ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO - WITH THE BLESSING OF "FRIENDS"

AIM Pristina, 21 March, 1998

Ibrahim Rugova who was elected president by his compatriots in 1992, scheduled the second parliamentary and presidential elections in Kosovo for 22 March this year. He reached this decision after a few postponements and extension of the mandate of deputies and his own.

In Pristina, although one should say only in its outskirts, it is possible to see the election poster of the Democratic Union of Kosovo (DSK) and its presidential candidate, Ibrahim Rugova. The electoral committee and its chairman Tadej Rodiqi, the former president of the supreme court of the autonomous province of Kosovo, informed the public that "absolute majority of political parties" would participate in the elections, as well as a few different associations, such as the Society of Lawyers, the Movement of the Green and four independent candidates. On the other hand, a part of the Albanian press in Kosovo was flooded by different reactions of a few political parties and other subjects who are not only opposed to the elections believing that the time for them is inconvenient due to among other the strained situation in Drenica, but informed the public that they will not at all participate in these elections and appealed on the Albanian voters to boycott the polls.

Such a statement was issued by the party ranking second according to its influence and number of members in Kosovo and the most powerful opposition party, the Parliamentary Party (PPK) headed by Adem Demaqi, former political prisoner who is believed by the Albanians to be "the symbol of resistance against the Serbian regime". This party assessed the 22 March elections as "the elections which will cause a split among the people of Kosovo", accusing the current Albanian leaders that they have scheduled elections "in order to make a single individual, or a group of individuals legitimate". The presidency of this party has also assessed that the "elections at the moment such as this would be manipulation of a political clan for the sake of their political profit and they are, therefore, detrimental".

The Social Democratic Party (SDPK) and its leader Luleta Pula-Beqiri who was in the beginning strongly in favour of 22 March as the date of the elections is now against them. She was at first even nominated presidential candidate by her party. It was stressed in this party that it had made the decision not to participate in the elections because "having them at a time like this may cause unwished for repercussions on Kosovo". Going a step further, in explanation of the withdrawal of her candidacy, Ms. Pula-Beqiri stressed that it was "morally unacceptable to participate as a presidential candidate at least until Serbian military and police units withdrew from Drenica". Ms. Pula, as local analysts assess, lost the presidential elections even before the beginning. At the funeral of 24 killed and massacred Albanians by the Serbian police, addressing the crowd of about 300 thousand people according to the Albanian sources, she tried to give her pre-election speech when she lay a part of the blame for the murder of these people on Ibrahim Rugova, irritating those present who then removed her from the platform by force, and this was understood in Pristina as the end of a presidential race. That is why the reference of Ms. Pula-Beqiri to moral principles seems very lukewarm and unconvincing.

Against the elections were strongly the former members of presidency of DSK, Hydajet Hyseni, Mehmet Hajrizi and others who after loss of positions in DSK have not managed to become coopted by any of the parties with views close to theirs, among which are Demaqi's Parliamentary Party, UNIKOMB

• the party with a radical program which is considered to be left oriented and which had announced candidacy of its president (who is in jail at the moment) Ukshin Hoti for the president. That is how members of the DSK who had dropped out of the game have now joined the opponents of the elections although they had not exactly declared their stand concerning the decision of Rugova to postpone the elections. On the other hand, Demaqi's parliamentarians continously declared themselves against Rugova's decisions, regardless of whether they referred to the postponement of elections or to their scheduling. Apart from the PPK, SDPK and UNIKOMB, even leaders of the Independent Union of Students in Pristina resolutely stepped out against the elections, openly advocating boycott and continuing in this way with interfering and arbitration in the political life of Kosovo, although they are not a political organization or at least declare themselves as such. Students' leaders are convinced that every significant decision must have their approval because they consider themselves to be "the force which has moved Kosovo from the insupportable standstill - the status quo which had lasted for years".

