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Nation:EU court plan has problems.PAGE 4

Opinion:Corruption as a national tragedyPAGE 14

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RAISING AN ARMY

The transformation of the Kosovo Security ForceSerb is proud to serve his country, Kosovo. PAGE 6

Behind the scenes at bootcamp. PAGE 8

2 n March 13 - March 26, 2015 n Prishtina Insight

PageTwo

The burden of being bornEarlier this month, a new mother gave a disturbing account of how she gave birth at the country’s main hospital, the University Clini-cal Center of Kosovo. She told the n e w s p o r t a l Express that a nurse repeat-e d ly i g nore d her as she went i n t o l a b o r . E v e n t u a l l y , she put down a t o w e l a n d t he newb or n fell to the floor. Hospital officials have denied the incident took place, and police are investigating.

The story underscores the sad reality of Kosovo in 2015: this is not a country you want to be born in. Even official government statistics on infant mortality rates, which are likely seriously underreported, put Kosovo among the worst in Europe. Among the general popu-lation, 12 babies die in their first year for every 1,000 births. In the Roma, Egyptian and Ashkali com-munities, the rate is on par with In-dia and Nepal’s: 41 deaths for every 1,000 births.

People who live past their first birthday in Kosovo can expect to live 70.5 years, according to the World Bank. This is significantly less than every neighboring coun-ty — people in Albania can expect to live to 77 — and most other places in Europe.

For all the talk about Kosovo’s countless problems such as pov-erty, education and corruption, it’s easy to forget a more basic one: public health.

T he proble m s i n Ko s ovo’s health system are widely docu-mented. Last year, doctors and health officials were arrested on suspicion of taking bribes to send heart patients to private c l i n ic s , wh ic h i n s ome c a s e s d id n’t have l icen se s . I n ot her words, the system isn’t just de-ficient, it can be hazardous to your health.

Pregnant women were among the Kosovars streaming to Hun-gary during the past few months. Compared to the young men who left in search of work, their choice to leave may have been far more prudent. Perhaps they just want-ed to give their babies a fighting chance.

NateTabak

Editor-in-Chief

Balkan Investigative Reporting Network • Mensa e Studenteve, first floor, 10000, Prishtina, Kosovo • PHONE: +381 (0) 38 24 33 58 • EDITOR-

IN-CHIEF: Nate Tabak •STAFF: Jeta Xharra, Marcus Tanner, Valerie Hopkins, Petrit Collaku, Parim Olluri, Nektar Zogjani. • DESIGN: Trembelat • Prishtina Insight is supported by the Norwegian Embassy, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.

from the editor

THE FATE OF1,000 BIRTHSIN KOSOVO

Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities

There isn’t a universally accepted infant mortality rate for Kosovo. But even the lowest estimates show that children born in Kosovo are more likely to die during the first year of their lives than most others in Europe.

1 MONTH 1 YEAR 5 YEARS

Source: Preliminary results of UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys released in October 2014.

9

29

12

41

15

49

INFANT MORTALITY IN THE REGION PER 1.000 BIRTHS

Sources: Eurostat, Worldbank 2012

ALBANIA

TURKEY

KOSOVO

SERBIA

BOSNIA

MACEDONIA

MONTENEGRO

CROATIA

EU

SLOVENIA

13

11.6

11.4

6

5

9.8

5

3.6

3.8

1.6

Prishtina Insight n March 13 - March 26, 2015 n 3

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Nation

By Valerie Hopkins and Una Hajdari

The President of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, Enver Hasani, faces increasing pres-sure to go after Ombudsman said he and the court may have misled the public.

Ombudsman Sami Kurteshi called for an investigation into Judge Hasani in February after receiving a letter from Robert Carolan, an American judge on the court who had been listed as present in a November court ruling. In the letter, the US judge said he had in fact recused himself from the ruling.

Three opposition parties, Vetevendosje, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, and Nisma, have since called on Hasani to resign.

“After the events that have plagued the Constitutional Court, Judge Enver Hasani no longer enjoys confidence that he can respon-sibly undertake this extremely important duty,” the parties wrote in a joint statement on March 7.

“Cases related to him as a person should be investigated as soon as possible by the judicial institutions,” they added.

