Got a little more serious today...

Things got a little more serious in north Mitrovica today, when the UN tried to take control back of the courthouse that was overtaken on Friday.

There have been reports on BBC and CNN of thousands of protesters stepping up the violence with grenades, rifle fire, molotov cocktail and firecrackers.
The pictures are certainly a bit worrying with direct attacks on the courthouse and tanks. Several injuries are reported, around 40 UN Police and 12 Kfor troops.

The UN police have pulled out and NATO-KFOR is now keeping the tense peace.

Today marks an anniversary of serious ethnic violence across Kosovo in 2004 and is the one month anniversary of the declaration of Independence by Kosovo's majority Albanian government.


I've just watched (from my apartment window) a long line of tanks and trucks from the French KFOR camp in south Mitrovica pull out into the street and drive off - perhaps heading north for reinforcement/replacement?

Things in the south are basically quiet and business as usual, and I was glad to be in another town all day in workshops that kept me from most of the news, but I imagine its not just me that is a bit on edge.
I am rather glad to be leaving next week I must say.

Snipers, Protests, Railways

Just days after my first Kosovo train adventure (from Pristina to Skopje) things have gotten a bit complicated with the railways here, with Serbia taking back control of part of the network in the north of Kosovo and stopping trains from travelling north of Mitrovica.

They claim "the move will ensure better quality of transport, and noted that the railway company operating there under UNMIK's jurisdiction since 1999 was unable to perform according to the SŽ standards. "


Protests are underway at the Zvecan railway station, and also continue at the court house in north Mitrovica, with people demanding that both institutions, and their employees jobs, be returned to Serbian jurisdiction.

photo credit: iht.com

"It is in line with the Belgrade government's instructions to the Serbian minority to shun any contact with Kosovo's government after it declared independence two weeks ago, and to work directly with Serbia instead" iht.com

The security situation has been changing each day, but there has been regular restrictions of movement for internationals. After being told movement in north was safe yesterday, I had planned to drive to the office by the east road past the community centre. For various reasons I didn't, and I'm glad as there were reports of sniper fire aimed at the centre.

These events follow several weeks of bubbling unrest, daily protests, small but effective explosions and the expulsion of many international organisations including the new EU mission.

Intimidation by the bridge watchers has continued, with even foreign journalists receiving the nasty 'kosovo kiss'.

It is hard to see any end to this, though the daily protests have been getting smaller there seems to be something new each day to increase the tensions and fuel the anger. It is clear that neither side is willing to change its position, but how long can this go on?

What people are wearing in Mitrovica

Photo Credit - Reuters/Yahoo

We are still being advised not to travel in north Mitrovica, so I can't get close enough to take photos myself.
But apparently what people are wearing are Serbian military hats - at least when attending a rally to protest that is.

The rallies in north Mitrovica have been relatively peaceful and calm, a few thousand people utilising their right to demonstrate.
Every day for six days so far.

Will they have enough outfits to keep it up much longer?

Pavarësia - Independence

Even Australia's Prime Minister Rudd is backing the declaration of independence by Kosovo.

The ABC news site goes so far as to claim that

"The Federal Government has formally recognised the independence of Kosovo..."

Protests are occurring today in Serbian enclaves in Kosovo, including north Mitrovica, and Belgrade has seen violence directed at embassies and consulates of countries supporting the declaration.

The South East European Times writes that Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica

called on Serbian citizens "to come together and show the whole world that we do not acknowledge the creation of a false state on our territory"

Last night saw explosions in north Mitrovica at property associated with the UN and the incoming EU mission.

But the south part of the city is quiet, and celebrations last night were quite subdued in comparison with the capital, Pristina. Posters urged "Celebrate with dignity for a good beginning"

An historic day

Its a bitterly cold, snowy but sunny day in Mitrovica. Car horns, fireworks and folk music fill the air and traffic jams abound in the south. The north, however, is very quiet.

See these stories:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/europe/the-symbol-of-kosovo-an-eagle-with-two-faces-ndash-each-looking-a-different-way-783396.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/17/2164930.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200802/r224737_889420.asx

An eery unease

It may be just me, but I feel an eery unease here at the moment.

Kosovo is likely on the verge of declaring independence from Serbia this weekend. In south Mitrovica (as through much of the province) there is already preparations for celebrations, two days ahead of the expected announcement. Flags of Albania, USA, EU and France fly in the streets and giant cakes are being baked.

The north is relatively quiet this afternoon, though it is also a kind of holiday for Serbia today which could explain it.

