STARTING FROM SCRATCH IN KOSOVO: The Honeymoon Is Over (ICG Balkans Report N° 83)

STARTING FROM SCRATCH IN KOSOVO: The Honeymoon Is Over (ICG Balkans Report N° 83)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

In this paper, the International Crisis Group (ICG) examines the performance of the international community in five key areas: security, the provision of basic services, civil registration and documentation, elections, and justice and the rule of law. The paper recommends ways to improve that performance, including: more robust enforcement by NATO’s Kosovo Force of its protection mandate and the accelerated deployment of adequately trained international and local police; the acceleration as well of donor follow-through, the provision of basic services, civil registration, the creation of identity documents, voters’ lists, and applicable criminal and civil legal codes; and a reexamination by the aid community of how best to achieve its desirable goals and outcomes in Kosovo.

RULE OF LAW IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: Confusion and Discrimination in a Post-Communist Bureaucracy (ICG Balkans Report N° 84)

RULE OF LAW IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: Confusion and Discrimination in a Post-Communist Bureaucracy (ICG Balkans Report N° 84)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

The unsatisfactory functioning of municipal and cantonal administrations has a negative effect on both the legal system and the rule of law, and drastically affects the administration's main role -– the implementation of laws and regulations. Many laws go partially or entirely un-enforced. This report makes specific recommendations to strengthen the functioning of public administration. By and large these build on already-existing civil service procedures on the books, both in Republika Srpska and the Federation. These include: enforcing existing civil service laws, enforcing existing hiring procedures, increasing the degree of governmental "userfriendliness," increasing public access to records and documents, de-linking the public administration financing from political party control, and strengthening the municipal oversight system under existing JSAP authorisation.

ALBANIANS in SERBIAN PRISONS. Ksosovo’s unfinished Business. (ICG Balkans Report N° 85)

ALBANIANS in SERBIAN PRISONS. Ksosovo’s unfinished Business. (ICG Balkans Report N° 85)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

While the international community does not itself have the capacity to free these prisoners, it must find ways to exert maximum pressure on Milošević to order their release. Thousands of Albanian lives are at stake: reports from recently released prisoners and from family members make clear that the prisoners' conditions in the Serbian facilities are appalling, their health has been severely compromised, they are routinely subjected to mistreatment and torture, and their trials are travesties. In addition, many prisoners’ families have been effectively ransomed by Serbian lawyers, who have promised to secure the release of prisoners for sums ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 DM. The emotional and material strain on prisoners' families contributes to Kosovo's continuing unrest and to the immense frustration Kosovars feel toward the international agencies which, in part out of a dearth of options to pursue, have not made a top priority of locating the prisoners or advocating on their behalf. // In this paper ICG attempts to clarify the somewhat complex situation with regard to the Albanian prisoners, to make available first-hand information about Serbian prison conditions gathered in interviews with ex-prisoners and prisoners' family members, to elucidate the pertinent legal issues, and to propose a series of measures that governments and non-government organisations might take toward identifying the prisoners and securing their release.

DENIED JUSTICE: Individuals Lost in a Legal Maze (ICG Balkans Report N° 86)

DENIED JUSTICE: Individuals Lost in a Legal Maze (ICG Balkans Report N° 86)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Thousands of people try to find their way daily through an immensely complicated labyrinth established by the three separate and very often conflicting legal systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Evidence presented in this report, the third in the ICG legal project series, proves that unexplained time delays, dubious application of law and blatant ethnic discrimination contribute greatly to the ad hoc nature of Bosnian justice. This report scrutinises six individual cases of ethnic and political discrimination. Recommendations are presented to counteract the violations committed by judges and prosecutors in these cases and to ensure that such violations are prevented in the future, through the strengthening of the concept of rule of law and of judicial and prosecutorial independence. Data on the cases contained herein was provided by ICG partner organisations based throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. All are Bosnian NGOs providing, inter alia, free legal aid to Bosnian citizens.