The opposition bloc raised five instances in which they accuse Hasani of violating his duties, including “justified suspicions about the forging of decisions related to the Om-budsman’s request”.

Special prosecutors last week requested a dossier of files from the Ombudsman for a preliminary investigation into Hasani, say-ing “reasonable suspicion” existed that a criminal offence might have taken place.

The Constitutional Court has denied passing rulings without a quorum. “The Con-stitutional Court wants it known that it has never had a problem with a quorum in any of its cases,” a spokesman said on March 3. “We have always had the necessary quorum,” the statement added.

A press release posted on the court web-site went further, accusing “certain institu-tions,” which it did not name, of blackmail.

“The Court reassures the general public that it shall not step back from performing its constitutional duties regardless of the pres-sure and blackmail being done,” the press release said.

Kurteshi has criticized the Constitutional Court, the President of Kosovo and the EU of-

fice in Kosovo for not responding to his ques-tions about the court.

In a statement on March 9, he accused President Atifete Jahjaga, the EU Special Representative Samuel Zbogar and the Head of the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, Gabriele Meucci, of hampering his investi-gation into the legal and constitutional vio-lations that he believes Hasani might have committed.

According to the Ombudsman, their re-fusal to cooperate with his institution is a violation of the constitution.

“The refusal of President Hasani and President Jahjaga to cooperate with the Om-budsperson is merely the latest confirmation of a disturbing truth in our country,” Kurteshi said in the press release.

“The higher the status of an official in the state hierarchy of the Republic of Kosovo, the lower the respect they have for the Constitu-tion and the laws in force,” he added.

In a statement given to Prishtina Insight, the EU office in Kosovo urged the Ombuds-man and the Constitutional Court to work together in upholding the constitution - and reminded that Ombudsman that his office is not a court.

“The Constitutional Court is the highest judicial body in Kosovo, and whilst the Of-fice of the Ombudsperson has a crucial role to play in protecting citizens' rights, it is not a court,” it said.

“The EU Office in Kosovo/EUSR therefore sincerely hopes that to the greatest extent possible, these two institutions would share similar views when it comes to interpreta-tions of Kosovo's Constitution.”

By Furtuna Sheremeti

The creation of a special court to try serious crimes allegedly committed by Kosovo Libera-tion Army fighters from 1998 to 2000 is more or less a done deal. Kosovo is establishing the court at the behest of the EU to deal with allegations made in a report made to the Council of Europe by Dick Marty in 2011. Parliament ap-proved it in 2014, and on February 8, the government proposed two constitutional amendments that would allow it to legally function. The court, to be based on the Netherlands, likely will operate through so-called “special cham-bers” within Kosovo’s judicial system, in part, under its own set of rules. Kosovo and EU officials have been negotiating the ins and outs of it for months. Details remain spotty, but what we do know potentially has troubling legal implications that could extend far beyond the life of the court, particularly what the EU has proposed.

Double jeopardy he principle of ne bis in idem, more commonly called double jeopardy, is enshrined in legal sys-tems across the world, including Kosovo’s constitution. It short it means that a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime, once appeals are exhausted. But the EU foresees allowing this in cases where defendants have been acquitted previously. Mak-

Pressure mounts on high court chief

6 problems with the EU’s special court proposals


ing an exception for potential defendants is wrong and creates a troubling precedent

International judges as the appeals panelKosovo’s Constitutional Court is designated as the court of ap-peals for cases from the special court. But troublingly, the EU proposal envisages having appeals heard exclusively by a panel consisting of the court’s three international members as opposed to the court as a whole. The problem is that the court, by law, makes decisions with quorum of at least seven judges. This proposal is a clear breach of the Constitution and the Law on the Constitutional Court, and un-dermines the legal authority and independence of the country’s highest legal authority.

Extending the mandate of international judges (again!)Brussels proposes that interna-tional judges are selected by an EU panel and appointed by the head of EULEX. This includes the international members of the Constitutional Court. Potentially this would mean a repeat of dubi-ous extension of their mandate in 2014, which bypassed pro-cedures clearly laid out in the Constitution.

