1. Relevant Constitutional and Legal Provisions
1.1. Constitutional Framework for Provisional
Self-Government
1.3. The Anti-discrimination Law
1. Serbs in Prishtinë/Priština prior to Kosovo’s
declaration of independence
1.1 Serbs in Prishtinë/Priština after Kosovo's
declaration of independence
1.2 Serbs in Kosovo Police Service after Kosovo’s
declaration of independence
1.3 Serbs in Kosovo Railways after the declaration of
Kosovo independence
1.4 Serbs in Kosovo Correctional Service after the
declaration of independence
1.5 Serbs in UNMIK Customs Service after the declaration
of independence
1.6. Serbian employees in KEK after Kosovo’s declaration
of independence
1.7 Serbs in PTK after Kosovo’s declaration of
independence
1.8 Serbian employees at the Prishtinë/Priština Airport
after Kosovo’s declaration of independence
2. Serbs in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje before Kosovo’s declaration of independence
2.1 Serbs in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje after Kosovo's declaration of independence
3. Roma in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje before Kosovo’s declaration of independence
4. Serbs and Roma in Plemetin/Plemetinë before Kosovo’s
declaration of independence
1. Turks in Prizren/Prizren and in Mamushë/Mamuša
2. Gorani and Bosniaks in Dragash/Dragaš
3. Serbs in the village of Mušnikovo/Mushnikovë before
Kosovo’s declaration of independence
3.1 Serbs in
Mušnikovo/Mushnikovë and in Prizren after Kosovo’s declaration of independence…….
1.2 Serbs in the municipality of Novobërdë/Novo Brdo
after Kosovo’s declaration of
independence
1.3 Serbs in the municipality of Kamenicë/Kamenica after
Kosovo’s declaration of independence
2. Roma from the settlement of Avdulah Preševo/Avdullah
Presheva in Gjilan/Gnjilane
4. Albanians in the municipality of Štrpce/Shterpcë
before Kosovo’s declaration of independence
4.1 Albanians in the municipality of Štrpce/Shterpcë
after Kosovo’s declaration of
independence
2. Serbs in the village of Banja/Bajë before Kosovo’s
declaration of independence
2.1 Serbs from the village of Banja/Bajë after Kosovo’s
declaration of independence
3. Roma and Ashkalia in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë
4. Bosniaks in southern and northern Mitrovici/Mitrovicë
2. Bosniaks in the village of Dobrushë/Dobruša
Stances of representatives of minority communities in the
Kosovo Parliament
1. Serbian representatives in the Kosovo Parliament
2. Turkish representatives in Kosovo Parliament
3. Bosniak representatives in Kosovo Parliament
4. Roma representatives in the Kosovo Parliament
5. Egyptian representatives in Kosovo Parliament
6. Gorani representatives in Kosovo Parliament
Security Issues, Employment and Application of Law on
the Use of Languages and the Anti-discrimination Law in Kosovo
Report
HLC Kosovo
April 2008
In the period: January - April 2008, the
During the first period, HLC-Kosovo researched the extent to which citizens had equal freedom of movement, access to municipal and other Kosovo institutions, such as health institutions, as well as the extent to which provisions of the Law on the Use of Languages and the Anti-discrimination Law were applied. This research also sought to establish whether citizens of Kosovo are satisfied with the services provided by public companies and whether Kosovo citizens’ right to information in their own languages is respected. During the period after 17 February 2008, HLC-Kosovo conducted research primarily to assess the freedom of movement of Kosovo–Serbs. Research also assessed the extent to which minority citizens have quit their jobs, the number of minority employees that have returned to their workplaces, and the response of the Kosovo institutions.
In the Prishtinë/Priština region, HLC-Kosovo conducted research in the municipalities of Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje and Obiliq/Obilić. Serbs and Roma citizens were target groups. In the region of Mitrovica/Mitrovicë, HLC-Kosovo researched the opinion of the Albanian community while in the municipalities of Leposavić/Leposaviq, Zubin Potok/Zubin Potok and Skënderaj/Srbica HLC-Kosovo researched the opinion of the Serbian community. In the Pejë/Peć region, HLC-Kosovo conducted research on the opinion of the local Serbian community, while in the municipalities of Pejë/Peć and Klinë/Klina HLC-Kosovo interviewed members of the Bosniak community. In the region of Prizren/Prizren, incorporating the municipalities of Dragash/Dragaš, Mamushë/Mamuša and Prizren/Prizren HLC-Kosovo interviewed members of the Serbian, Turkish, Bosniak and Gorani communities. In the region of Gjilan/Gnjilane, HLC-Kosovo interviewed members of the Serbian, Albanian, and Turkish communities in the following municipalities: Gjilan/Gnjilan, Ferizaj/Uroševac, Novobërdë/Novo Brdo,[1] Kamenicë/Kamenica[2] and Štrpce/Shterpcë.
Part of the report describes the views of the Kosovo Parliament representatives from different minority communities on the security situation and on the application of laws that protect minority rights.[3]
The objective of HLC-Kosovo was to document the level of integration of minority communities, the level of implementation of the Law on the Use of Languages and the Anti-discrimination Law from the minorities’ perspective and to show from the minorities’ perspective if there is freedom of movement for members of all ethnic communities. HLC-Kosovo conducted 79 interviews: 28 interviews with Serbs, 27 with Albanians, six with Turks, eight with Bosniaks, two with Gorani, and eight interviews with Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptians.
According to OSCE data, approximately 10% of the population of Kosovo are minorities.[4] The largest minority community in Kosovo is the Serbian community (5.32%), followed by the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community (1.72%), Bosniak community (1.25%), and Gorani and Turkish community (0.7% each).
According to the research conducted by HLC-Kosovo, Turks, Bosniaks, Ashkalia and Egyptians have for the most part integrated into society in Kosovo. However, there has not been any visible progress in the integration of Serbian and Roma citizens.
The rights of minorities are still violated on daily basis. Kosovo institutions have not undertaken all measures to prevent the violation of basic human rights and to apply provisions of the Law on the Use of Languages and the Anti-discrimination Law.
The main problem faced by all communities in Kosovo, including Albanians, are the limited employment opportunities. Despite efforts of the Kosovo Government relating to the provisions on employment of minorities in the institutions, minorities are still not employed proportionately in the central and local institutions and public companies. Minorities’ inability to speak Albanian is another obstacle that contributes to the unemployment of minorities and hinders their integration into Kosovo society. Concerning the Albanian language, Turks are in the best position because most of them speak Albanian. Albanian is also the mother tongue of Ashkalia and Egyptian citizens. However, very few Bosniak, Gorani, Serbian and Roma citizens speak Albanian. HLC-Kosovo identified several cases in which members of minority communities were not hired because of their inability to speak Albanian.
Serbs are predominantly employed in the parallel institutions of the Government of Serbia, which operate in Kosovo, as well as in businesses owned by Serbs. As for Kosovo institutions, Serbs work in municipal institutions, central Kosovo institutions and the Kosovo Police Service (KPS). A small number of Serbs also works for public companies, primarily for KEK and PTK. Serbs have started working for health centres run by the Kosovo Government. This was not previously the case because of the existence of the parallel institutions supported by the Serbian Government. 15 Serbs started working in the outpatient clinic in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje just prior to the declaration of independence. After 17 February, however, none of the aforementioned Serbs returned to work. Still no Serbs work for schools under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government. Also no Serbs work for companies owned by Albanians.
Kosovo’s declaration of independence had the greatest impact on Serbs who quit their jobs in Kosovo institutions. The Government of Serbia pressured Serbs to leave their work in institutions under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government. During the first two weeks after 17 February 2008, very few Serbs came to work. Some of them took leave of absence until the end of March. Although some Serbs did start coming back to work three weeks after the declaration of independence, the majority of Serbs who had worked for KPS, Kosovo Railways, UNMIK Customs Service and Kosovo Correctional Service are still absent at the time of writing. Serbs in the municipalities of Prishtinë/Priština, Pejë/Peć, Prizren/Prizren, Klinë/Klina, Ferizaj/Uroševac, and Skënderaj/Srbica did not boycott work and are still regularly going to work. However, in these municipalities Serbs do not work in the municipality buildings in the city centres but rather for the Offices of Communities, located in the Serb enclaves. Human resources departments of PTK, KEK and Prishtinë/Priština Airport do not have information that any minority employees have left work in their companies since Kosovo’s declaration of independence. HLC-Kosovo also noticed that Roma citizens in the Municipal Assembly of Novobërdë/Novo Brdo municipality and Bosniaks in UNMIK Customs Service expressed their support to Serbs and started boycotting work as well. Institutions boycotted by Serb, Roma and Bosniak employees still consider these workers to be their employees; however, their pay has been reduced by between 50% and 30%. In some of the institutions, employees that boycot work are not paid for any of the days absent.
Also, a parallel Municipal Assembly is being established in the Novobërdë/Novo
Brdo municipality, in the
Turks and Bosniaks work for all Kosovo institutions, which are under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government, and government-owned or private industrial companies. After the declaration of independence, there has been no noted case of citizens from the Turkish community leaving work. Except for the aforementioned three Bosniaks, who are expressing support for their Serbian colleagues working for UNMIK Customs Service, no Bosniaks left their work after 17 February 2008. Gorani community members work for both Serbian Government institutions and Kosovo Government institutions. None of the employees from this ethnic community left work after the declaration of independence. Concerning employment opportunities, Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian citizens are in the worst position. Most of them receive social welfare. Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian citizens who are employed work either for the Government of Serbia or for the Kosovo Government institutions, mainly, however, in auxiliary roles. There are no Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian citizens in executive positions. After 17 February 2008, only Roma citizens who had previously worked in Novobërdë/Novo Brdo left their work.
During the first research period, until 17 February 2008, HLC-Kosovo noted progress in the improvement of security and freedom of movement of all ethnic communities. Kosovo institutions publicly advocated the integration of the Serbian community into society in Kosovo. As a result, the Language Commission, based on the Law on the Use of Languages, was established in May 2007. In addition, the Office of Minorities was founded in February 2008 as part of the Kosovo Prime Minister’s Office. The President of the Office for Minorities is the Prime Minister himself. The Government of Kosovo allocated 1 million euros for this office in 2008. After the declaration of independence, the position of Serbs in view of security has not significantly change. From 17 February until April 2008, no ethnically motivated incident has been recorded. Serbs can still have their administrative needs fulfilled in Kosovo institutions, while some Serbs, e.g. those in the Prizren/Prizren region, also use public transport. However, HLC-Kosovo notes that Serbs generally feel insecure after 17 February, including even those who had first boycotted and then returned to their workplaces.
The Government of Serbia has a
major influence on the fear felt by Serb citizens. The Government of Serbia
still insists on maintaining parallel institutions in Kosovo, such as schools,
faculties, clinics and municipal assemblies. The Government of Serbia also
insists that Serbs do not participate in the political life of Kosovo. The
negative influence of the Serbian Government intensified after the declaration
of independence with demands that Serbs leave their work in the institutions
under the control of the Kosovo Government. On the other hand, insufficient
actions of the Kosovo Government and sporadic incidents, for example an explosive
device thrown at the apartment of Robert Savić, a Serb in Obiliq/Obilić
in December 2007, also have an impact on the continued fear among the Serbian
community. For this reason, Serbs still conduct their administrative dealings through
Offices of Communities located in their villages. All major shopping is done in
Gračanica/Graçanicë, Štrpce/Shterpcë and
municipalities in northern Kosovo. Except for those who live in the Prizren
region, Serbs do not use public transport at all. They mainly use the more
expensive Serb-owned taxis or UNMIK buses. This situation has remained since 17
February 2008.
After the declaration of independence, Serbs began to feel less secure due to the cancelling of the “Freedom of Movement Train”. The train was the safest and the cheapest means of transport used by Serbs from all parts of Kosovo. The train started operating in 2001, after an agreement between the Kosovo Government, the Serbian Government and UNMIK was reached. It stopped operating on 3 March 2008 when the Serbian Railway Company usurped the infrastructure of the Kosovo Railways Company in the municipalities of northern Kosovo. At the time of writing, the train is still out of service. This prevents most Serbs from going anywhere outside the enclaves because they do not use public transport due to security issues; in any event there is no public transport to and from the Serbian enclaves, and Serbs have little money to pay for taxis.
