[ L'edificio del "parlamento della Kossova", a Pristina, e' stato
recentissimamente ristrutturato senza badare a spese: eleganti marmi,
scaloni in mogano, simboli dei paesi della NATO, ed enormi
rappresentazioni murali ispirate al condottiero albanese Skanderbeg ed
alla storica riunione della Prima Lega di Prizren, che nel XIX secolo
pose le basi per la creazione dello Stato albanese ed a cui oggi si
ispirano i sostenitori della Grande Albania monoetnica. Motivi tanto
imbarazzanti che persino il governatore coloniale Harri Holkeri,
dell'UNMIK, ha preferito disertare la cerimonia di inaugurazione,
tenutasi lo scorso dicembre - mentre i "deputati" serbi disertano
oramai regolarmente tutte le sessioni.
Ma la cosa piu' curiosa e' che queste grandi opere "artistiche" sono
criticate un po' da tutti, per motivi non solo politici o estetici: gli
stessi kosovaro-albanesi non si spiegano per quale motivo i lavori
siano stati commissionati alla ditta "italiana" Mabetex, quella del
signor Bexhet Pacolli: l'ex marito di Anna Oxa, per intenderci... ]
IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, No. 482, February 27, 2004
KOSOVO ASSEMBLY MURALS ENRAGE SERBS
New building's décor angers both Serbs and guardians of good taste.
By Jeta Xharra in Pristina
As you walk into the renovated wing of the Kosovo parliament in
Pristina, a circle of marble tiles in the lobby is meant to conjure up
associations with NATO's insignia - an artistic thank-you to the
alliance for the bombing that drove Serbian troops from Kosovo in 1999.
With its grandiose mahogany staircases, the main hall resembles the
interior of a luxury liner about to embark on a smooth ocean crossing.
But the opening of the 2.5 million euro premises has been anything but
smooth.
The controversies that followed the inauguration ceremony on December
18 have turned the building into an obstacle, rather than an aid, to
the assembly's work.
The money for the renovation work came from Kosovo taxpayers while the
electronic voting system was a gift of the European Agency for
Reconstruction.
The parliament has been at work since December 2001, when the Albanians
who make up 90 per cent of Kosovo's population, regained their own
assembly after more than a decade under the direct rule of Slobodan
Milosevic's regime in Belgrade.
But in a sign of the trouble that was to come, Harri Holkeri, head of
United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, refused to attend the opening
ceremony. According to Holkeri, this was because the murals on the
walls were of a "mono-ethnic" character.
Two tall murals, each more than 5 metres high, on either side of the
entry hall represent Skenderbeg, the medieval Albanian hero who
defeated an invading Ottoman army. A third painting represents the
Prizren League, a 19th-century gathering of Albanian leaders that paved
the way for the creation of an independent Albania in 1912.
"The murals in the assembly are mono-ethnic in nature, while the
assembly is a multi-ethnic institution and the murals should reflect
the multi-ethnic nature of the assembly as well as of Kosovo," said
Mechthild Henneke, UNMIK's press officer.
Despite this criticism, Nexhat Daci, speaker of the assembly, has
refused to remove the murals, saying that would only humiliate the
Albanians.
He suggested that local Serbian representatives in the Povratak
coalition should instead install paintings reflecting their own history
on the remaining blank spaces.
However, as there is no room for more paintings of the same size in the
entrance hall, they would - effectively - have to be hung in the
interior of the assembly café.
The Serb members of parliament are unimpressed and have boycotted every
session in this new building.
Oliver Ivanovic, the Serbian member of the assembly's presidency, told
IWPR on February 23 that Serb deputies would only return to the
parliament if the Albanians removed one of the three large murals, "so
that we could put up one painting with Serbian motifs of the same size".
Ramush Tahiri, advisor to the speaker of parliament, said he had
received a faxed proposal along those lines from the Povratak coalition
but had refused to consider it on account of the nature of the
communication.
"The fax is directed to the 'Institutions of Kosovo and Metohija'," he
declared. "We cannot review or discuss this proposal in parliament
since this is an unacceptable name."
The terms "Kosovo and Metohija", which is sometimes abbreviated to
"Kosmet", are exclusively Serbian and a cause of great irritation to
the Albanians who call the land Kosova.
Nevertheless, Tahiri admits that Albanian deputies - including himself
- are not happy with the murals. "These paintings are badly made copies
and we want a committee formed to decide on replacements," he said.
"But no one wants to be seen as the person who removed the great
Skenderbeg [from the walls], at least not before any new elections."
A need to take a patriotic stance in public and to glorify the nation's
heroes has been a distinguishing feature of Kosovo Albanian cultural
and public life since the Serbian withdrawal.
In some places, statues have been erected in honour of countries that
took part in the bombing of Serbia in 1999. A prominent example is the
miniature but eye-catching American Statue of Liberty placed on top of
the roof of the Pristina's Victory Hotel.
