MTCowgirl's Kosovo Blog 2009
This is an account of my time spent in Kosovo while working with the United Nations.
I also have a Kosovo photo album with interesting pictures from around Kosovo :)
My blog is a mixture of personal reflections on what it is like to live here (from an outsider's point of view) and political developments. Information is from international news agencies or personal opinion and does not reflect the policies of the United Nations.
Please feel free to contact me if you have questions! It might take me a little time to reply but I will try to answer whatever questions you send me within reason :) mtcowgirl7@hotmail.com
A small disclaimer for the articles found in the MTCowgirl's Interesting Articles/Commentary section. These articles do not necessarily reflect my personal opinion regarding Kosovo or its independence. However I did find the articles interesting as stated and they are shared for mere informational purposes.
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| 29 September 2009 - Moved!!! | |
| Again, I would like to thank everyone who has been reading this blog faithfully over the years. I hope that you will find my new blog just as informative and sometime humorous. For those of you who have directly bookmarked here, please change your bookmarks to http://www.mtcowgirl.us/kosovo to see the new blog. | |
| 17 September 2009 - Moving! | |
| It won't really affect you readers too much but I am currently in the process of moving this website to a new host (GoDaddy!). While I am trying to transition the site smoothly as possible, some problems may pop-up so please forgive the mess if images don't show up or if some of the content is garbled. Hopefully by the beginning of October I will have finished transitioning this very simple blog into a regular blog that you can subscribe to if interested. Thanks to all my regular readers for checking back all the time and your comments/encouragement. I am happy that many of you find the information here helpful so that you can find the number of a restaurant to make a reservation or even find out a little about what it's like to live in Kosovo :) | |
| 14 September 2009 - Vetevendosje Demonstrates | |
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With the signing of the information-sharing protocol between EULEX and Serbia last Friday, Vetevendosje along with 20-some other organizations demonstrated in Pristina in front of the EULEX Police HQ. The some 500-600 demonstrators reportedly demanded the resignation of Kosovo PM Haschim Thaci. So far there have been no reports of violence against EULEX despite the speculation but EULEX vehicles are scarce on the streets of Pristina this past weekend with EULEX Security doing active patrols in their "airport follow-me" decorated vehicles to look for unsecured vehicles. Unfortunately for the demonstrators, the weather has taken a turn for the worst with a thunderstorm rolling in which literally will put a damper on the protest. |
| 11 September 2009 - Quiet Before the Storm | |
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Rumor has it that at 1700 hours today, the protocol between EULEX and Serbia on the sharing of information for cross-border organized crime is expected to be signed. Vetevendosje reportedly has organized massive street demonstrations with several other groups. There is speculation and rumor that Vetevendosje plans on reacting violently and will burn EULEX vehicles on the streets. So far today has been very quiet and feels just like the calm before the storm.
I have to say thanks to Sam and the crew from UNDP for organizing a fantastic quiz night at 91 last Sunday. They managed to raise more than 250 Euros to benefit the animal shelter. The next quiz is tentatively scheduled for 20 September. The quiz questions are quite broad and well done so I would encourage everyone to come out and give a Euro (just one Euro!) to participate in the quiz. There was a bottle of whiskey and a few gift certificates up for grabs in this last quiz. One of the companies that was offering gift certificates is a new company called Divine Cleaning Service. I've been seeing brochures around and checked out their website which has a lot of information about their services. I'm very interested in their pet service which according to their office manger (who speaks excellent English!) means that I get to leave Smokey at home and someone will come every day to feed and walk him while I'm on vacation. I plan on using the service while I am gone on my next holiday which is from 20-27 September (and unfortunately for you dear readers, I'll be on a cruise ship so I probably will not be offering many updates during that week!) But back to the pet service, I'll report back on how Smokey fared and what the service is like when I get back! It is always nice to stumble across a non-political article about Kosovo. One of the reasons for initially starting this blog was to help my family understand a little better what it was like to