Corruption by Kosovo2.0

KOSOVO 2.0 PEOPLE/POLITICS/SOCIETY/ARTS/CULTURE #2 WINTER 2011/2012

CORR UPTION OUR CROOKED STATE CORRUPTION FOR DUMMIES BRIBING TO THE FINISH LINE CRUISE THE VILLAGE CIRCUIT KOSOVO: € 3,- ELSEWHERE: € 6,-/ $ 8,-

KOSOVO 2.0

Teresa Reiter Noar Sahiti Genc Salihu Susie Taylor Silvia Valencia

Business Manager Sokol Loshi

Printer Raster

Deputy Editor Nate Tabak

Contributing Editors Conor Creighton Cyrus Farivar Shpend Kursani Sadie Luetmer

Webmaster Sprigs

Photography Editor Atdhe Mulla

Editorial Assistant Vesa Kepuska

Publisher Kosovo Glocal

Deputy Photography Editor Majlinda Hoxha

Photographers Enrico Fabian Matt Lutton Grif Peterson Mark Foncesca Rendeiro Petrit Rrahmani

Illustrators Mirsad Ademaj Agim Balaj Bleta Jahaj Mentor Llapashtica Driton Selmani Bujar Sylejmani

Kosovo 2.0 magazine is available in English, Albanian and Serbian. Online: www. kosovotwopointzero.com E-mail: magazine@ kosovotwopointzero.com Letters to the editor: letters@kosovotwopointzero.com

Editor-in-chief Besa Luci

Design Van Lennep, Amsterdam Bardhi Haliti, Prishtina Copy Editor Tim O’Rourke

Contributers Svetla Baeva Robin Holmes Tefta Kelmendi Lisandri Kola Nela Lazarevic Irmin van der Maijden Lawrence Marzouk Grif Peterson

Intern Dardan Zhegrova Translators Bojana Barlovac Ardit Bejko Trim Haliti Kimete Klenja Maklen Misha

#2 CORRUPTION WINTER 2011/2012

The Board Chairman Joan de Boer Members Anna Di Lellio Hugo Zwolsman Advertising Kanun

Subscribe to Kosovo 2.0 and receive free shipping of the quarterly magazine. E-mail us at subscriptions@kosovotwopointzero.com or visit www.kosovotwopointzero.com/en/magazine.

Financial support

The content does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the donors.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR BESA LUCI

— ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE CLOSING THIS ISSUE, I took a law student friend up on her offer to visit some of the photocopy shops around her school. With her guidance, I made a few purchases: a 1-euro handout with review questions for “Criminal Law,” a 70-cent script for “Administrative Laws” and a 30-cent test for “Constitutional Law.” Then for 15 cents, I managed to turn the 30-cent test into what is called a “40 percent copy,” an incredibly small item with an even smaller font that enables students to use them as cheat sheets and pass by unnoticed. That University of Prishtina students choose to prepare for exams through condensed scripts or handouts, rather than by reading textbooks, shows laziness. And that private businesses, which are seen as a means to economic and social prosperity, remain unchecked in their questionable practices, that’s something more problematic: corruption (see “Privatization’s false promise,” Page 61). Going to the trouble of making copies for academic achievement speaks to a larger hurdle facing this country: A system has been created where survival depends on a practice of cheating and corruption, where everyone is constantly looking to cut corners. Education is just a part of it, but it offers an interesting entry point to revealing the extent of the interdependence among nepotism, and financial and political embezzlement. Just this past November, the municipal public procurement in the city of Peja proved beyond a reasonable doubt that eight officials of the Faculty of Applied Business Science and 37 former students had falsified official documents, accepted bribes, unlawfully registered and graduated hundreds of students, falsified grades and many more offenses. As a result, media reported that the Kosovo state budget was “damaged” for nearly 1 million euro. But what this report and the language of reporting on corruption leave undisclosed is that Kosovo’s budget is the money of its citizens, and when “the budget is damaged,” in fact, we are damaged. Essentially, the taxes we pay are being abused. In Kosovo, meritocracy has ceased, or, rather, it does not exist. While corruption in all its forms is a worldwide phenomenon, what has seemingly become particular for Kosovo is a promotion of the idea that nothing can be achieved without having or knowing which strings to pull, or, as it’s said in Albanian, a ki lidhje? As such, incentive is lost at the start. Students get trapped as political parties battle to spread and secure control in decision-making positions from lower to higher educational structures. Meanwhile, Kosovo is establishing a youth base with a low quality of educational inputs and low civic participation, inept to face the challenges that lie ahead. We decided to dedicate most of our second issue to corrup-

