Add a Comment

Comment by Terry Victor on August 31, 2011 at 6:29

The last part:

Notwithstanding the insult I felt as a Kosovar by similar accusations in some of the letters I have received recently commenting Mr. Neziraj’s stance, I understand that those who wrote such harsh words have been manipulated by Mr. Neziraj and have only reacted genuinely without actually checking the truthfulness of his statements.

 I should assure anyone that may still have any doubts that the KNT will continue to serve as an open space for all creative minds and all points of views and that while it provides deserved opportunities for staging national plays, it will remain open and eager to cooperating with interested artists and companies all over the world. Kosovo, for too long has been and still is isolated in many ways because of politics and we do not need any kind of cultural isolation, too. We will not stand for such isolation! Quite to the contrary, we will unreservedly support Kosovo theatre’s promotion in the international scene and will continuously provide the KNT with better conditions to facilitate international cooperation at home and abroad.

 I beg your pardon for this long reply. I was of the opinion that under the circumstances, you deserved a thorough explanation of the situation. I am sorry that Mr. Neziraj has used his personal contacts to wage a smearing campaign against me, but sooner or later, the truth always comes out. I should end this by inviting you to communicate with many among Kosovo’s playwrights, directors, actors, and other friends of theatre, who would probably give you a realistic picture of the state of affairs in the issue that I discussed in this reply, but also more generally on the situation of the Kosovo theatre. I sincerely hope that you will remain engaged in the development of Kosovo theatre and that you will always keep an eye on the cultural developments in our young country.

 In closing, I urge you to reconsider your position, in light of the documented facts given in this letter. I believe that any party that is serious in their engagement for the flourishing of artistic independence in any part of the globe would so be open-minded as to take into consideration the views of all involved and not risk to become an accessory in a despicable campaign of a personal vendetta of anyone. We remain at your service for any additional information that you may require.

 Sincerely yours,

 Memli Krasniqi

 Memli Krasniqi

Ministër / Ministar / Minister

 

Ministria e Kulturës, Rinisë dhe Sportit

Ministarstvo Kulture, Omladine i Sporta

Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports

 

Comment by Terry Victor on August 31, 2011 at 6:28

Part three (it's a long letter):

-         Mr. Jusuf Buxhovi, playwright, novelist and a historian; one of the best-known names of Kosovo’s literature; founder of the largest opposition political party in Kosovo in 1989, but currently politically independent;

-         Ms. Ilire Vinca - Çelaj, professor of Acting at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Prishtina; one of the most famous Kosovo theatre and film actresses; no political past;

-         Ms. Igballe Qena, the longest-serving actress in the KNT troupe; one of the most famous Kosovo theatre and film actresses; no political past;

-         Mr. Ahmet Brahimaj, director of the Kosovo Ballet; representative of the MCYS in the Board of KNT; was a member of the previous Board of KNT, too; no political past;

 Any unbiased observer would make a sound judgment with regards to the professional level of the current Board of the KNT, only by briefly looking at these very short introductions. I believe that anyone that concludes that these respected personalities would fall under whatever kind of political or other pressure into signing off their approval to decisions that they would not wholeheartedly support, would make a terrible mistake and would insult their decades of professional work in the development of Kosovo theatre.

Fourth, I don’t know the new Artistic Director of the KNT, Mr. Emin Emini personally. I have never met him before. But due to Mr. Neziraj’s allegations that he is utterly unprofessional, let me convey to you parts of his CV:  Mr. Emini has finished his studies for Theatre Direction and has finished his postgraduate studies in Dramaturgy, both at the University of Prishtina , where for the past few years he works as a lecturer. He has directed five plays and has written four plays. He has published two study books, one in the field of Drama and one in the field of Theatrology. As regards Mr. Neziraj’s attempt to discredit Mr. Emini by claiming that he was an employee in the Office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, the fact is that Mr. Emini worked as a civil servant – never in political capacity – at the Office for Gender Equality, which is a non-political governmental agency.

Fifth, I was appalled by Mr. Neziraj’s claims that the KNT ever was, and that it risks becoming again, some kind of a closed fortress where schematic nationalistic plays rule and from where hatred is spread and where nationalism, and even racism, is promoted. These are disgusting accusations that do not do honor to a lowly propagandist, let alone someone who claims to be a man of arts! These slanderous allegations gain an even heavier weight when one is reminded that they come from a man who waged an armed struggle as a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army for the freedom and liberty of his people against the occupying nationalist and racist regime of Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbia . It saddens me that, in trying to recruit your support for his personal campaign, Mr. Neziraj has gone so far as to tarnish the real image of Kosovo theatre and its countless contributors and beneficiaries.