The statement of the so-called Liberation Army of Kosovo (UCK) is believed to be the sharpest. It characterised the elections as "dissension" and demanded their annulment stressing that not only in Drenica where the elections were postponed, but in the whole of Kosovo, a state of emergency ruled. The main headquarters of this organisation in Statement No. 46 emphasized that it "recognizes only elections after liberation of the country". However, the elections got support of political subjects of the municipality of Srbica where the latest tragic developments took place in which about 100 Albanians were killed and massacred, among whom there were women, children and the elderly.

On the other hand, parties which confirmed their participation in the elections and which submitted their lists of candidates for deputies, justify their decision by the fact that the situation in Kosovo was equally difficult six years ago. At his last press conference, Ibrahim Rugova stressed that "the 22 March elections were a significant moment in consolidation of the society in Kosovo and legitimacy of its leadership".

One thing is for sure: political subjects in Kosovo lack principles which should guide them in reaching political and practical decisions. Parties which used to be opposed to the elections are supporting them now, while parties which waged intensive campaigns for their scheduling are nowadays against the elections. Even the Parliamentary Party which is now underlining that "nobody questions the legitimacy of the present institutions of Kosovo", just a few months ago had its vice-president Bajrami Kosumi stress that "after 24 may 1997, Mr. Rugocva cannot be considered to be the president of Kosovo". The only principle respected is the one of Mr. Rugova who never makes important political decisions without previously consulting "his friends", among whom are the Americans, that is for sure. This thesis is confirmed by the fact that the definite decision on organizing the elections was reached just a day after the talks of Mr. Rugova with the first secretary of the American Embassy in Belgrade Nicholas Hill, as well as by reality - that not a single American diplomat declared opposition to the elections, but on the contrary, they were assessed as a "positive moment" in the current developments in Kosovo.

Certainly the elections will be held and majority of the population of Kosovo will vote, but there will also be those who will boycott them. From the perspective of those who will participate and those who will boycott them, the former are the majority, because among them there are two big parties, the DSK and the Christian Democrats, but also national democrats - the party with anti-communist tradition, as well as some minor parties, such as the Liberals of Xherxh Dedaj, the Social Democratic Party headed by Kaqusa Jashari... On the other hand, the parties which are boycotting the elections have only one real political power, and this is the Parliamentary Party and authority of Adem Demaqi, while the Social Democrats of Luleta Beqiri are a party which apart from the presidency, according to certain evaluations can have at least ten members.

Therefore, along with the election, an anti-election campaign is going on. The known lawyer from Kosovo, Esad Stavileci has once said: "In Kosovo, the people are uniting and the parties are disuniting". The winners are almost certainly already known. The elections can be prevented only by a new outburst of violence of the Serbian regime.

And finally, it is possible to put the following question: is it really the matter of moral (situation in Drenica or Kosovo) or political reasons of boycott of the elections by certain political parties, in other words, is something quite different concealed by their demands?

Kosovo analysts believe that when Rugova's resoluteness to carry out the elections is concerned, this is not just an effort to establish the right to political decision-making, but also a need to remove the radical faction from among the leadership. Primarily, it is claimed, after the elections, Rugova will have the possibility to choose a new government, and in this sense it is hard to believe that Bujar Bukoshi will be his choice, who has been the prime minister in exile so far. Especially because his public declarations in the past two years have not coincided with the politics pursued by Rugova himself in leading the Democratic Union of Kosovo, although he had been appointed by Rugova. If one adds to this that Bukoshi has utterly "usurped" the financial funds, that is, that he has not sent the necessary finacial means for operation of the political and institutional life established by the Kosovo Albanians, including his radical statements and expressions of certain support to the so-called UCK, it is more than clear that Bukoshi is in a lot of trouble. And along with him, majority of his friends who are suddenly advocating the boycott of the elections, that is, representatives of parties which, one could say in coordination with Bukoshi advocated some kind of radicalization of the sirtuation trying to put an end to the policy of peaceful resistance of Mr. Rugova, playing the card of the "people who are on the verge of patience". All things considered, regardless of how how much the "opposition" press over here speaks about the "absurdity" of the elections, the response will be high. In all protests organized all around Kosovo, the masses chanted Rugova's name... And there has been no whistling...

AIM Pristina

Rrahman PACHARIZI