Byzantine Blog

After Muslim “Srebrenica Victims” Voted in Bosnia, Dead Albanians are Preparing to Vote in Kosovo

Late Ibrahim Rugova, former leader of Albanian separatists in Serbian Kosovo-Metohija province, is one of many deceased persons on the voters’ list ahead of the November 17 elections, scheduled in southern Serbian province by the UNMIK administrators.

BIRN reports that apart from Rugova, who died in January 2006, province’s official register of voters includes the late deputy minister in charge of local government, Aziz Lila, the late folk singer Nazmije Hoxha, and many other less prominent individuals, now dead.

The serious errors have been spotted by Balkan Insight in spite of efforts by the Central Election Commission, CEC, to update the lists before the parliamentary and municipal elections due in two weeks’ time.

One explanation advanced by officials is that Kosovo Albanians do not necessarily register the deaths of their family members to the authorities.

Since the authorities may not be aware of these deaths, these deceased people’s names can sometimes remain on the voters’ list.

However, it is not possible to put forward that explanation in the case of well-known personalities, such as Rugova, who received the equivalent of a state funeral.

Serbian State Intelligence Agency: Albanian Terrorists, Wahhabi Sect and Covert Foreign Activities Main Sources of Immediate Risk for Serbia Security

Meanwhile, Serbian State Intelligence Agency, BIA (Bezbednosno-informativna agencija, Security-Intelligence Agency), submitted a report to a parliamentary council in Belgrade on Friday.

Director Rade Bulatovic told the Defense and Security Council that the security in the country, with the exception of the southern province of Kosovo-Metohija, was stable, but that risks were present.

He singled out Albanian extremists in the south, Islamic clashes and the Wahhabi movement in the Raska region and covert activities by the foreign factors as the main sources of risk for the country, while the extremists from ethnic minorities and organized crime represent a risk to a lesser degree.

Greatest Immediate Risk for State Security Around December 10

One of the priorities the service listed in the report is its contribution to the preservation of sovereignty over southern Serbian province of Kosovo. Director of the state security agency told the council members that protests and unrest can be expected in case of unilateral declaration of the province’s independence, warning that armed conflict may break out between Albanians and Serbs in the province.

“Estimates show that a critical moment for Kosovo could happen prior to and immediately after the Contact Group mediators submit their report, which has been announced for December 10,” Bulatovic said.

“Protests, and possibly riots can be expected at that time, including a possible armed confrontation between the Serbs and Albanians, especially in case of a unilateral declaration of independence,” he explained.

But the BIA chief added his service did not expect major security challenges in the south of the country, “in the short-term”.

A terrorist ethnic Albanian group, known as Albanian National Army (ANA), was singled out as the main destabilizing factor in that region.

In Bulatovic’s words, BIA has established where ANA strongholds are, observing an increased level of the group’s mobility, acquisition of weapons, recruitment of new members, funding and connections of the Albanian extremists in the region. Serbian State Intelligence Agency has acquired new information about the coordination of activities between the Albanian extremists in the south of Serbia and in the neighboring FYR of Macedonia.

Asked whether the Security-Intelligence Agency has information about the possibility of the unilateral declaration of independence by the Kosovo Albanian separatists after December 10, director Bulatovic responded:

“We are following the situation closely and we have considerable amount of informations. There is no confirmation the unilateral independence will be declared, but there are indications that certain decisions will be made.”

Serbia’s Security chief spoke about an extreme Wahhabi group present in Raska region as the greatest Islamist danger, “that could spell out a direct threat for security.”

Turmoil within Serbia’s Islamic community was also cited as one of the risk factors for the country’s security, as well as extremists within ethnic minorities’ communities.

Organized crime, weapons smuggling, human trafficking and money laundering based in the Albanian community in Kosovo province are all endangering Serbia’s security, Bulatovic said, adding that better cooperation with the police (MUP) is leading to a more successful fight against these threats.

BIA has set its priorities for the coming period, which include fight against international terrorism and organized crime, the report submitted by Bulatovic, and adopted by the council, said.

Leader of Muslims in Serbia Warns of Islamic Extremism in Raska Region

The internal conflict between the Wahhabi extremists and traditional Muslims within the Islamic community in Serbia was further emphasized by the Reis of Serbia’s Islamic community Adem Zilkic who has called on his Bosnian counterpart Mustafa Ceric to stop promoting and supporting Muslim extremism in Serbia, sowing the seeds of discord among the Serbia Muslims and in the Serbian state in general.

In an open letter to Ceric dated November 2, Zilkic says that the genuine ties between the two Islamic communities would act as a bridge to link Belgrade and Sarajevo.

“Please help calm the situation in Sandzak (Raska region) by not insisting on power being in the hands of one man, but rather jointly come to a solution that will be advantageous to the Islamic community, her members and the well-being of all citizens in the region,” the letter reads.

Zilkic goes on to accuse Head Mufti Muamer Zukorlic of “autocracy and dictatorship, trampling on the nobility of imams, of favoring one political option in Sandzak, and of nepotism.” Fundamentalist Zukorlic is supported by the Bosnian Muslim leader and by the American Ambassador to Serbia Cameron Munter who has recently hosted a Ramadan Dinner in the town of Novi Pazar in Raska, where the Muslim community was represented by Muamer Zukorlic, while elected Belgrade-based Reis Zilkic was not among American Ambassador’s guests.

The letter comes a month after a series of violent clashes in the Raska region sparked by the Zilkic’s appointment, and led by supporters of fundamentalist Zukorlic.

Additionally, members of the radical Islamic Wahhabi movement have been organizing in the area, which earlier this year resulted in several armed showdowns with special police, one fatality, and 15 terrorism indictments issued mid-September against the arrested suspects.

All this makes Raska region currently the most volatile region in Serbia, after Kosovo-Metohija province.

Cartoon by Aleksandar Klas (Serbia)