Orahovac

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Rahovec
Rahoveci
Ораховац
Orahovac

Location in Kosovo
General Information
Mayor	?
Land area	?
Altitude	?
Population (1991)	85,698 (municipality)
Population density	?
Coordinates	?
Postal code:	?
Area code	?
Time zone	UTC+1
Website	?

Orahovac (Albanian: Rahovec or Rahoveci ; Serbian: Ораховац or Orahovac) is a town and municipality in western Kosovo, a Serbian province under UN administration. It is located at 42.41° N 20.66° E.

Contents 1 Name 2 Geography and population 3 History 3.1 NATO bombing 3.2 March 2004 unrest 4 Political parties 5 Economy 6 Social services, health, and education 6.1 Health 6.2 Education 7 Demographics 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Name

Its name stems from the Serbian language word "walnut"^{[citation needed]} (Arra-vec in Albanian).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Geography and population

The municipality coveres an area of approximately 276 square kilometres and contains 35 villages. In 2003 the town had a total population of 23,800 and the population of the municipality was 73,700. It is nominally governed as part of the Serbian autonomous province of Kosovo but in practice is under the authority of the United Nations following the 1999 Kosovo War. There is a small ethnic Serbian enclave in the municipality, numbering around 1,300.

[edit] History

[edit] NATO bombing

During NATO's bombing campaign, Yugoslav Army units from Niš and Leskovac, Serbian police (MUP) units from Kraljevo and Pirot, Russian mercenaries, and volunteers from Serbia and Republika Srpska were stationed in Orahovac^{[citation needed]}. Between 220 and 250 Albanian families were ordered out of Orahovac by the police and the Army. About 1000 Muslims from Orahovac left the town in fear. 60 Albanians were mobilized by force. 25 Albanians were in custody on 1998 charges of terrorism and subversive activity. The approximately 17,000 Albanians who remained in Orahovac spent the time from 24 March until KFOR's arrival hiding in their homes from Serbian police, army troops and paramilitaries^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] March 2004 unrest

During the mid-March 2004 riots, hundreds of Kosovo Albanians gathered in the center of town protesting, while many of them went to the Upper Part (where the majority of ethnic Serbs reside) and severely assaulted a Kosovo Serb couple. A house was set on fire, a few others were vandalized. On 18 March, the Serbian Orthodox Church in the village of Brnjača/Brnjakë was set on fire. 5 Kosovo Serb families left Orahovac during these riots.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Political parties

The relation between the two main Kosovo Albanian political parties, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), dominates the local political climate. Shortly after the end of the conflict, all political parties were involved in the ‘Blockade Council’, an institution that represented the protest of Kosovo Albanians to the deployment of Russian troops in the area. Following the lifting of the blockade in November 1999, the local political parties focused their attention on governance issues.

Three of eight parties taking part in the 2000 Municipal Elections won seats in the Assembly and visibly continued their activities, while other parties quickly lost their political significance. After the 2001 Elections, PDK was the only political party that managed to send a representative to the Kosovo Assembly. In April 2002, PNDSH ceased to exist and some of its members formed a branch of the Justice Party (PD). Mr. Ismet Tara, a well-known former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) Commander, headed the PD list in the 2002 Municipal Elections and won a seat in the Municipal Assembly.10 Not all political parties which participated in the municipal elections in October 2000 were certified for the municipal elections in October 2002.

The Central Assembly Election of 2004 saw the appearance of a new political entity in Kosovo, the Reformist Party ORA, which gained 5.6% of the vote in Orahovac. In these elections PDK and LDK succeeded in sending their representatives from Orahovac to the Central Assembly.

The LDK has a new branch president since the CEO Ibrahim Kryeziu resigned from the position and Mr. Xhemajli Zeqiri took over. The PDK held a general assembly in the summer 2005 and Mr Qazim Qeska was elected as the new PDK branch president.

Political party structures are not well developed in the Kosovo Serb areas. Although different individuals claim to belong to and/or represent different political options, there are no formal branches of any political entities operating in the area.

In 1999, the community placed a moratorium upon parties and political activities in order to focus on representing the interests of the community as a whole. As Kosovo Serb parties boycotted the 2000 Municipal Elections, the Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) appointed a community representative to the Municipal Assembly. In the Kosovo Assembly Elections in 2001 the Coalition Return (KP) did not include any representative from Orahovac municipality on its candidates’ list, causing great disappointment in the two enclaves. In the 2002 Municipal Elections KP was certified and presented a list of four candidates from the municipality, out of which one candidate was elected and subsequently appointed Municipal Additional Deputy President. Even if KP has ceased to exist as political entity, the Additional President will hold his position until the next municipal elections.

