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Ethem Çeku

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Ethem Çeku (born 1962) is a historian and former soldier and politician in Kosovo. He was an officer in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the 1998–99 Kosovo War and a minister in the government of Kosovo from 2002 to 2008. Çeku is a member of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK).

He is a cousin of former Kosovan prime minister Agim Çeku.[1]

Kosovo War

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Çeku was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army in the area of Peja during the Kosovo War.[2][3] After the end of the war in June 1999, he brought reporters to what he said was a torture chamber operated by Serbian police in the city. He said that 395 ethnic Albanians had been brought to a jail next to the police station in the final three months of the war and that their current whereabouts were unknown.[4]

Politician

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Interim leader of Peja (1999–2000)

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At the end of the Kosovo War, the Kosovo Liberation Army appointed Çeku as interim mayor of Peja.[5] He continued to wear his combat fatigues to work and carried an AK-47, despite demands from international forces that the KLA disarm.[6]

In response to an attack on a Serbian Orthodox church in Peja in July 1999, Çeku said, "I feel very sorry about that church, and we're all for preserving the old buildings. But we're very allergic to churches built since 1990. They are churches of politics, not churches of religion."[7]

Çeku met with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan during the latter's visit to the province in October 1999.[8]

The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) appointed Jose Manuel Sucre as municipal administrator of Peja later in 1999, and Çeku was reassigned as chairman of the Peja municipal council.[9] In May 2000, Çeku signed a statement on behalf of the council that there was not yet any possibility of allowing Serb refugees to return to the area.[10] He attended talks in Washington, D.C., in July 2000; the talks did not deal with the status of Kosovo but rather with ending the ongoing violence between the Serb and Albanian communities and creating conditions for democratic institutions.[11][12]

The Peja region was threatened by serious forest fires in August 2000, and Çeku was described as deploying all of the forces of the municipality to prevent an environmental catastrophe.[13]

Çeku appeared in the second position on the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo's electoral list for Peja in the 2000 Kosovan local elections and placed first among the party's candidates, winning election to the local assembly.[14][15] The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) won a majority victory in the city, and his term as council leader came to an end.

Cabinet minister (2002–08)

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Minister of Environment and Urban Planning (2002–04)

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Çeku oversaw the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo's election headquarters in the 2001 Kosovan parliamentary election and introduced its election list to the media in September 2001.[16] He himself appeared in the eleventh position on the list.[17] The election was held under closed list proportional representation; the AAK won eight seats, and he was not elected.

The AAK joined Kosovo's coalition government after the election and received two cabinet positions. When the new ministry was formed on 4 April 2002, Çeku was appointed as minister of environment and urban planning.[18] Following his appointment, he said his first priority would be the development and implementation of a legal structure for his ministry; once this was in place, his focus would turn to building industrial zones and infrastructure, environmental protection, and management of natural resources. He said that Pristina's growing illegal construction sector was a serious problem and also accused neighbouring Macedonia of "invading" 2,500 hectares of Kosovo's territory.[19]

In a November 2003 interview, Çeku highlighted his ministry's work in promulgating laws on environment and spatial planning and expressed hope that the assembly would soon approve further laws on water supply, housing, and the Bjeshkët e Nemuna range. He identified limited finances and a lack of qualified employees as his department's main challenges and called for additional funding from international donors.[20]

Çeku was injured in a February 2004 car bomb attack in Peja. The injuries were minor, and he was treated at a local hospital. Police did not identify a motive for the attack.[21]

In May 2004, Çeku met with Albanian public works and tourism minister Bashkim Fino in Pristina. Their talks covered illegal housing construction, tourism, and the integration of Kosovo's highway system with Albania and Macedonia.[22] The following month, Çeku presented Kosovo's Strategy for Sustainable Environmental Development at a public event at the University of Pristina, and the Kosovo assembly approved his ministry's bill on Kosovo's waters.[23][24]

Çeku and Turkish environment minister Osman Pepe signed a protocol on environmental cooperation in September 2004.[25]

Minister of Energy (2004–08)

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Çeku was given the eighth position on the AAK's electoral list in the 2004 Kosovan parliamentary election and was elected when the list won nine seats.[26] His first parliamentary term was brief; the Democratic League of Kosovo formed a new coalition government with the AAK after the election, and Çeku was appointed as minister of energy when the ministry was formed on 3 December 2004.[27] He was also appointed to a lead role in the development of Kosovo's economic development strategy.[28]