Albanians who live in the villages of northern Kosovo have problems with security in the municipalities of Leposavić/Leposaviq, Zvečan/Zveçan, Zubin Potok/Zubin Potok and northern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë. Serbs are an absolute majority in these villages. These Albanians never leave their villages without KPS, UNMIK police or KFOR escort. After the declaration of independence, the situation in these villages did not change because KPS, UNMIK police or KFOR continue to escort buses, which transport Albanians from these villages to southern Mitrovicë/Mitrovica or Prishtinë/Priština.
Bosniaks also have problems from time to time in terms of freedom of
movement in the northern part of Kosovo. This
relates especially to those Bosniaks who wanted to vote at the Kosovo
Parliamentary elections held on 17 November 2007. In addition, Bosniaks from
the
Generally, all minority communities have free access to all official
institutions and this did not change after 17 February 2008. Serbs, who live in
the regions of Gjilan/Gnjilane, Prizren/Prizren and Pejë/Peć, and to a
certain extent for Serbs who live in the region of Prishtinë/Priština, are
using services provided by the Office for Communities less and less. They are
beginning to go directly to the municipal institutions to conduct their administrative
dealings. However, if Offices of Communities are located in the villages where
they live, Serbs primarily use the services provided by these institutions; e.g.
Serbs in the
Serbs receive most documents from municipalities in their mother
tongue. The exception is the
Members of the Roma community can speak either Albanian or Serbian which is why they use either of these languages in communication with municipal institutions. None of the municipalities issue documents in the Roma language.
Serbian students and most Roma and Gorani students continue to follow
the curriculum of the Government of Serbia. They attend Serbian schools and
faculties, which are under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Government. Some Serb
and Roma receive university education at universities in
Although Bosniaks and Turks are satisfied with the number of
elementary schools and high schools where their children can obtain education
in Turkish and Bosniak, they are dissatisfied with the small number of
faculties, which are under the control of the Kosovo Government, where classes
are taught in the Bosniak or Turkish languages. Turks can obtain faculty
degrees from the Pedagogical Faculty in Prizren/Prizren, which is linked to the
Health services provided by hospitals and clinics, which are under the control of the Kosovo Government are used by all ethnic communities except Serbs, who use health services in the parallel health centres controlled by the Government of Serbia. Besides Serbs, members of other ethnic communities, such as Roma and Gorani, also use Serbian healthcare centres. They do so because, if they have healthcare insurance, the services at a Serbian healthcare institution are free of charge. In contrast, in Albanian healthcare institutions patients have to pay additional fees for healthcare services even if they have medical insurance.
HLC-Kosovo notes that the number of Serbs using healthcare institutions that are under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government is increasing. This has not changed after the declaration of independence.
Members of minority communities in Kosovo have serious complaints about the work of their representatives in the municipal and central institutions and on the work of the Office of Communities.
Minorities advocate for the directors of minorities to be selected on the basis of merit by transparent recruitment processes, including the public announcement of vacancies, and not based on their party membership or agreements between parties.
Members of minority communities in Kosovo, especially those who live in rural areas, are not informed about the provisions of the Law on the Use of Languages, the Anti-discrimination Law and other laws. Minority representatives insist on the initiation of a campaign aiming at informing minorities about the very existence of these laws and about the ways in which minorities can use these laws in order to claim their rights.
Minorities are generally satisfied with services provided by public companies. There is a small number of phone lines in rural areas of Kosovo. All Kosovo citizens need phone lines. Most minorities who live in villages do not receive bills for services provided by public companies. It is mostly people who live in cities who are billed. Although KEK and PTK bills are issued in the Serbian language, Turks in Prizren/Prizren and Gjilan/ Gnjilan, where Turkish is one of the official languages, do not receive bills in Turkish. Bills of all other public companies, such as the water supply company and the city maintenance company, are still only in Albanian.
HLC-Kosovo notes that interviews for Bosniak and Gorani job applicants are conducted in Albanian. For this reason, candidates do not fully understand questions they are asked during interviews. On the other hand, research has brought to light some positive examples as well. During the hiring of Bosniaks at the outpatient clinic in Istok/Istog, the entire process was conducted in Bosniak.
RTK broadcasts shows in Serbian, Bosniak, Turkish and Roma languages once a week for one hour. Also, RTK broadcasts 15-minute news programmes six times a week, Monday through Saturday, in Turkish, Serbian and Bosniak languages. There is no news programme in the Roma language.
RTK covers 78% of the Kosovo territory. The remaining 22% of the territory, not covered by the RTK signal, includes the regions of Prizren/Prizren where most Bosniaks, Turks and Gorani live, and Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, where Serbs are the majority. As a result, the minorities’ fundamental right to information is violated which makes the integration of minority communities into Kosovo society more difficult.
The monthly RTK fee is 3.5 euros and payable together with the electricity bill. Minorities from Prizren/Prizren and Mitrovicë/Mitrovica regions complain because they have to pay the monthly fee since they are unable to watch RTK.
Besides RTK, Serbs watch and listen to RTS and other Serbian radio stations and television located mostly in the northern part of Kosovo. Turks who live in the region of Prizren/Prizren also watch Yeni Donem. Bosniaks mostly listen to radio Hyatt. Some radio stations in Kosovo broadcast their programmes in the Roma language as well.
A small number of minorities use the internet to access information.
Minority communities are mostly dissatisfied with information provided on notice
boards in municipalities, cities and villages. HLC-Kosovo notes that some
information on notice boards is several years old. This was the case with the notice
board in the
1.1. Constitutional Framework for
Provisional Self-Government[5]
Human Rights
3.1 All persons in Kosovo shall
enjoy, without discrimination on any ground and in full equality, human rights
and fundamental freedoms.
3.2 The Provisional Institutions of
Self-Government shall observe and ensure internationally recognized human
rights and fundamental freedoms, including those rights and freedoms set forth
in:
(a) The Universal Declaration on
Human Rights;
(b) The European Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its Protocols;
(c) The International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and the Protocols thereto;
(d) The Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;
(g) The European Charter for Regional
or Minority Languages; and
(h) The Council of
Rights
of Communities and Their Members
4.4 Communities and their members shall have the right to:
(a) Use their language and alphabets freely, including before the courts, agencies, and
other public bodies in Kosovo;
(b) Receive education in their own language;
(c) Enjoy access to information in their own language;
(d) Enjoy equal opportunity with respect to employment in public bodies at all levels and
with respect to access to public services at all levels;
(e) Enjoy unhindered contacts among themselves and with members of their respective
Communities within and outside of Kosovo;
(f) Use and display Community symbols, subject to the law;
(g) Establish associations to promote the interests of their Community;
(h) Enjoy unhindered contacts with, and participate in, local, regional and international non-governmental organizations in accordance with the procedures of such organizations;
(i) Provide information in the language and alphabet of their Community, including by establishing and maintaining their own media;
(j) Provide for education and establish educational institutions, in particular for schooling
in their own language and alphabet and in Community culture and history, for which financial assistance may be provided, including from public funds in accordance with applicable law; provided that, curricula shall respect the applicable law and shall reflect a spirit of tolerance among Communities and respect for human rights and the cultural traditions of all Communities;
(k) Promote respect for Community traditions;
(l) Preserve sites of religious, historical, or cultural importance to the Community, in cooperation with relevant public authorities;
(m) Receive and provide public health and social services, on a non-discriminatory basis, in accordance with applicable standards;
(n) Operate religious institutions;
(o) Be guaranteed access to, and representation in, public broadcast media, as well as programming in relevant languages; and
(p) Finance their activities by collecting voluntary contributions from their members or from organizations outside Kosovo, or by receiving such funding as may be provided by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government or by local public authorities, so long as such financing is conducted in a fully transparent manner.
Responsibilities of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government
5.2 The Provisional Institutions of Self-Government shall also have the following responsibilities in the field of local administration:
(a) Supporting inter- municipal cooperation;
(b) Promoting the development of a professional municipal civil service;
(c) Assisting the municipalities in the development of their own budgets and financial management systems;
(d) Monitoring the quality of municipal services;
(e) Identifying ways and means for training activities for the municipalities;
(f) Assisting the municipalities in making their activities transparent to the public;
(g) Providing legal guidance and advice to the municipalities;
(h) Coordinating the activities of international agencies and non-governmental organizations pertaining to municipalities; and
Article 1
1.1. The purpose of this law is to ensure:
i. The use of the official languages, as well as languages of communities whose mother tongue is not an official language, in Kosovo institutions and other organizations and enterprises who carry out public functions and services;
ii. The equal status of Albanian and Serbian as official languages of Kosovo and the equal rights as to their use in all Kosovo institutions;
iii. The right of all communities in Kosovo to preserve, maintain and promote their linguistic identity;
iv The multilingual character of Kosovo society, which represents its unique spiritual, intellectual, historical and cultural values.
Article 2
2.1. Albanian and Serbian and their alphabets are official languages of Kosovo and have equal status in Kosovo institutions.
2.2. All persons have equal rights with regard to use of the official languages in Kosovo institutions.
2.3. In municipalities inhabited by
a community whose mother tongue is not an official language, and which
constitutes at least five (5) percent of the total population of the
municipality, the language of the community shall have the status of an
official language in the municipality and shall be in equal use with the
official languages. Notwithstanding the foregoing, exceptionally, in
Article 3
3.1. Every person shall have the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to receive, seek and impart information and ideas in the language of one’s choice without interference. Free receiving of the cross-boarder broadcasting, whether directly or through the repeated broadcasting or retransmission is not prohibited on the basis of language. The exercise of this freedom may be subject to such limitations as are compatible with binding international human rights treaties.
3.2. Every person has the right of equality before the law and of equal protection of the law. Any discrimination based on the grounds of language shall be prohibited.
Use of Languages in Public Enterprises
Article 11
11.1. In Publicly Owned Enterprises and in Socially Owned Enterprises the equality of the official languages applies.
11.2. Every person has the right to communicate with, and to receive services and documents from, Publicly Owned Enterprises and Socially Owned Enterprises in any of the official languages.
11.3. Every such enterprise has a duty to ensure that every person can communicate with and can obtain services and documents in any official language.
Personal Names
Article 27
27.1. The name and surname of a person shall be entered into public registers, personal identification and other official documents in the writing system in the official language chosen by the person.
27.2. A person belonging to a community whose mother tongue is not the official language shall have the right to entry of the original form of their name and surname in the script, and according to the tradition and linguistic system, of their language, in public registers, personal identification and other official documents and this form shall be used by public officials.
Article 30
30.1. In enterprises performing public services the equality of the official languages applies in connection with the performance of these services.
30.2. Every person has the right to communicate with, and to receive services and documents from, enterprises performing public services in any of the official languages. Every such enterprise has a duty to ensure that every person can communicate with and can obtain services and documents in any official language.
30.3. In municipalities inhabited by communities, whose language has the status of language which is spoken in the municipality, the provisions of Paragraphs 30.1 and 30.2 apply.
Article 1
Purpose
The purpose of this Law is prevention and combating discrimination, promotion of effective equality and putting into effect the principle of equal treatment of the citizens of Kosovo under the rule of Law.
Article 2
Principles
The regulation of the issues dealing with non-discrimination is based on these principles:
a) The principle of equal treatment shall mean that there shall be no direct or indirect discrimination against any person or persons, based on sex, gender, age, marital status, language, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or conviction, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, race, social origin, property, birth or any other status;
b) The principle of fair representation of all persons and all the members of communities to employment in the frame of public bodies of all levels.
