Travel Kosova - Open Project - Drenas Municipality

Drenas (Gllogovc/Glogovac) municipality is located in central Kosova, between Çiçavica mountains in the east and the Drenica hills in the north and west. The main road from Prishtinë/Priština to Pejë/Peć crosses the municipality.

At a junction at Komoran/Komorane village, a smaller road extends north from the highway, passing through Gllogovc/Glogovac town and continuing to Skënderaj/Srbica town. There are a total of 36 villages in the municipality, including the town of Gllogovc/Glogovac. The municipality's population prior to the 1999 bombing was approximately 69,000 made up almost entirely of Kosovo Albanians, with a small number of Kosovo Serbs and others only in the Gllogovc/Glogovac town. No ethnic minorities remained in the municipality, thus Gllogovc/Glogovac today reflects a mono-ethnic environment. Gllogovc/Glogovac has been the cradle of Kosovo Albanian nationalist movements. Before the conflict the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) had a strong level of influence and controlled large areas of the municipality. Gllogovc/Glogovac municipality was consequently badly affected, as was the entire Drenica region. A series of Yugoslav police operations resulting in armed confrontation and civilian casualties represented defining episodes in the escalation of armed conflict in Kosovo.

Religious, Places of Worship, and Cultural Institutions
The predominant religion in Gllogovc/Glogovac is muslim. Since the Kosovo Serb presence was always insignificant in numbers and not a traditional area of settlement, there are no Serb Orthodox churches in Gllogovc/Glogovac. There are eight Mosques, the main one being in Gllogovc/Glogovac town. All of these mosques function, except the one in Krajkovë, which was destroyed. Though there are a few Catholics in the municipality, there is no Catholic Church. The Islamic Community has an office in the town. There are no signs of political influence within the religious community. Besides the mosques there are other sites of great significance. These are the mass graves in the municipality. People pay regular visits to the specific burial grounds or places where massacres took place and they organise ceremonies to remember the lost members of their families who were killed during the conflict.

Local and International NGOs
The presence of the International NGOs in the municipality remains unchanged. The number of international NGOs is reduced, while their activity level can be described as modest. Only the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) continues to be based in Gllogovc/Glogovac while the few other International NGOs working in Gllogovc/Glogovac are mainly based in Prishtinë/Priština. These include Swiss CARITAS and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC). The most prominent local NGOs are Mother Theresa Society (MTS), the ‘Council for Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms’1, Shpresa, Aureola, Gresa, Nora, and Handikos. The KLA War Veterans Association, KLA Invalids Association, Friends of KPC, Pensioners Association, Gllogovc Hearing Impaired Association, Union Fund of the Republic of Kosova (UFORK) or the so- called "Bukoshi Fund" are active in the municipality as well.

Local Media
There are no local newspapers, except two temporary magazines "Realiteti" (a youth magazine) and "Spektri" (local magazine). However, there are four correspondents residing in Gllogovc/Glogovac working for major newspapers based in Prishtinë/Priština. There are two local Radio Stations, "Radio Drenas" and "Radio Dodona", but there is no TV station.

Police, Civil Protection, and Military Presence
Police in Gllogovc/Glogovac is under the KPS management since July 2003. 15 UNMIK International police officers are mainly assisting and advising. The number of KPS is 99. They are all Kosovo Albanians. The Norwegian Kosovo Force (KFOR) contingent was taken over by the Finnish Battalion of KFOR in July 2003. The Finnish team seems to enjoy the support of the community and has excellent co-operation with UNMIK Police, UN Civil Administration, OSCE and other members of international and local communities. The Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), a civilian defence unit and the successor of the KLA, numbers 60 members and is still dependent on the Regional Training Group (RTG) 1 Zone located in Skënderaj/Srbica.

Economics
UNMIK, KFOR and NGOs are the main employers in the municipality, while the majority of the population is employed in family-owned, small sized, non-productive, private businesses like shops, car washes, and petrol stations. Most businesses have officially registered with UNMIK. Gllogovc/Glogovac is an agricultural-based, rural municipality with wheat and maize as the primary crops. Before the conflict, a socially owned agricultural enterprise dominated the production but was destroyed. As a result, a large portion of the arable land is not cultivated as of today. The Cattle Farm in Krajkovë village is now utilised as the Temporary Community Shelter. The Ferronikel Factory provided jobs for more than 2,000 people at the peak of its production in 1988. Heavy damages were inflicted on the facility during the 1999 conflict, leaving it inoperable. Nevertheless, the recently privatised factory is still contributing to the infrastructure of Gllogovc/Glogovac town with power, including water supply and an electric grid. A major development is the building of the Trade Centre in Gllogovc/Glogovac town, which will be completed by mid-2004. Municipality played a central role in the whole process by co-ordinating the financing, construction and management of the project. The Trade Centre will house 134 shops and offices for small businesses. Two quarries at Korroticë e Epërme and Çikatovë e Vjetër have become operational since the conflict.

Infrastructure
The roads in the municipality range from good to poor. The main road has been redone. Local roads in the town and roads in the majority of villages remain a primary concern. During rainy or icy weather conditions it is difficult to reach some of the more remote villages due to the poor road conditions. All over the municipality there is a great lack of appropriate sewage systems in place, although in some areas the system was rehabilitated during 2001 and 2002. Telephone land lines are operational and the usage of mobile phones is the main form of communication. Electricity is available with daily power cuts, similar to the rest of the province. Latest developments include work done on the sewage network in Komoran and Gllogovc/Glogovac II, construction of Court building and restoration of the Town Hall. Furthermore, the decision by EAR to discontinue the housing reconstruction program negatively impacted on the municipality where 1171 homes remain to be rebuilt.

Social Services, Health, and Education
According to the information from the Social Centre, there are 2,166 families receiving social assistance. A specialised team is dispatched to deal with traumatised people and domestic violence problems. A Health Centre and six small Clinics serve the immediate need of population in Gllogovc/Glogovac. A lack of sufficient amount of medicine and specialised equipment is notable. The outstanding issue of reimbursing the additional staff has been a major issue during 2003 and 2004. Despite the allocation of funds during the course of last year, no similar provisions have been made for 2004. In 2002 eight new buildings, including elementary schools and one pre-primary school were built, while in 2003 an additional primary school was constructed. In Gllogovc/Glogovac municipality there are 21 primary schools, 2 secondary schools and 2 pre-primary school. The quality of teachers is less than desirable as many of them do not have the necessary qualifications. The overcrowding of schools presents one of the most persisting dilemmas for the municipality. The additional of “9th” class has further overburdened an existing malfunctioning system. There is a need for more kindergarten facilities, pre-primary and primary schools, and upgrading of the existing schools. Another persisting problem is the effective de-politicisation of educational institutes, intensive training for the teachers and revision of the curriculum.

Note: Source: OSCE - Mission in Kosovo