Many internationals here are a bit unsure what to think or believe, rumours are rife and concrete information is scarce.

I am feeling quite nervous with both excitement and fear, a very weird feeling indeed. Alert, not alarmed perhaps...

After so many years of uncertainty, to be on the verge of a defined 'status' must be overwhelmingly emotional for the majority Albanian Kosovars, I wonder if knowing one way or the other and getting some certainty will be any kind of relief for the minority Serbian Kosovars?

Status?

"Status" has been imminent ever since I arrived, almost a year and a half ago.
Every few months a new date was rumoured to be the day the UN Security Council would make a decision. But it never happened.
"Status"(that is, the decision on the official status of Kosovo as an entity within or independant of Serbia) has recently fired up again as a topic, and is being talked about in a different way - as a Unilateral Declaration of Independance by the Kosovar Albanian majority Parliament.

February 08 is widely tipped to be the month this will happen... but then again so was December 07.
The latest published information is outlined below:

Pristina media quote unnamed senior Kosovo officials laying out the most likely scenario for the timing of an upcoming independence declaration. They expect the following series of actions to be based on what they say are clear signals allegedly already received from Washington and Brussels:
a declaration on 17 February; an immediate first wave of recognitions led by Slovenia to be followed over time by at least two subsequent waves; an EU Foreign Ministers (GAERC) meeting on Monday 18 February to approve sending the ESDP mission.

Media also cite a Reuter’s article suggesting that the dates may be accelerated in case of
victory by Serbian Radical Party candidate Nikolic in the second round of Serbian
presidential elections on 3 February. “If (Tomislav) Nikolic wins, it's the 9th
or 10th [February],” a senior political source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Austrian diplomat Albert Rohan told Koha Ditore that “Proclamation of
independence will take place in mid-February and Kosovo is ready for it regardless
of problems that may come up”.

According to Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, Kosovo will declare independence within days of this weekend's Serbian presidential elections, he said on Wednesday. “The developments in Serbia
do not have any influence on Kosovo. Kosovo has its own path,” Thaçi told journalists after meeting with senior police officials.
- UNMIK Division of Public Information

So close, yet so far

Possibly my favourite journalist, Jane Hutcheon, has presented a brief story on Australian tv about the Kosovo situation and the Serbian elections from this here little town.

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200801/r218072_852290.asx

Quite a good, succinct little piece worth your watching if you want to know a bit about what's going on at the moment and to see a glimpse of where I'm living....

But I can't believe I missed the chance to meet her, here of all places!

Food in Kosovo part 1

It's the Balkans, so you have to expect pastry, meat, cheese, oil and pickled (or relish) vegetables...
But its also Kosovo, where very large numbers of cashed up internationals have been living over the past 8 years therefore bringing (or demanding) a range of cuisines, at least in the capital, Pristina. This extends from passable Japanese and Thai to very good 'international' fare.

Mitrovica and surrounds finds its niche cuisine mostly hidden within the compounds of the KFOR camps - particularly the Danish Sunday Brunch (think of the best hotel buffet spread you've seen and its better!) and the French camp's restaurant (see part 2).

Lets begin with some photos of more traditional food, from restaurants in north and south Mitrovica:

Stuffed peppers can be hit and miss, but when they are good, they are very good! Usually stuffed with a mix of minced meat, rice and some herbs and spices and served with the obligatory dousing of oil.

When too much meat is not enough... the mixed grill at No. 1 restaurant.

'Leskovačka' mućkalica - pork with tomato and onion, my pick at No. 1.

The classic 'Shop /Shopska' salad with all that grated Sirene cheese on the right, the left shows a 'tave' or baked dish, this one is veges and the ever present cheese I think.

'Veal' Skewer. A lot of meat is advertised as 'veal', I'm rarely convinced however... but tasty all the same.


A delicious steak or 'Biftek' at Liburnia restaurant. Be sure to get Biftek or Bifsteak instead of Ramsteak...


In case of (rather desperate) homesickness one could order a 'Skenderbeg' as it is sometimes known. A fairly wrong combination of meat, cabbage and thick batter not unlike the Classic Chiko Roll in Australia.

Desperate times...

... call for desperate measures.

I ran out of Vegemite. I forgot to pick some up on my recent trip home.
How I could do this, I'm not sure - I even had the bubble wrap ready for the journey!

Yesterday, needing my yeast extract fix, I resorted to eating Marmite.

