Mysterious Political Assassinations

AIM Pristina, November 25, 2000

Restrained enthusiasm occasionally expressed after the local elections in Kosovo, disappeared sooner than even the greatest sceptics could have imagined. As a soap bubble it disappeared under a burden of grim news and chronicles on (undoubtedly) mysterious murders, bomb attacks and other acts of violence.

Five members of the Ashkali community have been murdered in two separate incidents in the most brutal way. Four of them were discovered bullet-riddled by unknown attackers, while the fifth (13 years old boy) was found incinerated. Several days later, a powerful explosion shook Pristina and at the same time destroying the apartment of Stanimir Vukicevic, Yugoslav representative in Kosovo, and killing his driver, also more or less seriously injuring six persons who happened to be in the apartment at the time of the explosion.

Two days later, close associate and information adviser of Ibrahim Rugova, DSK President, Xhemail Mustafa was killed at the front door of his apartment. This assassination caused indignation of both the local, as well as international public, and in a special way made it known that violence would continue as long as "someone" wanted it. At the same time, KFOR closed the eastern Kosovo border with Serbia because of conflicts in the Presevo Valley in which four Serbian policemen died.

"Black days are returning to Kosovo" was the disappointed comment of Bernard Kouchner, Civil Administrator for Kosovo, just a few hours after the residence of the Yugoslav representative was reduced to rubble. "The crisis in Kosovo continues and the conflict between national communities is far from being over" said Mr.Kouchner. On this occasion he draw a parallel with the attacks on the Serbian police in the villages of Dobrosin and Konculj (located in the security zone five kilometres wide) in the Presevo Valley. According to him, this wave of violence served as a warning to the OUN Mission and the entire international community that "the extremists are now ready to intensify their attacks on the Serbian community". Why is everyone in Kosovo is blaming the extremists?! They are also guilty of killing both Ashkali and Xhemail Mustafa.

Nevertheless, no one has dared say who are they actually - or perhaps it has not been discovered yet. Is there some centre from which individual assassinations, primarily of renown personalities, such as Mustafa and the previous victims architect Rexhep Kuci and reporter Shefki Popov, are planned? These question are asked ever more frequently, but no one has come up with an answer. Those more optimistic think that this will eventually end. As an argument they mention not so much the large international security troops, but rather "numerous international secret services and specialised teams entrusted with the unmasking of criminal groups".

Perhaps it is still not the right time to deliver the "death" blow to these centres of planning, if they really exist in Kosovo. But the fact remains that now everyone is parroting that "those extremists who do not wish good to Kosovo and its people" are behind every act of violence. The most frequently repeated platitude in the local public is that "criminals and extremists no longer have a nationality, homeland or religion". But, that already sounds like a trite phrase for the Kosovo reality. Equally hackneyed sound all reactions of the international and local officials who strongly condemn every act of violence and inform the "traumatised" citizens of Kosovo that this is "detrimental for democracy, civil society, progress", etc, etc. On the other hand, the police keeps repeating phrases on "the continuation of intensive investigation".

However, things significantly differ from what politicians describe and how they assess them. It is clear, and that was confirmed by international military and police officials, that assassinations and bomb attacks were professionally prepared and carried out. KFOR said that the attack on the headquarters of the Yugoslav representative Vukicevic was very well conceived and executed operation by people who risked much in order to carry out their task, who even succeeded in avoiding security forces which guard that housing zone round-the-clock. The international representatives, but not the Albanian ones, stated that most serious acts of violence occur before some major event which might have direct bearing on Kosovo and its future, and that this time it happened just before the Zagreb Summit. According to the Administrator Kouchner "it appears that all this is a part of a set strategy". The attack on the Yugoslav residence and the assassination of the high DSK official happened one after another and thus left many dilemmas behind them. Was this a coincidence or a coordinated system so as to make them appear like a series of revenging acts in which a large number of players might be involved, or was it only one game played on two fields?