Zake Prelvukaj, a well-known painter teaching in the University of
Pristina, is one of many intellectuals who believes the attempt to
render patriotism into art in the new assembly has not benefited Kosovo.
"Why did they not let Kosovar painters decorate the parliament instead
of allowing Italians to deliver these embarrassing paintings?" she
asked. "We are training artists who are virtually starving from lack of
work."
Prelvukaj criticised the decision to leave the assembly's design and
furnishings to the Italian interior design company Mabetex, which had
been subcontracted to renovate the parliament.
The artist said the motifs chosen by the company had done more harm
than good. "Albanians must be clever in this phase of state-building,"
she said, "which means choosing authentic symbols for Kosovo that do
not stir up such animosity.
"This has actually hindered the development of a Kosovo state and has
definitely harmed the image of the Albanians."
Bexhet Pacolli, the head of Mabetex group, defended his organisation,
"The paintings and murals where not a part of our contract at all. But
when we noticed there were three big walls in the entry hall we asked
painters from the League of Painters in Kosovo to come up with three
paintings. They told me that it will take at least 9 months to finish
them. None of these painters was prepared to come and work in sub-zero
temperature this winter and slave away like my workers did.
"Additionaly, the paintings might not be of a high artistic value but I
assure you that we have made an effort to be politically sensitive in
our choice. For example, we removed the guns and knives from the
original painting of the Prizren League because we wanted to create an
image of diplomacy rather than war and bloodthirsty images.
"I am sure that more can be done and images could be improved but we
have done what we could to our capacity. The issue is that it would
take five minutes to remove these murals and put something else. Why
don't they do this? Nobody has asked me to do this. That is because
they would have to actually work harder to produce these paintings and
artists would rather prefer they gather and criticise as they sit in
cafes of Kosovo."
Jeta Xharra is IWPR project manager in Kosovo.
(...) Balkan Crisis Report is supported by the Department for
International Development, the European Commission, the Swedish
International Development and Cooperation Agency, The Netherlands
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and other funders. IWPR also acknowledges
general support from the Ford Foundation. For further details on this
project, other information services and media programmes, visit IWPR's
website: www.iwpr.net (...) The Institute for War & Peace Reporting is
a London-based independent non-profit organisation supporting regional
media and democratic change. (...)
ISSN: 1477-7932 Copyright (c) 2004 The Institute for War & Peace
Reporting
BALKAN CRISIS REPORT No. 482
recentissimamente ristrutturato senza badare a spese: eleganti marmi,
scaloni in mogano, simboli dei paesi della NATO, ed enormi
rappresentazioni murali ispirate al condottiero albanese Skanderbeg ed
alla storica riunione della Prima Lega di Prizren, che nel XIX secolo
pose le basi per la creazione dello Stato albanese ed a cui oggi si
ispirano i sostenitori della Grande Albania monoetnica. Motivi tanto
imbarazzanti che persino il governatore coloniale Harri Holkeri,
dell'UNMIK, ha preferito disertare la cerimonia di inaugurazione,
tenutasi lo scorso dicembre - mentre i "deputati" serbi disertano
oramai regolarmente tutte le sessioni.
Ma la cosa piu' curiosa e' che queste grandi opere "artistiche" sono
criticate un po' da tutti, per motivi non solo politici o estetici: gli
stessi kosovaro-albanesi non si spiegano per quale motivo i lavori
siano stati commissionati alla ditta "italiana" Mabetex, quella del
signor Bexhet Pacolli: l'ex marito di Anna Oxa, per intenderci... ]
IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, No. 482, February 27, 2004
KOSOVO ASSEMBLY MURALS ENRAGE SERBS
New building's décor angers both Serbs and guardians of good taste.
By Jeta Xharra in Pristina
As you walk into the renovated wing of the Kosovo parliament in
Pristina, a circle of marble tiles in the lobby is meant to conjure up
associations with NATO's insignia - an artistic thank-you to the
alliance for the bombing that drove Serbian troops from Kosovo in 1999.
With its grandiose mahogany staircases, the main hall resembles the
interior of a luxury liner about to embark on a smooth ocean crossing.
But the opening of the 2.5 million euro premises has been anything but
smooth.
The controversies that followed the inauguration ceremony on December
18 have turned the building into an obstacle, rather than an aid, to
the assembly's work.
The money for the renovation work came from Kosovo taxpayers while the
electronic voting system was a gift of the European Agency for
Reconstruction.
The parliament has been at work since December 2001, when the Albanians
who make up 90 per cent of Kosovo's population, regained their own
assembly after more than a decade under the direct rule of Slobodan
Milosevic's regime in Belgrade.
But in a sign of the trouble that was to come, Harri Holkeri, head of
United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, refused to attend the opening
ceremony. According to Holkeri, this was because the murals on the
walls were of a "mono-ethnic" character.
