Correction: Interesting developments in the North

In my previous post I stated the following on Kosovo's special policing units:

"[the] special unit in which I speak of has yet to be deployed (again) to patrol."

The unit has been deployed already, although reading translated news articles it seems that they have not been deployed (see one article below from Koha Ditore). In fact I have photo-evidence, not that this is secret, but just for authenticity of my blog (i.e. meaning I'm not making things up). One can identify a special police unit because they drive Toyota Landcruisers, as opposed to the various other makes and models they use. Please see pictures below (disclaimer: the pictures are not great because I did not want to be conspicuous.)

In the picture to the right, the Landcruiser is very small in the back. I apologize for the poor quality.

"AKR does not support Rexhepi on sending special units to the north"

Koha Ditore reports that the Alliance for New Kosovo does not support the position of the Minister of Internal Affairs Bajram Rexhepi of sending special units of Kosovo Police in to the north. AKR advisor for politics and national security Shefki Abdullahu said on Wednesday at a press conference that he ranks the Minister’s announcement as imprudent. “The announcement of Minister Rexhepi is hastened. The situation in the north is complicated, it has been such for 11 years now, when special units of a state are sent to a place to stabilize the situation, there is no return,” said Abdullahu. He added that if the sending of the units was supported by the international community in Kosovo, then the operation would have been successful, but if not, it could compromise Kosovo Police.

Interesting developments in the North

In the municipality of Mitrovica, there is an accepted chain of law enforcement:

1. The Kosovo Police are the supposed first responders and deal with all issues, having a leadership role in most of the issues.
2. EULEX defers to the Kosovo Police, but they do take on their own investigations, give the Kosovo Police necessary support, and use their own judges for trials in Mitrovica.
3. KFOR (NATO's mission) is really in Mitrovica more for security reasons, and are the last resort if a situation gets out of hand. They are hands off on investigations and most criminal issues; however because they have the best resources, they can really come in whenever they want to quell an event. KFOR also controls the airspace over Mitrovica and runs practice missions there.

Now regarding the July 2nd protest (as an aside, Serbia's President Boris Tadic called on the United Nations Security Council to have a meeting on the July 2nd protest) and the July 5th shooting of a Serbian government official, initially the Kosovo Police were investigating these incidents. But according to this article from Serbia's B92 news, EULEX is now taking the lead in the investigation, which means that the investigation will be stepped up (and hopefully unbiased). EULEX taking over Kosovo Police's investigations is not uncommon, and either EULEX can step in or the Police can request EULEX assistance.

For the time being, EULEX investigating these two early July incidents is a good thing, because there is now the confrontation between Kosovo and Serbia of Kosovo's decision to send a special policing unit into the north of Kosovo. According to Gallucci's blog, Kosovo already sent up a special unit (KPS/ROSU) in June; however this special unit in which I speak of has yet to be deployed (again) to patrol. The unit is made up of mainly Kosovar Albanians. Interestingly, Kosovo believes that it has the capacity and resource to sustain this unit in the North without the help of EULEX. EULEX has already stated in multiple articles that they will not collaborate with the Kosovo Police on this mission nor do they think that it is useful for Kosovo to do so. To further this, NATO Commander of Allied Joint Force Command Admiral Mark Fitzgerald visited Kosovo yesterday and said "The situation all over Kosovo was and continues to be absolutely calm, peaceful and very safe." He does not foresee increased security in the country, which is probably directed at the announcement of the special policing unit in the North.

To break it down: NATO as well as EULEX do not see an inflamed security situation in Mitrovica North, or the North of Kosovo, due to the two incidents that occurred in the beginning of July. Kosovo understands these views, but at the same time, government officials see the special policing unit as a way to sustain stability, create greater stability (if one can do so), and contribute to the overall security and peace in the region. Belgrade on the other hand, views the deployment of this policing force as an affront to the Serb population in the North and as an informal act of war, mainly because Kosovo will be imposing the police unit without speaking to any of the authorities in the region. As a reminder, Belgrade has a strong influence in the north of Kosovo which consists of a large Serbian population, especially in Mitrovica North, where there is also an illegally elected municipal administration that 'runs' that part of the city. Belgrade does not want to give this region up to Kosovo, nor does Kosovo want to partition it to Serbia. We will see what happens in the near future, but it is a bit of mess in the North right now.