live here and that yes, there was public transportation and I was not riding a horse to work :) Sofia Echo recently published an article called "Kosovo: A Curious Attraction" that gives a nice overview of Kosovo from a foreigner's perspective. It appears that EULEX won the legal battle against whoever put up the fake EULEX website as the hosting account is suspended this week. Had I been a little bit smarter and faster, I should have taken some screenshots of the pages because as I said, someone put quite a bit of work into the site! Luckily I was able to find a cache of parts of the site. To give everyone an idea what the site said, here's an excerpt from the Fun Facts: "Peter Feith is the ultimate authority in deciding what the Ahtisaari plan (and in a sense the Kosovo constitution) means. So if King Peter, after getting drunk or getting hit by a bus, decides that the plan makes Kosovo part of Japan, it is so decided..." And one of the links that stated "Harvested Serbian livers and kidneys for sale. Shop EULEX Smart: Croats sell them for a 10% discount! Livers are Going Very Fast; Reserve Yours!" It has been suggested a couple of times that I slightly change my blog from it's current format into a standardized blog which I may be doing soon. So pardon any mess that may occur over the next weeks as I begin transitioning the pages :) |
| 3 September 2009 - EULEX Continues Getting Slammed | |
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Last Thursday, 27 August, Vetevendosje struck again and slashed the tires of some 30 EULEX vehicles in the Dragodan and Tophane area. A fake albeit very well-made copycat EULEX website has popped up recently (http://www.eulex-kosovo.org). I've heard that EULEX is trying to have the website shutdown so who knows how long it will be up, but it's worth a look and a chuckle as you read (I particularly liked the "Fun Facts" section on the bottom right of the page *hehe*)
On Sunday, 6 September 2009, there will be a quiz night at 91 Pub from 1900 hours to raise funds for the Kosovo Dog Shelter which is always in need of support. Several different prizes have been arranged by the organizers and it is only 1 Euro per person. Thinking of the dog shelter, I'm happy to say that the Spazmutt is doing well. I think my landlady is starting to slightly warm up to him after all this time although the daughter of the family is still absolutely terrified and seems to think that his only goal in life is to eat her. It's interesting how there seems to be a culture of fear in regards to dogs in Kosovo. The other day when walking Smokey several of the neighborhood boys wanted to come pet Smokey but one of the adults on the street was very stern in telling them no and that the dogs are bad. Funnily enough a few of the girls in the neighborhood had just finished petting him a little ways up the road. But I think in walking Smokey on the street and letting the kids pet him (of which he is very patient to the point of letting some of them pull and play with his tail) has helped in dispelling some of the fear that the adults seem to have difficulty conquering and imbed in the children in regards to animals. A week or so ago, someone contacted me about finding a good hairdresser. After having some truly horrifying and artistically interesting haircuts in Pristina, I managed to find a very good hairdresser in the Ulpiana area. For information and telephone numbers for some of the hairdressers and beauty salons, visit my Kosovo Tips page :)
MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
MTCowgirl's Interesting News/Articles
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| 26 August 2009 - Vetevendosje Strikes Again | |
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The Self-Determination Group (Vetevendosje) struck out at EULEX yesterday, damaging 26 vehicles and injuring three KPS officers. Many of the vehicles were overturned and nearly all had their windows smashed out in the Pristina municipal parking (of course there are signs everywhere saying that the Pristina Municipality is not responsible for damage caused to vehicles while in the lot...but somehow this rates up a little higher than a hit&run fender bender in a parking lot in my book!). The EULEX police spokesperson quickly condemned the attack saying that while the organization supports the democratic right to demonstrate the act of criminal damage is unacceptable. Vetevendosje gave the reasoning of the recent signing of a cooperation agreement on organized crime between the Serbian Ministry of Interior and EULEX for the criminal damage. It has been quite some time since Vetevendosje organized a demonstration like this and the first time that the group has attacked EULEX. As usual, Vetevendosje later alleged police brutality and stated that one of its members was being treated in the local hospital. Rumor has it that KPS initially did not want to intervene to stop the destruction of the vehicles but finally did so on the insistence of EULEX management.