Two tall murals, each more than 5 metres high, on either side of the
entry hall represent Skenderbeg, the medieval Albanian hero who
defeated an invading Ottoman army. A third painting represents the
Prizren League, a 19th-century gathering of Albanian leaders that paved
the way for the creation of an independent Albania in 1912.
"The murals in the assembly are mono-ethnic in nature, while the
assembly is a multi-ethnic institution and the murals should reflect
the multi-ethnic nature of the assembly as well as of Kosovo," said
Mechthild Henneke, UNMIK's press officer.
Despite this criticism, Nexhat Daci, speaker of the assembly, has
refused to remove the murals, saying that would only humiliate the
Albanians.
He suggested that local Serbian representatives in the Povratak
coalition should instead install paintings reflecting their own history
on the remaining blank spaces.
However, as there is no room for more paintings of the same size in the
entrance hall, they would - effectively - have to be hung in the
interior of the assembly café.
The Serb members of parliament are unimpressed and have boycotted every
session in this new building.
Oliver Ivanovic, the Serbian member of the assembly's presidency, told
IWPR on February 23 that Serb deputies would only return to the
parliament if the Albanians removed one of the three large murals, "so
that we could put up one painting with Serbian motifs of the same size".
Ramush Tahiri, advisor to the speaker of parliament, said he had
received a faxed proposal along those lines from the Povratak coalition
but had refused to consider it on account of the nature of the
communication.
"The fax is directed to the 'Institutions of Kosovo and Metohija'," he
declared. "We cannot review or discuss this proposal in parliament
since this is an unacceptable name."
The terms "Kosovo and Metohija", which is sometimes abbreviated to
"Kosmet", are exclusively Serbian and a cause of great irritation to
the Albanians who call the land Kosova.
Nevertheless, Tahiri admits that Albanian deputies - including himself
- are not happy with the murals. "These paintings are badly made copies
and we want a committee formed to decide on replacements," he said.
"But no one wants to be seen as the person who removed the great
Skenderbeg [from the walls], at least not before any new elections."
A need to take a patriotic stance in public and to glorify the nation's
heroes has been a distinguishing feature of Kosovo Albanian cultural
and public life since the Serbian withdrawal.
In some places, statues have been erected in honour of countries that
took part in the bombing of Serbia in 1999. A prominent example is the
miniature but eye-catching American Statue of Liberty placed on top of
the roof of the Pristina's Victory Hotel.
Zake Prelvukaj, a well-known painter teaching in the University of
Pristina, is one of many intellectuals who believes the attempt to
render patriotism into art in the new assembly has not benefited Kosovo.
"Why did they not let Kosovar painters decorate the parliament instead
of allowing Italians to deliver these embarrassing paintings?" she
asked. "We are training artists who are virtually starving from lack of
work."
Prelvukaj criticised the decision to leave the assembly's design and
furnishings to the Italian interior design company Mabetex, which had
been subcontracted to renovate the parliament.
The artist said the motifs chosen by the company had done more harm
than good. "Albanians must be clever in this phase of state-building,"
she said, "which means choosing authentic symbols for Kosovo that do
not stir up such animosity.
"This has actually hindered the development of a Kosovo state and has
definitely harmed the image of the Albanians."
Bexhet Pacolli, the head of Mabetex group, defended his organisation,
"The paintings and murals where not a part of our contract at all. But
when we noticed there were three big walls in the entry hall we asked
painters from the League of Painters in Kosovo to come up with three
paintings. They told me that it will take at least 9 months to finish
them. None of these painters was prepared to come and work in sub-zero
temperature this winter and slave away like my workers did.
"Additionaly, the paintings might not be of a high artistic value but I
assure you that we have made an effort to be politically sensitive in
our choice. For example, we removed the guns and knives from the
original painting of the Prizren League because we wanted to create an
image of diplomacy rather than war and bloodthirsty images.
"I am sure that more can be done and images could be improved but we
have done what we could to our capacity. The issue is that it would
take five minutes to remove these murals and put something else. Why
don't they do this? Nobody has asked me to do this. That is because
they would have to actually work harder to produce these paintings and
artists would rather prefer they gather and criticise as they sit in
cafes of Kosovo."
Jeta Xharra is IWPR project manager in Kosovo.
(...) Balkan Crisis Report is supported by the Department for
International Development, the European Commission, the Swedish
International Development and Cooperation Agency, The Netherlands
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and other funders. IWPR also acknowledges
general support from the Ford Foundation. For further details on this
project, other information services and media programmes, visit IWPR's
website: www.iwpr.net (...) The Institute for War & Peace Reporting is
a London-based independent non-profit organisation supporting regional
media and democratic change. (...)
ISSN: 1477-7932 Copyright (c) 2004 The Institute for War & Peace
Reporting
BALKAN CRISIS REPORT No. 482