RFE/RL: Kosovo invisible parliament
Date: Tue, 13 May 97 21:31:40 -0500
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
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Subject: RFE/RL: Kosovo invisible parliament
From: MINELRES moderator \ Internet: ([email protected])
Yugoslavia: Kosovo's Invisible Parliament
By Fabian Schmidt Prague, 8 May 1997 (RFE/RL)
- In just over two weeks, the Kosovo shadow-state parliament's term will run
out, five years after the underground elections that elected it. But the
legislature has not even met yet.
Shadow-state President Ibrahim Rugova now says that new elections will be
held, but he does not have the support of the West for that move.
The shadow parliament was elected on May 24, 1992 in elections considered
illegal by Belgrade. Police blocked the one attempt to hold an opening
session of the legislature, which took place soon after the vote. Since then
, parliamentarians have been meeting in small groups.
Political parties have sought to maintain a consensus among themselves by
setting up a multi-party coordination council. But that structure only
helped Rugova's Democratic League of Kosovo to dominate the shadow-state's
political life. In 1996 Rugova extended by decree the parliamentUs original
four-year term for another year. But the shadow state has failed to pump
life into its legislature.
As the deadlock between Pristina and Belgrade continues, opposition parties
within Kosovo have insisted that the underground legislators be given more
responsibility.
The opposition says that the inability of the shadow-state to form internal
democratic structures and debate its strategy contributes to its political
failure. Opposition Parliamentary Party leader and human rights activist
Adem Demaci has now gained the support of 57 deputies to demand that
parliament finally meet. A minimum of 66 out of a total of 130 legislators
is, however, needed for that move, and it remains unclear whether Rugova and
his party are willing to give Demaci their support.
At a meeting two days ago (May 6) with the U.S. charge d'affaires in
Belgrade Richard Miles, Rugova said that he would soon announce a date for
new parliamentary and presidential elections. But there is a dispute about
who has the right to announce new elections. Demaci argues that only
parliament has that authority, but he adds that his party would be willing
to participate in a meeting of the multi-party coordination council that
could also issue the call for elections.
And Demaci expresses doubts about the feasibility of elections. He has asked
rhetorically at a recent press conference: "Who would organize them and who
would have the moral right to hold new elections?" But he also said that he
may run against Rugova if and when the elections are staged.
The shadow state is now faced with a major problem. It has presented itself
over the past five years as the legitimate representative of Kosovo's
population, elected by democratic means. But it has failed to inject its
most fundamental democratic institution with life.
Furthermore, the exile government of Prime Minister Bujar Bukoshi has been
in office since 1990 with no accountability to the current legislature. That
government was appointed by deputies of the former communist-era parliament
and has since then financed the shadow-state's underground education and
health systems by collecting taxes from Kosovars working abroad. The
government has nonetheless had little influence on the policies of Rugova
and his party, and has been constantly plagued by turf wars.
The West is increasingly pressuring the Kosovars to recognize that there is
no international support for their independence from Serbia and to tailor
their policies accordingly. Richard Miles is reported to have told Rugova
that the United States does not support new underground elections. Many
other countries, including Albania, have accepted that a solution to the
Kosovo issue must be found within the framework of a democratic Serbia and
through peaceful negotiations.
1997 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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