ALBANIA: STATE OF THE NATION (ICG Balkans Report N° 87)

ALBANIA: STATE OF THE NATION (ICG Balkans Report N° 87)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Albanian nation - Albanian state;

In an effort to consolidate the gains made during the last year – namely the ‘liberation’ of Kosovo from Belgrade’s rule – Albanians from both sides of the Kosovo border are endeavouring to weaken the structural division between Albania and Kosovo. The improvement of transportation and communication links is aimed at providing Kosovo with access to an Adriatic sea port, whilst helping to alleviate the chronic unemployment in Albania’s northern districts by re-establishing traditional trading links between towns on both sides of the border. Such moves, however, are being interpreted by some of Albania’s neighbours as the first steps in the process of creating a Greater Albania. This is strenuously denied by both Albanian and Kosovo Albanian leaders who, despite acknowledging their nation’s desire at some point in the future to see a unification of all Albanians into one state, recognise that for the foreseeable future the Albanians of Albania have different and far more pressing issues to address from those in the former Yugoslavia, and vice versa.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE KLA / UCK? (ICG Balkans Report N° 88)

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE KLA / UCK? (ICG Balkans Report N° 88)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Kosovo Liberation Army;

The end of the war over Kosovo brought the transformation of the guerrilla army that started it. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA – or UÇK in the Albanian acronym) has been formally demilitarised, but in various manifestations it remains a powerful and active element in almost every area of Kosovo life. Some welcome its continued influence; others fear it; many are concerned about it. This report focuses on the period since mid-1999, after the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) was deployed and the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was installed. It traces the nature and extent of the influence the KLA still wields; evaluates that influence and the way the international community, through UNMIK and KFOR, has dealt with it; and suggests how it might be dealt with in future.

MONTENEGRO: In the Shadow of the Volcano (ICG Balkans Report N° 89)

MONTENEGRO: In the Shadow of the Volcano (ICG Balkans Report N° 89)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Milo Djukanovic;

Montenegro has been a crisis-in-waiting for two years now, with Belgrade opposing efforts by a reform-minded government under President Milo Djukanovic to distance itself ever further from its federal partner Serbia. Federal President Slobodan Milosevic has steadily escalated the pressure against Djukanovic, probing the extent of NATO support for Montenegro and pushing the Montenegrins toward a misstep that might undermine their international backing. Djukanovic is under some domestic pressure to move faster towards holding a referendum, but all his foreign contacts are advising him to go carefully and not provoke Belgrade into a response, and for the moment he is being patient. For its part, the Belgrade regime seems content for now to play a cat-and-mouse game with the Montenegrin government and population, keeping them nervous and not knowing what to expect. Montenegro’s dualcurrency system—with both Deutschmarks and dinars as legal tender—appears to have stabilised the economy at the cost of unwelcome if temporary inflation, but Serbia has intensified its trade and financial blockade.

REUNIFYING MOSTAR: Opportunities for Progress (ICG Balkans Report N° 90)

REUNIFYING MOSTAR: Opportunities for Progress (ICG Balkans Report N° 90)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Mostar;

Reunification of Mostar is key to the reintegration of separatist Herzegovinian Bosnian Croats into Bosnia. After years of fruitless post-Dayton efforts to wean the Bosnian Croats from Zagreb and reorient them toward a constructive role in Bosnia, the international community at long last has the capability to achieve this goal. The success of the democratic forces in Croatia in the January-February elections there has brought reliable partners to power with whom the international community can work in Bosnia. Policy initiatives in Herzegovina will not require new resources and, if achieved, can lead to a reduction in the international profile in Bosnia. Failure to act on these opportunities will cripple the Bosnian peace effort and weaken the new government in Croatia. These issues present serious policy challenges.

BOSNIA'S MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS 2000: Winners and Losers (ICG Balkans Report N° 91)

BOSNIA'S MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS 2000: Winners and Losers (ICG Balkans Report N° 91)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Republika Srpska;

The international community can draw a degree of comfort from the results of Bosnia’s 8 April 2000 municipal elections. Overall, the voting was free of violence and more free and fair than any previous election held in Bosnia. Nationalism may not be on the run yet—witness the strength of indicted Bosnian Serb war criminal Radovan Karadzic’s Serbian Democratic Party (SDS)—but moderate leaders are making inroads and increasing numbers of voters seem to be paying attention to their messages. In Bosniak areas support shifted from the ruling Party of Democratic Action (SDA) to Haris Silajdzic's Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH) and Zlatko Lagumdzija's moderate Social Democratic Party (SDP). As a result, Silajdzic positioned himself as king-maker in numerous Bosniak majority municipalities, and as heir apparent to the ageing Alija Izetbegovic among the Bosniak electorate.

MONTENEGRO’S SOCIALIST PEOPLE’S PARTY: A loyal Opposition? (ICG Balkans Report N° 92)

MONTENEGRO’S SOCIALIST PEOPLE’S PARTY: A loyal Opposition? (ICG Balkans Report N° 92)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Milo Djukanovic;

The assertion of the primacy of Serbian rights over all other peoples by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has driven nearly every nationality of the former Yugoslavia toward the Republic’s exits. Even Montenegro, once Serbia’s closest political and military ally, has not been immune from the turmoil that Slobodan Milosevic has created and has opted to distance itself from Belgrade’s controlling influence. The resulting political tensions have reshaped Montenegro’s political landscape. The Socialist People’s Party (SNP), which enjoys the support of about one-third of the Montenegrin public, was formed as the result of a split within Montenegro’s ruling party, the Party of Democratic Socialists (DPS). The SNP is a party increasingly on the defensive, caught between the initiatives of Montenegrin President Djukanovic to define pro -Western, democratising and reformist policies; and the intimidation tactics of federal President Milosevic who seeks to bring Montenegro to heel and thus salvage the Federation.

SERBIA'S GRAIN TRADE: Milosevic's hidden Cash Crop (ICG Balkans Report N° 93)

SERBIA'S GRAIN TRADE: Milosevic's hidden Cash Crop (ICG Balkans Report N° 93)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: international sanctions;

In recent months the international community has taken a hard look at its use of sanctions3 against pariah states with a mind toward toughening restrictions on the regimes in question while softening their impact on the respective civilian populations, be they Iraqi, Libyan, or Serbian. In early April the European Union refined and more sharply focused its own sanctions program against the Belgrade regime, in an effort to clarify to the Serbian people that Milosevic, not the population itself, is the intended target of the international community’s punishing strategy, which will remain in place until he is out of power. The inclusion of the Serbian grain trade in this more refined application of sanctions can significantly enhance the program’s effectiveness in constricting the financial resources available to Milosevic. ICG's recommendations are directed at further strengthening this potentially powerful tool.

SERBIA'S EMBATTLED OPPOSITION (ICG Balkans Report, N° 94)

SERBIA'S EMBATTLED OPPOSITION (ICG Balkans Report, N° 94)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

The recent crackdown by the Belgrade regime on Serbia's independent media and political activists suggests that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is more vulnerable than it would appear. Since the Kosovo war ended, Milosevic has proven unable to expand his support base and must struggle with diminishing resources to keep restive constituencies intact. Despite its recognised weakness, the Serbian opposition is capable under certain conditions of removing Milosevic from power and offering better governance. The message of numerous public opinion polls over the past eight months is that there is an anti-Milosevic majority in Serbia, but that the opposition must work together in coalitions to exploit it.

BOSNIA'S REFUGEE LOGJAM BREAKS: Is the International Community ready? (ICG Balkans Report N° 95)

BOSNIA'S REFUGEE LOGJAM BREAKS: Is the International Community ready? (ICG Balkans Report N° 95)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

In the first four months of 2000, the number of minority refugees returning to their pre-war homes without targeted assistance from the international community has increased nearly four-fold over 1999 levels, to 12,579. The reasons for the increase in returns include refugee impatience, a change in the psychology of the majority and minority populations, Bosnian government policies, and increased international community willingness to use the powers vested in the Office of the High Representative to remove obstructionist officials and implement property laws.

KOSOVO'S LINCHPIN: Overcoming Division in Mitrovica (ICG Balkans Report N° 96)

KOSOVO'S LINCHPIN: Overcoming Division in Mitrovica (ICG Balkans Report N° 96)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Kosovska Mitrovica;

Mitrovica has become the linchpin of Kosovo's future united status. The stakes are high. If the international community cannot re-establish Mitrovica as a single city, efforts to preserve a united Kosovo will also fail. // Trouble has plagued Mitrovica - the city in northern Kosovo effectively divided between a northern Serb portion and a southern Albanian one - since NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) arrived in June 1999. Tensions in the city over the past few months have periodically erupted into violence. The situation has crystallised many of the weak points of the international approach in Kosovo: lack of vision for the future; inability to protect the security of minority groups or to promote real reconciliation between Albanians and Serbs; insufficient human and financial resources among international administrators; and poor co-ordination, as well as finger pointing, among both international military and civilian officials in Mitrovica.

ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO: Moving toward Democracy? (ICG Balkans Report N0 97)

ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO: Moving toward Democracy? (ICG Balkans Report N0 97)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Kosovo 2000 elections;

In the fall of 2000, for the first time in their history, the people of Kosovo are being promised the opportunity to participate in democratic, internationally supervised local elections. The elections offer the people of Kosovo the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to democracy. They also present the international mission1 in Kosovo with a test of its resolve to overcome the political and practical problems associated with holding elections in a territory still suffering from the physical and the political scars of war.