Its own little countryThe special court would have the power to enter into agreements with other countries on issues such evidence and sentencing, bypassing ratification proce-dures in Article 18 of the Consti-tution of Kosovo. This proposal completely undermines Kosovo’s national sovereignty, and opens up the door for a court operating in its borders with the ability to enter into international agree-ments that aren’t in the country’s national interest.

Another ombudsperson A single official — an ombudsper-son distinct from the one who represents Kosovo as a whole — would have the right to refer matters concerning the special court to the Constitutional Court. This pointedly leaves out the president, government, MPs (if at

least one-fourth of them), and the state ombudsperson who have the right to make referrals to the Kosovo’s highest court, as written in the constitution. And it will make it much harder for Kosovo’s leaders to challenge the court. While this may seems like a good idea — as it would protect the court from being attacked with nuisance complaints — it comes at a price of making the court less accountable.

A separate police forceLast but not least, the EU propos-es the creation of a parallel police force for the special courts. Why would the Specialized Chambers need parallel police structures when Kosovo Police has the capacity to deal with the neces-sary security matters? A new police force would undermine Kosovo Police, which was largely successful in proving profes-sional, efficient and effective law enforcement in Kosovo.

The final wordThe creation of the special court is the culmination of the failures of UNMIK, EULEX, ICTY and Kosovo’s own justice system to deal with war crimes allegations against the KLA. It’s vital that the court is set up in way so it can succeed unlike its predecessors. So far there are encouraging signs that the Ko-sovo team in talks with the EU is pushing back against some of the more troubling proposals: such as the creation of a special ombudsperson and having the three international judges re-lated cases in the Constitutional Court. But in other areas, such as allowing for double jeopardy and the extension of the judges’ mandates, the team is compro-mising on worrisome propos-als. Kosovo also has a future beyond these prosecutions. It ultimately will have to live with any changes to the Constitution, laws and new precedents set by the court. That means it is also vital that the justice system isn’t thrown out in the course of doing justice.

Furtuna Sheremeti is the head of BIRN Kosovo’s legal office and the coordinator of the court monitoring project

EU official hails Kosovo for curbing illegal migration.The EU Commissioner for Mi-gration, Home Affairs and Citi-zenship, Dimitris Avramopou-los, lauded the recent drop in illegal migration to EU coun-tries. “Detections of irregular border crossings of Kosovo citizens at the Serbian Hun-garian border has dropped in the past month from 1,400 to 15 a day. This is a spectacular outcome,” he said this week. Turning to the vexed issue of visa liberalisation with the EU, Avramopoulos encouragingly said that Kosovo was “walking the last mile towards visa free status,” but that corruption and organized crime needed to be dealt with seriously.

Mayor slammed for ‘Milos-evic Street’ plan. The Council for the Protec-tion of Human Rights and Freedoms, an NGO based in Prishtina, called on Tuesday for the immediate sacking of the mayor of Ranilug after a plan to honor Slobodan Milosevic with street name caused outrage. “Such an ac-tion inspires inter-ethnic hate, and such an act will dam-age the Serb community [in Kosovo] the most,” he added. The mayor, Gradimir Mikic, blamed a commission in the municipality for the decision said that he has ordered it to be reviewed.

Balkan economies falling behind, IMF warns. Western Balkan countries need to tackle their high bud-get deficits, cut trade deficits, privatize public institutions and work on labour market reforms, the IMF says in a new report. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have all made major economic achievements in the last 15 years, the report said. However, they need to complete the transition to market economies in order to lay the ground for future sustainable growth.

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Briefly


Cover

By Zana Cimili

Members of the First Battalion of Kosovo’s Rapid Reaction Brigade technically aren’t soldiers, but when the Kosovo Security Force becomes an army — as political leaders have vowed — they will be.

In the meantime, these young men and women of the KSF look and act the part. They wear com-

bat fatigues and carry assault ri-fles as they bust down doors and clear rooms on a recent training exercise.

Marko Ristic leads a group of six comrades into a small red build-ing. Guarding the rear is Liridon Se-limi, his Kosovo Albanian friend.

Conceivably, the two privates could one day go to war together for the state whose flag is patched

RAISING AN ARMY

Serb wears Kosovo uniform with prideThis story is the first in an ongoing series, “Raising an army,” which explores the Kosovo Security Force as it prepares to transform into an army.