In a separate and unrelated demonstration in the North, EULEX police clashed with demonstrators protesting the rebuilding of Albanian houses in the north of Kosovo. Daily protests continue over the rights of Albanians to rebuild in the north of the Ibar where a Serbian majority resides. MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
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| 5 August 2009 - Is KFOR On Its Way Out? | |
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There has been numerous rumors and stories on the proposed downsizing of NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) over the past year. Recently it has been reported that a total withdrawal of KFOR may occur within the next four years. The rumors of a downsizing of KFOR by the beginning of next year has been confirmed and the force is due to be reduced to 10,000, a reduction of some 4000 troops. Speculation is that with increasing pressure to provide more troops in areas such as Afghanistan, NATO could take troops withdrawn from Kosovo and transfer them to other conflict areas.
MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
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| 28 July 2009 - Oink Update! | |
| Is it poetic justice? The first confirmed case of swine flu in Kosovo is a national who temporarily works in the UK and returned home for holidays. So rather than the numerous internationals working for organizations in Kosovo bringing the "thousands of diseases" into Kosovo as recently claimed by the local media it actually has been a Kosovar working abroad that has brought the virus.
With Macedonia soon joining the white zone for Schengen visa, there is a possibility that Kosovars would be required to apply for a visa to enter the southerly neighbor. Macedonia would receive instruction from the European Commission and would likely act on its advice in regards to travel of citizens of Kosovo and Albania who still require visas to travel within Europe. MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
MTCowgirl's Interesting News/Articles
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| 21 July 2009 - Oink, Oink! | |
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Smokey and I are back home in Pristina after a short-break home in Las Vegas and the doggy-prison (kennel). As usual, Smokey got tossed in the bathtub and was washed immediately as he usually doesn't smell great when he gets home but they do take good care of my puppy when I can't :)
Journalism is a word that could be used loosely when talking about news in Kosovo. The latest laughable article found warns the locals in Kosovo about the dangers of associating with the international community because we evidently are carrying swine flu. I'm sure there was strong factual evidence behind the claims so all I have to say is "oink, oink" :o) In other news, a demonstration outside the government building by the veterans of the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) turned violent when protestors lobbed Molotov cocktails and explosive devices across the fence. Traffic downtown was also disrupted due to a sit-down protest by members of the KLA in the middle of one of the busiest roads (Pristina-Podujevo). Kosovo politicians are under the impression that they will be able to join the UN within the next five years. However considering the fact that to-date even Palestine has not been able to join as a full-member due to regional politics, it is unlikely that it will happen unless Serbia acknowledges Kosovo's independence. But according to some Kosovo government officials, Serbia may soon recognize Kosovo and even urge the UN to close its mission...but again, that's journalism in Kosovo :) MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
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| 22 June 2009 - KEK To Cut Power | |
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An announcement has come out from KFOR that the Kosovo Electric Company (KEK) is planning on cutting the power to Gracanica from 0600 - 2359 hours every day. The timing of the electricity cut to one of the largest Serbian enclaves comes right before the Vidovdan (St. Vitus) celebrations and the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo Polje. KEK is hoping to settle the issue of outstanding bills not paid since 1999 and a possible collective settlement of 26 Euros/month per household but given the timing one can't help but wonder if someone needs a "KEK in the @$$" for taking a decision to cut off the power right before such significant celebrations!
Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon of the UN has addressed the UN Security Council on the situation in Kosovo. The report was complimentary to the EULEX mission and their reaching operational capacity in April. The Kosovo government on the other hand did not seem to be presented in a very positive light with the divisions still remaining between the communities. The full report can be read online through the UN Security Council reports. MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
MTCowgirl's Interesting News/Articles
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| 9 June 2009 - KFOR Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary | |
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KFOR (Kosovo Force) marked 10 years in Kosovo today with a celebration in the Pristina camp of Film City. The KFOR commander pledged to continue supporting Kosovo despite the talks of troop reductions and the suggestion of pull-out (which was decided against).
UNMIK continues to downsize with approximately 300 staff leaving at the end of June bringing the total number of staff to approximately 500 by 1 July 2009. The UN Security Council is set to discuss Kosovo on 17 July as the 1244 resolution still remains in place requiring the UN to maintain a mission, albeit much smaller, in Kosovo. MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
MTCowgirl's Interesting News/Articles
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| 14 May 2009 - Good Eats | |
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While it has been around for a while, I recently discovered Liburnia Restaurant behind Procredit Bank off UCK Street. Rumored to have the best pizza in town, the menu was fairly impressive and I thoroughly enjoyed the broccoli and cheese dish! Open just for a couple of months, Geba Bar is a new sushi and sashimi bar in Dardania. The interior is modern and swanky with a two large aquariums embedded in the front of the bar. Unfortunately for those that don't like raw fish, Geba currently does not offer any cooked items.
