In a meeting this week, the Council for Human Rights in the Presheva Valley in Serbia reported that between 1999 and 2002, an estimated total of 11,073 Albanians left the Valley due to security and economic pressure, and have yet to return. There are no official figures, but the Council estimates another 5,000 left since 2003. This includes a minimum of 600 ex-fighters in the first months of 2009, following the arrest of ten Albanians in December 2008, some of whom were former fighters in the KLA, accused of war crimes.Columns
Discrimination in the Presheva Valley
- 27 June 2009
- Author: Vetëvendosje
In a meeting this week, the Council for Human Rights in the Presheva Valley in Serbia reported that between 1999 and 2002, an estimated total of 11,073 Albanians left the Valley due to security and economic pressure, and have yet to return. There are no official figures, but the Council estimates another 5,000 left since 2003. This includes a minimum of 600 ex-fighters in the first months of 2009, following the arrest of ten Albanians in December 2008, some of whom were former fighters in the KLA, accused of war crimes.When books sell better than macchiatos
- 26 April 2009
- By Elizabeth Gowing
Walking around Prishtina in the last few weeks you cannot have failed to have seen the signs of change. Literacy is on the rise. The Prishtinases’ coffee habit is being united with another habit - reading. The billboards call to you ‘Sell your TV; buy books.’ They are advertising a new concept, a new cafe for the capital.
Being like America
- 12 January 2009
(I began this column on election night in the U.S.; events in Kosovo resulted in publishing another column before this one and deferring its submission until now.) Tonight, Americans elected Barack Obama as the next President of the United States. Obama, superbly qualified to be one of the best Presidents ever to lead America, happens to be Black. That his race did not disqualify him was a proud moment for America and all its peoples. On election night, as I thought about how far America has come, I also thought about my friends in Kosova, and about their often expressed admiration for America.
get in line
- 06 December 2008
Dear NewKosovaReport,
I am sorry, but I will not be able to submit my column on time this week. I had a terrible day, and I no longer feel inspired to write. It’s too bad: I had so many things to say. I know I’m letting you down. I offer the following explanation not as an excuse, but in the hopes that you will find it in your hearts to forgive me.
Kosovo enters the age of unprecedented political stability
- 04 August 2008
Those of you somewhat familiar with Kosovo will find odd my claim that Kosovo has the most stable government in the Western Balkans, and that since independence it has become even more so. While reasons for this are several fold, and not all of them ideal, Kosovo can be proud of this achievement and the positive consequences from such a fact.