The gooier, runnier, British version of the yeast extract spread. It hits a spot, but could never replace the superior Aussie version for me. It's too hard to get out of the jar for a start, it spills over the edge unless you twirl your knife a few hundred times and it just doesn't blend with the butter at all, just sits on top like a gelatinous gloop.

It does, however, seem fitting to be eating Marmite while I am in Kosovo:

During World War II, Marmite became a dietary supplement in prisoner-of-war camps, and in 1999, it was sent to British peacekeeping forces in Kosovo after we received morale boosting requests from the field.

I await my boost in morale with baited (or yeasty) breath.

A further walk in Mitrovica south

The groovy old Lux building, now houses a library and business support centre...

On the Lux theme, this is inside the Majestic restaurant... rather swish! Quite a good restaurant (great steaks) but each time we go, we have been the only ones eating there (others just have coffee). In fact, I am fairly certain that once we make our order, someone then runs out to get ingredients!


This is a view of the City Park along the river. The buildings in the background are on the north side of the river and known as the 'three towers' housing mostly Kosovar-Albanians, who utilise a special footbridge erected for them to walk to the south to carry out their day to day life.


A side street mural - one of the most photographed parts of Mitrovica. After the famous bridge of course!

A Frosty Welcome Back to WTK

"Oh this is not cold, it was -15 degrees last week!" a colleague insists as my teeth chatter and fingers numb in the -5 degree morning...

A picture on my walk home from work and the view from the front door of our building...

National Loyalty

How far should you go for the sake of national loyalty?
Will reason and logic ever win through?
Would there ever be true integration and equal-opportunity?

From openDemocracy.

By Paul Hockenos for openDemocracy (19/11/07)

“But how important is Kosovo to the Serbs in reality? There is a dark joke inside Serbia that if a Kosovo under Serbian rule would mean (on equal-opportunity grounds) Albanians being granted one-fifth of places in the national parliament, on hospital boards, in the judiciary, the education system, then the Serbs would turn and run in the other direction. The imbalance in birthrates is a horror-scenario for Serb nationalists. In fact, many Serb citizens (and off-the-record, even politicians) acknowledge that Serbia would benefit enormously from cutting loose Kosovo and concentrating on its own problems. But saying this aloud in Serbia is treasonous.”

A quick walk in Mitrovica north

The view from just above the new church - looking over the centre of town.

Is this where they got the Ghostbusters car from?
The UAM building... I spend altogether too much time in my dungeon like office here...

View from downtown public square (that's round) up to the worker's monument on the hill.
Protest sign in centre of town earlier this year. Its no longer hanging here though...

What people are wearing in WTK

Gervy has urged me to look at what people are wearing...

Dapper white suit and a serious mullet...
Wedding outfits, but this was not her wedding... (apparantly you wear it to the next wedding you go to!)
Traditional cultural dress.... to cook flia for 'tourists' (mostly just locals from the city)

A quick walk in Mitrovica south

The new roundabout in the centre of town is almost finished, and while not designed in the most appropriate way for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, has turned out ok. There is a feature fountain in the centre, interesting given the water shortages the town has, and there are even decorative lights in it at night, even when the rest of town has no electricity!
I liked this shot showing the various means of transportation used here. Its just missing a horse or donkey cart...


An apartment block facade being refurbished, by a company that has a presidential candidate as its head. Elections will be held in Kosovo next week, there are around 100 parties vying for seats in local and Kosovo level assemblies and a rather complicated voting ballot for those who bother to show up and vote.


Speaking of elections, this is the Municipal building in south Mitrovica. A slightly depressing kind of a place, with dark empty corridors hiding seperate offices - open plan has not caught on here.

In case I am feeling homesick I can come and look at this shoe store and its lovely picture of Sydney Harbour... or the clothes shop down the street with a kangaroo on the window. Neither of these businesses have anything to do with Australia per se, guess they just like the name/imagery... most businesses in Kosovo tend to take some kind of well known place name or brand name with no fear of copyright infringement. One of my favourites is a burger place in Peja called 'MegDonalds' with the golden arches and all!

15 minutes - more like 2 minutes

I've been mentioned in the main Kosovo newspaper!
Here is the translation....

All together for a better city

UN-HABITAT officers have presented the results of Visioning Workshop of Mitrovica “ Make better Mitrovica Together” that was held in Skopje, in January of this, where were planners and Civil Society representatives from two sides of this city.

Economic crises and low life quality which is faced by the citizens of two sides of the city, was the starting point for discussions and dialog between two communities.

Presentation of these result was done by the UN-HABITAT representative Natalie Mitchel, while in maps where exposed all the ideas and the visions for improvement of living conditions in Mitrovica, which was the main aim of the workshop.