Marko Ristic

Private Marko Ristic leads fel-low members of his team into a building during a training exercise. PHOTOS/ZANA CIMILI


on to their uniforms. Ristic, aged 27, is one of 42 Serbs

serving in the 3,000-strong KSF, composed of 2,500 active mem-bers and 500 reservists.

While Serbs are represented throughout Kosovo institutions, including the police, being part of the KSF represents a different level of commitment to the state.

Even Ristic’s barracks near Gji-

lan is called “Newborn,” a nod to the monument commemorating Kosovo’s declaration of independ-ence from Serbia in 2008.

Ristic feels no dilemmas. “I feel good and I feel proud of being part of this. Like every other country in the world, Kosovo deserves its own army,” he says.

T hat statement wou ld ap -pal many, perhaps most, Kosovo

Serbs, for whom interacting with Kosovo state institutions at any level remains controversial.

Ristic, however, does not come from the north, where resistance to integration into Kosovo institu-tions is most entrenched.

His home village is Kufc, near Novo Brdo, one of the most ethni-cally mixed and harmonious parts of the country, where more Serbs

are willing to embrace life in inde-pendent Kosovo. But even in Novo Brdo, feelings among Serbs are di-vided. In a run-off election in 2013, the town elected a mayor from the Belgrade-backed Srpska List.

Ristic was one of the first Serbs to enlist in the KSF in 2010. “I saw they were recruiting from an ad on television. We were hesitant at first but decided to go to the local

Serb wears Kosovo uniform with pride

Marko Ristic is willing to fight in future army – despite the deep misgivings that idea arouses among many Kosovo Serbs.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 8


barracks and ask for more informa-tion,” he recalls.

After discussing being recruit-ed with his friends, he gave it a shot. “At first, people in our village were skeptical about it,” he says. Nowa-days, however, “the number of Serbs in the forces is much bigger and things have become easier”.

He says he is on good terms with most of the other recruits and has plenty of friends in the “New-born” barracks.

The father of two girls and the main breadwinner for an extended family of seven, Marko says his rel-atives are right behind him.

“I have received complete sup-port from my family with regard to becoming a part of the security forces,” he says.

His friend, Selimi, a five-year veteran in the KSF, says it is good that Serbs are joining up. “The par-ticipation of the Serb community in the forces means that they be-lieve in this uniform and that they consider it their future army,” he says.

Comprising only 1.6 per cent of the KSF, the representation of Serbs in Kosovo’s future armed forces is significantly below their percentage in the overall popula-tion.

However, the presence of Serbs at all is in some ways remarkable. Even when Albanians and Serbs served together in the Yugoslav

National Army, relations were of-ten fraught.

Lieutenant General Kadri Kas-trati, the commander of the force, who is due to retire this month, says old prejudices are fading.

“It could seem imaginary for many - for Albanians and Serbs to serve in the same institutions - having in mind the past, but stereo-types are being shattered,” he says.

Kastrati says recruiting Serbs and members of other ethnic mi-norities – whose representation in the KSF is required by law – re-mains a challenge, blaming “out-side political influences.

“We’ve have to invest a lot of en-ergy and perseverance in building relationships [with recruits] and encouraging them to apply,” Kas-trati adds.

Most Serbs remain wary of the idea of a Kosovo army. Politicians in Belgrade have denounced the plan to transform the KSF into an army as provocative. The only ful-ly-fledged military presence they will accept in Kosovo is the NATO peacekeeping mission, KFOR.

Srpska List, the main Serbian parliamentary group in Kosovo, 10 of 120 seats in parliament, also says Kosovo has no need of an army.

Marko Jaksic, a Serb blogger in the divided northern town of Mitrovica, dismisses the presence of Serbs in the KSF as a gimmick.

“There is a symbolic number of

Serbs in the security forces, which the government in Prishtina uses to show how Serbs in Kosovo par-ticipate in the forces and how Ko-sovo is a multi-ethnic society,” he says.

Bojan Stojkovic, from the cen-tral Serbian stronghold of Gracan-ica, agrees, saying Serbs are in the KSF solely for the cash.

Sa la r ie s i n t he force sta r t around 400 euros per month, well above the average in Kosovo. “If it will comes to serious problems or to a war, most of them would de-sert the Kosovo army,” Stojkovic predicts.