[edit] Economy

The economy rests largely on agriculture, including vegetable crops and vineyards. There is some production of wheat and corn and cattle breeding. The sand and gravel business in the area is probably the second most important economic activity in the Municipality. There are a total of eight enterprises dealing with agricultural production, production of plastics, heaters, freezers, and recycling. These nominally state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have partly resumed their activities but are in need of financial assistance and infrastructure aid. One of the SOEs, Termosistem, was among the first six SOEs to be privatized in Kosovo, recently followed by “Silosi”, the biggest flour factory in the region and “Eco Plast”.

[edit] Social services, health, and education

Generally all communities receive access to Kosovo Social Services, as there is a sub-office of the Centre for Social Welfare situated in the Kosovo Serb enclave of Upper Orahovac. In 2004 a new Invalidity pension was introduced.

[edit] Health

The local health sector includes one health house in Orahovac town, two clinics, and seven health centres, also known as ambulanta. These facilities provide basic medical treatment. The nearest well-equipped hospitals are located in Đakovica and Prizren. There are two ambulantas providing basic medical services to the minority population in the enclaves. As of October 2005, with the start of the OSCE funded project “Communities Committee: Promoter of Rights”, visits to the Health Centers have been regularly organized for minority members.

[edit] Education

The Kosovo Albanian children are served by 19 primary schools and one secondary school with two branches in two villages, where five of the primary schools are in Orahovac town. Kosovo Serbs have access to two primary schools and one gymnasium. In 2001 the Municipality, together with World Vision, UNICEF and the Japanese government, attempted to bring Kosovo Albanian, Kosovo Serb and Kosovo Roma students together in a newly built multi-ethnic primary school.

Since then no progress has been made in this field. In summer 2005 the Director of Education initiated a series of meetings with minority teachers and parents with the aim to begin the reintegration of minority pupils in the primary school, but without success. Serb community refuses to send their children to the multi-ethnic school as there were fears from the community, that the acceptance of the Kosovo authority over education of Serb pupils would exempt them from further education in Serbia proper, either secondary schooling or university education. There are also questions related to different curricula and the issue of language. As a result, the school presently only accommodates Kosovo Albanian and Kosovo Roma/Egyptian children with education being carried out in the Albanian language.

[edit] Demographics

Ethnic Composition, Including IDPs
Year/Population	Albanians	%	Serbs	%	Others	%	Total
1991	55,119	92	3,938	7	885	1	59,942
January 1999	52,500	92	4,000	7	800	1	57,300
December 1999	58,772	89	5,008	8	2116	3	65,896
May 2001	69,019	97.6	1,350	1.9	350	0.5	70,719
November 2002	71,834	97.7	1,300	1.8	420	0.5	73,554
August 2003	72,853	97,1	1300	1,7	849	1,1	75002
Current figure	76,577		App. 1,300	1,7	App. 420	1,1	76,577
Source:1991 census, OSCE/KVM Report (January 1999), UNHCR/HCIC Kosovo, Database (December 1999), Community leaders’ information. 2002 -Directorate of Urbanism (only figures concerning Kosovo Albanian part of the population), Local Community Office, Community leaders’ information. All population figures are subject to a wide margin of error. It is noted that the 1991 census was highly politicized and is thus unreliable.. Ref: OSCE [1]

[edit] See also

• Massacre at Krusha e Madhe
• Kosovo
• 2004 unrest in Kosovo
• Serbian enclave in Orahovac

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Orahovac Municipal Webpage
• NBI “Rahoveci” Winery
• Rahoveci.NET more About Rahoveci
• BBC article concerning March 2004 riots
• Association of Kosovo Municipalities
• Statistical Office of Kosovo (SOK)
• OSCE Mission in Kosovo > Municipal profiles
• Internationl Organization for Mifration (IOM)
• Survivors describe massacre in Rahovec
• Human Rights Publication-Massacre in Pastasel, Rahovec
• Massacre of Over Sixty Villagers Near Belacerk, Rahovec
• Massacre at Krusha e Madhe,Rahovec
• Photographic Evidence of Kosovo Genocide and Conflict