According to UN-Habitat representatives, the results that came out from this workshop will be handover to municipal authorities as a help for drafting MDP and UDP.

Source: Koha Ditore, 12.07.07

Vidovdan

I have just learnt a little about June 28th, and its significance in this region particularly.
Vidovdan, St Vitus' day is a religious holiday on the Serbian and Bulgarian Orthodox calendar.

More importantly, it is the date that the following events occured:

• on June 28, 1389 the Ottoman Empire fought against Serbia in the Battle of Kosovo.
• on June 28, 1914 the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Archduke triggers the First World War.
• on June 28, 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending the First World War.
• on June 28, 1921 the Serbian King Alexander I of Yugoslavia proclaimed the new Constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, known thereafter as the Vidovdan Constitution (Vidovdanski ustav.)
• on June 28, 1948 the Cominform published, on the initiative of its Soviet delegates Shdanov, Malenkov and Suslov, in a "Resolution on the State of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia" their condemnation of the Yugoslavian communist leaders - this happening is seen as the date that marks the final split between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.
• on June 28, 1989 — the 600th anniversary of the battle of Kosovo — Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević delivered the Gazimestan speech at the site of the historic battle.
• on June 28, 1990 draft amendments to the Constitution of Croatia, which deleted references to the Serbs as a constituent nation of Croatia, were revealed by Croatian President Franjo Tuđman.
• on June 28, 2001 former Yugoslav leader Milošević was deported to The Hague to stand trial. (He died while imprisoned.)
• on June 28, 2006 Montenegro was announced as the 192nd member state of the United Nations."[wikipedia]
  

Tim Judah wonders if it can really be a coincidence that, "with uncanny regularity, the most momentous events of Serbian history have often taken place?" (guardian.co.uk).

What will happen this year? Will they take the occasion to make a point about the status negotiation process?
At least one group has set off on a march from Belgrade to Kosovo for the occasion wearing t-shirts that say "Vidovdan march 2007" [reuters.com]
though the request to march to Gazimestan (the site of the Battle of Kosovo) was rejected in favour of bussing people there.

The reason I have just now leant of all this day and its significance? I have been told to stay in my apartment for the next three nights between 7pm and 8am "for my safety". Those staff not already living in Mitrovica have been restricted in coming up north.

I am currently feeling something between fear and fascination as to the likelihood of any trouble surrounding this 'holiday'. Fear of unrest and a need to evacuate, fascination with the possibility of being caught up in such unrest (as wrong as that sounds). Something tells me all will be calm, but should there be any trouble I'm sure I'll be hightailing my way out of here quick smart, I'm no war tourist.

Culture Week, Kosovan Stars

It is Culture week in Mitrovica south and last night there was a free concert in the city centre featuring a competent backing band and a rotating list of local female singers, as well as a somewhat disturbing display by the local karate club.

One of the singers was Rona Nishliu, who I have been seeing on local tv a lot recently. A pretty daggy video (you can see on YouTube here - watch for some terrible dance moves and worse outfits) has been playing, I've seen her sing 'live' on a show reminiscent of Countdown, seen her in a kind of game show, and popping up on things that look like variety shows.

So you can imagine that after this much exposure I had it in my head this chick was a bit of a celebrity, so it was fun to see her up close and personal singing her hits and some rather cheesy cover versions of american songs both solo and with the other singers at the concert. It was almost Kosovo's answer to the Young Divas.
Anyway, it turns out this girl is some kind of over achiever, go-getter, and the more Kosovo can get of them, the better!

"Rona Nishliu was born in Mitrovica and attended high school in Pristina, both in Kosovo. In the top 1 percent of the student body at the American University in Kosovo, Nishliu is also a well-known singer in the Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia regions and was one of five finalists among seven thousand participants in an Albanian Pop Idol show. She is the host of a daily radio show for one of Kosovo’s most popular radio stations, Bluesky Radio. She participates in various volunteer activities, including initiating and organizing Kosovo Remembers, a concert to support the Bush-Clinton Hurricane Katrina Fund. She also works with movie and documentary companies and collaborates with international artists visiting Kosovo." rit.edu

In this day and age?

Can this be true?

“The Serbian government is prepared to choose Kosovo over Europe”, says Sabine Freizer, Director of Crisis Group’s Europe Program. “The West needs to prepare to live with an isolationist and nationalistic Serbia in the coming years.” ICG

and everyone is just asking "why?".....