KOSOVO: Kosovo's new parliament convenes on Thursday but what has become a matter of routine in the 18 years since the young country broke away from Serbia marks another milestone in a remarkable journey for one new member of the assembly.
Saranda Bogujevci survived 16 bullets and lost 14 members of her family, including her mother and two brothers, during Serbia's brutal military crackdown on ethnic Albanians in its then southern province in 1998-99.
Four years later, Bogujevci, then 18, and three cousins became the first ethnic Albanian victims to testify before a Serbian court about the atrocities perpetrated by forces under late strongman Slobodan Milosevic.
On Thursday she will be sworn in as a member of parliament of the opposition Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party, which doubled its share of the vote in a June election on a promise to fight endemic corruption and nepotism in the tiny Balkan state.
"It is difficult to go through those experiences and see (Kosovo) governments that are not working and doing right for the people and that is what pushed me to get into politics," Bogujevci told Reuters, in English, during a visit to the graves of her family in Podujeva, north of the capital Pristina.
"I always imagined what Kosovo would be like after 20 years," she said. "I never thought it will be like this."
Bogujevci's family was slaughtered in a back garden in Podujeva on March 28, 1999 by members of a Serbian paramilitary unit known as the Scorpions. The youngest victim was two years old. Five men were eventually jailed for the murders and in 2013 Bogujevci returned to Belgrade, where she had testified against them, to stage an exhibition about the killings.
The massacre occurred four days after the start of NATO air strikes that would last 11 weeks as the West tried to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanian civilians by Serbian forces waging a counter-insurgency war.
With the end of the conflict and the entry of NATO troops, Bogujevci and four surviving cousins were evacuated to the English city of Manchester where she was operated on and went on to get a university degree in interactive arts.
She returned to her homeland in 2014 to run the culture department of Pristina municipality.
Bogujevci, now 32, recalls her first sighting of a NATO tank through a Pristina hospital window on her 14th birthday, June 12, 1999. "For us that meant freedom. I will never forget that moment."
Her left arm disfigured by bullets, Bogujevci now faces a new fight, in a country recognised as independent by more than half the world but denied a place in the United Nations by the opposition of Serbia and its veto-wielding ally, Russia.
Progress has been slow since Kosovo declared independence in 2008, with crime and corruption still rife and poverty and unemployment widespread.
"Facing the war was much easier because we knew things would turn out the way they did; today, it's very difficult to accept and find a reason for what is happening," Bogujevci said.
"I do love life but at the same time I feel that I have a moral obligation towards Kosovo, England and towards humanity to do something based on what I experienced."
Survivor of Kosovo massacre faces new challenge — in parliament
Survivor of Kosovo massacre faces new challenge — in parliament
Charities brand UK family reunion system for asylum-seekers ‘broken’
- New report says thousands waiting for relatives to be relocated to Britain
- Refugee Council CEO: ‘The UK has clearly failed the Afghan refugees that it promised to protect’
London: Charities in the UK have branded the country’s system for reuniting separated families of asylum-seekers “broken,” calling for the Home Office to “fix and expand” it.
A new report published by the Refugee Council and Safe Passage International has highlighted figures showing a backlog of more than 11,000 migrants in the UK waiting to be reunited with relatives during the summer last year.
Despite repeated freedom of information requests, the Home Office has not provided updated figures since then.
The report mentioned that a particular problem faces separated Afghan families, with many individuals reaching the UK but finding themselves in prolonged legal difficulty and their relatives forced to remain in Afghanistan, neighboring Pakistan or elsewhere.
Currently, Afghans evacuated from their country as part of Operation Pitting in August 2021 are prevented from automatically bringing close family to the UK.
In October 2023, the British government proposed a new system to address this issue, but the plan has yet to implemented despite pressure from MPs and members of the House of Lords.
Approved asylum-seekers can apply for a family reunification visa, but thousands find themselves stuck in a backlog of cases despite the Home Office saying the process should take under 12 weeks.
The Independent spoke to a number of Afghans, including a former pilot, struggling to be reunited with their relatives.