tion because its pervasiveness in daily public discourse has omitted responsibility and accountability and it has muddled our roles as citizens. A great example of this muddling became apparent to me at a presentation in Prishtina about social-media tools that fight corruption, including Bribespot.com (see “Userdriven tools take corruption fight online,” Page 50), which allows users to submit location-based bribe reports online, thus mapping out corruption. A young man in his early 20s questioned the efficiency of such tools to monitor corruption by saying that in Kosovo, this would provide a guide about where to go to get stuff done “quickly.” The increased number of stories on corruption published annually is measured as increased public awareness; international donor availability of funds for civil society corruption-monitoring projects is confused for genuine incentive from the ground up; politicians trivially claiming a sincere and robust approach to eliminating corruption make headlines, while they rarely face real consequences for their own transgressions; international supervisory organizations point out to how corruption has become a major obstacle to Kosovo’s Euro-Atlantic integration efforts, but pick and choose when to become silent and when to scold. In this issue, we try to assemble the puzzle pieces, stories and experiences from diverse corners of the world, while trying to point to the intersections — between India’s drug industry and Kosovo’s pharmaceutical practices, the Afghan war zone and Kosovo’s northern interventions, awareness-raising in Bulgaria and the tale of the Balkan Robin Hood via Montenegro — while locating justice engagement in Kosovo (see our cover story, “No one to blame when everyone is at fault,” Page 34). Going back to education, the public as well as many of the private universities in Kosovo are largely perceived as having been transformed into machines that delay response to unemployment. With about 9,000 students accepted annually just to the University of Prishtina, young people come to lack motivation and only pursue a diploma, predisposing Kosovo to creating an educated generation, but one ill-prepared for the current (almost nonexistent) labor market. In November, Prishtina daily Koha Ditore reported that the University of Prishtina paid 1.5 million euro in salaries just for October, out of the total 15.6 million-euro budget. Members of the upper management (rectors, deans, etc.) received sums from 2,000 to almost 7,000 euro for their “extracurricular” activities at the university, such as sitting at Ph.D. committee meetings and working groups. In public and private sectors, it appears that corruption has become the norm rather than the exception. It’s no wonder students are earning their degrees at the copy machine. — K

KOSOVO 2.0

CONTENT

KOSOVOTWOPOINTZERO MAGAZINE CORRUPTION — #2 2011/2012

09 YOUR GUIDE TO CORRUPTION Follow our good friend Corruption through his life and read a step-by-step guide to overcoming his advances.

CORRUPTION FOR DUMMIES.

THE GRAY AREA

Lawlessness rules the unclaimed north between Kosovo and Serbia.

BUSING THROUGH CORRUPTION Participants in the 16,000-kilometer Mongol Rally discover that bribery is as essential as gas.

COVER STORY: CORRUPTION IN ALL CORNERS The seeds of scandal have risen to become the fundamental pillars of Kosovo.

WEB OF CORRUPTION Bribe- and graft-reporting online tools work in India and other countries. What about in Kosovo?

#2 CORRUPTION WINTER 2011/2012

CULTURAL CONUNDRUM Politics, personalities are chipping away at arts institutions.

THE NEW KILLER DRUGS Heroin production drops, but prescription narcotic use rises up in a deadly shift.

THE PRIVATIZATION DEBACLE

Reclassifying public and socially owned enterprises in Kosovo hasn't been as smooth as imagined.

SPEND A DAY IN PRISHTINA We take you inside the city on a pleasure-fi lled mission for the best the capital has to offer.

THE WAR WE DON'T KNOW Reporting from Afghanistan is hard; reporting the truth in a time of war is harder.

XXHOURS KOSOVO 2.0

AND MORE... 92

PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST Rron Qena's works inspire and inform while never falling victim to common perception.

JOIN US, ACROSS KOSOVO 2.0 offers a photo guide to getting around, from village to village.

