Record setting skyscraper to go up in Prishtina

A four hundred million euro skyscraper is being built in the capital of Kosovo, Prishtina.  Hmm

The complex is located on Bill Clinton Boulevard close to the center of Prishtina on an area of 26,000 m2. With a floor space of 285,000 m2, the complex consists of 100 luxury apartments, a 165 m 42-story-high high-end office tower, the highest in the Balkans, a shopping center, a hotel and six level subterranean garages.

Err...don't get me wrong.  I'm all for skyscrapers and everything, but what kind of generator do you need for a 42 story building when there's not enough electricity as it is?

via New Kosova Report

Funny travel pictures

I was in the Istambul airport not long ago and found this helpful instruction in the a bathroom stall...

Hmmm.  Sometimes when you work in foreign countries things are lost in translation.  Other times I just scratch my head.  This was one of those times.

US Opens Embassy in Prishtina

Multiple media outlets are reporting that the United States officially opened it's embassy in Prishtina today, upgrading its "US Office".

It'll be handy to have an actual embassy close by.  The nearest one is in Skopje, Macedonia, about an hour and a half and a border away.  Of course, the only time I've needed one was to get more pages put in my passport.  I pray those are the only circumstances in which I'll "need" a US Embassy. :)  At the same time, I wonder how many millions of dollars it's going to cost to build this embassy.  The new one in Skopje is an absolute monster.  Your tax dollars at work.

Computer Courses

This week we're so happy to have a group from the Silicon Valley Alliance Church in the US. They're teaching computer classes to local educators at our community Center.  I think we have 30-40 who attended classes today.

There were a couple of not so minor miracles 1) the set up of all the computers was a snap 2) the electricity stayed on ALL DAY.  Unbelievable.

Tonight, after class, the coffee shop was full of people hanging out after class, drinking coffee and socializing.  Someone told me that no one really believed we had "experts" coming to teach the classes.  They assumed we were lying and that it was a trick to get people to come.   But this team comes from the Silicon Valley area and really ARE experts in the field.  We're so grateful for their work!

James Blunt music video recalls the tragedy

I don't know how I missed this music video, but it is absolutely worth three and a half minutes. As the push for independence crawls on, as various US, EU, Serbian and Russian diplomats take the world stage with their proxies in tow, it is all to easy to forget what really happened here.

Award-winning, and Grammy Nominee James Blunt  wrote the song, "No Bravery" while an officer in the British Army serving in Kosovo.  As a captain Blunt was the first British officer to enter the capital, Prishtina, in 1999.

This music video relates some of his experience.

via FreeKosova

Latest U.N. Security Council meetings fail to make progress on Kosovo

The UN Security Council met yesterday.  As expected, they failed to come to a conclusion on the status of Kosovo, or what steps might be taken next.  The US and EU seem to be supporting unilateral independence while Russia, and Serbia naturally, oppose it.

UNITED NATIONS: The U.N. Security Council failed to bridge deep divisions over the future of Kosovo on Wednesday and Western countries said they would take the lead in steering the province to independence from Serbia. With Western backing, Kosovo's 90 percent Albanian majority is preparing to declare independence within weeks, setting up a showdown with Serbia and its big power backer Russia. "The potential for a negotiated solution is now exhausted," a joint statement by the EU ambassadors on the council and the United States said.

via International Herald Tribune

Negotiations Failed...what next?

From Interfax

The final round of the Kosovo status talks turned out to be a failure, EU representative in the troika of international mediators Wolfgang Ischinger said.

"Unfortunately, the parties failed to reach an agreement on the status of Kosovo. We, as the troika of mediators, believe that the attitude of the parties is positive," Ischinger told a news conference in Vienna broadcast by the Vesti-24 TV channel on Wednesday.

Today marked the failure of the last series of negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia to resolve the "province's" status.  So what happens next?

Serbia has some options.  Reuters is reporting:

Serbia could apply hardball tactics if Kosovo declares independence, making life harder, more expensive and frustrating for the landlocked province's 2 million people.

Talks between Belgrade and Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority ended . . . and Serbia is drawing up an "action plan" for the period after Dec. 10, when mediators submit their conclusions to the United Nations.

As a state, it can continue to bring political power to bear.  It can also bring economic, military or para-military pressure to bear.