Article 4
Implementation Scope
This Law shall apply to all natural and legal persons as regards both the public and private sectors, including public bodies, in relation to any action or inaction which violates the right or rights of any natural or legal person or persons, to:
(a) conditions for access to employment, self-employment and to occupation, including selection criteria and recruitment conditions, whatever the branch of activity and at all levels of the professional hierarchy, including promotion;
(b) access to all types and to all levels of vocational guidance, vocational training, advanced vocational training and retraining, including practical work experience;
(c) employment and working conditions, including dismissals and pay;
(d) membership of, and involvement in, an organisation of workers or employers, or any organisation whose members carry on a particular profession, including the benefits provided for by such organisations;
Article 5
Real and determining occupational requirements
Notwithstanding Articles 2(a), 3(a) and 3(b), a difference of treatment which is based on a characteristic related to one or more grounds such as those stated in Article 2(a), shall not be defined as discrimination where, by reason of the nature of the particular occupational activities concerned or of the context in which they are carried out, such a characteristic constitutes a real and determining occupational requirement, provided that the objective is legitimate and the requirement is proportionate.
At the time of writing, one hundred citizens of Serbian nationality live in Prishtinë/Priština. They have freedom of movement in the city, but remain cautious. They freely go to all the shops in Prishtinë/Priština but address shop workers in Albanian.
Serbs have free access to municipal institutions but use the Office of Communities in Gračanica/Graçanicë for all administrative needs. Also, Serbs do most of their shopping in Gračanica/Graçanicë. They do not generally use public transport but rather UNMIK buses. There are still no public transport services between Prishtinë/Priština and Gračanica/Graçanicë.
Office clerks in public companies communicate with Serbs in Serbian.
However, responses to letters in Serbian sent to these companies are in always
in Albanian. Serbs claim that it is only KEK bills, of all the public
companies, that are in Serbian.[6] All
other KEK documents are in Albanian alone.
Serbs from Prishtinë/Priština watch RTK programmes in Serbian and RTS. They
also have access to information from the Office of Communities. Serbs are not however
interested in obtaining information about the work of the Prishtinë/Priština
municipality.
I worked at Hotel Grand
until June 1999. When the Albanians came back I was afraid to report back to
work. I heard from my colleagues who live in
M.
K. Female Serb from Prishtinë/Priština
HLC interview, 21. February 2008.
Kosovo’s declaration of independence has not had a significant
influence on the position of Serbs who live and work in Prishtinë/Priština. After
the declaration of independence, however, Serbs feel much less secure than they
did before. They find the current situation uncertain and are unsure about what
they should do in the future.
According to information provided by a civil servant from the Prishtinë/Priština Municipal Assembly, 65 Serbs had worked in the municipal institutions of Gračanica/Graçanicë, primarily for the Office of Communities and the Office for Returns. A small number of Serbs had worked in the Prishtinë/Priština Municipal Assembly’s building. After taking a two-week leave of absence after 17 February 2008, all the Serbs returned to work, even those who had worked in Prishtinë/Priština.
Serbs who work in Prishtinë/Priština still use UNMIK buses to get to work. Even after the declaration of independence, there is still no organized public transport from Prishtinë/Priština to Gračanice/Gracaniçë.
The Prishtinë/Priština municipality Office for Returns is still functioning. Employees who work in that office visit Serbs who live in Prishtinë/Priština and the surrounding villages. Office employees monitor the implementation of different projects initiated by the Prishtinë/Priština municipality. The aim of these projects is to provide conditions for sustainable return. However, the Office for Returns does not work in its full capacity because the working group for returns, which includes representatives of different Serb associations for displaced persons, returnees, UNMIK representatives and other international organizations that provide financial support for the return of displaced persons in Kosovo, has not met since February 17 2008. Prior to this date, this working group convened on regular basis.
I have worked as a clerk in the Office for Returns in the Priština municipality since the beginning of 2006. I live with my family in Gračanica. I travel to Priština every day from Gračanica. I go to work because nobody cares how I will support my family. I ride the UNMIK bus in order to get to work. There are also other Serbs who ride the same bus in order to go to work in Priština. I have not had any problems on my way to work. However, the current situation for Serbs is more uncertain than it was before. We are not sure what we will do in the future.
S.S.
Female Serb clerk in Office for Returns in Priština/Prishtinë Municipal
Assembly
HLC interview, 26 March 2008.
Sixty-five Serbs work for the Prishtina municipality. Most of them work at the Graçanicë Office of Communities and Office for Returns. All the Serbian employees still come to work on a regular basis, including those who work in Prishtina. Some Serbian employees took leave of absence during the first and second week after the declaration of independence. They have not yet come back to work.
H.H. Director of General
Administration in Prishtinë/Priština Municipal Assembly
HLC interview, 26 March 2008.
Regardless of the current
situation, we are regularly visiting all the Serbs who live here in Prishtina,
even in the rural areas. Families that live in Prishtina are mostly elderly
individuals who need help. My experience of work in the Office for Returns is
that most displaced persons who have decided to return are very interested in
finding a job. They would gladly accept work in the Kosovo institutions. They
often tell us: “what do I need a house for if I do not have a job.”
M.N.
Office for Returns clerk in Prishtinë/Priština Municipal Assembly
HLC interview, 1 April 2008.
A total of 7119 police officers worked for the KPS before the declaration of independence: 6011 Albanians (84,44%), 710 Serbs (9,97%), 215 Bosniaks (3,02%), 86 Turks (1,21%), 38 Gorani (0,53%), 22 Roma (0,31%), 21 Ashkalia (0,29%), 7 Egyptians (0,10%), 5 Cherkezi (0,07%), 3 Croats (0,04%) and 1 Macedonian. After 17 February 2008, 296 Serbian police officers stopped going to work. They stated that they did not want to work under the command of KPS and requested that they work under UNMIK's command. In the meantime, four of them returned to work. 292 Serbs continued the boycott. Currently, they are under suspension. The suspended Serbian police officers worked in the regions of Prishtinë/Priština, Gjilan/Gnjilane, Pejë/Peć and for the border police. At the time of writing 418 Serbian police officers work for the KPS.
In the municipalities of Mitrovica/Mitrovicë, Zvečan/Zveçan, Leposavić/Leposaviq and Zubin Potok/Zubin Potok in northern Kosovo, Serbs did not leave the police because they are still under the UNMIK command. The process of transfer of authority from the UNMIK police to the KPS in the municipalities of northern Kosovo began before Kosovo’s declaration of independence. The transfer of authority, at the time of writing, is not yet complete and it is not known how Serbian police officers in northern Kosovo will react when the KPS assumes control from UNMIK.
Before and after the declaration of independence, the KPS sought to ensure that its patrols to reflect the ethnic structure of the settlement they visit. In the areas where Serbian police officers left the KPS, UNMIK, Albanian members of the KPS and KFOR are responsible for the safety and security in these areas. One example of such an area is Gračanica/Graçanicë. In order to stimulate Serbs to stay in the KPS after the declaration of independence, the KPS has been offering additional security measures in case Serbian officers were afraid. Serbs rejected these security measures.
They (292 Serbian KPS police
officers) did not report to work before the deadline. In such a situation, the police
inspection had to make decisions according to the rules and procedures. These
police officers were suspended; however, they will receive full pay until a second
decision is made by the police inspector. The suspended KPS officers worked in
the regions of Prishtina, Gjilan, Peja, and the border police. At the moment,
418 Serbian KPS officers come to work regularly.
V.E.
KPS Spokesperson
HLC interview, 26 March 2008.
A total of 41 Serbs worked for Kosovo Railways before 17 February. On March 3 2008, Serbian Railways Company usurped the entire infrastructure of Kosovo Railways in the municipalities of northern Kosovo. Since then, 19 Serbian employees from Northern Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, Zvečan/Zveçan, Zubin Potok/Zubin Potok and Leposavić/Leposaviq have stated that they do not want to work for Kosovo Railways. Instead, they said they would make themselves available to Serbian Railways. According to the Kosovo Railways rules and procedures, these workers have been suspended and are receiving 50% of pay until the next the decision is made by management. The remainder of the Serbian employees continue to work for this public company.
The usurping of the railway stopped the operation of the “Freedom of
Movement Train”, which was primarily used by Serbs to travel from Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo
Polje to Leška/Leshak in the
I think that they are going
to return after this situation is over. These workers will then receive the
rest of the 50% of their pay. The remaining Serbian employees still work for
the railways company without any problems. All of the 19 employees who left
their job had worked in the northern Mitrovica and at the train stations
between Fushë Kosovë-Leshak-Fushë Kosovë. They stated that they wanted to work
for the Serbian Railways Company.
R.M.
Kosovo Railways Human Resources Coordinator
HLC interview, 1. April 2008.
After Kosovo’s declaration of independence on 17 February 2008, the Minister of Justice Nekibe Kelmendi tried to convince 154 Serbian employees who had worked for the Kosovo Correctional Service to continue working for this institution. They generally agreed to stay. However, after pressure from the Serbian Government, they left the service. The Minister of Justice, on several occasions, tried to convince Serbian employees to come back to work but did not succeed. On 14 March 2008, the Kosovo Correctional Service, according to their rules and procedures, suspended 82 Serbian employees because they had stopped coming to work. These employees are currently receiving 70% of pay. This decision is effective for 60 days. One, out of 82 suspended employees, worked for the Central Office of the Kosovo Correctional service; 27 of them worked for the Lipjan/Lipljan Correctional Centre, 37 worked for the prison in Lipjan/Lipljan and 17 of them worked for the prison in Gjilan/Gnjilane. The remaining 72 Serbian employees continue to work for this Kosovo institution.
According to the data from 8 March 2008, a total of 1,550 employees work for the Kosovo Correctional Service; 213 of them are members of minority communities. Out of 213 minority employees, 154 were Serbs, 37 Bosniaks, 5 Turks, 15 Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptians, one Slovenian, and one Montenegrin.
Even after the suspension
of the employees, the Minister tried to establish contact with Serbian
employees. She publicly invited them to return to work at the Kosovo
institutions. They stated that the visit of the Minister for Kosovo and
Metohija Samardžić reduced their chances of coming back to work... Although
some of the suspended Serbian employees expressed a wish to meet with the
Minister of Justice and to return to work, they cancelled at the last minute
because of threats. The two of them were beaten up the other day by members of
their own ethnicity.
R.H.
Chief of the Kosovo Correctional Service
HLC interview, 4 April 2008.
Currently there are 562
employees working for the UNMIK Custom Service: 467 Albanians, 58 Serbs, 17
Bosniaks, 14 Turks, three Gorani, two Roma and one Ashkalia. 49 Serbian
employees and 3 Bosniak employees were suspended because of the suspicion that
they violated the rules and procedures for not going to work after 17 February.
So far none of them has returned to work. Nine Serbian employees have never
left work and are still working for the UNMIK Customs Service.
B.K. Customs Human Resources Clerk
HLC interview, 15 April 2008.
According to the decision, all the employees received full pay for the month of February. However, after 1 March none of the employees will receive any pay for the days they did not come to work.
There are 7,452 employees in KEK. According to HLC-Kosovo statistics obtained from the KEK Human Resources Department, the total number of minority employees is 105; 29 Bosniaks, 28 Serbs, 27 Turks, three Roma, and 18 others. The KEK Human Resources Department has not received any information from its regional centres about their employees from minority communities leaving their jobs after the declaration of independence.[7]
There are 2,484 employees in PTK. 117 of them are from minority communities. Most of the non-Albanian employees are Serbs (41). They work in Serbian enclaves in the municipalities of Prishtinë/Priština (22), Prizren/Prizren (4), Kosovska Mitrovica/Mitrovicë (11), Pejë/Peć (2) and Gjilan/Gnjilane (2); 32 employees from Turkish community work for the company in the following municipalities: Prishtinë/Priština (13), Prizren/Prizren (18) and Gjilan/Gnjilane (1); 30 employees from the group Muslims work for the company.[8] They work in the municipalities of Prishtinë/Priština (2), Prizren/Prizren (16), Mitrovica/Mitrovicë (3) and Pejë/Peć (9); 14 Ashkalia, Roma, Egyptian and Cherkezi citizens work in the municipalities of Prizren/Prizren (11), Mitrovica/Mitrovicë (2) and Gjilan/Gnjilane (1). The PTK Human Resources Department has not received any information about their minority employees quitting their jobs after Kosovo’s declaration of independence.[9]
576 employees work for the Prishtinë/Priština Airport; 13 of them are members of minority communities: five Serbs, two Bosniaks, one Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian, four Turks and one Syrian. None of the minority employees has quit his or her job after the declaration of independence.[10]
Serbs have free access to all
municipal institutions. However, the Law on the Use of Languages in the
S.
