Census of war damage in Kosovo - statistics or politics?

Alongside questions about education level, employment, marital or housing status, the population census that began in Kosovo on April 5th includes a questionnaire about the consequences of the war on "family economy". In this form, citizens can specify the amount of damage in euros if their property was damaged during the period from February 28, 1998, to June 11, 1999, and whether any family members were killed, wounded, or disappeared... According to Kosovo Online's sources, conducting a census of war damage in this way is controversial for several reasons.

This is the first time that data on war damage are being collected in Kosovo, and citizens have the option to indicate whether the value of the property destroyed was up to 10,000 euros, between ten and twenty thousand euros, from 20,000 to 40,000 euros, or more than 40,000 euros.

The first problematic aspect is this free estimate, alongside which no proof is required to support the provided data. Secondly, and according to many, particularly discriminatory towards the Serbian community is the period to which the war damage census relates, since the property of Serbs, as well as other non-Albanians, suffered significant damage after June 1999. A third criticism is why the war damage census is conducted alongside the population census, and the unclear approach - who will determine whether the data collected in this way are authoritative.

The census continues until May 17th, preliminary results are expected in three months, and when the data on the war damage suffered by the participating citizens are released, there is little doubt about what the next steps of the Kosovo authorities might be.

Former judge of the Higher Court in North Mitrovica, Nikola Kabasic, tells Kosovo Online that if one considers the entire policy of the Kosovo government over the past few years, there are constant statements indicating that Serbia should be sued for war damages and that a lawsuit will be filed against Serbia for alleged genocide.

"Thus, this census also aims to determine how many Albanians there are and how many Serbs there are not, and thereby how many rights Serbs do not have to claim anything in Kosovo. It's clear to see Kosovo's strategy because they talk openly about their plans. When they are admitted into the Council of Europe, they will say they are a state, because only European states are admitted to the COE, and they are currently an undefined territory, and then they will claim they have the right to file a lawsuit against Serbia for genocide and seek war damages," says Kabasic.

He points out that the census of war damage was not conducted in the past 25 years, but the one being conducted now is undoubtedly politically instrumentalized, as is the timing of its execution.

He views the most problematic aspect as the period to which it is linked, namely that it is limited to June 11, 1999, when NATO forces first entered the territory of Kosovo.

"What about the period after that, up to March 17, 2004, when the Serbian community, Gorani, and Roma were most severely attacked, and when they suffered the greatest damage, with many killed, kidnapped, disappeared, wounded, and homes and villages systematically burned and destroyed, what about that damage? Is the church even considered in this census, to state which of its properties were destroyed? Each segment of the census should have a methodology - what will be the proof and what are the means of proof. Is there a commission that will ultimately say: 'yes, we have verified that this is the actual damage or it is not'? They just say that citizens are obliged to provide accurate data, and in case of providing false data, they will be legally accountable. However, we are aware of how many false witnesses there are in Kosovo, and the prosecution does not initiate criminal proceedings for false testimony," Kabasic points out. According to Kabasic, the accuracy of the data provided by the citizens about the damage is not verifiable.

"How can you trust this data if every citizen is free to say that during the war they had, for example, five barns, ten houses, and that they were demolished and burned. What kind of damage was there? Was it total, minor, or major, can it be expressed materially or immaterially?" Kabasic states, but emphasizes that it cannot be said in advance that the data provided by the citizens are false.

There was damage, he says, and it cannot be denied.

"A large number of Albanian houses were burned and destroyed, and it needs to be determined who caused that damage, who burned them, and under what conditions, whether it was during military actions or was deliberate arson, whether it was committed by members of the KLA, as it usually happened that they burned houses and punished their disloyal compatriots. This is a very complex issue, and the government of Kosovo has somewhat 'slipped up'. They have even faced criticism from their own NGOs and lawyers who say that it was too quickly put as one of the census segments," Kabasic indicates.

Dragisa Mijacic, coordinator of the Working Group of the National Convention on the EU for Chapter 35, tells our portal that neither enumerators nor citizens in Kosovo who suffered damage during the war period can determine the amount of that damage, which raises questions about how useful these statistical data collected during the population census will be.

"The population census currently being conducted in Kosovo contains truly strange elements for such a statistical data collection, especially when it comes to material damage incurred during war destruction. When it comes to collecting other data - about human life losses, it is good that it is counted through this mechanism, but when it comes to damage, it is really controversial," Mijacic believes. The purpose of collecting this data, according to his assessment, is to use it in political negotiations and to pressure the dialogue process with Belgrade.

"However, the credibility of such data is questionable, because who can estimate the damage in euros when back then it was in German marks, and certainly, it is necessary to adjust these amounts for inflation. It is simply impossible to determine the amounts of war damage in this way, nor is the census an instrument for that. This is purely a political game that is intended to be used further in dialogue, but I believe that it will not have a significant reach in the actual negotiation process between Belgrade and Pristina," Mijacic states.

That the census of war damage is politically motivated is also the assessment of the coordinator of the Resource Center for Missing Persons, Negovan Mavric.

"You know how a census is conducted, it's a population census and not a damage census, but unfortunately, someone probably wants to use this census for some political purposes. I assume that this is being done systematically so that based on the census, the state of Serbia can be accused," says Mavric for Kosovo online. For him, the period to which the census of war damage relates is also problematic, because, he says, it is well known that Serbs suffered until the end of 2000.

"That's the political game. Serbs suffered much more after the arrival of the peace mission in Kosovo, and that period is not covered by the census form. Also, when you see that the census includes categories about the kidnapped or killed, that is no longer a population census because those issues are dealt with by others. Everyone thinks that these issues have no place in this census," says Mavric, adding that people still do not know what to do, whether to participate in the census or not.

He also states that his family suffered a loss, but that this will not be recorded by the census.

"My brother was kidnapped in the center of Orahovac on October 12, 1999, but the census does not cover that period," he says.

The questions about the missing, killed, or captured found in the questionnaire, according to Bekim Bljakaj from the Humanitarian Law Fund, can cause problems. He points out that there is already an official list that is "recognized by all parties" and that civil society has spent more than 25 years documenting the lists of the killed and missing.

"Why venture into something that potentially can create misconceptions and problems? After all, in the official list of missing persons, all those who disappeared forcibly by the end of 2000 are recognized. Why enumerate victims over a shorter period? These are the reasons why we at the Humanitarian Law Fund of Kosovo disagree with conducting a census of war victims and war damage as part of the same project in which the population is being enumerated," Blakaj tells for Kosovo online.

He believes it is irresponsible to include sensitive questions such as a census of war victims and war damage in the population census, adding that people can arbitrarily claim to have suffered material damage.

"Multiple people could report the same object, such as a house. Why not establish a professional commission to enumerate war damage? In my opinion, those who conduct the population census should not be the same ones handling this," Blakaj said.

Serbian parties, it should be noted, have called for a boycott of the census. On the other hand, the Kosovo Statistical Agency emphasizes that participating in the census is not just a civic duty, but also a legal obligation.