Shortly after his appointment as energy minister, Çeku took part in a public debate with Nexhat Daci, who was then president of the Assembly of Kosovo. Daci proposed shutting down the Kosovo A Power Station, which he described as obsolete, and replacing it with a series of smaller plants. Çeku argued for revitalizing Kosovo A and restarting the Kosovo B plant, and for targeting unmetered connections to Kosovo's power grid.[29]

In June 2005, Çeku introduced a fifteen-year energy development strategy, highlighted by a pledge for Kosovo to have 4,200 megawatts in new generating capacities by 2020. He argued that Kosovo's energy sector was making progress in fulfilling Kosovo's energy needs, citing a recent memorandum with Albania on a 400-kilowatt transmitting line.[30] Two months later, he said that Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) officials, with whom he had a poor relationship generally in this period, would need to provide residents with all-day electricity transmission or face punitive measures.[31][32]

Çeku reactivated the Trepča Mines on a three-month experimental basis in August 2005. He expressed confidence that the enterprise would prove economically viable and increase the social welfare of the Mitrovica District.[33] The following month, he joined with representatives of the European Agency for Reconstruction to announce a plan for rehabilitating Kosovo A. On the latter occasion, he proposed a "zero tolerance" plan for those not paying energy bills.[34]

In November 2005, Çeku was appointed to chair a joint UNMIK–Kosovo task force on energy.[35] In February of the following year, he was appointed to a task force on the opening of the R 6 Motorway.[36]

Çeku presented a plan for the development of a Kosovo C power plant in May 2006.[37] Construction was slated to begin in 2008. Çeku described the plant as the largest investment that Kosovo's government had made since the beginning of UNMIK's mandate and said that it would generate one hundred fifty million Euros per year for the state. He also indicated that Kosovo's government would have only a minority stake in the plant, with private investors holding the majority of shares.[38][39][40] One of the plant's strongest supporters was UNMIK deputy chief of internal administration Steven P. Schook, with whom Çeku had formed a close partnership.[41]

In June 2006, Çeku rejected a proposal by the Russian firm Gazprom to build a new power capacity fuelled by imported natural gas.[42]

The Kosovo government appointed Çeku as chair of the Kosovo Energy Corporation in May 2007.[43] Shortly thereafter, he led the board in dismissing Pranvera Dobruna-Kryeziu as managing director, only eight months into her term. He said that her dismissal was due to poor performance and lack of cooperation between the corporation and the energy ministry.[44] In August of the same year, he led the board in ending the KEK's financial support for Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK).[45]

Çeku and Kosovo interior minister Blerim Kuçi introduced a 2007 memorandum that made vehicle registration conditional on the payment of all outstanding energy bills. An unintended consequence of this was a decrease in the number of registered vehicles and greater financial pressure on Kosovo's insurance agencies.[46]

Kosovo's energy sector faced significant challenges during the early 2000s, with frequent power shortages and an irregular power supply. The World Bank's director for South East Europe expressed disappointment with the sector in July 2007, saying that it had not been managed properly despite significant investments.[47] The non-government organization COHU! accused Çeku of damaging local energy production by favouring international investors.[48]

Opposition legislator (2008–11)

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Çeku once again oversaw the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo's election headquarters for the 2007 Kosovan parliamentary election.[49] Prior to this election, Kosovo adopted a system of open list proportional representation. Çeku was given the fifth position on the AAK's list and finished eighth among its candidates.[50] The list won ten seats. Çeku was not immediately elected due to a requirement for one-third female representation, but he was the first candidate in line for a replacement seat, and he was able to take a seat when party leader Ramush Haradinaj resigned his mandate soon after the election.[51] (At the time, Haradinaj was facing charges of war crimes at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY); he was later acquitted.)

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) won the 2007 election and afterward formed a new coalition government with the LDK. The AAK moved into opposition. In mid-2008, it was reported that the new PDK-led administration regarded virtually everything Çeku accomplished as energy minister with suspicion and that United Nations administrators were investigating whether senior UN officials had worked with Kosovo politicians to manipulate the Kosovo C tender process.[52] Çeku, for his part, accused the government of mismanaging Kosovo's international relations around the Kosovo C plant and in March 2010 expressed doubt that the project would ever start.[53] (Kosovo C was, in fact, ultimately cancelled.)

Çeku appeared in the fourteenth position on the AAK's list in the 2010 parliamentary election, finished seventeenth among its candidates, and was not re-elected when the list won twelve seats.[54] He resigned from all party functions in the AAK in July 2012 and has not returned to active political life since this time.[55]

Academic career

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Çeku began working at the University of Pristina in 1989. He became an assistant professor at the post-war institution in 2010, was appointed as dean of the education department in 2012, and was promoted to associate professor in 2021.[56][57] In 2016, he published the book Kosovo and Diplomacy Since World War II.