Meanwhile, plans to turn the KSF into an army depend on win-ning over Serbian MPs in parlia-ment.

The legal transformation of the security force into an army requires amendments to the con-stitution, which must be supported by two-thirds of all MPs as well as two-thirds of MPs from minority communities.

At least three Srpska List dep-uties would need to support the changes.

While Srpska List remains part of the current coalition gov-ernment, under Isa Mustafa, it is threatening to pull out after its leader, Aleksandar Jablanovic, was ousted from his ministerial post earlier this year.

The KSF could theoretically

see a large infusion of Serbian re-cruits if the Civil Protection force, a Yugoslav-era formation that con-tinues to operate in mainly Serbian northern parts of Kosovo – is dis-mantled.

In the context of the ongoing EU-mediated talks between Bel-grade and Prishtina, Kosovo au-thorities want the force abolished. It is not clear what would then happen to its members. But there are reports that they could be ab-sorbed into the KSF, just as Serbian police officers in northern Kosovo were integrated into the Kosovo Police force.

Meanwhile, the small number of Serbs serving in the KSF contin-ue to train side by side with their Albanian counterparts, sharing canteens and dorms and partici-pating in the same exercises.

Ristic says good comradely re-lationships are essential. “We rare-ly have disagreements,” he says.

This story was written as part of BIG DEAL, a civic oversight project examining the implemen-tation of agreements between Kosovo and Serbia. The project is being implemented by BIRN Kosovo, Internews Kosova and Center for Research, Transpar-ency and Accountability - CRTA, with support from the British For-eign & Commonwealth Office and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

CoverRAISING AN ARMY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

“I think the participation of the Serb commu-

nity in the forces in high levels means that they believe in this uniform

and that they consider it their future army.”

-LIRIDON SELIMI


PhotoEssay

March 2 marked the first day of the nine-week basic training of new recruits of the KSF, which will be trans-forming into the Kosovo national army in the coming years. Here, new recruits arrive at the KSF Training & Doctrine Centre (TRADOC) in Ferizaj. A total of 5,872 Kosovars ages 18-25 applied, and 159 were selected for this new generation of soldiers. Those who were select-ed had to pass a series of interviews and tests, including an IQ test and physical examination. Not all 159 recruits wi ll make it to graduation .

BOOT CAMP:DAY ONE

PHOTOS AND TEXT BY VALERIE PLESCH


On September 29, 2014, the Ministry for Kosovo Secu-rity Force (MKSF) releases a recruitment ad for new recruits to join the KSF. The ad is posted on the MKSF web-site in Albanian, Serbian and English. The ad is also placed in local newspapers and an-nounced on local television and radio. The call for new recruits lasts for 25 days. The main objective of the notice is to attract and select the best candidates to join the new generation of KSF soldiers.

They must …

- Be a citizen of Kosovo- Have at least a high school diploma- Be 18 to 25 years old

An initial screening of appli-cations begins. All received applications are entered into a database and results are sent to a board at the Land Force Command, an entity within the ministry that over-sees the recruitment of KSF .

A total of 5,872 applica-tions are received. The board reviews the results and begins to plan who will make the next round in the recruitment process, which involves two tests: a physical and intelligence test.Four weeks of testing takes place. A total of 4,600 appli-cants are called in to take the tests. The KSF coordinated with the Ministry of Education to write the intelligence test.

The physical test takes place at a base in Ferizaj. The applicants are evaluated

and given points based on three main components of the test:

1. A timed run of 3,200 meters

2. Ability to perform push ups during a set period

3. Ability to perform pull ups during a set period All results are entered into a database again.

Next round in the recruit-ment process involves applicants being invited for an interview. The interview involves a written and verbal test taken on the same day. Applicants are tested on their knowledge of the KSF, such as its mission and duties and are asked to responded to various real life scenarios . A maximum of 100 points can be achieved. The lowest score is 50 points. 455 candidates are invited for the interview.