The nightlife in Pristina is grand as always. Karaoke has seemed to go mainstream now with several new locations to belt out your favorite tunes. Both new sushi bars (Geba & Sushi Bar) offer karaoke whenever a customer has an urge and 212 Club in Pejton is hosting karaoke nights on Thursdays starting at 11pm. Unfortunately rumor has it that the former place to go for karaoke, Tokyo, no longer has a system and is trying to cater to a more upscale dinner crowd. I haven't been for a while but there was always a good crowd up there on the weekends so hopefully the party crowd will move on to the new places! There is usually a group that gather up at Pacific Rim in Dragodan on Wednesday evenings for cocktails and karaoke which is often good fun :) In addition to the new karaoke options, a few other recently discovered places to hang out include Dubliner Irish Bar (near the Grand Hotel) and Why Not Bar (Pejton near Bill Clinton). Why Not Bar features a fantastic live band on the weekends and Dubliner has an authentic dark pub-ish feel to it. But alas, Kosovo is not all fun and games so on to the news!!! MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
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| 13 May 2009 - Wide Awake in the Middle of the Night | |
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The weather has finally warmed up enough to open the doors and windows in the night to let the fresh Pristina air (did I just say that?!) in at night. But with the fresh air comes the noises of the city, like Jeff Dunham's Walter so succinctly put it Pristina is a city that "needs a frickin' nap". First there was the neighbor's car alarm which intermittently was going off , then a concert up until midnight somewhere in the city that allowed the noise to flow up the hill of Dragodan and provide me with what seemed to be a front-row seat to some sort of Albanian rap music (I can die happy now!), and then finally the street dogs of Dragodan started up with a chorus of barking, fighting, and howling. Armed with a half-empty bottle of water I went out on the balcony to look for the offending dogs but alas, they were too far away to scare off, so I gave them a stern look and said "Shut Up!" Now finally at 0200 the city has quieted down and perhaps I will be able to crawl back into my bed and attempt sleeping again!
There has been quite a bit of news since I last updated. Work and having an active social life has made updating a little bit harder but things are starting to slow down now that UNMIK had done the initial downsizing so hopefully I will be able to keep everyone updated a bit more regularly again :) One of the more recent and interesting news tidbits comes in the form of the former Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku being expelled from Columbia following a request to execute an Interpol warrant stemming from Serbia where Ceku is accused of war crimes against Serbs and non-Albanians during the 1998-1999 war. In response to the expulsion, Kosovo has requested Interpol to dismiss warrants originating in Serbia against Kosovo citizens. Violent protests continue over electricity cut-offs in villages and the reconstruction efforts of Albanians in the north of Kosovo. Last Sunday some 26 people were injured when a clash over electricity in 14 Serbian villages which are requesting Serbia to provide them with power as they do not wish to pay their Kosovo electric bills. In the north, nearly every day protestors clash with the police and are tear gassed by EULEX police, who have been praised for the handling of the situation. And finally, two bits of news about the Kosovo government and police, last Wednesday a call from a "Western country" was placed to the Kosovo government threatening that several bombs had been placed in the Kosovo government building prompting police condones and evacuation of staff. The week before that some 47 kilos of heroin and thousands of Euros disappeared from the secured KPS evidence room and now two KPS officers have been suspended pending an investigation. |
| 22 April 2009 - Global Economic Crisis Starts Hitting Kosovo | |
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When, not if, the effects of the global economic meltdown would hit Kosovo has been a topic for discussion since headlining across the rest of Europe and the US. Many believed that the summertime was when the real effects would show when migrant workers started returned from abroad and possibly fail to secure visas to return abroad for work due to demand for jobs. However, it seems that already Kosovo is beginning to feel the economic pinch with remittances from abroad starting to drop.