Its political options seem fairly limited.  Russia will only go so far to back up it's Slavic cousin.  I've stated before that Russia is only using Kosovo as a card in its larger game of missile defense and Iranian relations.  Other traditional allies, like Greece, have also moderated their position.  Last week the Greek foreign minister declared unilateral independence "inadequate," a softening from their previous tougher language.  It seems that the EU and the US hold most of the political cards.

Economically, Serbia has already threatened to impose a trade and energy blockade of Kosovo.  ECIKS is reporting that while these threats have been made, they would cause only short-term problems as neighboring countries pick up the slack.  I'm not so sure, as I watch food prices continue to climb.

No one seems to think that Serbia will play a military card.  Again from Reuters,  "Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac has repeatedly said there will be no military reaction. But Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica refuses to discuss other plans for what his deputy calls "the blackest scenario".

But Serbia has a long history of using paramilitary proxies to fight on its behalf.  Much of the early violence done in Bosnia and Croatia was done by paramilitaries, sent at the behest of the government in Belgrade.  This was also the case in Kosovo.  The Tsar Lazar guard has already stated, a number of times, that it will go to war for Kosovo.  I've mentioned them here and here.

Guard leader, Hadzi Andrej Milic, has already claimed, "that the members of the Guard would gather on November 28 at Merdare, the administrative border crossing to Kosovo, to set up their “headquarters”.  Another source says, "According to Milic, the organization had at least 5,000 members in every municipality in Serbia and possessed weapons that “can launch rockets at Pristina from 80-km distance.”

While everyone here is longing for independence, I think things are going to get worse before they get better.  Even if the only Serbian reaction to unilateral independence is a half-hearted trade embargo, food and energy prices are likely continue their climb. 

Happy Flag Day Everyone

I haven't been posting much here lately.  I'm kind of in a writing slump when it comes to ministry news here.  It's not that there's nothing happening...far from it...I'm just not always quite sure how to write about it.

But at a very minimum, I want to write and wish everyone a happy "Ditë e Flamurit"...happy Flag Day.

Kosovo's 2nd Mobile phone provider goes live

Late last week Kosovo's second mobile operator went live with a test call from their base station in Prishtina.  The second operator, a consortium made up of IPKO Net, Telecom Slovenia and Mobitel, has committed to begin operations (on some level) before the end of the year.

via ECIKS

You've got to be kidding!!

Serbianna.com is reporting the US Department of State is considering a 12-year moratorium on Kosovo's status, according to "unnamed State Department official".  

Yeah, right.

Happy Birthday to my daughter

My five-year-old turned six today!  Here's the 46 kindergartners in her class partying.

A good time was had by all....I think :)

Tentative good news about the Kosovar economy

According to an ECIKS report, the extensive economic reforms which began in 1999 are finally showing measurable and sustainable results.  Here are some highlights:

• Kosovo’s GDP is estimated to have grown by about 3% in 2006
• After a fall in 2005, Kosovo’s exports grew remarkably in 2006 by 54%, with a modest growth of imports by 5%.
• the rate of non-housing private investment grew impressively by 61% and lending to the private sector also increased.
• The rate of inflation stood near zero, in spite of accelerating economic activity.
• Government spending was kept within the prescribed and sustainable levels, in line with a Letter of Intent, which the Government of Kosovo signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2005

This is pretty good news, though largely invisible to the average Fatmir on the street.  In fact, most would dispute the inflation statistic as the price of food is sky-rocketing.  Prices of essentials like oil, flour and milk have increased by 70-80 percent!

Overcoming cultural biases

Below is an interesting video documentary.  It shows the experiences of ten students from Kosovo and Serbia who live together in Prishtina.  Both groups share their ingrained biases about the other (hygene, family size, etc.) and work to overcome them.

It's interesting because it shows the deep-seated prejudices that exists, few of which are based in reality.

via FreeKosova

Why Serbia can't let Kosovo go

Great article in Christian Science Monitor about the Serbian physiology behind the Kosovo question.  It doesn't offer any solution, but is a very short primer on the issue for folks who want it boiled down.

 

Why Kosovo is central to Serb national epic

Good video intro Kosovo

A Canadian Broadcast Company journalists travels back to Kosovo to revisit a doctor she had met during the war.  This is a good introduction to Kosovo for those unfamiliar with its recent history and present aspirations.  It's a little over eleven minutes long.