S. A female Serb from Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje
HLC interview, 21 February 2008.
The Centre for Social Work
has forms in two languages. However, the decision on whether a party’s request
has been approved or not is written exclusively in Albanian, which is why we do
not know whether the request has been approved or not.
S.
S. A female Serb from Kosovo Polje/Fushë
Kosovë
HLC interview, 21 February 2008.
I work for the Centre for
Social Work. Concerning the use of languages, I have several complaints. Meetings
are in Albanian; however, my colleagues translate it for me. Communication with
older colleagues is good because they speak Serbian and I have learned some
Albanian as well. As for documentation, the only document I have received in Serbian
is the Law on Social Pay from 2005. None of the other provisions are in
Serbian. I have filed complaints on several occasions with the relevant
institutions, however, every time the response was that I would get the
documents soon or that they simply do not have such documents in Serbian. All
the documents that I have received thus far are in Albanian. My colleagues
translate them to me orally and then I sign them. However, I always put a note
that my colleagues who are amateurs translated the document into Serbian.
Otherwise, I would not have known what I was signing. All the forms are in
Albanian and Serbian, but all responses to requests for social welfare
assistance are always in Albanian.
J.M.
A female Serb from Kosovo Polje/Fushë Kosovë
HLC Interview, 21 February 2008.
After Kosovo's declaration of independence, the position of the Serbian minority in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje has not changed significantly. However, Serbs claim that there are noticeably less Serbs in the streets, which has a negative influence on their sense of security.
Currently, one of the main problems for all the Serbs in the
There were 34 Serbian employees working for Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje municipality before 17 February; 19 of them had worked for the municipal administration office while 15 of them had worked for the outpatient clinic in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje, which was under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government. After the declaration of independence, Serbs did not go to work for two weeks. Some Serbian employees took leave of absence until the end of March. During the third week, only two Serbian employees returned to work. Regarding Serbs who work in the healthcare sector, five out of 15 Serbian employees came back to work; however, they stay at work for a very short time.
There have not been any
ethnically motivated incidents after the declaration of independence in our
municipality; however, I am still cautious because my Serbian colleagues have
not been coming to work since the declaration of Kosovo independence. Also, I
do not see Serbs on the streets of the city which is why I feel less secure. I
also feel uncomfortable when my Albanian colleagues ask me in amazement if I
have decided to come back to work.
J.M.
Clerk in the Centre for Social Works in Kosovo Polje/Fushë Kosovë
HLC Interview, 8 April 2008.
Employee T.D., who works
for the Office of Communities, will remain on leave of absence until the end of
March 2008. B.R., the Chief of the Office for Healthcare is also on leave of
absence. S.G. comes to work every day but stays for only ten minutes. Regarding
15 employees who work in the healthcare sector, only five of them have started
coming to work three weeks after the declaration of Kosovo independence. They
also stay at work for short periods of time. Based on this information, only
two employees of Serbian nationality have started regularly coming to work
three weeks after the declaration of independence. The status of the remaining
employees is still unknown. The situation will remain like this until the end
of March 2008 when the municipal management will undertake certain measures.
These measures are not going to be any different than the measures undertaken
by other municipalities. These decisions will also not be contrary to the decisions
made by the Prime Minister of Kosovo.
M.M. Personnel Manager in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje Municipal Assembly
HLC interview, 2 April 2008.
Between 4,000 and 5,000 Roma
citizens lived in the
Roma citizens live in very poor conditions. Their settlements are
nearby waste disposal sites which is detrimental to the health of Roma
citizens. Roma citizens complain that they are victims of constant segregation;
an example would be the
These dumpsites were
created by the negligence of all citizens who find it easy to drop their rubbish
in the areas where Roma live because Roma people do not complain. A good
example of segregation is the
M.B.
Roma from Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje
HLC interview, 21 February 2008.
All Roma citizens have freedom of
movement in the
The Roma are dissatisfied with the manner in which they receive information in their language. They complain that the RTK’s programme in the Roma language lasts less than similar programmes broadcast in other minority languages, which last for one hour while the programme in the Roma language lasts for 45 minutes. In addition, RTK does not broadcast news in the Roma language, whereas RTK broadcasts news in other minority languages. For this reason, Roma citizens complain that they have to pay the same monthly RTK fee like all the other minority representatives.
There are four local radio stations that broadcast programmes in the Roma language for one hour every day. During these shows, we receive information about different gatherings, meetings and discussions organized by the municipality, as well as job vacancy announcements. As the representative of the Roma in the municipality, I try to fix this problem by sending posters to each of the Roma villages in Serbian or Albanian languages. I do not write in the Roma language because the language has not been standardized.
M.B.
Roma from Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje
HLC interview, 21 February 2008.
There are two Roma employees
currently working in the municipality: one of them works at the town hall while
the other works for the Serbian outpatient clinic in the
Approximately 60 Roma families
receive social welfare while the rest of them live by searching through rubbish
bins cans and waste disposal sites. I have heard several times that Roma
citizens are not represented in institutions and public companies because they
are not qualified. However, this is not true. A number of Roma citizens have
graduated from high schools. Speaking of this, the project in which the
educational curriculum was accelerated helped a lot because many children, who
had left school because of financial reasons, came back. Due to their inability
to find employment, four families with 25 family members have left Kosovo in
the last two months. Two families sold their land. This trend is not going to
stop if the Roma community continues to be ignored in this sense.
M.B.
Roma from Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje
HLC interview, 21 February 2008.
Village Plemetin/Plemetinë is
located in the
D.V. Serb from
Plemetine/Plemetinë
HLC interview, 31 January 2008.
Serbian and Roma students go to schools that are under the jurisdiction of the Government of Serbia, where education is in Serbian. They also use healthcare services provided by the Serbian Government’s Ministry of Health.
Approximately 80% of Plemetin
citizens worked for KEK before the war, that is, for the power plants called
Kosovo A and B and at the open coalmines called Belaćavac and Dobro Selo.
These people, and I am one of them, now receive 60 euros of pay from the
Government of
D.V. Serb from
Plemetine/Plemetinë
HLC interview, 31 January 2008.
Radio stations that broadcast programmes in the Serbian and Roma languages can be heard in the Obiliq/Obilić municipality. Serbian and Roma citizens from Plemetin/Plemetinë do not have any information on the work and activities of the municipality or about job vacancies. They think that this lack of information is the fault of the Office of Communities. There is no notice board in the village. They find out about meetings in the municipality from people who visit the municipality
There are approximately 15 Serbs from the entire municipality who work for Obiliq/Obilić municipality; two of them work for PTK, two for the regional water supply company Prishtina and one works for the outpatient clinic - a parallel institution controlled by the Serbian Government. There are no Serbian and Roma employees working for Higijena and KEK. The citizens of Plemetin/Plemetinë made a proposal to Higijena to hire five individuals from the village in order to clean Plemetin/Plemetinë’s non-hygienic Roma settlement. The citizens of the village have, not yet received a concrete response to this initiative. The citizens of the village also wanted to create an agricultural cooperative but the municipality did not issue a property list for 15 individuals who were the initiators and the would-be founders of the agricultural cooperative.
The position of Serbian and Roma citizens has not changed significantly in Obiliq/Obilić after the declaration of independence. Serbs remain cautious and avoid going to cities such as Prishtinë/Priština. The main problem is that the “Freedom of Movement Train” which Serbian and Roma citizens used to take to transport their goods to market places in other parts of Kosovo, stopped operating. Serbs now use taxis, which costs 3 euros in one direction. No public transport runs to Plemetin/Plemetin. The fact that the train stopped operating has had a significant impact on the lives of impoverished citizens of Plemetin/Plemetin; primarily on Roma citizens for whom the train was the only means of transport when they needed to see a doctor.
I take my daughter,
Valentina, who was born in 1987, to
M.K. Roma from
Plemetine/Plemetinë
Serbs who work in Obiliq/Obilić municipality also use the train to get to work. Ever since the train stopped running, they use taxis or go to work with their friends who have personal vehicles.
Out of 11 Serbs who work for Obiliq/Obilić municipality, only one Serb left his job after 17 February 2008. During the first two weeks, Serbs were not coming to work due to fear. Yet, there has not been a single ethnically motivated incident so far. All citizens in this municipality still have access to all municipal institutions.
There have not been any
incidents since the declaration of independence because Albanians would
endanger themselves by doing that. On the day of the declaration, several
Albanians drove through Plemetin with Albanian flags but there were no
incidents. Serbs still go to municipal institutions as they did before
declaration. I would work for Kosovo institutions even though Kosovo declared
its independence. I want to stay here and work for my community and other
minority communities. As for safety, the situation after the declaration of
independence is the same as it was before.
D.V.
Serb from Plemetin/Plemetin
HLC interview, 2 April 2008.
Most Turks live in the Prizren/Prizren region.[11] They have fully integrated into society and have complete freedom of movement. Their integration has been easier because almost all Turks speak Albanian. Also approximately 70% of Albanians in the Prizren/Prizren region speak Turkish.
Turks speak Turkish and Albanian in their everyday life. In the municipalities, Turks speak in Albanian with Albanian civil servants while they speak Turkish when speaking to Turks. According to the Law on the Use of Languages, besides Albanian and Serbian, Turkish has also been declared an official language in the Prizren/Prizren municipality.
The
Documents and forms needed to start a private company are produced
at the Centre for Business Registration, located in Prishtinë/Priština. This
documentation is in Albanian. Tax forms made by the
Turks go to outpatient clinics that are under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government. They address Albanian doctors in Albanian and Turkish doctors in Turkish. There is an outpatient clinic in Mamushë/Mamuša where all the documents are in the Turkish language.
I own clothing stores in
Prizren and Prishtina. All documents are exclusively in Albanian. Forms for
businesses registration and tax forms are only in Albanian. Only the form for
the annual municipal tax is in Albanian, Serbian and Turkish languages. The
municipal Directorate for Economy and Finances of the Department for Public
Revenues of the
P.K. Turk from
Prizren/Prizren
HLC interview, 20 January 2008.
The outpatient clinic’s
documents are issued in Turkish. We had a problem with PTK when it did not want
to put a sign at the entrance of the building in Turkish as well. We did not
allow them to put the sign on the wall. Also, we refused to register for two
years because they would not issue our personal documents according to Turkish
orthographic rules. They accepted our requests in the end. However, KEK, PTK,
the water supply company and all other public companies, which provide services
in Mamusha, do not follow Turkish orthographic rules when they write our names
on their bills.
The main problem for the citizens of Mamushë/Mamuša is education.
Even though there is an elementary school in the village where students can
attend classes in their mother tongue, there are still no textbooks in their
mother tongue. High school students do not have textbooks in Turkish. High
school students from Mamushë/Mamuša go to technical, economic, medical and
grammar high schools in Prizren/Prizren, where classes are held in Turkish.
There is also an elementary school for Turks from Prizren/Prizren. Turkish
students can also attend the Pedagogical Faculty in Prizren, which is linked to
the University of Prishtinë/Priština .
Classes in the aforementioned schools are held in the Turkish language. They
can also go to the
Public companies PTK and KEK do not issue bills or other documents in Turkish. They issue bills only in Serbian, English and Albanian languages. Public company bills for water and city maintenance, which provide their services to citizens of Prizren/Prizren, are only in Albanian. KEK, PTK and other public companies do not respect the orthographic and grammar rules of the Turkish language when billing persons belonging to the Turkish community.
The Turkish community in the Prizren/Prizren region has access to information in Turkish through a weekly magazine and a TV station both called Yeni Donem. They also watch RTK’s programme in Turkish; a 60-minute magazine broadcasted once a week and a 15-minute news programme in Turkish broadcast daily Monday through Saturday.
