PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The wife and close family of Kosovo's ailing President Ibrahim Rugova are at his bedside in a U.S. military hospital in Germany, Kosovo newspapers reported on Thursday.
Rugova, icon of the ethnic Albanian drive for independence from Serbia, was taken to the Landstuhl hospital last Saturday reportedly suffering from a bad bout of flu.
A senior foreign diplomat told Reuters on Wednesday the 60-year-old Sorbonne-educated literature professor was "in a very serious condition" with an unspecified illness.
The news sparked concern in Kosovo that Rugova could be incapacitated just weeks ahead of the expected launch of United Nations-mediated talks that he and two million ethnic Albanians hope will lead to independence in 2006.
"Members of the president's family including his wife Fana went to Germany to visit him and are already there," the daily Koha Ditore said. The daily Express said Rugova's personal physician had also gone to the Landstuhl facility.
Rugova's office and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) political party declined to discuss his illness, saying they had no information about any change in Rugova's condition.
The United Nations mission that has run Kosovo since NATO drove Serb forces six years ago also denied any knowledge of an illness grave enough to sideline the veteran leader.
"What I can tell you is that we are aware of the fact that President Rugova has left Kosovo for some medical tests following an announcement last week regarding his health," said U.N. spokesman Neeraj Singh.
"References to the constitutional framework are at this timer speculative, since we have no indication that he is 'temporarily unable to perform his duties'."
Speculation in the popular press spoke of possible cancer but cited no sources or evidence.
"I am afraid that the pessimistic scenarios about Rugova may come true," Express quoted an unnamed diplomat as saying.
A pacifist who has championed his people's independence aspirations for the past 15 years, Rugova is a powerful figurehead who is expected to take the lead role in steering Kosovo's political rivals into talks.
He has no obvious successor in his faction-ridden party, raising the prospect of an LDK power struggle that would probably benefit rival parties which emerged from the 1998-99 guerrilla war to challenge LDK dominance.
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12 comments:
Eh more Ibrahim, a pe sheh çka të bon rakia?
Ke hi n'gjynah me atë popull, me ata që i ke lanë në lloq kur shkove në Beligrad...
- Po qysh nuk të vjen pak marre me i thanë vetes kryetar?
- A të bjen ndër mend naj herë për ata që të kanë pru këtu ku je?
- A të kujtohet Fehmi Agani që as nuk ke shku me ja ngushëllu familjen?
Marre të qoftë!
Zoti është i madh!
To the above blogger, man how patriotic you seem, rugova went to beograd to ensure you a future you moron! U should be glad that we have had people like him. And people like you are not needed. Where were you when he sat in housearrest? Did you try to help him? U ungrateful SOB!
I bet his last wish will be:' Can I have another joint, please.'
Judging from the both post-war election results, I do not think we are short of men like him to take his place.
At 7:36 AM, Anonymous said...
Where was I when he sat in house arrest?
Buddy, with my AK-47 I was helping maintain a safe route set up for him to travel to the KLA headquarters, but he refused the offer!
He was busy looking for pseudo-intellectuals (like yourself) left in Prishtina to form a provisional govenment so they could help Serbia end the bombing.
Albin Kurti is doing more than all other Kosovo "politicians" combined.
Greetings/Pershendetje
To the 7:36 AM blogger, you just proved yourself to be one hell of a moron! I thank you for that!
"He was busy looking for pseudo-intellectuals (like yourself) left in Prishtina to form a provisional government so they could help Serbia end the bombing"
- What war were you fighting in, cuz dude you seem to have no clue what so ever who Rugova is and what he did during the war! You may take your time to write back here and recognize that your were talking about the northern alliance fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan cuz you can't be talking about Kosova, UCK or President Rugova.
"I was helping maintain a safe route set up for him to travel to the KLA headquarters, but he refused the offer!" - Damn, ladies and gentle men, I think we have found the saviour of our great people and republic! So the president didn't take up on your offer aaa? what drug are u on?
Because you may not agree on the Gandhi methods of President Rugova doesn't mean that you clamber on a fight that he has been fighting probably before you even learned what Kosova, Dardhania or what ever you like to call it was..!
Have some god-damned respect, you can't be Albanian, I refuse to recognize you as such, I'm ashamed to learn that you take your time to behave in such a unpatriotic and un-Albanian manner!
Yours truly
/Drilon
Statsvetenskapliga Institutionen
Lunds Universitet
Sweden
---------------------------------------------------------------
Institution for Political Science
Lund University
Sweden
Drilon,
Badihava po e qet emrin e institutit ku po studion se po shihet qe dy lidhje nuk i paske me shkenca politike.
Artikujt qe po i shkruat duken kopje e stilit komunist te gazetes partiake "Bota Sot".
Lexo, ndoshta nje dite "you will get a clue".
Drilon,
"Badihava po e qet emrin e institutit ku po studion se po shihet qe dy lidhje nuk i paske me shkenca politike." Vlersimi e juaj per shkollen te ime eshtë me nje randsi te madhe per mua, falemenderit por pytja nuk ke per shkollen time por per kompetencen e juaj qe te vlersoni nje lider siq eshtë rugova i njohur ne krejt botë!.