#2 CORRUPTION WINTER 2011/2012

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

REVISITING A MOVEMENT'S ROOTS

BY THE NUMBERS: KOSOVO'S BANKING SYSTEM

LIMAJ CASE IN SPOTLIGHT

INTEGRITY COMES AT A COST

INSIDE THE MIND OF CORRUPTION

KOSOVARS IN A WAR ZONE

REVIEW: 'KANGE E VENE'

THE CORE OF PRISHTINA'S MUSIC SCENE

108

Besa Luci explains the thinking behind the Corruption issue. Nonviolence rose up in response to Milosevic's cruel reign. Take an in-depth look at financial statistics in our infographic. Disgraced former transport minister has come to symbolize the trying fight against corruption. Fighting corruption isn't easy, especially for Balkan civil society organizations. Robin Hood? Not in the former Yugoslavia. Afghanistan can be a great place to work, minus the constant dangers. Genc Salihu's latest album demands a refined ear. Rock 'n' roll is more than the sum of its instruments, says musician Genc Salihu.

KOSOVO'S CORRUPTION COSTS Editorial: The pillars of power will continue to be plagued by illegal acts, but we must stand and fight.

CORRUPTION FOR DUMMIES. Á (01)

CORRUPTION, LIKE RAIN, A DIMINISHING LIBIDO AND JUSTIN BIEBER, IS SOMETHING YOU CAN RUN AWAY FROM AND IGNORE BUT YOU CAN’T AVOID ALTOGETHER. EVEN IF IT HAS TO CLIMB UNDER EVERY ROCK AND TEAR EACH HEDGE AND SHELTER ASUNDER, CORRUPTION WILL FIND YOU. YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE. SO WHY NOT MAKE FRIENDS?

(02)

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF CORRUPTION AT KOSOVO 2.0, WE’RE NOT ADVOCATING A STEADY RELATIONSHIP WITH CORRUPTION. AND WE DON’T SUGGEST YOU SET HIM UP WITH YOUR SINGLE PALS, BUT IT CAN’T HURT TO HAVE HIS NUMBER IN YOUR PHONE. AND IT CERTAINLY WON’T HURT TO RECOGNIZE HIM IF YOU BUMP INTO HIM ON A DANCE FLOOR, AT THE DINNER TABLE OR BEHIND A DESK WHILE HE’S TWIDDLING YOUR PASSPORT BETWEEN HIS FINGERS.

CORRUPTION IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER. Different societies impose limits on what are acceptable levels of corruption and mete out varying punishments based on their own deeply subjective standards. One country’s corruption is another’s entrepreneurial guile. Defining it is no easier than holding water in your palm. So before you embark on a life of corruption, take a map and establish where you are in the world. If you find yourself in Germany or Scandinavia, be prepared for a rough ride, but if your compass points to the south — we’re talking Italy, North Africa, the Balkans — then sit back and relax; you’ve probably heard and even mastered all this before.

DEAR READER MEET CORRUPTION. CORRUPTION MEET DEAR READER. PLAY NICE.

(03)

(04)

Á #2 CORRUPTION WINTER 2011/2012

CORRUPTION ENTERS THE WORLD

CORRUPTION GOES TO HIGH SCHOOL

CORRUPTION IS DEPENDENT ON AUTHORITY, and if corruption begins at home, that authority is your parents. Corruption’s genesis is normally the mouth of the father. The first “don’t tell your mum” incident is normally a whole world of fun for a child; they can get things they want in life simply by keeping quiet. A kid wants ice cream. The father wants love, and maybe ice cream, too. The mother knows what’s best for junior and sugar is not on that list. Through these naive playschool routines, kids learn that they don’t have to commit an act to get what they want, they just have to be complicit and not denounce Daddy. This is the simplest form of Corruption. The kid responds to Daddy’s subtle bully tactic and the greatest fallout is a toothache, but from this small seed grow big fraud mountains.

AT THIS STAGE OF CORRUPTION’S DEVELOPMENT, IT’S STILL JUST GOOFING AROUND. It hasn’t really hurt anyone. To the onlooker, young Corruption isn’t necessarily bad, he just has great potential to become that way. He needs to develop some of his own power before he can do that. That power is often a product of genetics. The prettiest and the most athletic get their hands held through the school system, as do those related to the teachers and the school board. If you entered the education system with a belief that life was fair to all who participate in it, then you leave a confirmed skeptic.