Albanians, Gorani and Bosniaks live in the
Gorani and Bosniaks have complete freedom of movement and freely access
all municipal institutions. Many Gorani and Bosniaks from the
In communication with civil
servants, I speak Bosniak because I do not speak Albanian. So far, I have not
had any problems and I have not heard of any Bosniak or Gorani citizens who
have had problems with civil servants in institutions due to their inability to
speak Albanian.
N.T.
Bosniak, Dragaš/Dragash
HLC interview, 19 January 2008.
The citizens of Dragash/Dragaš use healthcare services provided by the outpatient clinic in Dragash/Dragaš. Employees at this health institution are from the Bosniak or Gorani community. However, all documents relating to healthcare are in Albanian alone.
Bosniaks and a small number of Gorani citizens send their children to schools, where classes are in the Bosniak language, under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government. The majority of Gorani send their children to the parallel schools of the Government of Serbia where education is in Serbian. These schools also follow the curriculum prescribed by the Serbian Government.
KEK bills in Dragash/Dragaš are in Albanian and Serbian while water bills are only in Albanian.
Bosniak and Gorani citizens access information by listening to the local radio called Gora and by watching RTS satellite programmes. Radio Gora is the only media in the municipality that broadcasts programmes on current events in Kosovo in the Bosniak and Gorani languages. The citizens of Dragash/Dragaš are unable to receive information about job vacancies on any of the media; job vacancies in the municipal court, PTK, KEK, the Water Supply Company and Higijena Company. Radio Gora has tried to obtain information on KPS activities but without success.
There is no RTK signal in Dragash but the citizens still have to pay the monthly fee that is included in the electricity bill. Kosovo citizens cannot register their cars if they do not pay the electricity bill.
There is a notice board in the centre of Dragash/Dragaš municipality. Information posted on the notice board is in Serbian and relates to the work of the municipality and job vacancies. All information dates from 2002, however.
We broadcast all
information that we receive from the municipality. The problem is that we do
not have a radio signal in all the municipalities where Gorani and Bosniaks
live. We have signal in 13 out of 18 villages in the region of Gora. Additional
problems are caused by power restrictions, which prevent us from broadcasting
our programme. We are the only media in this municipality that broadcasts programmes
in Bosniak about the current situation in Kosovo. The problem is that we still
have to pay the 3.5 euro RTK for the programmes we do not even have because
there is no RTK signal in Gora. According to the Law on RTK, individuals who do
not have an RTK signal are not obliged to pay the monthly fee. However, KEK
does not care about this and we still get their bill with the monthly 3.5 Euro
fee for RTK. Most of us who do not want to pay the monthly RTK fee have had
problems because of this; KEK cut the power on several occasions. The problem
became even worse after the decision that in order to register your vehicle, you
have to show that your electricity bills have been paid. As a result, even
people who do not have the RTK signal have to pay the monthly fee.
N.T.
Bosniak, Dragaš/Dragash
HLC interview, 19 January 2008.
Mušnikovo/Mushnikovë is a multi-ethnic village with a population of approximately 2000: 90 Serbs, 80 Bosniaks, and about 1800 Albanians. Serbs claim that they have full freedom of movement in this village and in the entire Prizren/Prizren region. Unlike other regions, Serbs freely use public transport in the Prizren/Prizren region.
Although there is an Office of Communities in the village, Serbs
mostly use the municipal services in the Prizren/Prizren municipality. Communication
with the municipality in Serbian is possible. All documents that Serbs request
from the municipality are in Serbian. The situation is similar at the Municipal
and District Courts in Prizren/Prizren. For the first time since 1999, Serbs
have representatives in the
There is no school in the
There are two outpatient clinics in the village; one is under the
jurisdiction of the Government of Serbia while the other one is under the
jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government. Serbs use both outpatient clinics. In the
event that a patient must go to hospital, they go to hospital in
Serbs in the Prizren/Prizren municipality use the services provided by KEK. Bills are in Serbian.
Serbian citizens of Mušnikova/Mushnikovë mainly access information by watching RTS satellite programmes. Even though they pay the monthly RTK fee, Serbs do not have reception. They also obtain information from a notice board located at the Prizren/Prizren town hall and from the notice board located in the Office of Communities in Mušnikova/Mushnikovë. Information posted on these notice boards, including information about job vacancies, is in Serbian.
In this village, we do not
get newspapers in Serbian. We can watch TV stations from
T.
V. Serb from the
HLC interview, 5 March 2008.
The situation in Mušnikovo/Mushnikovë and Prizren/Prizren has not changed at all after 17 February 2008. Serbs have full freedom of movement. They use public transport. They use Serbian in communication with all municipal services and institutions. None of the Serbs who work for the municipal institutions have quit their jobs.
I still work for the Office
of Communities in the
T.V.,
Serb from the
HLC interview, 11 April 2008.
Serbs started returning to the
To get to Gračanica/Graçanicë, Mitrovica/Mitrovicë or Prishtinë/Priština, where they do the shopping, Serbs primarily use Serb-run taxis or drive their own vehicles that have “KS” license plates. Nonetheless, more and more Serbs are beginning to use public transport. They do so because a bus ticket price is 50 cents whereas a return ticket on Serbian buses is 15 euros. Serbs who use public transport ask bus drivers for tickets in Serbian. At the time of writing, there have been no noted security problems.
Although Serbs rarely address Kosovo institutions and conduct most of their administrative dealings at the Office of Communities located in the villages of Donja Budriga/Budrigë e Poshtme and Pasjane/Pasjan, some Serbs do go to the Gjilan/Gnjilane and Ferizaj/Uroševac municipal institutions. They receive UNMIK identification cards and other documents at these municipal institutions. They use Serbian in communication with civil servants and in courts. Most civil servants address them in Serbian. All documents issued to them by municipal institutions is in Serbian written using the Latinic alphabet. When they address these institutions in writing, they receive a response in Serbian; it is grammatically, and orthographically correct.
My only experience with the
police was when the KPS pulled me over in Gnjilane. The police officers were
Albanian. They talked to me in Albanian and I responded to them in Serbian.
Even though they were nice to me, they did not want to say a single word in
Serbian. They did not believe me when I told them that I had been living here
for 18 years. They escorted me in their cars all the way to my house to make
sure I was telling the truth.
R.Ž.
Serb from Gnjilane/Gjilan
HLC interview, 19 January 2008.
Honestly, the situation is
much better now. I often go to Gnjilane and I don’t have any problems. Although
I do all administrational work through the Office of Communities, located in
the
V.S.
Serb from the village of Gornja or Donja Budriga, Gnjilane/Gjilan Municipality
HLC interview, 21 January 2008.
To be honest with you, I
haven’t had a real need to address the municipal institutions, but whenever I
need to go to the town hall I always get everything done without any major problems.
When I go there, I speak Serbian. The civil servants respond to me in Serbian.
Some Serbs also work in some of the municipal institutions.
R.Ž.
Serb from Gjilan/Gnjilane
HLC interview, 19 January 2008.
Serbs mostly go to schools that are under the jurisdiction of the
parallel institutions of the Serbian Government. They follow the same
curriculum used in
In addition, Serbs use the services provided by doctors who work in the
Serbian outpatient clinics that are under the jurisdiction of the Serbian
Government’s Ministry of Health. In case of more serious illness, Serbs go to
hospitals in Gračanica/Graçanicë, Laplje Selo/Lapllasellë and
Mitrovica/Mitrovicë, or to hospitals in Niš, Vranje, Leskovac or
One of the reasons why Serbs do not go to Kosovo health institutions more frequently is because of the fee that must be paid at healthcare institutions that are under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government. Medical examinations at Serbian outpatient clinics are free of charge.
Serbs from Srpski Babuš/Babushi Serb and other villages in the region of Gjilan/Gnjilan do not pay for electricity because they do not receive bills. The European Perspective Agency has been paying their bills for them since 2006. This organization will continue to pay their electricity bills until 2008.
In contrast, Serbs who live in the city of Gjilan/Gnjilane regularly pay all of their bills. All the bills are in Serbian, and they can communicate with all public companies in Serbian.
Serbs obtain most information by watching RTS programmes; however, they also watch RTK in Serbian. Some Serbs who understand Albanian watch Albanian TV channels such as RTV 21, KOHA TV and RTK. Serbs also obtain information from bulletins posted at the Office of Communities. However, they are not satisfied with this. They do not often read newspapers. A small number of Serbs, primarily those who live in urban areas, use the internet as a source of information.
Although Serbs from Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality and Srpski Babuš/Babushe Serb mainly work for the parallel institutions of the Government of Serbia, 53 Serbs work for the municipal institutions of Gjilan/Gnjilane.
The position of the Serbian community in the
40 Serbs work for the Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality; 13 of them work
for the Office of Communities located in
We spoke to them by phone
and they told us that they are not coming to work because they do not feel
safe. However, the facts show that situation is different. The municipality has
a mini bus, which has been transporting Serbian employees to work and back to
their homes in Shilovë, Kufcë e Epërme, Koretish, and Makresh from the very
beginning. The municipality has also been paying for a taxi for one employee
from the
S.O.
Chief of Administration and Human Resources Department in the Municipal
Assembly of Gjilan/Gnjilane
HLC interview, 2 April 2008.
A Serbian employee from the
According to information obtained by HLC-Kosovo, Serbs in the
31 Serbs, 27 Albanians and 1 Roma worked for the
I personally spoke to 90
percent of employees who are not coming to work. They told me that they would
like to work but that they cannot because the Government of
R.M.
Deputy President of Novobërdë/Novo Brdo Municipal Assembly
HLC interview, 4 April 2008.
The position of the Serbian community in Kamenicë/Kamenice did not change after 17 February 2008. Serbs have complete freedom of movement and access all municipal institutions freely.
Forty-eight Serbian employees work for the
There are about 30 Roma living in the Avdulah Preševa/Abdullah Presheva neighbourhood of Gjilan/Gnjilane. All the families moved out after June 1999, but they started returning in 2002. All Roma speak Serbian and most of them speak Albanian. These Roma citizens have full freedom of movement throughout Kosovo and use public transport. They have no complaints about the work of the KPS. Due to the increased number of thefts in Avdulah Preševa/Avdullah Presheva, the KPS organized several patrols at the request of the Roma community.
The Roma freely go to the municipal institutions and the court, but
they cannot use their mother tongue in communication with civil servants because
they do not speak Roma. There are no translators for the Roma language. None of
the information on the notice boards in the
I use public transport to
get to Priština or Kosovo Polje. I wait for the bus, I pay for the ticket and
everything is fine. I have never had any problems with other passengers. No one
has ever insulted me. It is easy to see that I am a Roma, however, I’ve not had
any problems because of my nationality.
S.Q.
Roma from Gjilan/Gnjilane
HLC interview, 19 January 2008.
I’ve been to the municipal
building on several occasions. None of the information is posted in the Roma
language, but it is in Serbian so I can get around. I have old Serbian
documents and a new UNMIK personal identification card. I’ve not had any
problems.
B.B.
Roma from Gjilan/Gnjilane
HLC interview, 19 January 2008.
Most Roma from Gjilan/Gnjilane go to Serbian schools where Serbian is the language of instruction. None of the classes in any of the schools are taught in the Roma language.
Roma use the services provided by the health institutions under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Government and the Kosovo Government in equal measure. Doctors are pleasant towards Roma citizens in all health institutions. However, due to financial constraints, Roma usually go to Serbian health clinics because they do not have to pay any fees for medical examinations. Sometimes, even civil servants who work for the outpatient clinic in Gjilan/Gnjilane do not charge additional fees to Roma who receive social welfare.
We use the services of the
Gjilan outpatient clinic. They treat us nicely there. However, I often take my
children to the Serbian clinic because the medical examination and medicine are
free. In Albanian outpatient clinics, we have to pay additional fees for
medical examinations.
B.B.
Roma from Gjilan/Gnjilane
HLC interview, 19 January 2008.
KET, PTK and other public company bills are not in Roma. Bills are in Serbian and Albanian languages.
The Roma mainly access information by watching the Roma language RTK programme called Yekipe, broadcast once a week on Thursdays at 17:15 and lasts for 60 minutes. They also watch radio and television programmes that are in Albanian: RTK or the local TV station called Vali. In addition, the Roma also watch RTS programmes.
