Looking at the future

The official data, confirmed by the OECD, will be available only on December 4, however some facts are clear. At the 17 November Kosovo election,s the PDK, the party which until now was still at the opposition, led by ex- Kosovo guerrilla-man Hashim Taci, gained 35%, while the Ldk (the democratic league) headed by the present Kosovo president, who also was Ibrahim Rugova’s right-arm, Fatmir Sejdiu, only gained 23% of votes. The parties which gained over 5% are businessman Bejget Pacolli’s party (12%), the party of the former parliament spokesman who passed over from the LDK Nexhat Daci, (11%) and that of another ex- UCK commander Ramush Haradinaj (10%). Whereas with approximately 3% the intellectual party led by liberal publisher and journalist Veton Surroi will probably remain out of the picture. Satisfaction for the regular voting procedure was expressed by the EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn who underlined the boycott of elections on the part of Serbian citizens living in Kosovo. Concern was expressed also by EU’s high representative for Foreign Politics and Security Javier Solana who stigmatized the appeal to boycott launched by Belgrade’s government. SIR asked a series of questions on the elections and the future prospects of the country to Kosovo’s apostolic administrator Mons. DODE GJERGJI .What is the significance of this vote for Kosovo?“Elections have been a gift for our country. We have shown our responsibility and willingness to create a future in a democratic way, to safeguard peace and coexistence of everyone, including the Serbians and the Albanians living here”.What is you opinion of the voting abstention of Serbian citizens living in Kosovo?“We are very saddened, also as local Church. The Serbian-Kosovo community perhaps didn’t find the adequate motivations to contribute along with the Albanian majority, to the construction of Kosovo. In this way it would have shown that it considers itself a part of Kosovo. This is a choice which we are saddened by”.This vote risks inciting an ethnic division marked also by an electoral campaign where all references to topics such as tolerance and coexistence were lacking. It is still possible to speak of reconciliation?“We need to progress patiently convincing the Serbs that they should not be bound to the past but they should look at the future. I am sure that Kosovo citizens of Serbian origin want to live side by side with the rest of the population. They unfortunately are affected by external pressure. There is no wall separating Serbs and Albanians here in Kosovo, however, external political reasons make coexistence difficult”.Topics such as low salaries, poverty, unemployment and crime, which citizens are most worried of, have been set aside in the pre-electoral debate to leave place to the issue of independence. What does the Country need to envisage a peaceful future?“Kosovo needs many things although its situation has greatly improved since the war and after-war period. A lot is still to be done especially as relates to the economic field. It is important to make a series of important choices for Kosovo. Everybody is aware that we are now at a crossroads and we can start setting the grounds for a European future. Also minorities are called to cooperate”.What is the contribution that Catholics can give in this direction?“The Church respects the will of the population to progress towards peace and democracy. We are a small minority (about 4% of the population) and we experience no problems living side by side the non-Christian majority consisting of Muslims, Orthodox and atheists. As Catholics, we’re blood brothers with Muslims and brothers in faith with the Orthodox. Nobody can ask us to stand with one to the detriment of the other. The Church is a bridge uniting everybody in order to draw all differences closer. It will certainly give its support in the creation of free and democratic Kosovo”. Fact fileKosovo is a independent province of Serbia administered by the UN. Its inhabitants are less than two million (88% belonging to the Albanian ethnic group, 7% Serbian, 5% other ethnic groups), 90% are Muslim, 6% Christian-Orthodox, while 4% are Catholic. Catholics actually living in the region are 60 000 while other 40 000 live abroad also as a consequence of the war. The Catholic Church is represented by one diocese and twenty-three parish churches.