(05)

(06)

CORRUPTION JOINS THE WORKFORCE CORRUPTION FILLS VOIDS. It’s no surprise that those who have nothing turn corrupt as soon as they get something. If you’ve lived much of your life as a loser, then chances are the first glimpse of power you get will turn you rotten. Police are the perfect example of this, and it’s no surprise that they’re the most corrupt people you can run into on a day-to-day basis. Police corruption is so endemic that the police don’t even need to be corrupt anymore because the public generally understands that to mess with them or not give in to their demands could result in being framed. Beat a pup and all you have to do is raise your hand to the dog. And we society, or dogs, or whatever you want to call us, generally accept what police say and obey them. That obedience comes from the understanding that they have the power to fuck with us. It’s respect carried on the shoulders of fear. And if you weren’t its victim, you’d have to admire how brilliant that concept is.

(07)

(08)

KOSOVO 2.0

CORRUPTION BUYS THE FARM

One country’s corruption is another’s entrepreneurial guile. Defining it is no easier than holding water in your palm.

(09)

CORRUPTION IS JUST CRIME WITHOUT THE RISK. Apart from in China, where the odd minister takes a hanging now and again, politicians are generally allowed to speed out of town as soon as their secret dealings become public news. Unless the regime they worked for gets toppled, corrupt politicos can slip into retirement, write glowing memoirs and the only resistance they’ll meet is a stubborn golf handicap. And corrupt businesspeople, apart from Wall Street ponzi extraordinaire Bernie Maddoff, who’ll die in prison, don’t generally get their hands slapped too hard unless it’s to protect more powerful people higher up the food chain. Not to be glib, but at the same time, to be glib, Corruption is foolproof. It’s hard to imagine former Italian Prime Minisiter Silvio Berlusconi gracing a G20 stage again, but at the same time, they won’t be spitting on his desecrated corpse anytime soon, either. Corruption’s a breeze. As long as you remain in power, remain friends with your successors and don’t tell your mum anything, it never fails.

(10)

CORRUPTION GOES PRO THE IRONIC THING ABOUT CORRUPTION IS THAT THOSE WHO SPEAK OUT AGAINST IT ARE THE SAME PEOPLE MOST DEEPLY INVOLVED IN ITS growth. There’s no smoke without fire, and politicians win all the prizes for Corruption. It’s not their fault. At some stage during their lives, they fall in love with an ideal. Patriotism wraps them up in a long cloak and makes them believe that they might actually make a difference to the country they love or owe everything to or would die for. Take your pick. But slowly, as they advance to a stage where they have enough power to effect real change, offers come in. You see politicians don’t earn huge salaries. Your average leader of a European state will earn upward of 250,000 euro per year. An investment banker in, say, London or Frankfurt will take double that amount home as part of his end-of-year bonus. To encourage clean politics you need to pay politicians so much money that nothing turns their head, otherwise they’ll end up doling out the favors for plots of land, cars and high-paid consultancy jobs. It’s either that or place our elected leaders in airtight bubbles where they’re no longer allowed to talk to the public, just make decisions. The bubble might stink after a while, but it would not stink of Corruption.

(11)

CORRUPTION GOES TO THE BALKANS Á (12)

Á #2 CORRUPTION WINTER 2011/2012

IF YOU’VE MASTERED THE ART OF BEING CORRUPT AS A PERSON, you’re ready to take your born-again corrupted self and put your newfound virtues to the test. Like a baby bird ready to leave its beloved branch, except you’ve figured out how to avoid strenuous flying by stealing a kite and enjoying the ride. And just when you thought you’ve reaped all the lessons offered from your childhood mischiefs and adolescent misconducts, you fly into a parallel universe and soar into the mecca of Corruption; a crook’s paradise, a place that makes your prior felonies look like impeccable acts of righteousness: the Balkans. FIRST THINGS FIRST: YOU’RE GOING TO NEED A PASSPORT. Seeing as you’re on your way east, your fi rst stop will be Slovenia, so make your way to the passport office in downtown Ljubjana. You’ll be at a particular advantage carrying the righteous EU passport in the region because it reflects the fl awless anti-corruption policies, promoted by former Slovenian Interior Minister Katarina Kresal, who resigned in a corruption scandal. When you get there, you will be asked for identification and proof of current citizenship. Naturally, any passport-issuing office would ask for such documents. But there is a three-month waiting list and some complications with your papers. You subtly flash your euros and ask if there’s an “express” section. Slovenia, being the advanced member of the European Union that it is, will, of course, offer such a service. The num(13)