When first arriving in Kosovo some eight years ago I joined the group that wondered why there were so many Western Union offices in such a poor place. The answer was found in that the mass exodus from Kosovo during the fighting left many people in Western Europe who were able to secure work and support their non-working families in Kosovo. Just like migrant workers from Mexico in the US, Kosovars go abroad in Europe and send a good portion of their wages back to Kosovo to their families accounting for a substantial portion of Kosovo's income. With unemployment still at approximately 40-50%, hard times are likely to soon fall upon Kosovo unless the government finds a way to pull a white rabbit out of its hat. |
| 16 April 2009 - Alive & Kicking :) | |
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Despite the fact that I haven't been able to update that much lately, I am still alive and kicking in Kosovo :) Life has been hectic and coupled with recent events in UNMIK, work is a bit crazy.
Last week, UNMIK send letters of termination to some 450 staff members, mostly national. The sudden termination, letters issued on Thursday with a last working day of Friday, was due to a deadline set by NY for the last payment of termination indemnity which the national staff previously went on strike about last month. Despite calls for the withdrawal of UNMIK from Kosovo, the mission is currently just scaling back to approximately 500 staff members by the end of June 2009 as per UN Security Resolution 1244, the UN is required to maintain a presence in Kosovo until such time that the resolution is changed or discharged by the Security Council. Last week EULEX announced that it had achieved 100% operational capacity. What operational capacity exactly means is still up for debate with a few letters of criticism over logistics and other difficulties faced by police officers coming out and circulated to the international EULEX staff. In other EU news, a delegation from the European Parliament has told Kosovo that they no longer need UNMIK as EULEX is now operational. |
| 20 March 2009 - UNMIK National Staff go on strike | |
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The national staff of UNMIK went on strike today at 0930 hours CET to protest against decisions taken by NY HQ in regards to contracts and termination indemnity for staff who have chosen to remain working with UNMIK rather than leave for other jobs. The idea is to protest until NY rescinds its decision and agrees to grant longer contracts with an option for indemnity should UNMIK decide to terminate the contract earlier than expected.
I nearly forgot to mention the opening of a new restaurant in downtown Pristina - Sushi Bar (044 218 998, Old Cactus Bar, near the Grand Hotel). Due to differences, the cook from Tokyo and one of the waiters have moved on and opened their own restaurant downtown which is quickly becoming a favorite place for sushi. During the weekends, there is open mic karaoke. The food is excellent (try the salmon!) and we are keeping our fingers crossed that their sake supply will come in soon! I have updated my Restaurant Guide with the new information and some additional phone numbers I've picked up. |
| 19 March 2009 - How Time Flies! | |
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Wow, it's hard to believe that nearly a month has passed since I last wrote. I am reminded now of the saying "the more things change the more they stay the same". UNMIK continues to downsize while EULEX is operating in police & justice...yet nothing really feels different...people are just wearing different uniforms and there are more flats with "For Rent" signs than usual. With the downsizing of UNMIK, rumors are many about the fate of the employees. A protest over the extension of contracts may occur later today or tomorrow on behalf of the UNMIK national staff.
The power situation has been great other than the fact that I discovered my landlady trying to save money by switching off the fuses in my flat after I left for work every day. How much she thought she was saving by turning off my refrigerator, hot water heater, and one heater each day I have no idea!!! I finally got fed up and had a discussion with her son explaining that I've noticed that the power in my flat was going off every day at approximately the same time and I was aware there were no power outages at the time. Miraculously the next day there was no planned outage in my flat ;) In sad news, I saw a report that an eight-year-old boy was attacked and killed by a pack of wild dogs earlier this week near Kamenica. This is not the first time that a child has been killed by dogs in Kosovo and with the huge number of strays I am sure that it won't be the last. Of course, those wanting to assist with the stray dog issue can contact the Kosovo Animal Shelter (email or by telephone at +377 44 126 439 or +377 44 199 061) to donate time, food, and funds! The weather continues to be winter-like with small snowstorms every few days. That means I get more time to enjoy snowboarding in Brezovica with my friends so you won't hear many complaints from this snow-bunny! MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
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| 18 February 2009 - Kosovo Celebrates | |
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Yesterday, Kosovo Albanians celebrated the one year anniversary of the declaration of independence from Serbia. Many people stretched the celebration out to start on the 16th by closing shops early with essentially everything closed on the 17th. The street party was massive and Smokey was emotionally traumatized by the huge fireworks displays, automatic gunfire, and smaller private celebrations that lasted for hours. The celebration this year seemed to top that of the actually party that was held as people were able to plan much more in advance unlike last year when the date for declaring independence was not well-known.