Artikujt qe po i shkruat duken kopje e stilit komunist te gazetes partiake "Bota Sot". Separi une nuk e shkruva nje artikul, per te qen nje artikul duhet te jetë paksa ma serioze apo joo?
"Bota Sot" kurr nuk e kam lexuar, sepse kushton shumë ketu ne Suedi dhe parat e mia shkojn tek librat, ju kisha lut qe edhe ju te lexoni ma shumë libra e jo vetem qka shkruan nje gazata partiake!
Lexo, ndoshta nje dite "you will get a clue". Falemenderit per sygjerimin e juaj! Ketë do te vazhdoj te bej une sepse me duhet, i kam vetem edhe nje vit ne shkollen e lartë dhe kush lexon, ai din te vepron, meso edhe ti dhe ndoshta mundesh te vepron si nje patriot e shqiptar i vertet!
I truly hope so, for the sake of our future and the future of our country!
May you prosper in what ever you do!
To the ignorant Anonymous commentator:
Rakia was from far history the basic drink of Albanians. Because history made it's mark and you do not have any idea about it, that is why you are expressing yourself in the way that you are. In that kind of way only serbophils act. An Albanian writer said we have to be very careful of those Albanians that speak Albanian but are slaves to the Serbs. On an occasion 10 years ago, I was in contact with Mr.Rugova and among other things I mentioned to him what Azem Bejta said: "I brought a lot of people to their sences, some with guns and a lot with beating." Rugova did not accept that, because he is a politician of European grade and a peaceful man as most Albanians.
People like you, sold out souls put his life in danger and the future of our whole nation too.
Today, persons such as yourself always back up to UCK. Those who passed for the freedom of our nation we are thankful to. You, who only are looking for power and a seat in the goverment in the name of UCK it is about time that somebody from UCK would raise their voice and clear the corrupted members of the group.
The war still hasn't started in Kosova and we were driving to an important meeting about the situation of KS. One of todays leading officials in KS said to me: "When I will be the General of Kosovas Army you will be my assistant." I told him: "The war has not even started yet. Who goes to war also dies there." Most of you, who speak so strongly against Rugova, have not even seen war. Thank god that women had wide dimijes so you had a place to hide. Today, you are making a mess around Kosova.
Probably you do not even realize, that most of you all are manipulated by the Yugoslav, Romanian and Albanian (Shqipnia) Secret service.
All in all, if you did fight and if you were good at shooting guns that does not make you good in politics. To be good at that, you have to be educated. Pathetic enough is the fact that most of you have Serbian schooling/training and that is why you are so cruel. With the methods you take people out in KS only the communists did. I believe that one day, you are going to be very sorry but then it will be too late.
I think that among Albanians, there is atleast 4 million supporters of Rugova and nobody will be able to stop that.
Mr. Rugova is a type of a person that is born as one in a million and the Albanian nation knows this well.
The Albanian nation deserves such a president. He is respected worldwide.
That is why Mr. Clinton did not invite you (UCK member) to the White house but he invited and accepted Mr.Rugova.
All Albanians wish Mr.Rugova a fast recovery. We are all behind him, he is for all of us.
I, personaly, am willing to give my life for him, because everywhere and everytime, his last words were for independence of Kosova.
My father also fought in the army of Mehmet Gradica and he always strived for independence and we deserve just that and nothing less.
We are going to achieve indepenence, without you trators.
I thought though, that us Albanians don't have trators. Since war ended I see that we have a lot.
But of course, we lived in SerboSlavia for a long time.
I realize we are going to need twice as long to sober up.
O kreten, bile fol shqip qe mos te lexon bota budallakite qe je kah i shkruen...
Eshte lehte me shite mend ne gjuhen angleze, edhe nuk hesitove 2 minuta me hy ne kete debat. A thu ke pase bole me i prezentu faktet tuja kur tu kane gjujte shkijet e greket ne qafe? Ma mire ri-orientoje kohen edhe energjine ne drejtim te hasmit e jo ne drejtim te atij qe thjesht e ka shpreh mendimin e tij.
Sa per Rugoven, po shihet qe perkrahja e tij ka ra prej 80% ne 47%... pa koment.
47% te Kosovareve nuk jane 4 milion.
Masi je prej Drenice, qysh nuk mujte me e binde ate pijanec bile me e vizitu kullen e Adem Jasharit? Apo thjesht presidenti eshte shume i zanun me i vizitu familjet e atyne qe e kane dhane jeten, tu ja nise prej familjes se Adem Jasharit deri te e veja e Fehmi Aganit (trurit te levizjes per pavaresi).
Eh more Dragan...po prej kahit na pike ti....mos je dika prej talibanit....po fol pak si me qene shka pak si me qene arap spo muj me tra nfije o burre...
Ajo qi ka ra perkrahja e popullit eshte se popullit po ja ka enda per mafijashat si Hashim Thaci etj etj.... po nejse jaran se ti duhesh mi pas 9 jeta si maca per me pas lidhje me politik...se pe shoh qi politike je ka bon...
A sa i perket nacionalizmit....leje krejt se veq po marrohesh....kjo osht prej ni shqiptari qi kanihere i vjen keq qi eshte shqiptar kur i sheh idiotat si ti .....tungaaatt
when albanians break into albanian, they are ashamed of something said or something about to be said. it is hilarious.
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