References

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  1. ^ Scott Taylor, "'One of the most dangerous place on Earth': Secret guerrilla armies. Neighbours stoning school buses. Two peoples living in terror and hatred: Three years later, war-ravaged Kosovo remains a powderkeg," Ottawa Citizen, 22 June 2002, B1.
  2. ^ "FOCUS-Italians find child corpses in Kosovo," Reuters News, 16 June 1999.
  3. ^ "Italian troops stop armed Serbs as KLA takes over Pec," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Newsfile, 16 June 1999 (Source: ANSA news agency database, Rome, in English 16 Jun 99).
  4. ^ "KLA leader reveals Serb torture chamber in Pec," Reuters News, 18 June 1999.
  5. ^ "Kosovo Albanians set up civilian authorities in several western Kosovo towns," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European – Political, 18 June 1999 (Source: Albanian TV, Tirana, in Albanian 1635 gmt 18 Jun 99).
  6. ^ John Reed with James M. Dorsey, "Into the Void: Justice Gets Rough In Kosovo as Serbs Flee, KFOR Arrives," The Wall Street Journal Europe, 21 June 1999, p. 1.
  7. ^ Richard Lloyd Parry, "Churches `symbols of occupation'," The Independent, 1 August 1999, p. 9.
  8. ^ Pierre Briand, "Annan visiting devastated eastern Kosovo by," Agence France Presse, 14 October 1999.
  9. ^ "Kosovo hunger strikers demand the release of prisoners from Serbian jails," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European – Political, 9 May 2000 (Source: Kosovapress news agency web site in Albanian 8 May 00).
  10. ^ "Ethnic Albanian official says the return of Serbs to western Kosovo premature," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 15 May 2000 (Source: Kosovapress news agency web site in Albanian 12 May 00).
  11. ^ "Group names Kosovo Serbs, Albanians participating in Washington conference," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 19 July 2000 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1334 gmt 18 Jul 00).
  12. ^ "Kosovo Serbs and Albanians sign declaration to end violence - agency," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 26 July 2000 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1418 gmt 25 Jul 00).
  13. ^ "Forest fires in Pec region threaten Kosovo with 'environmental catastrophe'," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 31 August 2000 (Source: Kosovapress news agency web site in Albanian 26 Aug 00).
  14. ^ Zgjedhjet për Kuvende Komunale 2000 – Fletëvotimet dhe listat e kandidatëve (Pejë – Lista e kandidatëve), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 13 January 2022.
  15. ^ ZGJEDHJET PËR KUVENDE KOMUNALE 2000 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Kandidatët e zgjedhur sipas subjekteve), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 22 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Party led by Haradinaj names candidates for parliamentary elections," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring – European, 21 September 2001 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 21 Sep 01).
  17. ^ LISTA E KANDIDATËVE PËR ZGJEDHJET PARLAMENTARE 2001 NE KOSOVË, Archived 2001-12-19 at the Wayback Machine, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, accessed 21 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Kosovo Assembly votes in president, prime minister, government," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European – Political, 4 March 2002 (Source: RTK television, Pristina, in Albanian 0950 gmt 4 Mar 02).
  19. ^ "Kosovo environment minister discusses priorities with British diplomats," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European – Political, 24 March 2002 (Source: Kosovapress news agency web site, Pristina, in Albanian 22 Mar 02).
  20. ^ "Kosovo minister complains of lack of financial means to solve citizens' problems," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 26 November 2003 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 24 Nov 03).
  21. ^ "Top U.N. official, government condemn attack on Kosovo minister," Associated Press Newswires, 22 February 2004.
  22. ^ "Kosovo, Albanian ministers discuss cooperation in planning issues, tourism," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 16 May 2004 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in Albanian 14 May 04).
  23. ^ "Kosovo ministry presents strategy for sustainable environmental development," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 1 June 2004 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 1 Jun 04).
  24. ^ "Kosovo Assembly passes laws on contracts, inheritance, water assets," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 19 June 2004 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 17 Jun 04).
  25. ^ "TURKEY AND KOSOVO SIGN ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION PROTOCOL," Anadolu Agency, 15 September 2004.
  26. ^ ZGJEDHJET PËR KUVENDIN E KOSOVËS 2004 – Fletëvotimi për Zgjedhjet për Kuvend të Kosovës 2004 (Lista e Kandidatëve për Zgjedhjet për Kuvend të Kosovës 2004), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 21 January 2022.
  27. ^ "Serbia's Kosovo New Cabinet," SeeNews, 3 December 2004.