Based on a medical exam, two tests and an interview, a final list is made up by the board.Five to seven days before the first day of basic training begins, the selection of new recruits are finalized and they are notified. 159 new recruits are chosen to participate in the nine week basic training. They will receive a gross sal-ary of 202 euros. If they pass the basic training, they will be admitted into the KSF as privates and they will sign a 12-year contract, with a start-ing salary of around 400 euro per month. They will stay at this grade for three years and after that, they can apply for other positions and promo-tions within the KSF.

The path to basic training

ABOVE A female instructor walks by a platoon outside the dining facility before lunchtime.

Out of the 159 new recruits, there are 18 female candidates. This group of women are waiting to

pick up their bedding and other amenities for their bunks.

A platoon of recruits line up and wait to receive further instructions

from their instructor.

CoverPhotoEssayRAISING AN ARMY


Shortly after arriving at TRADOC, all recruits had to undergo physi-cal fitness training. Basic training will consist of eight hour days that are split up between classroom lectures, marching exercises , and physical fitness training.

The KSF barber shaves a new recruit’s

head.

A new recruit is punished

by a KSF instructor and

must face a wall until the

instructor says he is done.


piguide« « « «

SUPERB

Four stars: Perfection Three stars: Superb Two Stars: Good One Star: Just OK No Star: Don’t Bother

By Hana Marku

Opened in February, Soma Book Station has filled the space of Prishtina’s resident new hot cafe. It’s a tough spot to fill, but Soma’s chances seems promising. The in-terior, located where a former Red Cross building used to be on Fazli Grajqevci street, is spacious and well-lit. Clearly, a lot was invested in making Soma the kind of place you don’t want to leave.

As far as I’m concerned, the bar is definitely the high point of the space: large, well-appointed, and in the center of the room. One corner of the space is dedicated to shelves stacked with books, records, tote bags, and high quality tea for sale - all things that are hard to come by in Prishtina. One complaint I’ve heard is that there aren’t enough electrical plugs to go to the book corner with a laptop and a cup of coffee, so it’s best to go with a book or a friend.

As a hangout spot, Soma defi-nitely hits the mark: the music is tasteful but not too loud, the book and record selection are clearly curated, the space is hip but not pretentious, the beer on tap is good (both in terms of selection and taste), and the staff actually says hello and smiles when you interact with them. I have a friend who’s been to Soma almost every day since it opened, with meetings naturally gravitating towards it.

I haven’t had a chance to delve into their food menu, but did try a strange interpretation of a tiramisu on their opening weekend. I asked if they had any sweets, and was told that although the menu wasn’t ready yet, they could prepare a ti-ramisu for me. A kind offer, but it probably would have been better if they’d just told me to hold off until the menu was ready.

Soma’s atmosphere and crowd make it the closest thing to direct competition for Dit’ e Nat’ (literally one minute away), and it does have the space, the bar, the attentive staff, and the cool vibe going for it. It’s clearly been earning a loyal fol-lowing, but they have to watch out for reports of spotty service and subpar food. To take Soma to the top, it’ll need a bit more of the bor-ing stuff: consistent quality, over a prolonged period of time. I think they can do it.

Where is itFazli Grajqevci street, right behind Kosovo’s govern-ment building. Find out more: somabookstation.com, or search for Soma Book Station on Facebook.

Soma off to a promising start

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OpinionSend us your thoughts to [email protected].

Corruption as a national tragedy On December 14, 1986, Teh Cheang Wan, the then Minister of National Develop-ment for Singapore, penned a short note

to his Prime Minis-ter. Teh wrote: “I have been feeling very sad and de-pressed for the last two weeks. I feel

responsible for the occurrence of this unfortunate incident … and as an hon-ourable oriental gentleman I feel it is only right that I should pay the highest penalty for my mistake.”

Shortly after, he killed himself using a large dose of barbiturates. The inci-dent to which Teh referred was a high-profile corruption case in which he was accused of accepting two bribes worth a total of $1 million from private firms when he was serving as a minister.

Teh’s suicide was a dramatic demon-stration of how unacceptable corruption had become in Singapore. As Patrick Radden Keefe wrote in the New Yorker in January, 30 years before Teh took his

life, Singapore was one of the world’s most corrupt countries. Thieves and bandits cooperated with government officials in running the country’s ports and the drug trade.