It's fun to see clinic and restaurants I've been to and eaten at!

via FreeKosova

Bomb goes off in Prishtina: two killed

Both the AFP & BBC are reporting on an explosion early this morning in Prishtina, Kosovo's capital.  Two people were killed, one immediately and the other from their wounds.  At least ten others were wounded.  VOA is reporting that the explosion occurred on Bill Clinton Boulevard, a major street in the capital. 

This bombing reminds me of one that happened in 2003 (?) which also occurred on Bill Clinton Blvd.  That one happened much earlier in the evening, around 10 PM and was easily heard at our home in Prishtina.

No details on the type of explosive or the motive are yet known.  The previous bombing on this road was "business," not politics.  I'm speculating, but I'm guessing that this is "business" as well.  In the past, most of the politically motivated bombings have targeted UN facilities in another part of town. 

The things kids say....

As I've mentioned before, our kids are in an unusual learning situation.  Both are in local school, but both also spend several hours each day in 'home schooling."  That's a big load, not only for them but also for my wife, who teaches "mommy's school."

But the struggles are broken up into fits of laughter too.  This week my wife was working with your kindergartner on the alphabet, specifically the letter "f".  Reilly, my daughter, was trying to come up with all the words she could think of that started with the "f' sound.  "F..f..f..foot," she said.  My wife clapped, "great!" And so Reilly went on, naming a number of other items until she came to, "F..f..f..fecal contamination!" 

My wife nearly hurt herself laughing.  The things kids say.

You know you're back in Kosovo when...

Both our kids are students in the local school system.  We're now in the second week of the school year.  My youngest daughter is in Kindergarten, the oldest in 3rd grade.

Yesterday my oldest came home with a note written in her assignment notebook: Beginning tomorrow school would start at 1:50 instead of 3:35.   That's right, tomorrow come to school two hours earlier.

You know you're in Kosovo when your recently settled family schedule is up-ended by a brief note from school.  Of course, schedule changes aren't unique to Kosovo...its just one of those things.

Russia Draws a Red Line in Kosovo

 This comes unsourced from Strategy Page, but seems consistent with what I've read else where.

September 3, 2007: The Russian government said that Kosovo is one of Russia's two "red line" issues in Europe. The Russian foreign ministry defined "red line" as an issue where Russian national security or the world order is threatened. Moscow also considers the U.S.-NATO European missile-defense shield to be a "red line" issue. Would Russia really go to war over Kosovo on Serbia's behalf? No, but it would veto a UN resolution, and this rhetoric is designed to have a major political effect. Russia's bellicose language echoes a Serbian statement in late August when the Serbian government said that if Kosovo declares "unilateral independence", Serbia would "inflict some damage in return." The Serbian statement did not indicate what kind of "damage" it would seek to inflict.

This seems to reflect what I've been saying for a while.  There is linkage in the Russian foreign policy between the Kosovo issue and the US-NATO missile defense system.

The Russians do not appear to be giving any ground on this issue.  They've been resolute, as has been the Serbian government, that they are not willing to flex on the issue of independence in Kosovo.

Balkans: Russia Draws a Red Line in Kosovo

The silly challenges of transition

Occasionally the differences between life here and back in the US escape me and help me waste all kinds of time.  Yesterday for example, I spent my morning renewing my vehicle registration...or trying to.

The local government recently created a new vehicle registration regulation which requires that people produce proof that they don't have a debt with the electric company.  Having learned that, I walked down to my local electric company office.  I got a recent statement of account and then waited in line to have my account validated.  The man was helpful and friendly, filling out the required forms before the all-important stamping which would tell the vehicle registration folks that I was debt free.

Then I walked back home and later took our vehicle down to the inspection station.  As in most of Europe and the US, vehicle are subjected to an annual inspection.  Good enough.  They guys did the inspection as I waited patiently out front.

About twenty minutes later the service man came in with a quizzical look on his face.  "Ah, you have another month to go on your registration....you can't renew your registration yet," he said, pointing at my vehicle registration document.

"What do you mean?" I said, peering at the date, which clearly said 9/10/2007.  I had carefully read the registration and insurance documents.  They expired on Sept 10th....or did they?

"It's not due until October...nearly a month away," he explained patiently.

Oh crud, I said to myself.  Of course, the European date system goes Day/Month/Year, not Month/Day/Year.  I had, in fact, come a month early, misreading the date in US format, not European format.  So I sheepishly left, thanking them for their help.  They graciously invited me back next month and didn't charge me for their time.