MTCowgirl's Independence Articles
Other Kosovo News
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| 12 February 2009 - KEK in the Butt | |
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Ha, I couldn't help it. There were power problems (fuse kept blowing out) last night in a restaurant we were visiting and a friend piped up with "Someone needs a KEK in the butt" :) Classic!!! Actually, the power hasn't been this bad this winter (reportedly production is up 30% compared to other years) so there have not been long power outages in Pristina. Some of the smaller villages have been worse off but the power situation does appear to be improving slowly.
Kosovo has some wonderful nature such as Rugova Valley and Brezovica. I have been trekking up to Mount Sara (Brezovica is actually the name of the village, not the mountain) on the weekends and taking snowboarding lessons. Compared to back home in the US, learning and renting equipment here is next to nothing. A ski rental will cost you 10� a day and lessons are somewhere in the range of 10-15� per hour. A day pass on the ski-lift (you do have to pay again if you switch lifts) is 10� or a single trip is only 3� which is nice if you just want to ride up to the top to take some pictures and come back down again. There aren't really beginner slopes at Brezovica, the main slope is actually a black run, but it's all good. During your breaks from skiing/snowboarding, I can recommend stopping at Cakson for some hot spiced wine or Pizzaria Tina which has fantastic pizzas albeit in an extremely smoky environment. On the downside of Brezovica, it is just absolutely jam-packed on Sundays and there is little to no crowd control at the ski-lifts. The line is basically a push-and-shove fest to see who can come in from the side or push their way to the front. I actually got my arm stuck between two people trying to hold onto the jacket of my instructor as they pushed in from the side and trapped me. Another time I saw an interesting argument between a Albanian youth and a Polish KFOR soldier. The youth attempted to cut in line in front of everyone and the soldier told him to get to the back of the line. The youth then proceeded to start threatening the soldier who was backed up by three other Polish soldiers (all in uniform). The next thing you know everyone in line is yelling at the youth about cutting in line but he didn't care and just kept pushing forward. The last thing that I saw really made me wonder about people in Kosovo and what people can get away with...a black Jeep Grand Cherokee with tinted windows was trying to push its way through a crowd of people waiting for the ski-lift. People were moving out of the way the best they could with skis strapped to their feet and its possible that one person accidentally or intentionally hit the back of the vehicle with his ski pole. The next thing you know two guys got out of the Jeep and attacked the skier, throwing him to the ground punching and kicking him in front of all the people at the ski lift. The worst thing about it was that people were just "Hey, Hey" and didn't move to help the guy that was being beaten-up and then the two guys just got back into the vehicle and drove off. Ummm, hello!!! MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
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| 5 February 2009 - Kosovo Serbs Protest KSF | |
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Kosovo Serbs organized demonstrations today in the north of Kosovo, blocking roads and traffic. The Serbs participating say that the security force threatens their safety. They also demonstrated against EULEX customs which began registering goods coming into Kosovo last week. The demonstrators don't want EULEX to set-up the customs point until an agreement is reached with Belgrade.
On Wednesday, the president of Kosovo named the head of the Kosovo Intelligence Service as Bashkim Smakaj, a former KPS officer. While relatively young, 32, Smakaj served as a colonel in the Kosovo Police Service. MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
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| 26 January 2009 - Kosovo Security Forces Off to Rocky Start | |
| Last Thursday, the new Kosovo Army called the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) launched but things did not get off without a hitch. A grenade was reportedly thrown on the roof of the KSF barracks in Peja/Pec and so far no one has claimed responsibility for the attack in which no injuries occurred. Then former members of the KPC/TMK, predecessor of KSF that incorporated a large number of former KLA fighters, protested the fact that they were not offered positions in the new army but other civilians were being given jobs. With the economy suffering, many former fighters fear they will not find work. A small side-note can be added that when the process for selecting people for KSF began, it was found that little to no background check was done previously and many were disqualified for ties to criminal groups or criminal records.