When Singapore became independ-ent in 1965 and when Lee Kuan Yew was Prime Minister, he declared war on graft, pledging to eradicate rampant corrup-tion. Lee and his team took stern action and made transformational changes in government, introducing severe pen-alties for officials who accepted bribes.

Attitudes toward corruption gradually changed and permeated all levels of government.

Today, Singapore ranks as the sev-enth least corrupt country in the World in the Transparency International Cor-ruption Perceptions Index. No other country in Southeast Asia has made it to the top 30 in the index. Other countries have studied Singapore's remarkable transformation, hoping to replicate its success, but for all the expertise and bil-lions of dollars spent on their efforts, no country has yet to transform itself to the same degree.

Corruption is one of the most re-searched subjects in social and behav-ioral sciences - with good reason. For centuries it has bedeviled countries and peoples of different cultures. It perme-ates all levels of society, eroding trust in government, paralyzing economic de-velopment, fueling transnational crime, illegal migration and even spreading ter-rorism. That corruption is a root cause of weak government and poverty is not in

question, but it may also be re-sponsible for driving people to revolt, take up arms and resort to terrorism.

Sarah Chayes, a former journalist, spent a decade in Afghanistan and was in-volved in a personal mission

to replicate some of Singapore’s anti-corruption practices there. In her new book, “Thieves of the State: Why Cor-ruption Threatens Global Security”, Chayes writes that corruption in the government of Afghanistan has led to a powerful resurgence of the Taliban. Many young people who gave up their arms after the US overthrew the Taliban regime in 2011 and who wanted to join the effort to rebuild their country, have apparently since rejoined the Taliban in recent years.

Chayes attributes this disaster to sys-tematic government corruption, which has driven people to despair. She spent years blending in with local Afghans, trying to operate a soap-making factory in Kandahar, where she dealt with mind-numbing government bureaucracy and graft.

The kleptocracy in Afghanistan, Chayes writes, has led to a catastrophic breakdown in societal trust, leading peo-ple to revolt and turn violent. Beyond Af-ghanistan, Chayes extends her analyses to other similar countries. Everywhere she looks, she sees evidence of corrup-tion fomenting insurgencies, revolts and terrorism. The same thread connects these otherwise diverse countries and cultures.

Reading Chayes’s book, I could not help from thinking of Kosovo, where corruption is perceived as rampant at all levels of government. This is not new, but what is new in the last two years is that corruption may be reaching the next phase, changing from an impedi-ment to economic growth into a secu-rity threat. The signs are everywhere. Several hundred young people have joined terrorist groups, and thousands more flirt with virulent fanaticism that is creeping into society under the guise of religion. The young Kosovars who have joined radical groups may have no in-trinsic connection to Islam or to those foreign causes, but may well have been driven into a dark place by the fact that Kosovo is one of the most corrupt gov-ernments in Europe and the 110th most corrupt in the world.

The exodus of people leaving Koso-vo is yet another form of revolt against the kleptocratic culture that grips the country and has driven hope from many people. Nobody expected Kosovo to be-come Europe’s Singapore with the clean-est government in the region. The hope

MIKRAKRASNIQI

Mikra Krasniqi, a native of Kosovo, is a senior economist with the Government of Maryland’s Department of Economic and Business Develop-ment in Baltimore. His opinions are solely his own and not reflect those of his employer.


CORRUPTION IN 2014Transparency International released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in December. It rates countries based on how corrupt citizens believe the public sec-tor is. Kosovo and Albania are tied for most corrupt in the region.

Ranking Score Trend(higher is better)

was that the country would muddle through the transitional phase until the European Union or some other bloc absorbed it. Instead, Europe’s youngest country is teetering on the brink of failure. No piecemeal poli-cies and tinkering on the margins will fix its rotten system of governance. The leadership that led the country to independence has failed people and a systematic breakdown of trust has occurred.

Bertolt Brecht once observed that “an unfortunate country is the one that needs heroes, but even more unfortunate is the one that needs heroes and has none.” If the Kosovo government had any heroes in recent years, they were the wrong ones, occupying key places, sacrific-ing the public’s good and squander-ing a historical chance to build a de-cent society. Ultimately, Kosovo may need a radical revamping of its whole notion of governance in which cor-ruption is framed as a moral affliction that destroys the public trust - which is one of the fundamental tenets of a democracy.

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