Notwithstanding the insult I felt as a Kosovar by similar accusations in some of the letters I have received recently commenting Mr. N

Comment by Terry Victor on August 31, 2011 at 6:26

Part two:

First of all, Mr. Neziraj was never dismissed! His three-year tenure as an Artistic Director of the KNT ended on July 2011. The existing Kosovo Law on the Theatre (KLT) provides that the same person may serve for two three-year tenures in this position, but the second tenure is not automatically guaranteed, but the incumbent needs to compete with other potential interested professionals that are free to apply for the vacancy. And this is what has taken place, in complete respect of the existing legislation and procedural rules. In his second bid to be selected in the position of the Artistic Director, Mr. Neziraj failed to convince the Board of the KNT that he was the best candidate.

 Second, the previous Board of the KNT had been appointed on 02 June 2008 for a three-year term, as provided with the KLT. There have been two later ministerial decisions amending the above-mentioned appointment decision, but that doesn’t imply that the original terms restarted on the dates of those amendment decisions. If that was the case, I should assume that Mr. Neziraj, being then the Artistic Director of the KNT, would have reacted to those ‘unlawful’ decisions at that time, which he did not. So, legally, the term of the Board of the KNT expired on 02 June 2011 and I had the obligation to name a new Board, in line with the KLT, which I did.

 It is true that the previous Board of the KNT has evaluated the work of Mr. Neziraj as positive. What Mr. Neziraj intentionally conceals from you is the fact that in the same board meeting when they evaluated his work at the end of his tenure, the same Board, and not the newly appointed one, filed the official request to the MCYS to publish the vacancy notice for the position of the Artistic Director of the KNT, in accordance with the KLT. So, the evaluation was a procedural matter and not an endorsement of the incumbent to be reselected in that position.

 Third, in his claim that I have somehow instructed the members of the new Board of the KNT into selecting someone else instead of him, Mr. Neziraj fails to name any of the members of this board or to provide any background into their professional competence. I consider such claims to be an insult to these respected professionals; therefore I would like to introduce them briefly to you:

 -         Mr. Zymber Kelmendi, Chairman of the Board of the KNT, is a professor of Dramaturgy at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Prishtina ; one of the most famous playwrights of Kosovo. Screenwriter and one of Mr. Neziraj’s professors during his unfinished postgraduate studies; no political past;

-         Mr. Shkumbin Istrefi, professor of Diction at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Prishtina ; one of the most famous Kosovo theatre and film actors; was a member of the previous Board of KNT, too; no political past;

-         Mr. Emin Halili, professor of Direction at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Prishtina; theatre and film director; also directed one of Mr. Neziraj’s plays; no political past;

-         Mr. Jusuf Buxhovi, playwright,

Comment by Terry Victor on August 31, 2011 at 6:24

This reply just in and posted here without comment:

Dear Mr. Victor,

 In the past few days, I have received numerous e-mails with dramatic tones with regards to the workings of the Kosovo National Theater (KNT), which is one of the largest and most important public cultural institutions in the Republic of Kosovo . Letters asking me to reverse something that has not been done came as no surprise, as I was told that the former Artistic Director of the KNT has started “an international campaign” against me. I have to say that the unintended absurd part in some of the letters was that they spoke of ‘political interference’ in the KNT, whereas my major political vision and objective ever since I have been appointed Minister in the Ministry for Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) some six months ago, was, and still is, to depoliticize the cultural institutions in Kosovo, by bringing back to them the professionals, the experts, the people of arts and culture, to whom doors were closed for too long because of politics. It should come as no surprise, then, that someone would take offense at this approach, especially if they’ve been appointed to important positions exactly by party politics of the past. But, without generalizations, I kindly ask that you read through this letter, in order to be more thoroughly informed regarding the issue that you’ve written to me about.

 Let me, first of all, thank you for taking the time to write and for expressing your concern for the Kosovo theatre. I appreciate your interest very much, but, I must say at the outset that, unfortunately, you have been deftly manipulated into believing that the situation in the Kosovo National Theatre (KNT) has in some way deteriorated. Quite to the contrary, we believe that for the first time in post-war Kosovo, this beacon of Kosovar arts and culture is undergoing a process of complete depoliticization without any kind of political or institutional interference in its artistic independence.

 But, since I truly comprehend your concern to be a genuine one, let me explain to you in more detail the latest developments with regards to the KNT and the false claims that its former Artistic Director, Mr. