New era in Kosovo and Balkan politics

(Original text: March 25, 2021)

It is obvious that Kosovo, and even the Balkans, has entered a new era when Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti established the new cabinet by receiving a vote of confidence from the Assembly of Kosovo on March 22. It seems Kurti will address Kosovo's international politics within the framework of a pragmatic understanding of foreign policy. In order to understand this framework better, it is necessary to evaluate Kurti's influence on Balkan politics.

We ended our previous article by saying that we will discuss the political change in Kosovo within the context of the Balkan politics of the EU, USA and Russia in the post-Trump period. A glance at Balkan politics, the possible effects of the Kosovo elections on the Balkan geography is necessary before the promised article.

Before that, we would like to recall a point that we have criticized from time to time here: After the Kosovo elections, we did not see the usual cliché headlines in the Western media on possibility of a new warfare. Whenever there is an important development in the Balkans, the Western media is equipped with expert opinions claiming that "a new war may break out at any time". The Balkan “experts” in Turkey as well, who are tired of the right-conservatist crap on Balkans, who most often follow Balkans via Brussels or Washington fall into that fictive story that "a war may occur at any moment in the Balkans war". But this time, after the last elections, which unquestionably marks a new era in Kosovo, and even heralds the end of the war politics of the former UCK commanders, Vetevendosje’s, the party whose fundamental political programs aims at a “United Balkans” and her proud leader Albin Kurti’s victory did not cause usual “war cries”.

The Balkan experts do not care that Kurti is a follower of a program forging social development, social justice, state intervention and advocate of the rule of law and put forward a serious program against corruption and poverty, but what the new government that prioritizes these policies will bring to Balkan politics is important. Articles claiming that the political change in Kosovo will cause problems in Albania, confuse Macedonia, and even that the end of the political crisis that may emerge will touch Bosnia, will surely be released before the beginning of summer, as usual. It is a fact that tensions in the region will increase due to the coming to power of a party with a political program formed with the "United Albania" range. Will this be increasing tension pregnant with new crises and even wars? Is there any expectation of war in the Balkans this Summer, as every Summer?

Let's look at the clues given by the government established by Albin Kurti, who brought a new and completely different breath to Kosovo's politics, regarding the new period. Albin Kurti has not included other parties that have ruled Kosovo for years. Kurti, who has kept Rugova's party LDK and former UCK leader Hashim Thaci's party PDK out of the government, clearly shows that he will stay away from the traditional political style in the Balkans. As a matter of fact, Vetevendosje, who won the 14 February elections but won 58 out of 120 seats, went to the current president Vjosa Osmani's party, Guxo (Courage), the Serbian List, the Kosovo Roma party IRDK (Iniciativa e Re Demokratike e Kosovës: The New Democracy Initiative of Kosovo) and the Turkish Democratic Party of Kosovo received 67 votes, more than 61 votes they needed to establish the cabinet, with the support of the minority parties holding 10 of the 120 seats.

The message given by Kurti, who also includes the Serb minority in Kosovo in his government, is very clear: It clearly demonstrates his goal to solve the Kosovo issue not with Serbia, but with the Serbs in Kosovo, by internalizing the Serbs in Kosovo in internal politics.

The first step that Vetevendosje will take in this matter will be relations with Albania, whose primary goal is "United Albania", even as the reason for entering the political scene. The Albanian elections, to be held next month (April 25, 2021), have a significant impact on the determination of this policy. Albin Kurti, who is a bit distanced with the PS (Socialist Party of Albanian) leader Edi Rama, who is currently in power in Albania, hopes the opposition will win. Noting that not the PS but the LSI (Lëvizja Socialiste për Integrim: Socialist Movement for Integration) might be regarded as the party representing the "left" in Albania and also noting the emphasis on “integration” in LSI's name, Vetevendosje would prefer to see LSI in power. LSI has a similar political program to Vetevendosye and received 8.4% of the votes in the first elections in 2008, when it entered the parliament, it got 14.3% in the most recent 2017 elections, but opinion polls predict that its votes will decrease in next month’s election. Even if Edi Rama wins the elections, regardless of who is in charge of Albania, the Kurti government will look to keep tight relations in Albania, regardless of who is in the government, for the sake of "unification".

Here we need to draw attention to the fact that although Albania is thought to be the address of "United Albania", historically the political center of the Albanian national movement has always been Kosovo, and this phenomenon is still true today. Therefore, it will not be surprising that Kosovo's politics also affect, or even direct, politics in Albania. But Kurti will follow a policy that will not allow for political polarization in Albania. Although it has an LSI government in his heart, he will not hesitate to establish a pragmatic relationship with the PS.

There is an expectation that the real problem will arise in Macedonia, and this expectation has reasons that cannot be ignored. About a quarter of Macedonia’s 2 million population is Albanian. Of course the "United Albania" project also includes Albanians, who make up the majority of the population in the west of Macedonia. The newly foemed Vetevendosye government has not yet made shocking statements about Albanians in Macedonia, but Kurti has already called for the Macedonian Albanians in the diaspora to do their best to be counted in the census to be held in Macedonia between April 1-21 in 20 years. Despite this conjuncture, Kurti will avoid any action that would come into conflict with the moderate Zaev government in Macedonia. Sacrificing Zaev to the hawks in Macedonia is a strategy Kurti would definitely not prefer in Macedonia.

Erdoğan Regime was one of the first to celebrate Kurti's election victory. The government of Turkey's policy on Kosovo is clear: Unconditional support in every situation even in the situations that  the Turkish schools were closed justified by insufficient number of students or when street signs including Turkish translation were removed or Turkish radio channels were not given new frequence lines. Turkey has been one of the first to recognize Kosova’s independence in 2008 and this was very important for Kosovo in order to gain very precious support of Islamic countries through support of Turkey, who had then considerable power in Middle East politics.  Albin Kurti and Vetevendosje also still cares about Turkey's presence in the Balkans. He said that the decion of Kosovo to open the embassy of the Zionist entity in Jerusalem will be re-evaluated following reaction of Erdoğan to this decision. Kosovo Turkish Democratic Party (KTDP) in the cabinet have given the Ministry of Regional Development which will provide a positive contribution to relations with Turkey.

Much has changed since 2008. Turkey have lost much of her international diplomatic power sacrificed to Erdoğan’s personal deeds. The arrest of 6 Turks in Kosovo in 2018 and the kidnapping of them by the MIT caused great reaction Kosovo.

The Kurti government, which has shaped its domestic political moves with a program to fight against corruption and poverty and to ensure developmental and social justice, and which is clear that it will follow a political line that avoids polarization and conflict in the region, will shape its foreign policy on a global scale in a very pragmatic and rational framework. In this context, if new Kosovo government will have to make a chose between Zionist entity and Turkey, an unexpected decion would not be gathered as a suprise. It would not be a surprise if Kosovo will choose Zionist entity, who would like to cooperate with a realiable and stable ally with a Muslim majority in the Balkans, like they did with Azerbaijan, sacrificing support of Turkey who is already stuck in foriegn politics.

In our next article, we will look at what kind of relations Kosovo can develop with international actors, especially the USA, within the framework of a pragmatic foreign policy in the new process.

dirimozkan@gmail.com

A NEW ERA in KOSOVO?

 

(Original text: February 18, 2021)

For the past 15 years, Kosovo's most frequently mentioned political movement is Vetevendosje, literally "Lëvizja Vetëvendosje!" which means "Self-determination movement". Vetevendosje came to power in Kosovo in a landslide election victory. Does the victory of Vetevendosje mark the beginning of a new era in Balkan politics busted in poverty and corruption in the grip of chauvinism and banal nationalist discourse?

Vetevendosje, the winning party in the 14 February elections, received 48 percent of the vote, had a serious victory against its closest rival; PDK (Democratic Party of Kosovo), the party of Hashim Thaci, which won 17 percent, and the party of the founding president of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, which won 13 percent.

The most important factor behind this success of Vetenvendosje is 46-year-old young leader Albin Kurti. It is predicted that the Vetevendosje government led by Albin Kurti, who started politics on the streets, will bring a serious change to Kosovo. The main reason for this prediction is that Vetevendosje has a serious political and economic program, unlike the political actors that dominate the Balkans in particular, Kosovo in general. What's in this program?

When we look at the discours of Albin Kurti and the political program of Vetevendosje, the emphasis on the rule of law and the strengthening of the state are two important points that draw attention at first sight. The political program of Vetevendosje, which aims to provide income justice has a developmental perspective, aiming to increase national production and prioritizes the support of small enterprises. In addition, it foresees the prevention of unregistered labor and further strengthening of unions. Another priority of the economic program is the struggle against corruption. Vetevendosje clearly emphasizes that the privatizations will be re-evaluated due to the corruption, unemployment and economic collapse caused by the privatized state owned enterprises in Kosovo, which are bankrupted with corruption and poverty. In this context, Vetevendosje frightens the big capital owners who are in collaboration with the mafia. Another feature that distinguishes the Vetevendosje movement in Kosovo politics is that it respects the rights of women and minorities.

But neither the mafia, nor the owners of big capital, nor those who have ruled Kosovo for years in the swamp of corruption and poverty with rhetorical nationalist rhetoric, have almost nothing to do against Vetevendosje! When it comes together with the ideal of the self-named Vetevendosje, that is, the "United Albania" ideal of the "self-determination movement", another fundamental political element of the developmentalist, statist and anti-corruption program, the voice of its rivals is deeply muted.

The origins of the Vetenvendosye Movement, founded in 2005, are the Albanian Rrjetit të Aksionit për Kosovën movement that took to the squares in Kosovo in 1997, but is originally known by the acronym KAN (Kosovo Action Network). Albin Kurti, formed a party around the slogan "No reconciliation, the right to self-determination" (Jo Negocijata Vetevendosjë), a slogan that was written on the walls in June 2005, when street clashes with UN forces were exacerbated by KAN militants who took to the streets demanding the independence of Kosovo. Kurti was one of the militants that was taken under custody.

KAN's request was very clear: "We want Kosovo to have the right to self-determination! The independence of Kosovo will be determined by the referendum of the people of Kosovo, not by the negotiations and international powers that compromise our freedom! "

Vetevendosje, which received 13 percent of the votes in the first elections in 2010 after the establishment of the party in 2005, was still seen as a youth movement in its early years and was seen as a street power that would put pressure on the parliament rather than a party to take power in the future. They showed that they are permanent in politics by getting 14 percent of the votes in 2014. After consolidating its place in Kosovo's politics, it gained 27 percent in the 2017 elections and 26 percent in the 2019 elections, paving the way for the path to power, with the confidence that they have an unusual political consistency in Kosovo politics.

The feature that distinguishes KAN from other nationalist parties is its emphasis on human rights, social justice, education, culture and arts. The political range of the "right to self-determination" discourse constitutes the dynamic of Vetevendosje's exit to the political arena, the struggle for "United Albania". The point where this dynamic differs from banal nationalism is that it has a developmentalist, social justice, statist and political program that defends the rule of law, puts forward a serious program against corruption and poverty, and also cares about the minority rights in Kosovo. It is no coincidence that the name of the party is formed by the "right to self-determination" and Kurti describes himself and his party as "leftist".

In every occasion Kurti announces that he is not a “chauvinist”, but also putting emphasize that Albanians should have the right to live in an independent and a democratic country of their own, where there will be rule of law. Kurti has already announced his first goal in the "national question": Firstly, reconciliation with the Serb minority in Kosovo, rapprochement with the EU, then negotiate with Serbia. In this context, Kurti, who is likely to clash with the mafia-backed big capital groups in the future, seems to have acknowledged the importance of EU support in this fight. It should not come as a surprise that Kurti, who has an unusual profile in the Balkans, will be welcomed by the EU.

At this point, the main question is; What kind of foreign policy will Kosovo follow, which has been the puppet and chief stooge of the USA in the region for years. What kind of foreign policy will Kosovo follow in relation with EU, USA and even Russia, and how this policy will affect Balkan politics, especially in the post-Trump period? This will be the subject of our next article.

 

 

IMMIGRANT CRISIS IN BOSNIA AND HYPOCRICY OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

(Original text: January 21, 2021)

What happened to hundreds of transit migrants struggling to survive in the open air in the difficult Balkan winter conditions for about a month is not only a new story of corruption and incompetence in Bosnia's record, but a document of shame that tells the West's hypocrisy and dishonour in "humanitarian aid".

When the route of the refugee influx to Europe shifted to the Balkans, Bosnia was excluded from this route for a while, and this situation was interpreted in Sarajevo, where sarcasm is a part of daily life, that Bosnia is not the country which is not desired to live in even by the refugees.

Human traffickers, who exploit the refugees, soon discovered the mountainous topographic structure of Bosnia and the fact that the control of Bosnia's borders under these geographical conditions is not done very tightly. Especially the refugees who entered Bosnia from Serbia and Montenegro thought that they could pass to EU member Croatia easier and Bosnia was included in the refugee route.

But things are not that much easy.

Croatia, new member of the EU, famous of promoting racism, is doing its best to prevent refugees from Bosnia from entering Croatia. They beat the refugees which they catch and steal belongings of them: Their wallets, cell phones and even their shoes and release them back to absolutely not doing this in a formal and decent way.

There are currently around 9000 refugees in Bosnia, and only three percent have applied for asylum in Bosnia. The remaining thousands are "transit" refugees. The vast majority of refugees are those who have been returned to Bosnia by the Croatian police with human rights violations.

Currently, only 6000 of the 9000 refugees in Bosnia stay in "reception centres". About 3000 refugees are outside the camps cannot meet their basic needs. A tragedy has been going on since the end of December.

Since the fire at the Lipa Camp in Bihac, in the canton of Una-Sava in western Bosnia, on the Croatian border, 1,700 transit migrants in the camp have been struggling to survive in the harsh Balkan Winter conditions. After the fire, the Bosnian Army has set up 20 tents that can accommodate about 500 people, but the remaining migrants have been struggling for weeks in the forest without basic needs.

The fire in the Lipa Camp contains an enigma. It is suspected that the fire was caused by immigrants or by local residents. But why? The answer to this question tells us a new story about the hypocrisy and dishonour of the West regarding "humanitarian aid".

The local canton administration was responsible for the basic needs of the Lipa Camp, which was established last April with the COVID-19 outbreak. IOM (International Organization Migration), which constantly warned the local government to meet these needs of the camp, which lacked basic infrastructure, electricity and heating, announced that it had finally left the camp on December 23, 2020.

You did not read wrong: IOM was not ashamed to show its pride against the local government over the lives of 1,700 immigrants!

The local government claims that resources to improve camp conditions are not covered by the central government. The central government states that they lack resources for this. IOM asks that a total of 88 million Euros has been transferred to Bosnia since 2018: "We gave that much money, you couldn't take care of 1700 refugees!"

Looking at it this way, IOM seems quite right. Bosnia and Herzegovina is already a corrupt country. Bosnia, dominated by ethnocracy, is one of Europe's leading countries in corruption and poverty. So it deserves these preaches.

But reality is not like that: IOM is not an angel, not clean as a whistle preaching Bosnia.

If there are those among the readers who have taken part in projects of international institutions, they might know the corruption and incompetence within these institutions, which appear to be very reliable and very serious from outside. IOM in Bosnia is also part of this scene.

IOM, who has been preaching Bosnia by saying; "We gave you 88 million Euros, you are incapable of meeting the basic needs of those poor immigrants," misses one thing: 77 million of this 88 million Euros have been transferred to Bosnia via IOM. Unsurprisingly, this money was mostly spent on technical and administrative improvements in Bosnia during the transition to the EU. We are sure that some of these technical and administrative expenses are paid as daily fees to the experts who reside in London and New York, stay in Bosnia for a day or two and work a daily wage of at least 1000 Euros. Or it was spent on "very high quality" technical equipment “produced according to solid standards.” Of course, by paying a “high quality” price...

IOM, which took 77 million of the 88 million Euro payment, does not account for this, but asks Bosnia to give account for it and brutally withdraws from the camp without hesitating to leave 1700 people, children, elder and women exposed to harsh winter conditions.

They cannot increase their voice against Croatia who tortures and robs immigrants, or they cannot increase their voice against EU countries that close their gates to the refugees.

Besides all they cannot oppose Republika Srpska of Bosnia whose government simply says; "We do not want a single immigrant in my region", or to the cantonal administrations under the Bosnian Croat rulers who exempt them from the migrant crisis.

The power of IOM, benefitting from millions of Euros, is only brave against Bosnia. Can we say that Bosnian politicians, who are busy with exploiting Bosnia's resources more, are uncomfortable with this? No. As the corruption wheels spin, they don't even speak out!