The Roma can obtain information about municipal activities or job vacancies from notice boards in the municipal building.
Most Roma citizens are unemployed and receive social welfare assistance ranging from 35 to 65 euros.
There are approximately 1,000 Turks who live in the
The Municipal Assembly of Gjilan/Gnjilane on 14 May 2007 adopted a decision, declaring Turkish one of the official languages in the municipality; alongside Albanian and Serbian. All information in the municipality is still, however, only available in Serbian or Albanian. There is still no Turkish language translator in the municipality. Civil Servants do not speak Turkish so Turks speak Albanian in communication with them. Documents obtained from the municipality are in Albanian. Turkish names are written according to Albanian orthography and grammar. Similarly, public company bills also write Turkish names using Albanian orthography and grammar.
When the registration in
2001 began, we told OSCE about the incorrect writing of Turkish names. They
reacted and fixed the errors. But now, civil servants still make the same
mistakes. We’re constantly telling them about this problem but they always
respond by saying that the problem is of technical nature and that there is
nothing they can do about it. The culmination in the violation of Turkish human
rights took place during the last parliamentary and local elections when not a
single piece of information in the town was written in Turkish. Neither ballots
nor voting instructions were in Turkish. In the town itself, it is impossible
to see advertisements, information, or invitations in Turkish language.
N.G.
Female Turk from Gjilan/Gnjilane
HLC interview, 15 February 2008.
The Kosovo Government has developed a curriculum for members of the Turkish community who attend elementary and high schools. There are elementary and high schools, under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government, where Turks can obtain education in Turkish language.
Members of the Turkish community go to health institutions, under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government, where they communicate with doctors in Albanian because the doctors do not speak Turkish. No information in Turkish in these institutions.
Turks access information from the media by watching RTK news in Turkish, which is broadcast six times a week and by watching the show Mozaik which is aired once a week on Saturdays at 12:00 for 60 minutes. Turks in Gjilan/Gnjilane also follow some local media that broadcast programmes in Turkish. Because members of the Turkish community understand Albanian, they also follow the media in Albanian. A. Four Turks work for the Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality, and a small number work for public companies in Gjilan/Gnjilane.
The municipality has no public transport, which is why Albanians use taxis to get to Ferizaj/Uroševac, which is very close to the nine villages where Albanians live.
There is a translation service in the municipality of Štrpce/Shterpcë. All meetings and n documents are translated into Albanian.
A mixed Serbian and Albanian population lives in the
Albanians who live in the villages of the Štrpce/Shterpcë
municipality use the services of two health institutions (outpatient clinics);
one in the
So far, there have not been
any serious problems even though they work in the same building. The only
problem is that Serbs only work until 12:00, so Albanians have to leave the
building at the same time as well because a Serbian doctor has the keys to the
outpatient clinic. Serbs use the outpatient clinic in Shtrpce while Albanians
mostly go to Ferizaj or Kaçanik.
A.H.
Albanian from Drejkofc/Drajkovac
HLC interview, 5 February 2008.
Albanian children from the municipality of Štrpce/Shterpcë go to the
elementary school and high school in the
KEK office for the municipality of Štrpce/Shterpcë is located in Firaje/Firajë. While most Albanians pay for electricity, Serbs do not.
PTK does not work in the Štrpce/Shterpcë municipality. Instead, PTT Serbia provides phone services.
Albanians do not receive the RTK signal or the signal from other media in the Albanian language.
Regarding the media, we’re
in total darkness because we don’t have a TV or radio signal or newspapers in
Albanian. The only media is the RTV Herc station, which broadcasts programmes
only in Serbian. There is only one internet café. It’s located in the
A.H.
Albanian from the village of Drejkofc/Drajkovac
HLC interview, 5 February 2008.
There are no notice boards in the village. There is only one notice board in the municipality and it is located in front of the Štrpce/Shterpcë municipal building. The information on the notice board is only in Albanian. The municipality does not issue a newsletter.
Approximately 60% of the Štrpce/Shterpcë municipality population receive
social welfare. There are 27 Albanians who work for the Štrpce/Shterpcë
municipality. 18 of them work for the KPS, three of them work for the Higijena Company, three work for KEK in the
The municipality has 65 employees; 44 Serbian and 21 Albanian civil servants. After 17 February 2008, Serbian employees continued going to work, some irregularly, but they refuse to provide services to all citizens of the municipality. Albanian employees, in contrast, go to work regularly and provide services to all citizens.
Albanians are a minority in the northern municipalities of Kosovo.
The largest Albanian village in this part of Kosovo is Çabër/Čabra, in the
Albanians who live in these villages generally do not enjoy freedom of movement. Relations with the KPS are good but sometimes there are problems in communication because police officers who visit these villages are Serbs and Bosniaks who do not speak Albanian.
The citizens of Cerajë/Ceraje can get to Mitrovica/Mitrovicë by organized transport four days a week, two times a day. They are dissatisfied with this because it is not enough for them to accomplish everything that they must do in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë. There is daily transport from Čabre/Çabër to Mitrovice/Mitrovicë five times a day while transport from Ceraje Koštovo/Koshtovë and Bistricë/Bistrica operates four times a week, two times a day.
Albanians conduct their administrative dealings at the Offices of Communities in the villages of Çabër/Čabra and Bistricë/Bistrica. Only Albanians work in these offices. Albanians rarely go to the municipal institutions and municipal courts in Leposavić/Leposaviq or Zubin Potok/Zubin Potok. They go there with the KPS escort and with the representatives of the Office for Communities. They speak to civil servants only in Serbian because they do not speak any other language. There is no Albanian language translator in the municipalities.
In courts, Albanians can freely speak Albanian and ask for the services of a translator if need arises. In Leposavić/Leposaviq and Zubin Potok/Zubin Potok, Albanians cannot obtain documents in Albanian. Documents are issued only in Serbian language. Albanians from these municipalities cannot even get some of the documents that they need.
Although there is a
registrar’s office, we simply cannot get our wedding or property certificates.
The municipality will not issue them to us. It is impossible for us to make
sale contracts because we cannot obtain our property certificates
B.Z.
Albanian from the
HLC interview, 24 January 2008.
Citizens from the
Albanians work for these satellite
offices so we don’t have problems communicating, however, we do have complaints
about the work of the Office of Communities. Their work is not transparent. We
don’t know how much money was allocated from the municipal budget for the
B.Z.
Albanian from the
HLC interview, 24 January 2008.
A doctor from southern Mitrovice/Mitrovicë comes to Çabër/Čabra once a week. Serious medical examinations are done at the hospital in southern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë. The elementary schools in this region, under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government, are located in Bistricë/Bistrica, Koshtovë/Koštova, Cerajë/Ceraje and Çabër/Čabra. The nearest Kosovo-Government-run high school is in southern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë. High school students from this region must travel, rent apartments or stay with extended family.
Albanians receive electricity bills but often do not pay them because they have no money. They get mail through the Office of Communities. They do not have fixed phone lines. There is a mobile phone signal Vala 900, however, citizens in the villages can not buy credit for their mobile phones.
All the villages in this region are in a very bad position in terms of access to media. Kosovo television stations RTK, KTV and TV21 do not have a signal in northern Kosovo. There is also no signal for Kosovo radio stations. Albanians from these villages used to watch RTV Mitrovica but this television station lost its license in 2007. Now, they can only watch Serbian channels. No newspapers are delivered to this village. Citizens obtain information from the Office of Communities.
Five Albanians work for the Office of Communities in Bistricë/Bistrica,
10 work for the elementary school in Bistricë/Bistrica, and one works at the
outpatient clinic. Three persons work for KFOR. They guard antennas located
near the
Eleven citizens from the
After 17 February 2008, municipal civil servants who work in Zubin Potok/Zubin Potok and Leposavić/Leposaviq and employees who work at the Office of Communities and Office for Civilian Registration in Çabër/Čabra and Bistricë/Bistrica stopped attending municipal meetings for security reasons.
The Leposavić/Leposaviq Municipal Assembly blocked the budget for minority communities in this municipality. Since the municipal seal is held in the municipal building, civil servants who work at the Office of Communities in Bistricë/Bistrica cannot stamp any documents. They can do so only in southern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë and Prishtinë/Priština. In Çabër/Čabra there is a similar situation.
KPS increased its presence in all villages with an Albanian population in the municipalities of Leposavić/Leposaviq and Zubin Potok/Zubin Potok. For this reason, Albanians are not complaining about their security. Albanians claim that Serbs who pass by on the road to Mitrovica/Mitrovicë provoke them. Serbs also know which bus Albanians take. After the declaration of independence, Albanians use only one minibus from their villages to Mitrovica/Mitrovicë or Prishtinë/Priština, which has a KPS or UNMIK police escort.
All of our personal
documents as well as stamps are blocked in the
H.I.
Director for Office of Communities in the Municipal Assembly of Leposaviq/Leposavić
HLC Interview, 9 April 2008.
Banja/Bajë is a Serbian village in the
The relations between citizens and the KPS are good. Serbs are issued traffic tickets in Serbian. KPS provides security for Serbs when they go to the court or the bank in Skënderaj/Srbica. Civil servants in these institutions speak Serbian when addressed in Serbian.
We would work for Kosovo
institutions if we were safe. I worked with Albanians before and I don’t see
why I couldn’t do it now. But, I cannot move freely. I believe that people in
the village would work if they only had freedom of movement. No one dares to
use public transport.
R.K Serb from the village of Banja/Bajë
HLC interview, 20 January 2008.
Earlier we had a bad
experience with the KPS; especially before the police station was opened in the
R.K Serb from the
HLC interview, 20 January 2008.
An elementary school, under Serbian Government jurisdiction, is
located in the village. The high school is located in the neighbouring
The citizens of this village do not receive KEK bills and do not pay for electricity. When there is a power outage, they call a Serbian electrician who worked for EPS before the war.
Serbs from Banje/Bajë access information by watching RTS and RTK programmes in Serbian. They also obtain information about municipal and UNMIK activities from the notice board.
The position of the Serbian community in the
After 17 February 2008, Serbs who work for the Office for Communities did not leave their jobs. But two Serbs who had worked for the KPS failed to report for work after the declaration of independence. Now, only Albanian police officers visit Serbs in this village.
There are seven civil
servants in the Office of Communities. They are all Serbs. They still work
there. None of them left their work after 17 February 2008. The chief of the
office regularly comes to meetings in the municipal building. He even comes in
his own car and has no problems. The last time I saw him, he told me that he and
his colleagues from the Office of Communities had been pressured by certain
individuals upon the order of the Serbian Government. He told me that they would
continue working for Kosovo institutions.
F.B.
Civil servant in Office for Returns in the Municipality of Skënderaj/Srbica
HLC interview, 11 April 2008.
...We go to work regularly
and we did not stop coming to work after the declaration of Kosovo’s
independence...Earlier, two Serbs worked for the KPS at the KPS’ substation in
the neighbouring
Lj.J.
Civil servant in the Office of Communities in the village of Bajë/Banja
HLC interview, 11 April 2008.
Approximately 65 Roma and Ashkalia returnees live in the Roma Mahala in the southern part of Mitrovica/Mitrovicë. Before returning to their pre-war homes, they lived in northern Mitrovice/Mitrovicë. No Roma or Ashkalia citizens in southern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë work for Kosovo institutions. About 10 of them work for the pasta plant Žitopromet. Before the war, they worked for the Higijena city maintenance company. However, none of the Roma and Ashkalia citizens got their jobs back. Roma and Ashkalia citizens from this settlement did not get money to open a wood processing plant, which was supposed to hire 40 people. They also attempted to start a mini cattle farm; however, they did not receive money for this initiative either. The Roma and Ashkalia did not receive any explanation why both of the projects were rejected.
They built houses for us
but without basic living conditions. They did not think about hiring returnees.
If this situation continues, we are going to leave the Roma Mahala. They
promised us everything because they only wanted us to return. According to the
declaration for returns, we are supposed to be getting humanitarian aid for a
year. However, we were receiving humanitarian aid for only three months.