The pilot told the newspaper: “They (his family) have been waiting for a visa for five months in Iran, but so far there is no news from the embassy and there is no guarantee it will be issued.
“My family are facing a lot of problems. They don’t have a proper place to live, and don’t have access to a doctor, because they are living illegally.
“Their Iranian visas have expired and they need to extend them, but it is impossible. My wife is suffering mentally and emotionally, and she is completely (without hope).”
Another issue is that of unaccompanied children who, under current rules, also cannot use their status to automatically relocate their families to the UK.
The Independent spoke to one Afghan teenager, Farhad, rescued from Kabul without his parents in 2021, who faces an anxious wait to see if his family can join him in the UK.
“(The UK government) promised in 2021 that they’re going to bring the families, but it’s still been almost three years,” he said.
“My mum and my siblings are in Pakistan because they needed a doctor and medication. But my father couldn’t get the visa to go with them.
“I am doing my GCSEs this month and I can’t really focus on my studies knowing that my family is struggling.”
Safe Passage International highlighted the case of another young boy, Ahmad, who had tried to join his older brother in the UK.
Despite both his parents having died in Afghanistan, the Home Office denied that he had any “serious and compelling” circumstances to justify his asylum application.
He was only able to stay in the UK after a judge intervened, ordering the Home Office to provide assistance.
Safe Passage International’s CEO Dr. Wanda Wyporska told The Independent: “Nearly three years on, it’s a national shame that Afghans, who risked so much to support UK military operations, are still waiting for a way to bring their family to safety here with them. Their family members are living in fear every day of the Taliban.”
The Refugee Council’s CEO Enver Solomon said: “The UK has clearly failed the Afghan refugees that it promised to protect, by keeping families separated for so long with no information on how they may be reunited.
“After risking everything for the UK, Afghans and their families should not be forced to make dangerous boat journeys to get here, nor should they face hostile, inhumane policies like the Rwanda plan when they do make it to the UK.”
A Home Office spokesperson told The Independent: “We made one of the largest commitments of any country to support people from Afghanistan, and so far we have brought around 27,900 individuals to safety in the UK, including thousands under our Afghan resettlement schemes.
“In October we committed to establish a route for those evacuated from Afghanistan under Pathway 1 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme without their immediate family members, to reunite them in the UK.
“We remain on track to meet that commitment and open the route for referrals in the first half of this year.”
Philippines to tighten guard at locations in South China Sea
- Philippine Coast Guard deploys ship to Sabina Shoal on the Spratly archipelago, where it accused China of building an artificial island
MANILA/BEIJING: The Philippines said on Monday it would keep a closer guard on reefs, shoals and islets in its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, alarmed by reports of new reclamation activities by China, which Beijing denied.
The Philippine Coast Guard said on Saturday it had deployed a ship to Sabina Shoal on the Spratly archipelago, where it accused China of building an artificial island, having documented what it said were piles of dead and crushed coral on the sandbars.
Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson of the National Security Council (NSC), said NSC chief Eduardo Ano had ordered a tighter guard at locations within Manila’s 200-nautical mile economic zone, as a long-standing diplomatic row with Beijing intensifies.
“No one will guard (these locations) except us. It is our responsibility under international law to guard (them) and ensure that the environment there would not be damaged and that there won’t be reclamation activities,” Malaya told a regular television program.
China claims almost all the South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam, and has carried out extensive land reclamation on some islands, building military facilities, causing concern in Washington and the region.
China’s foreign ministry on Monday dismissed Manila’s latest accusation as “groundless and pure rumor.”
“Recently, the Philippine side has repeatedly spread rumors, deliberately smeared China and attempted to mislead the international community, which is futile,” spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing.
He urged Manila to “return to the right track of properly settling maritime disputes through negotiation and consultation.”
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said its presence at the Escoda shoal had deterred China from doing small-scale reclamation, but that scientists would have to determine whether the piles of coral were natural or man-made.
He said the coast guard was committed to maintaining a presence at the shoal, just over 120 nautical miles from the Philippine province of Palawan.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, a vital waterway, had no basis under international law, a decision that China rejects.