The first thing the officials did was to increase the number of soldiers on the streets and in Serb populated zones, as well as to heighten security measures for DSK leadership and other political figures who demandprotection.

However, at the same time they stated that it was impossible to protect every man and every politician. The still unknown extremists have perfected their operating system. The majority of murders in post-war Kosovo were made according to the same pattern. The victim is attacked at a public place, which is very busy, even in broad daylight. Or, on the other hand, the victim is attacked at his doorstep, possibly in the presence of a family member, while the assassins disappear from the crime scene running or by cars "which no one managed to identify". In this way they kill two birds with one stone.

They eliminate (e.g. political opponents, business competitors or perhaps someone whom they dislike)and leave behind the feeling of terror and general insecurity. Even 50 thousand members of military and police forces, or courts or Ombudsman, who has just opened his office, are unable to instil a feeling of greater security. People ask ever more frequently "what has the victim done, whom did he quarrel with, in whose way did he happen to get, which party he was a member of, etc." and when they do not get the answer they crawl back to their shells hiding and waiting to see who will be the next. The officials say that prisons are overcrowded, that among their inmates are also those suspected of committed murders, but that they still lack proof corroborating this that would be admissible as valid in democratic societies. They mostly blame it on the so called "code of silence". People are getting killed in broad daylight, while witnesses either keep silent or, as it is commonly believed, give false testimonies.

This sometimes sounds like absurd support of crimes. However, it seems that in most cases people fear revenge and that is why they behave so. They have not yet seen a trial (often enough judges resign because of threats they are exposed to) at which a murderer has been punished, but have seen many victims. Also, they have not yet seen a single identified "extremist" so that they could know how they look, speak and which group they belong to. Recently, spokesman for the international community, Dereck Chapel also said that "Kosovo is small, people know each other and nothing is secret".

During Milosevic's rule over the Serbian political scene, it was easy for the Albanians and international representatives to "find links between extremists in Kosovo and those in Belgrade". However, "the just stared honeymoon" with the new President Vojislav Kostunica, has deprived international representatives of the right to use the "whipping boy". Now they are in search of groups which could benefit from violence, but there is still no trace of them.

It could be said that practically 100 percent Albanians would vote for independent Kosovo at a possible referendum, but if the acts of violence are hindering this process, then according to some analysts, they should not be the ones to undermine the prospects for their own independence. On the other hand, certain political circles are forwarding a thesis that "Belgrade is probably interested in having an unstable Kosovo and presenting Albanians to the international community as extremists who are killing not only the Serbs, but also their compatriots. How can such extremists be given independence, Belgrade would say, thus placing the international community in a "stalemate", says their rather unconvincingexplanation.

On the other hand, others see the source of these murders (naturally, only in the lobbies, since no one has enough courage to speak openly) in internal political hostilities. Internal frictions have long ago divided the Albanian political scene into "radicals" and "moderates" and its seems that the violence is intended to fully sanction this division.

However, no one can or wants to say who is behind all this. In Kosovo, with hundreds thousands unemployed and daily shortages of water, electricity and heating, it is not hard to find people who would work for "a cause". It is not difficult to recruit those thousands of people disappointed with the "meagre fruits" of their war and with Kosovo's "freedom" who want to change the reality of Kosovo by violence and murders.

Organised state repression has been ended in Kosovo, but not a single one of all other problems has been resolved. All possible options for the resolution of its definite status are still involved which introduces into the game dozens of groups searching for all kinds of solutions. It seems that brutal and unresolved murders, the feeling of insecurity and fear are the integral part of this game. Nevertheless, the local public is frequently mentioning organised political crime, and not only by DSK representatives whose officials were mostly the target.

At Xhemail Mustafa's funeral Adem Demaqi also said: "We have agreed to the rules of the game, and a part of that game is accepting the will of people expressed at the elections", hinting that possible perpetrators of this and similar murders are among those who refuse to accept the electoral results.

Besnik BALA (AIM Pristina)