Follow up to Albania - Bunker Galore

In Albania, there are currently over 700,000 bunkers littering the country. Most are grouped together in what were thought as 'strategic' places, such as at the bottoms of mountains, in fields, along the main roads, and on the beaches. These bunkers were built from 1950 until 1985 by the communist ruler Enver Hoxha, who was paranoid that either Serbia or Russia was going to invade the country and take over. Although Albania has recently found big oil deposits, there was really no reason for any country to invade Albania. There was not much economic prosperity during the communist years (hence it was communism), but it would also be hard to successfully invade Albania because of its rugged, and mountainous landscape. Granted the valleys and lowlands are easily tranversible, getting to these areas is a bit hard from the surrounding countries and from the sea.

This old BBC article explains an interesting story of the beginning of the bunkers:

When the prototype bunker was finished in the 1950s he asked the chief engineer how confident he was that it could withstand a full assault from a tank. The answer was, "Very confident". The Communist Party supremo then insisted that the engineer stand inside his creation while it was bombarded by a tank.

Sadly for the current generation, the shell-shocked engineer emerged unscathed and his look-out posts went into production on a massive scale. The Communist Party has now gone, as has the giant gilded statue of Hoxha from the main square of the capital, Tirana, but the bunkers remain and the prosperous future is nowhere in sight.

Most lay abandoned and filled with trash and human excrement. But not all are, and I was able to take a picture from the inside looking out into the Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea). I was told that a year or two ago some bunkers were found to have weapons and hazardous material wastes. Some are being used as art (i.e. painting on them) and others are incorporated into buildings and bars (see below). But really, the government nor regular Albanians know what to do with all the bunkers, and it is too expensive to remove them. Most likely they will just remain a reminder of communist times.

This is the top of bunker, which now a support mechanism for a beach bar, as well as being a decoration. The rest of the bunker is underneath the bar.
If you look closely, there are bunkers lined up in front of the treeline along the beach.

The back of the bunker. You walk in the little door in the middle, but this bunker has sunk a bit in the sand.

This last picture is a communist monument that is along the main mountain road to Dhermi. Not many are left nor are so well preserved.

Encounter with University of Mitrovica

This post is written by my colleague on the trip with whom I am working this summer, Jose Reymondez Ramos:

Mitrovica is known for being a divided city. Primarily, there are Albanians in the South and Serbs in the North. The divide isn’t centered around a wall or a fence. There is actually a river that divides the city, although the geographic line can be easily traversed via multiple bridges. The main bridge has a Kosovo Police SUV that has sat there for so long that the tires hardly have air left in them. In a car, you may get briefly stopped but on foot there is freedom of movement.

When you cross the bridge, no one really notices although there may be a concealed bridge watcher watching you with binoculars and taking notes. Once you get in to the North, you are largely ignored and can walk around unhindered and unmolested. You may be asking why this is an issue, and hopefully in a later post this security aspect of Mitrovica North will be explained.

Anyway, we decided to check out a compound at the North end of the city, almost at the city limits, that houses the EU House, EULEX, UNMIK, UAM, OSCE, and other NGOs and international organizations. Our loitering of the premises was interrupted by a man at the top of one of those metal staircases that are sometimes attached to the outside of buildings. He asked us what we needed and we explained that we were grad students writing about Kosovo. He then told us out to seek the first floor behind a Raiffesen bank down the street towards the center of Mitrovica North. In Europe the first floor is usually what we would consider the second floor, but either way, we were not sure to whom we were directed (nor did we really care, just someone who would speak with us about Mitrovica).

Anyway we found the bank and indeed behind it were buzzers labeled with floor numbers. We buzzed the first floor and a Serb woman stuck her head out the window indicating that the door was already open. We went up the stairs to find something called the EU information center where we were greeted by a goateed Serb who told us that someone would be with us in a minute. He led us in to an office with a couple of computers that we were invited to use.