The Sabina Shoal, known locally as Escoda, is the rendezvous point for vessels resupplying Filipino troops stationed on a grounded warship at the Second Thomas Shoal, where Manila and China have had frequent run-ins.
Ano has called for Chinese diplomats to be expelled over the alleged leak of a phone conversation with a Filipino admiral about the maritime dispute.
On Monday, the Philippine foreign ministry said it would look into reports of “illegal and unlawful activities” by diplomatic officials, but did not name China.
3 men charged in the UK with assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service
- The men will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged under the National Security Act
LONDON: Three men have been charged with allegedly assisting Hong Kong intelligence services and with foreign interference, London’s Metropolitan Police said Monday.
The men will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged under the National Security Act.
Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, Matthew Trickett, 37, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63, have each been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service.
“While these offenses are concerning, I want to reassure the public that we do not believe there to be any wider threat to them,” said Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.
“This investigation remains ongoing, but now that charges have been brought, I urge people not to speculate or comment further in relation to this case.”
Hong Kong’s security bureau, Hong Kong police and the office of China’s foreign ministry in Hong Kong did immediately respond to requests for comment.
Floods kill 43 in Indonesia’s West Sumatra, 15 missing
- Torrential rain on Saturday evening triggered flash floods, landslides, and cold lava flow in three districts in West Sumatra province
- Around 400 personnel, including rescuers, police, and military, were deployed to search for the missing people on Monday
TANAH DATAR: Flash floods and mud slides in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province killed at least 43 people over the weekend while a search for 15 missing people continued, authorities said on Monday.
Torrential rain on Saturday evening triggered flash floods, landslides, and cold lava flow — a mud-like mixture of volcanic ash, rock debris and water — in three districts in West Sumatra province, Abdul Malik, chief of the provincial rescue team, said.
The cold lava flow, known in Indonesia as a lahar, came from Mount Marapi, one of Sumatra’s most active volcanoes.
In December, more than 20 people were killed after Marapi erupted. A series of eruptions has followed since.
“The heavy rain swept materials such as ash and large rocks from the Marapi volcano,” said Abdul Malik, who later added in a statement that 43 people had died and 15 remained missing.
“Cold lava flow and flash floods have always been threats to us recently. But the problem is, it always happens late at night until dawn,” he said.
Abdul said around 400 personnel, including rescuers, police, and military, were deployed to search for the missing people on Monday, helped by at least eight excavators and drones.
The national disaster and management agency BNPB said in a statement almost 200 houses were damaged and 72 hectares (178 acres) of lands, including rice fields, were affected. At least 159 people from Agam district were evacuated to nearby schools.
Footage shared by BNPB showed roads and rice fields covered by mud. Video also showed the wreckage of damaged homes and buildings, while the floods brought logs and large rocks into settlements.
Eko Widodo, a 43-year-old survivor, said: “The flooding was sudden and the river became blocked which resulted in the flow of water everywhere and it was out of control.”
German court backs intelligence agency’s designation of far-right party as suspected extremist case
- The party could still seek to appeal the verdict at a federal court
BERLIN: Germany’s domestic intelligence agency was justified in designating the far-right Alternative for Germany as a suspected case of extremism, a court ruled Monday, rejecting an appeal from the opposition party.
The administrative court in Muenster ruled in favor of the BfV intelligence agency, upholding a 2022 decision by a lower court in Cologne, German news agency dpa reported. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has rejected the designation strongly.
The party could still seek to appeal the verdict at a federal court.
AfD was formed in 2013 and has moved steadily to the right over the years. Its platform initially centered on opposition to bailouts for struggling eurozone members, but its vehement opposition to then-Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow in large numbers of refugees and other migrants in 2015 established the party as a significant political force.
AfD has been polling strongly in Germany in recent months as discontent is high with center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition government.
However, its support declined somewhat following a media report in January that extremists met to discuss the deportation of millions of immigrants, including some with German citizenship, and that some figures from the party attended. The report triggered mass protests in the country against the rise of the far-right.