  28. ^ "Official says Kosovo government neglecting previous development strategy," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 3 May 2005 (Source: Koha Ditore, Pristina, in Albanian 2 May 05 p 5).
  29. ^ "Kosovo energy minister rejects idea of pulling down existing power station," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 5 February 2005 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 4 Feb 05).
  30. ^ "Kosovo Energy Ministry presents 15-year 'energy development strategy'," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 23 June 2005 (Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 23 Jun 05).
  31. ^ "Kosovo energy minister promises round-the-clock electricity by 2006," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 19 August 2005 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 19 Aug 05).
  32. ^ "Ceku lambasts KEK management," Platts Energy in East Europe, 2 September 2005, p. 18.
  33. ^ "Kosovo's Trepca mine resumes work," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 22 August 2005 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 22 Aug 05).
  34. ^ "Kosovo energy minister, European agency discuss rehabilitation of power station," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 24 September 2005 (Source: RTK TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1730 gmt 23 Sep 05).
  35. ^ "Kosovo government, UNMIK set up joint task force on electricity supply," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 18 November 2005 (Source: RTK TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1830 gmt 17 Nov 05).
  36. ^ "UNMIK chief urges Kosovo government leadership in tackling emergencies," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 28 February 2006 (Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 24 Feb 06).
  37. ^ "UNMIK deputy chief, Kosovo minister discuss construction of new power plant," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 15 May 2006 (Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 15 May 06).
  38. ^ Neil MacDonald, "Mining and energy: Riches aplenty but few resources.," Financial Times, 29 May 2006.
  39. ^ Garentina Kraja, "Kosovo to select bidder for new power plant in early 2007," Associated Press Newswires, 21 June 2006.
  40. ^ "Kosovo to select bidder for new power plant in early 2007," Platts Energy in East Europe, 27 October 2006.
  41. ^ "Kosovo: UN body probes UNMIK deputy head," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 3 October 2007 (Source: Koha Ditore, Pristina, in Albanian 27 Sep 07 pp 1,3).
  42. ^ "Kosovo plans to stay gasless," Platts Energy in East Europe, 9 June 2006, p. 13.
  43. ^ "Kosovo trust agency rejects government's nominees for public companies' boards," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 15 May 2007 (Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 14 May 07). The article title does not refer to Çeku.
  44. ^ "KEK seeks new director," Platts Energy in East Europe, 20 July 2007, p. 17.
  45. ^ "Party slams power company's decision to stop funding Kosovo public TV," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 11 August 2007 (Source: RTK TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1730 gmt 9 Aug 07).
  46. ^ "Kosovo insurance firms facing ruin over power bills accord," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 17 August 2007 (Source: RTK TV, Pristina, in Albanian 1730 gmt 15 Aug 07).
  47. ^ "World Bank dismay with Kosovo," Platts Energy in East Europe, 20 July 2007, p. 17.
  48. ^ "NGO head blames Kosovo energy minister for power-supply problems," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 16 August 2007 (Source: Text of report by Radio-Television Kosovo TV on 13 August).
  49. ^ "Kosovo PM's party confirms premier not running in election," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 4 September 2007 (Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 4 Sep 07).
  50. ^ ZGJEDHJET PËR KUVEND TË REPUBLIKËS SË KOSOVËS 2007 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Rezultatet e të gjithë kandidatëve), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, p. 19, accessed 15 January 2022.
  51. ^ "Kosovo opposition party wants leader to take up vacant parliamentary seat," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 27 November 2009 (Source: Express, Pristina, in Albanian 24 Nov 09, p5).
  52. ^ Neil MacDonald, "Perennial power problems for Kosovo," Platts Energy in East Europe, 6 June 2008, p. 7.
  53. ^ "Doubts linger over Kosovo coal-fired power plant," Reuters News, 23 March 2010.
  54. ^ ZGJEDHJET E PARAKOHSHME PËR KUVENDIN E REPUBLIKËS SË KOSOVËS 2010 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Rezultatet e të gjithë kandidatëve), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, p. 44, accessed 2 February 2022.
  55. ^ "Ethem Çeku jep dorëheqje nga AAK-ja", Telegrafi, 18 July 2012, accessed 23 March 2024.
  56. ^ "Ethem Çeku jep dorëheqje nga AAK-ja", Telegrafi, 18 July 2012, accessed 23 March 2024.
  57. ^ Ethem Çeku, University of Pristina, accessed 23 March 2024.
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