Of course it was he himself who came to see us and he began to give us a presentation on student programs offered by the EU in the University of Pristina, currently known as the University of Mitrovica: Tempus and Erasmus Mundus. Before speaking about Tempus and Erasmus Mundus, the University of Pristina is considered temporarily located in Mitrovica, but called the University of Mitrovica by the North and by Serbia. (There is a University of Pristina in Pristina, Kosovo however). There are 10 faculties, which in the US would be considered schools, such as philosophy, economics, etc. Briefly, Tempus helps modernize curriculums to EU standards while Erasmus is a European student exchange program, and this particular branch is looking to increase the exchange of Serbian students with other universities in Europe. After about a 15 minute speech on what Tempus and Erasmus Mundus is doing in Mitrovica North for the University, we then were able to explain the EU info center representative that we were students but not prospective students of the services he was explaining.

Yet we did learn that the University of Mitrovica/Kosovo is funded by the budget of the Ministry of Education in Serbia while the EU programs get grants from the EU Commission and the ECLO. Europeanizing their higher education obviously has to do with eventual EU accession of Serbia (and perhaps Kosovo); but it makes me wonder if they know that, barring partition of North Mitrovica to Serbia, this University is within Kosovo territory and would eventually join the EU as a Kosovo university rather than a Serbian University. The budget of Serbia is funding a University that may join the EU in a different country. One also wonders what the EU's logic here is, working with a University in Kosovo that gets its budget from Belgrade.

In short, we were in Kosovo, but were being described a University that is funded and run by Serbia and that is working with the EU to meet European Education standards as a Serbian University.

Tony Blair and Bill Clinton

Tony Blair is coming to Kosovo today to receive and honorary doctorate (“Doctor Honoris Causa") from the University of Pristina. Twofront page articles from the gazette Epoka e Re are titled: “The friend, great Blair, arrives today in Kosovo” and “Welcome Prime Minister Blair!”As the poster reads, he is a "leader, friend, and hero;" mainly for his Blair Doctrine that he delivered in April of 1999 at the University of Chicago, where he equated the intervention of NATO in the Kosovo War to a just war. The doctrine is not solely on Kosovo, but Kosovo is the example he keeps referring to when speaking about things such as global interdependence, security, and politics. Pristina was decorated with these posters and billboards as well as hanging up British flags along the main pedestrian walkway, Mother Teresa Street.

Former President Bill Clinton also had a big role to play in the NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999. For this, Pristina erected a statue of him in November 2009 along Bill Clinton Avenue. Currently they are reconstructing the avenue to make it more accessible for traffic, and most likely to beautify the area as it is a bustling strip. Because of the NATO intervention, most Kosovar Albanians have a love for Bill Clinton (and America in general). Speaking with some locals, this may be the only place that one can find people who equally love Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

On a lighter note, Snoop Dogg is coming to Pristina this Saturday. He is part of Z-Mobile's advertising campaign, where they have hired him to promote their new mobile company. There are small kiosks around the city where you can purchase tickets, as well as employees walking around wearing Snoop Dogg billboards to promote the concert. If you purchase a ticket directly from the kiosks, walking staff, or Z-Mobile store, you will receive a free sim card and a 25 euro credit. This has nothing to do with anything, but Pristina has been bringing in bigger stars here. In 2007, 50 Cent toured in Pristina and in June, for the Freedom Festival, Chamillionaire played here.

Some things in Pristina

This is a destroyed building as you can see. The building is actually a 2 story structure that housed 2 different shops, one was a clothing store, in Pristina. Apparently this building was illegally built (not sure when) and did not have a permit to be constructed in this area. From what I was told, there was a blueprint to build another building in this area, it did not happen, and this (former) building was built. So, the local authorities tore the building down to rebuild what was originally planned. On the second photo, the men sitting on the rubble sift through it and pick what metal scraps and the like that they can. There is really no one here to stop them, and for about 3-4 days there were different men scavenging for scraps that they could sell or use themselves.