Additionally, according to the declaration, we do not have to pay utility bills
until someone in the family gets a job. Nevertheless, we are still getting
bills. All 65 families applied to be exempt from paying electricity because
they receive social welfare. The first and last names on the bills are written
in Albanian. Every-day we have power restrictions. Overall, we lived better
lives in the camps of northern Mitrovica.
Ć.G.
Roma from southern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë
HLC interview, 12 February 2008.
Roma and Ashkalia have freedom of movement. In correspondence with public companies and other institutions’ clerks, they use Albanian. These two communities have representatives in the municipality but most Roma and Ashkalia believe that he does not represent their interests in the right manner.
43 Roma and Ashkalia children go to Serbian schools in northern
Mitrovice/Mitrovicë. They used to take a van in order to get to school.
However, the van has not been working since mid-February because it broke down.
There has been an initiative by UNICEF and the Directorate for Education in the
After our return to the
settlement in August 2007, people from the municipality told us that our
children would get school materials and textbooks through UNICEF free if we enrol
them in schools in the southern part of Mitrovica where they would learn
Albanian. We accepted. We made a list but did not receive any assistance, which
is why our children continued going to the north. UNICEF visited us in late September
2007 when they asked us if our children started going to schools in southern
Mitrovica because they had already sent one tranche of aid. We have not yet
received a response about this issue.
Ć.G.
Roma from southern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë
HLC Interview, 12 February 2008.
There is an outpatient clinic in the Roma settlement where three Albanian nurses work. An Albanian doctor comes to the outpatient clinic twice a week. Roma and Ashkalia citizens communicate with nurses and the doctor in Albanian. The working time of the outpatient clinic is 07:00 – 14:00; it is closed on weekends.
Roma and Ashkalia get their bills in Albanian, Serbian and English languages. However, none of them pays for electricity because they have no money.
They access information by listening to radio KISS that has a weekly 30-minute show in the Roma language. TV Most is a Serbian language channel, which broadcasts programmes in the Roma language once a week for 90 minutes. Roma and Ashkalia cannot obtain information on the work of the municipal institutions and other institutions in southern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë by watching and listening to the aforementioned programmes because they are from northern part of the town. These two stations broadcast programmes in Serbian and Roma languages.
There were about 7500 Bosniak citizens in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë before the armed conflict. Approximately 1500 Bosniaks stayed in both parts of the town after the war. About 900 of them live in northern part of Mitrovica/Mitrovicë, in the Bosniak settlement. Nevertheless, Bosniaks are constantly moving out because neither part of the city provides basic living conditions.
Bosniaks in southern and northern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë generally have freedom of movement. They have normal access to all institutions. Relations between Bosniaks and the KPS are good. There are sporadic incidents, which endanger the safety of Bosniaks. Such incidents occur primarily in northern Mitrovici/Mitrovicë where the majority of people are Serbs. On 17 February 2007, during the last parliamentary elections in Kosovo, the local Serbs prevented the Bosniaks from the villages of Rvatska/Revatskë and Kaljin/Kalin and Bosniaks from the Bosniak Mahala/Mahalla e Boshnjakëve in northern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë to access the polling station. These Bosniaks voted in improvised polling stations provided by the OSCE.
These threats have not yet
ended because a mosque is being built in the
N.
U. Bosniak from Mitrovica/Mitrovicë
HLC interview, 24 January 2008.
Concerning the implementation of the Law on the Use of Languages in different institutions, the situation is much better in the northern part of the town than it is in the southern part of the town. Bosniaks conduct their administrative dealings in their mother tongue at the UNMIK building, which serves as the town hall in the northern part of the town.
The documents they obtain from this institution are in Bosniak. Information on notice boards is also in Bosniak.
In the southern part of the town, all the information is exclusively in the Albanian language. When Bosniaks address Albanian civil servants in Bosniak, they respond to them in Albanian. In cases when civil servants do not speak either Serbian or Bosniak, then they call an official translator. Most Bosniaks in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë speak Albanian so most of the time they do not need interpreters. When Bosniaks address the municipality in a writing, they get the response in Albanian. In this case, their names are also written according to Albanian orthographic rules. In addition, bills are in Albanian. The names of Bosniaks in the bills are also written according to Albanian orthographic rules. As for other institutions in the southern part of Mitrovica/Mitrovicë, the best communication is with the Islamic Community. All information in this institution is written in Bosniak language as well. Documents that Bosniaks obtain from the Islamic Community in written form is also in Bosniak. The text is written according to Bosniak orthographic and grammatical rules.
The Bosniak community in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë is dissatisfied with the work of minority representatives on the municipal and central level.
When it comes to the representatives of minority
communities in the
N.
U. Bosniak from Mitrovica/Mitrovicë
HLC interview, 24 January 2008.
Bosniaks in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë used to access information by watching RTV Mitrovica, which used to broadcast a 60-minute Bosniak language programme. During this programme, Bosniaks could receive information about job vacancies and the activities of the municipal and central authorities. This TV station lost its license in 2007. Bosniaks now do not have any information about the activities of municipal institutions. Bosniaks in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë can now watch RTS and Serbian TV Most only.
Only 16 Bosniaks work for the municipal institutions in the southern part of the town, while five of them work for UNMIK administration in the northern part of Mitrovica/Mitrovicë. No data on the exact number of Bosniaks employed in public companies exists because the managements of public companies refused to disclose the number of Bosniaks on the pay roll.
There are cases when some Albanians present themselves as Bosniaks in order to get jobs that are supposed to be for Bosniaks.
Approximately 100 Bosniaks are officially employed
in the KPS but we suspect that 40 of them falsely present themselves as
Bosniaks... I would like to emphasize that Albanians come to me and ask me to
sign and stamp a certificate stating that they are members of the Bosniak
community because it is easier for them to enter European countries as
Bosniaks. We categorically refuse to do such alterations.
N.
U. Bosniak from Mitrovica/Mitrovicë
HLC interview, 24 January 2008.
Belo Polje/Bellopojë is a Serbian
village located in the
The citizens of Belo
Polje/Bellopojë and Drsnik/Dërsnik have free access to all Kosovo institutions,
municipal institutions and courts. If a municipal official does not speak
Serbian then an official interpreter, who works for these institutions, is
provided. Still, some Serbs from Drsnik/Dërsnik complain that there is an
Albanian civil servant in the
Returnees to the
B.P.
Serb from Belo Polje/Bellopojë
HLC interview, 1 February 2008.
One case is different from
others. In the Office for Returns, where one Serb works, one Albanian employee either
does not speak Serbian or does not want to speak Serbian. When the Serbian
employee is not there, Serbs cannot get the job done. Although there is an
interpreter in the municipality, this civil servant does not want to call him
to help us to communicate.
M.R. Serb from the village of
Drsnik/Dërsnik
HLC interview, 15 February 2008.
There is no school in these villages. If the schoolchildren come
back, pupils from Belo Polje/Bellopojë would go to the elementary and high
schools in Goraždevac/Gorazhdec. The outpost classroom of this high school is
located in the
The majority of Serbs from these villages do not get electricity bills. Serbs who receive bills say that they are written in Serbian and Albanian languages and that their names are written according to Serbian orthographic and grammar rules.
Serbs from the
There are many complaints about the work of our representative in
the Coordination Centre. He does not work for us. He only steals. All the aid
that comes from
D.M. Serb from the
HLC interview, 15 February 2008.
There is a notice board in
front of the municipal building in Klina with information in the Serbian language;
however, this information is not enough for me. For example, I am interested in
finding out information about the privatization process that I know nothing
about. I asked them about this in the Office of Communities but they told me
that this issue is not in their scope of work.
M.R. Serb from the village of
Drsnik/Dërsnik
HLC interview, 15 February 2008.
One citizen from Belo
Polje/Bellopojë works for KPS, while two citizens from Drsnik/ Dërsnik work for
the
The position of the Serbian community in the
The KPS and KFOR still visit their villages on a daily basis.
No Serbs have left their jobs in any of the municipal institutions in Pejë/Peć or Klinë/Klina after 17 February 2008. One person from Belopolje/Bellopojë still works for the KPS.
Situation in Belo Polje is
the same as it was before 17 February 2008. Freedom of movement is at the same
level. People go freely to the municipal institutions and the court whenever
they need to. All citizens of Belo Polje walk freely around the town of
B.P.
Serb from Belo Polje/Bellopojë
HLC interview, 9 April 2008.
After the declaration of
independence, the situation for Serbs who live in the
V.P.
Serb from the village of Vidanje/Vide
HLC interview, 10 April 2008.
Village Dobrushë/Dobruša is a village with an exclusively Bosniak
population. It is located in the
I feel uncomfortable when
someone thinks of me as a minority because I feel myself to be a citizen of
Kosovo. I think there are many people who are ready to be better integrated
into society in Kosovo.
S.S.
Bosniak from the village of Dobrushë/Dobruša
HLC interview, 15 February 2008.
Bosniaks can conduct all administrative dealings in their mother
tongue. In case a civil servant does not speak Bosniak, then an official
interpreter is called for assistance. Bosniaks can receive all documents from
municipal institutions in Bosniak. The names of Bosniaks in these documents are
written properly and according to Bosniak orthographic rules. Some Bosniaks
work for the
I addressed the Directorate
for Health in the
S.S.
Bosniak from the village of Dobrushë/Dobruša
HLC interview, 15 February 2008.
Bosniaks from Dobrushë/Dobruša use the healthcare services provided by the outpatient clinic in Istok/Istog. They use Bosniak in communication with doctors. One Bosniak works for this clinic. He uses his mother tongue in communication with his Albanian colleagues. His contract of work is written in Albanian and Bosniak languages.
There is an elementary school in Dobrushë/Dobruša where classes are in Bosniak. The technical, medical and grammar high schools, where classes are in Bosniak language are located in Pejë/Peć. Bosniaks work in all aforementioned schools. There are also private colleges that are fully implementing the provisions of the Law on the Use of Languages. Bosniaks attend some of these private colleges. AAB Faculty in Prishtinë/Priština is an example of one such faculty. All documents, information, contracts, classes and literature at this faculty are in Bosniak.
Electricity bills are regularly sent to the citizens of this village and these bills are in Albanian and Serbian/Bosniak languages. The names on the bills are written in a grammatically correct manner.
Bosniaks from this village obtain information mostly by watching RTK programmes in Bosniak. However, they believe that these programmes do not satisfy the Bosniak community’s needs for information. There is also a notice board in the village; however, not enough information on the activities in the Municipality and the entire Peja region is posted.
Three Bosniaks from the
Serbian representatives consider that the Law on the Use of Languages and the Anti-discrimination Law are good laws but that they are not fully applied. They emphasized that Serbian representatives in the Kosovo Parliament are discriminated against because the documents they receive, though in the Serbian language, are written in the Latinic script and not the Cyrillic. Furthermore, they stress that according to the Government’s decision on employment, 22.4% of employees in the public institutions of Kosovo should be from minority communities, which is about 60,000 persons. Serbian representatives believe that in reality this number is much lower.
They believe that Serbs generally do not enjoy freedom of movement, but that the majority of 120,000 Serbs who currently live in Kosovo are in favour of closer integration into society in Kosovo.
What can we say about
security when you have a situation where a Serbian farmer works on his land
while a police officer guards him with a gun?
M.Š.
Serb, representative in the Kosovo Parliament
HLC interview, 25 January 2008.
Some Serbian representatives have no experience of the work of the
municipalities in Kosovo. Their families are still in
In cases when they have health problems, Serbian representatives ask Serbian doctors, who work in outpatient clinics under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Government, for medical assistance because of a lack of confidence in Albanian doctors. They also get treated in Serbian hospitals because they have Serbian health insurance.
Maybe after 10 years I will
be able to use medical assistance in Priština. I do not want to make a
political issue out of this. It is only about my confidence in doctors.
M.Š.
Serb, representative in Kosovo Parliament
HLC interview, 25 January 2008.