(14)

ber of euros you present will directly correlate to the magic of the passport office as your passport appears out of thin air. Now you have a passport, and you’re free to continue your journey. NEXT STOP: CROATIA. Trouble at the Slovenian-Croatian border may well arise, especially with your new Slovenian passport. Partly because they’re not completely sure where the border is, but more so because they’re being responsible government employees and ensuring that you have no ill intentions for their country. Being among the latest states set to join the EU, there is an image to live up to. That being said, your motives will be questioned unless you are carrying in your hand a Croatian general/accused war criminal, who can be sold to satisfy the EU requirements, compliments of former Croatian Prime Minisiter Ivo Sanader, now on trial on charges of corruption. As you’ve already discovered in your previous adventure, telepathy is for sale in the Balkans. Using the same strategy as you did with the employee at the passport office, you cleverly display your euros, which are hidden in your passport (or rolled up in your cigarette box) to prove you mean no harm. As the number increases, the suspected malcontent in your character decreases. This is often referred to as Balkan magic. Poof! You’re through the border. This magic will come in handy throughout the country. YOU’RE FINISHED WITH CROATIA AND ARE ON YOUR WAY TO BOSNIA. You go by train because your fl ight was canceled for no apparent reason and the refusal of the airline (15)

(16)

KOSOVO 2.0

DON’T VOTE

OVERCOMING KOSOVAR CORRUPTION IN

EASY STEPS.

Instead of cramming late into the night, why not spend that time trying to determine the genealogical links between you and your professor. As soon as he realizes you’re second cousins, twice removed, he’ll look favorably on your exam paper.

TAKE SINGING LESSONS

EMBRACE RACISM

When applying for a visa, assume the country you want to get into considers you about as suitable a visitor as a child pornography-maker. This way you’ll always be surprised if they say yes.

3 4

The best way to achieve political clout in Kosovo is not to be a person of integrity, might or genius, but to be able to make your way from one end of the “Sound of Music” to the other without dropping a note.

(18)

DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

GET DOWN, STAND DOWN

DON’T BLOW WHISTLES

GET UP, STAND UP

SELF MEDICATE

DON’T TRY

5 6

So you’ve handled drugs, bought a stolen phone, been a little careless with your tax returns. Shit, so long as you’re not on the streets protesting against corruption and social injustice, EULEX won’t tell on you.

DON’T APPLY FOR ANYTHING

If you do “selfishly” decide to become ill or in need of medical attention, don’t, for the love of god, go to a hospital. No way. You just take that damp pile of cash under your mattress and beat it to the nearest private clinic.

1 2

(17)

DON’T STUDY

DON’T FALL ILL

Your vote is about as useful as a paper hat in a monsoon. It will be rigged and recast. But if you do like the process and the social element, go along, take part and use the ballot for practicing your penis illustrations.

If you encounter aggression in the streets, deal with it. Chances are you’re better at self-defence than any policeman who comes along to your rescue.

9 10

The dumbest thing you can do in Kosovo is to stand up for what you believe in. It’s better to take a cue from river boulders. Lay still, close your eyes and let the water run over you until the next ice age.

So you stumble onto a major corruption and you figure that the world must know about it. Tell the world, but just don’t tell Kosovar TV; they’ll be too busy trying to slot another Turkish soap opera into the listings to have time for your scoop.

If you really feel the need for some psychiatric attention, invest in your time and booze. If you get into a one-on-one with a “head doctor” in these parts, he’ll either prescribe you a hijab or an instruction to grow a beard as your remedy.

Charles Bukowski never made it to Kosovo, but his methods of survival and his last dying advice could have been written in Albanian and hung on a 20-meter illuminated banner from the front of the EULEX building: “Don’t Try.” And we won’t, Charles, we won’t.

7 8 11 12

If you see a job offer in a newspaper, you can assume the job is already gone. The ad is just a formality, like obituaries.

(19)

(20)

Á #2 CORRUPTION WINTER 2011/2012