This is old news in Pristina, but this Yugoslavia-era monument, which stands for "brotherhood and unity," is going to be knocked and a new square, dedicated to the KLA hero Adem Jashari (who I wrote about here). I spoke with a local about this, and he stated that this is a good thing, because there are no other Yugoslavia monuments in the former Yugoslavia (I cannot confirm this). Further, Kosovo wants to look forward to its future and not be reminded of its history under Serbian rule in Yugoslavia (although when Tito was in power from 1953-1980, Albanians had recognition and Kosovo had autonomy).

Non-fatal Shooting in Mitrovica

Peter Miletic, a Kosovar Serbian who serves in the Kosovo parliament, was shot four times today outside of his home in Mitrovica North. It was so important that Yahoo! covered it, or posted it from Reuters. As the investigation pursues, the media may play this onto the incidents that occurred last Friday (scroll down to my previous blog posts). However, it could also just be a coincidence; but either way it shows that there is anger with the work of the government (and perhaps more personally with Miletic, since there is a contingent of Serbians who view any other Serbians working with the Kosovo government as a traitor. I was in Mitrovica today and there were no uprisings or anything because of this. Although I did not go to Miletic's house, I was on the northern side and nothing seemed out of place, so that this did not cause anything further, from either the north or south side, was good. Although Miletic is a Serbian politician holding one of the 20 minority seats in the Kosovo Parliament, I could not see the Albanians rising to the occasion to protest his shooting, but if this would have happened, then it would have showed some sort of unification (if you will) to have Kosovar Albanians support a Kosovo Serbian in the municipality of Mitrovica.

On another note, there was increased security on the bridge, with NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) French quadrant having a presence on the main bridge. They usually do not station trucks on both sides of the bridge, but today was a bit different. Switzerland and Denmark also have KFOR presence in Mitrovica, and you can see them patrolling the streets.

A quick lesson: There is a line of responsibility for safety, protection, and ultimately security in Mitrovica. First it is the Kosovo Police force, then EULEX patrols, and lastly KFOR. KFOR, under NATO is there mainly for protection purposes and if things get out of hand and NATO wants to withdraw troops, because if they can do this, this shows 'progress' is being made in the municipality. In certain situations, KFOR can be asked to help out or be utilized for preventive/security measures here. But in this case, from anecdotal evidence, KFOR was not really asked to have a presence on the bridge, rather they did so on their own (but if asked about it, they would really say they were asked to do this). Perhaps with the shooting this morning it might have been warranted, but it also takes away from the sovereignty and authority of the Kosovo Police, which may still be 5-10 years away from patrolling Mitrovica without any international help. It's a very sticky and confusing situation in Mitrovica, but one that is highly interesting and relevant to international security, urban security theory, and especially ethnic security studies (i.e. dilemmas). Below there is a picture of Kosovo Police patrolling the southern side of the Iber River.

As a follow up to the protest last Friday, my colleague Jose Reymondez and I also ventured to Kosovo Ministry of Interior's Civil Registry Office in Mitrovica North. This was what caused the protest and one death on Friday morning (see my blog post below). There was also heightened security there too, with Kosovo Police in charge, French KFOR police men, and even an EULEX patrolman. The first security contingent was set up about 100 feet away from the office, then there was a second contingent stationed outside the office. Jose asked the French KFOR if I could take a picture, and in correct order as I mentioned above, the French officer deferred to the Kosovo Police officers. The K-officers replied in English 'no problem.'

The building, which was not in a main part of town, had three employees in it, sitting around and drinking coffee. This is no surprise that anyone has come to register to receive an official Kosovo ID card and be put in the system, probably for fear of an attack afterwards. It is not an incredibly bad idea for the Kosovo government to try to establish itself in the Mitrovica North with its first building and hand out ID cards; but at the same time there are many other issues the K-government needs to focus on rather than trying to just get a presence in the North.

I found out that there was an issue with posting the sign on the building (see right). The Kosovo government, the International Civilian Office (ICO), and EULEX has a consensus that the sign was to be posted. The ICO had discussions with the Serbian parallel structures in Mitrovica North, meaning the political parties that are in power but seen as illegal by Kosovo and the international community, and at first the Serbian politicians agreed the sign was to be posted. Then later they protested, but it was too late, and the sign was posted. Even if the sign was not posted to indicate where the building is located, the protest would still have occurred, because word can get around in Kosovo.