The smack-down between Ramush Haradinaj and Hashim Thaci is continuing. The two former KLA-commanders and political rivals have been pitted against each other since Haradinaj's acquittal by the Hague last year. The latest in the news is Haradinaj accusing the government of Thaci of losing Kosovo day-by-day. Haradinaj is also strongly opposing the decision not to hold general elections in Kosovo this year. It will be interesting to see just how this fight will get or how ugly it might become. Of course, Haradinaj might just be a little peeved that he lost out on being Kosovo's Man of the Year to both Thaci and Albin Kurti (see below). MTCowgirl's Interesting Articles/Commentary
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| 21 January 2009 - Kosovo Army Begins Operations | |
| The Kosovo Security Force became operational today bringing an end to the Kosovo Protection Corps (TMK/KPC). The KSF will be lightly armed and will be comprised of 2500 members of the various ethnic groups of Kosovo. It is expected that the new army will be under the supervision of NATO. Serbia has vowed to fight against the formation of KSF diplomatically and is expected to take the verbal battle to the United Nations. NATO is additionally ready to consider suspending the security zone between Serbia and Kosovo should it be requested.
Two damning reports on Kosovo have emerged this week. The Council of Europe's anti-torture committee has condemned the Kosovo Police Service for police brutality and Human Rights Watch stated that there have been no improvements in human rights since independence. Meanwhile, it has been decided that only local elections will be held this year in Kosovo but general elections will not take place for two years. The Ahtisaari plan for Kosovo's independence called for elections within nine months but the constitution which came into effect in July 2008 states that elections cannot be held for two years. Disagreements between the Kosovo political parties forced the decision into the hands of the European Union's International Civilian Office which supports holding local elections and the decision that parliamentary elections could be held off until 2011. However the two largest opposition parties in Kosovo have joined forces in rejecting the postponement of elections calling the decision totalitarian. MTCowgirl's Interesting Articles/Commentary
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| 12 January 2009 - It's Freaking Cold!!! | |
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There's nothing better than beyond freezing temperatures to make you wish that you were back home in a nice warm toasty house or perhaps even better would be to be sitting on a warm sunny tropical beach somewhere. But alas I am back in Kosovo and therefore freezing my nether-regions with sub-zero temperatures and several inches of snow on the ground. In fact the weather was so-o-o-o crappy on the return trip to Kosovo that I ended up loitering in the Vienna airport for a total of 10 hours as the afternoon flight was cancelled and I was rebooked on the later evening flight. But I made it and boy am I happy (please note the sarcasm attached to that statement!) :o)
MTCowgirl's Kosovo News
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| 3 January 2009 - Trouble Brews in North Kosovo | |
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It's unfortunate that instead of writing about the coming of a new year for Kosovo, I find myself writing instead that ethnic tensions in North Mitrovica are high after the stabbing of a Serbian teenager by two Albanians and then the subsequent property destruction of Albanian owned shops. And it doesn't end there either. Two explosions rocked the north with both vehicles being damaged and six people injured. It seems that Kosovo is getting off to a rocky start in 2009.
At the beginning of the week, ten former members of the KLA were arrested by Serbian police in Presevo Valley in southeastern Serbia. The Albanians from Kosovo are accused of war crimes of murder, rape, and torture of Serb civilians in the Gnjilane region following the end of the fighting. The ten were transferred to Belgrade and have been given 30-day detention due to the seriousness of the accusations and flight risk. Kosovo parliamentary speaker Jakup Isufi has lashed out at Serbia and demanded that the international community act and the suspects be released. So will the cowgirl be packing up her bags and leaving Kosovo in 2009? Only time will tell! There still is no real good indication of how long UNMIK will remain in Kosovo and how things will work out with EULEX being deployed under the umbrella of the UN Resolution 1244. There has been rumor and speculation that slowly over time all the UN people will disappear and no one will notice but on the flipside a lot of people have told me that I might as well apply for my Kosovo citizenship (eight years is a good residency period don't you think?!) and the UN won't be leaving anytime in the near future. So basically the best thing to say is "Who Knows?!" and until the day comes when I'm told to pack up, you can bet that I'll continue bringing you stories of living in Kosovo and sharing the news articles I come across :) MTCowgirl's Interesting Articles/Commentary
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