Macedonia's Ethnic Albanians: Bridging the Gulf (ICG Balkans Report No 98)

Macedonia's Ethnic Albanians: Bridging the Gulf (ICG Balkans Report No 98)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Compared with the rest of the region (Montenegro apart) Macedonia1 has been something of a multi-ethnic success story. The country has thus far managed to maintain a relatively high degree of stability. Gloomy scenarios about the country’s disintegration and a possible division amongst its neighbours have not materialised. But its citizens' increasingly contradictory views of inter-ethnic relations are worrying. Ask ethnic Albanians about the state of current relations and they are likely to reply that relations have never been better. Ask ethnic Macedonians and they are likely to respond that relations have never been worse. This gulf between these two peoples is what shapes the country's uneasy coexistence. Albanians are by far the largest national minority in Macedonia, and their status within the state and their attitude towards it have a direct bearing upon Macedonia’s long-term stability and viability.

SERBIA: The Milosevic Regime on the Eve of the September Elections (ICG Balkans Report N° 99)

SERBIA: The Milosevic Regime on the Eve of the September Elections (ICG Balkans Report N° 99)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

The regime in Serbia has recovered its footing after the 1999 war with NATO and remains as hard-line as ever. Learning and gaining experience over the years has enabled the regime to “improve” its performance and become more efficient. Most analysts in Serbia agree that Milosevic will be able to stay in power indefinitely. The process of internal consolidation after a lost war and loss of Kosovo has been mostly successful. The Serbian state security apparatus is pervasive. Its only task remains to secure the rule of federal President Slobodan Milosevic; the enemy is whatever threatens that rule. Information collected is used selectively to intimidate, blackmail or inflict political damage on opponents. The police are estimated now to be 80-100,000 strong; their consolidation was completed in June. New laws have given the police new power and the Law on Terrorism is expected to further enhance their authority and legal power.

KOSOVO REPORT CARD (ICG Balkans Report N° 100)

KOSOVO REPORT CARD (ICG Balkans Report N° 100)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Impatience among Kosovo's majority Albanian population is growing with the international mission's slowness in putting in place some of the basic structures of normal life - 15 months after the end of the war the judicial system is still getting started and Pristina suffers prolonged daily power outages. The UN police, although nearing its level of authorised deployments, has yet to deal effectively with the climate of lawlessness and disrespect for public authority. Albanians have seized with both hands the opportunities for creating a flourishing small business economy - thanks in part to the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) chief Bernard Kouchner's decision to introduce the DM as the Kosovo's currency - but the international community has yet to begin the process of privatisation and market reform that is critically necessary to restart the Kosovo economy and to channel investment into legitimate economic activity and away from the quasi-legal grey economy.

YUGOSLAVIA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: The Serbian People’s Moment of Truth (ICG Balkans Report N°102)

YUGOSLAVIA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: The Serbian People’s Moment of Truth (ICG Balkans Report N°102)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

At the time of ICG’s last writing, opinion polls were showing that 50 per cent of the electorate was undecided as to its choice for the Yugoslav presidency.4 We reported that the situation was extremely volatile and could change virtually overnight, and this is precisely what has happened. For the first time since Milosevic came to power in 1989,5 a candidate put forward by a largely unified opposition has developed a large popular following and opened a wide lead in opinion polls.6 Despite a regime crackdown and an aggressive anti-opposition propaganda campaign, Serbia’s sundry opposition forces have at last been galvanised and are optimistic about winning a majority of votes genuinely cast.

WAR CRIMINALS IN BOSNIA’S REPUBLIKA SRPSKA. Who are the People in your Neighbourhood? (ICG Balkans Report N° 103)

WAR CRIMINALS IN BOSNIA’S REPUBLIKA SRPSKA. Who are the People in your Neighbourhood? (ICG Balkans Report N° 103)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: war criminals; war crimes;

This report names individuals in eighteen Republika Srpska municipalities and the Brcko District who are alleged to have committed indictable acts or supervised those who did so, and are therefore potentially indictable for war crimes under the criteria established by the ICTY. Yet they continue to play a prominent role in their respective areas, and present significant barriers to the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords. Senior international officials know about them. Many meet frequently with international officials and representatives of SFOR. The influence of potential war criminals at the municipal and entity level is an open secret among international officials. The issue is often avoided, since it exposes contradictions between the international community’s commitment to justice and the rule of law, on the one hand, and the temptations of political expediency, on the other. And yet the persistence of radical politics in eastern RS follows logically from the fact that the international community permitted the SDS of indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic to participate in post-Dayton “democratic” elections. As one mayor in RS noted, “the SDS as a party protects war criminals because to do otherwise would call its entire concept into question.”1 More significantly, the failure to arrest Karadzic himself has sent a message to his wartime colleagues and political successors that they can obstruct return, actively work against Dayton implementation, exploit nationalist sentiments, and remain untouchable.