By Linda Karadaku for Southeast European Times in Pristina -- 27/03/13
According to the latest report from Kosovo's Intelligence Agency to the parliamentary commission, the agency has investigated more than 1,600 state officials since 2008. [AFP]
The recent resignation of Kosovo's Intelligence Agency deputy head Latif Merovci, followed by speculation in local media about the agency's professional activity, became the subject of discussions among experts.
Kosovo daily Zeri reported on Friday (March 22nd) that Merovci resigned because of irregularities within the agency, "mainly those related to the recruitment of staff in an illegal way and other irregularities related to issues of public procurement."
The newspaper also outlined a letter sent by Merovci to Florin Krasniqi, the head of the parliamentary commission which supervises the intelligence agency's activity.
Speaking to SETimes, Krasniqi said he has no details about the agency's activity and reasons for Merovci's resignation. However, he said political influence on agency's work and allegations concerning the agency's connections to the intelligence service of the former Kosovo Liberation Army are worrisome.
That agency never was officially recognised as an intelligence service and was officially disbanded in 2008. The Kosovo Intelligence Agency was formed in 2008 after Kosovo proclaimed independence.
"The leaders of [the Kosovo Liberation Army's intelligence service] pretend that many of its 'agents' and collaborators now work for the Kosovo Intelligence Agency," Krasniqi told SETimes.
"We have a big, unsolved problem which is related to the establishment of an investigative commission for the [Kosovo Liberation Army intelligence service] which … remains an illegal organisation," Krasniqi told SETimes.
"In order to have security and guarantees that the agency of our state is working in our interest, we should investigate … which individuals are involved in illegal activities."
According Belul Beqaj, Pristina University political science professor, political parties, such as the ruling PDK and the opposition Kosovo Democratic League, have connections to the new agency.
"[The agency's] professionalism can impact the security in Kosovo. If [it] is transformed into an instrument of the political parties, it can be a generator of the dysfunctional processes in Kosovo," Beqaj told SETimes.
Kosovo analysts believe that the agency's activity should be more transparent.
Seb Bytyci, executive director of the Balkan Policy Institute in Pristina, told SETimes that although the work of the agency is secret, that does not mean that it cannot be supervised. The parliamentary commission should play a strong role in this oversight, he said.
"It is important to have supervision of [the intelligence agency] not only from the government, but also from the parliament, where all parties are presented," Bytyci told SETimes.
Betim Musliu, senior researcher at the Kosovo Law Institute, told SETimes that the agency would function better if the civil supervision of the agency was better regulated.
"Lacking a real parliamentary supervision of this agency, the result is that the circle of accountability is not closed, allowing this way an operation of the agency dependent on the will of its leaders to work and not misuse their power," Musliu said.
According to the latest report from agency head Bashkim Smakaj to the parliamentary commission, the agency is doing its job and has investigated more than 1,600 state officials since its formation and most of them have passed the verification process.
The functioning of the agency is decisive for Kosovo's security and has a special importance for the co-operation with the countries in the region, Krasniqi told SETimes.
Source: SETimes.com
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