Serbian representatives obtain information primarily by watching
RTS, but also by watching RTK programmes that are in Serbian. They also use the
internet and read daily newspapers, which come from
They are dissatisfied with services provided by public companies. They are above all dissatisfied with the work of PTK because this company has not yet established phone lines between Prishtinë/Priština and Mitrovicë/Mitrovica. In addition, Kosovatrans still has no bus lines that go to municipalities in northern Kosovo.
This situation is only
distance us from each other. Citizens do not think that conditions for a normal
and safe life have been met. The majority, in other words Albanians, needs to
convince their Serbian neighbours that the situation is going to improve. The
Kosovo Government needs to create an environment that will improve living
conditions; provide education for Serbs in their own language, create new jobs
and so forth. Otherwise, there will be no integration.
M.Š.
Serb, representative in Kosovo Parliament
HLC Interview, 25 January 2008.
Turkish representatives believe that members of the Turkish community have absolute freedom of movement and that they have fully integrated into society in Kosovo. They also believe that Turks have full access to all Kosovo institutions and public companies. The primary reason for their successful integration into Kosovo society is that almost all Turks speak Albanian while a good number of Albanians speak Turkish. However, Turkish representatives are dissatisfied with the application of the Law on the Use of Languages in the Kosovo Parliament and in the municipalities where the Turkish language has been declared an official language (as is the case in Prizren/Prizren and Gjilan/Gnjilane). During the Kosovo Parliament sessions, Turkish representatives cannot follow the sessions in their mother tongue because translation services are provided only for Albanian and Serbian languages. The names of Turkish representatives on the identification cards in the Parliament are written according to Albanian orthographic rules. Turkish representatives claim that there are no Turkish language translators in the Kosovo Government Ministries or the Kosovo Parliament.
Although Prizren/Prizren is a municipality where the municipal leadership is trying to apply all the provisions of the Law on the Use of Languages, this law is still not fully applied. The municipal sign is still not in Turkish. Municipal documentation has not been completely translated into Turkish. Turks usually address civil servants in Albanian. Some Kosovo Parliament representatives addressed the municipality in writing but received replies in Albanian. All Turkish representatives agree that it is hard to find good Turkish translators, which is why it is hard to expect all municipal documentation to be translated in a reasonable amount of time.
I am preparing a report on
the implementation of the Law on the Use of Languages. The main complaints will
be sent to the Commission for Languages, which was established on the basis of
the Law. The Commission is not doing its job at all and has not undertaken and
measures in order to set conditions for the implementation of this law.
E.K.
Turk, representative in the Kosovo Parliament
HLC Interview, 25 January 2008.
I personally addressed the
M.S.
Turk, representative in Kosovo Parliament
HLC interview,25 January 2008.
Almost all Albanian employees in the Prizren/Prizren outpatient clinic speak Turkish. Turks speak Turkish with Albanian employees.
In Prizren/Prizren, Turkish students attend elementary schools and high
schools where classes are in Turkish. They can also attend the Teachers Faculty
of the
Public companies in the Prizren/Prizren region have not yet undertaken all the measures to fully apply the Law on the Use of Languages. None of the public companies issues bills in Turkish. KEK and PTK’s billing is only in Albanian and Serbian languages. Other public companies from Prizren/Prizren, such as the regional water supply company Hidroregjioni Jugor or the city maintenance company Eko Region, issue bills only in Albanian.
Representatives of the Turkish community in the Kosovo Parliament obtain information by watching RTK programmes in Albanian and Turkish languages, listening to Radio Blue Sky and by reading daily newspapers. They also obtain information from the internet and by reading the weekly Yeni Donem, which is published in Turkish. Job vacancies are not shown on RTK, Radio Blue Sky or magazine Yeni Donem.
Turkish representatives believe that minorities cannot get jobs in large supermarkets, such as Benaf and Albi, if they do not speak Albanian.
Representatives from this ethnic community consider that the Law on the Use of Languages is applied the most in the central Kosovo institutions, the Kosovo Parliament and the Kosovo Government. All documents in these institutions are in Albanian, English and Serbian/Bosniak languages. Simultaneous translation is also provided during meetings and Parliamentary sessions.
Nonetheless, the Law on the Use of Languages and the Anti-discrimination law are not fully applied. Minority rights are still being violated. None of the deputy ministers is from a minority community. There are no deputy directors in any of the elementary schools or high schools, which are under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government.
All Kosovo institutions are fully accessible to Bosniaks, who generally do not have complaints about the professionalism and openness of civil servants from the various institutions. Still, there are frequent problems in outpatient clinics. Older doctors speak Serbian/Bosniak languages and speak with patients in these languages. They write diagnoses in Albanian and Bosniak languages. However, young doctors write their diagnoses in Albanian alone. There are times when Albanian doctors reluctantly speak Bosniak. Some Bosniaks also believe that there is discrimination in some outpatient clinics.
I went to the hospital in
Priština to visit a good Albanian doctor who I know personally. He speaks
Serbian so we communicated in Serbian. However, he told me “I am now speaking
your language, but the next time you come here you should address me in my
language.” This is my personal
experience.
Dž.M.
Bosniak, a member of Kosovo Parliament
HLC interview, 25 January 2008.
I know a very good Bosniak
doctor, S. H., who is currently specializing at the Priština Clinical Centre.
He was the best student of the generation at the
Dž.M.
Bosniak, a member of Kosovo Parliament
HLC interview, 25 January 2008.
Textbooks for a certain number of subjects in schools where education is in Bosniak have not been translated. There is no single high-school textbook in Bosniak. Meetings of Teacher’s Counsels are conducted without translation in Albanian alone. All school information is only in Albanian, including school documents, report cards and grade transcripts.
Bosniak representatives access information by watching RTK programmes in Bosniak. They also read daily newspapers and use the internet.
We believe that the Law on the Use of Languages and the Anti-discrimination Law will be better applied after the resolution of Kosovo’s status, which is going to be based on Marti Ahtisaari's plan.
Dž.M.
Bosniak, representative in Kosovo Parliament
HLC Interview, 25 January 2008.
Roma representatives in the Kosovo Parliament are primarily concerned with the preservation of Roma identity. The Law on the Use of Languages is not applied at all in respect of the Roma population. The Roma language is not an official language in any municipality. Additionally, since there are no schools where Roma can attend classes in the Roma language, they have to go to schools, under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government, where classes are in Albanian or to schools, under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Government, where the classes are in Serbian. As a result, Roma are in danger of losing their cultural identity.
If a nation does not speak
its mother tongue, then that community is moving towards assimilation. 5,500
Roma live in Prizren; 13 Roma work for the KPS and only two of them speak the Roma
language.
H.Z.M.
Roma, representative in Kosovo Parliament
HLC interview, 25 January 2008.
Roma use the Serbian or Albanian language when they speak with municipal civil servants,. Documents issued by the municipal institutions are either in Albanian or in Serbian depending on the language in which Roma file a request.
Another problem for the Roma are non-functional Offices of Communities; their representatives do not represent the interests of minority communities but rather the interests of the political parties whose members are heads of the aforementioned offices. Roma advocate for directors of these offices to be elected by public announcement competitions and not as part of political agreements.
Roma representatives claim that 80% of Roma persons who live in Kosovo go to schools where classes are taught in Albanian, 8% attend schools where they are taught in Turkish while 6% of them attend schools where either Serbian or Bosniak are the languages of instruction. In Kosovo, very few Roma go to college. Those who go to college usually attend state colleges. There are many private faculties in Kosovo. Yet there are no Roma students at these faculties because tuition fees are very high.
The Roma are not satisfied with the services provided by some public companies, especially in the Roma Mahala in the southern part of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica and the camp in Plemetin/Plemetine because these settlements have not been connected to the water supply and sewage system. They also have no phone lines.
Representatives of the Roma community in the Kosovo Parliament access information primarily by watching RTK, reading newspapers, and from the internet.
They emphasize that there are no Roma individuals in high positions in the Kosovo Parliament and that there are no Roma citizens working for Kosovo banks, PTK or KEK.
Egyptians have complete freedom of movement. Their mother tongue is Albanian which has enabled them to integrate into Kosovo society faster than others. They are satisfied with the services provided by municipal institutions, outpatient clinics and public companies in Kosovo. Nonetheless, Egyptian representatives believe that all the laws which are in the interest of minority communities are not implemented satisfactorily.
In schools in Pejë/Peć, attended by Egyptian students, various humanitarian agencies have distributed notebooks, pencils, coloured pencils and so forth. Although poor, Egyptians do not approve of this distribution of humanitarian aid. They find it humiliating, insulting and in a way see it as a type of ghettoisation. 60 Egyptian students study at the Prishtinë/Priština University.
Unemployment is the single biggest problem that Egyptians face; the vast majority of them are unemployed. Egyptian representatives in the Kosovo Parliament claim that not a single Egyptian in Pejë/Peć works for KEK or PTK. Egyptians believe that other ethnic communities in Kosovo are in a privileged position compared to Egyptians.
In Peć, Egyptians work
for the Office of Communities. 10 work for the KPS. Many institutions and
public companies in the process of employment put Egyptians in the same group
as Albanians. Minorities in Kosovo are not treated equally. Serbs and Bosniaks
are privileged. Job positions are always kept for these two communities.
Dž.N.
Egyptian, representative in Kosovo Parliament
HLC interview, 25 January 2008.
Egyptians access information primarily by watching RTK, and some use the internet.
M.H.
Gorani, representative in Kosovo Parliament
Gorani enjoy complete freedom of movement in Dragash/Dragaš and throughout Kosovo. Yet they rarely travel anywhere outside the Dragash/Dragaš municipality. When they do travel, they use private vehicles or vans owned primarily by Gorani.
In communication with Dragash/Dragaš municipality institutions, Gorani speak Serbian. Gorani and Albanian civil servants respond in the language in which they are addressed. Documents they request from the municipal institutions are issued in Serbian/Bosniak and Albanian languages. The relations with the KPS are generally good but there have been cases when Gorani individuals received summons to the police station in the Albanian language.
Most Gorani students go to schools that are under the jurisdiction of the Government of Serbia. Currently, 30 Gorani students attend the faculty in northern Mitrovicë/Mitrovica.
The citizens of Dragash/Dragaš live in media darkness. There is no RTK signal in Gora but Gorani citizens are obliged to pay the monthly RTK fee together with the electricity bill, even though they cannot watch their programmes.
It is possible to find information about job vacancies at the municipality’s notice board located in the municipal building. However, information about job vacancies in other institutions cannot be found on this notice board. Gorani are especially distressed by the fact that they cannot find information about job vacancies in KEK and PTK. The citizens of Gora know little about domestic legislation that guarantees elementary rights to minorities. Gorani citizens consider that it is necessary to organize a campaign that would introduce Gorani citizens to the provisions of these laws.
Electricity restrictions in Gora are frequent. Gorani say that KEK bills are issued in three languages - Albanian, Serbian and English. However, the water bills are in Albanian alone. PTK has not yet installed fixed phone lines in Gora.
·
·
The Kosovo media
should be much more open towards minority communities. It should also broadcast
programmes in minority languages and Albanian that popularize the
multi-ethnicity of Kosovo.
·
The KPS should
investigate all ethnically motivated cases of violence. The KPS should work
more efficiently on the findings of perpetrators. They should provide clear
information about their findings from investigations in order to avoid
speculation and the politicization of non-political issues.
[1] The research pertains only to the period from the declaration of
independence until the end of April 2008.
[2] The research
pertains only to the period from the declaration of independence until the end
of April 2008.
[3] The research only pertains to the period before the declaration of
Kosovo’s independence.
[4] OSCE reports, Municipal Profiles, www.osce.org
[6] This person, interviewed by HLC – Kosovo, does not have a phone line, thus
he does not know what languages the PTK bills are in.
[7] A.K, Clerk in KEK’s Human
Resources Department, HLC interview, 11. April 2008.
[8] Members of these communities are mostly
ethnic Bosniaks and Gorani.
[9] B.J., PTK Human Resources Department Director,
HLC interview, 25. April 2008
[10] A.A., Prishtinë/Priština
Airport Human Resources Department clerk, HLC interview 18 April 2008
[11] According to the OSCE data, 14,067 or 2.81% of the entire population in
this region are Turks.