody knows where it is, students
teachers and those who analyze the political situation in
Macedonia.

- 13 -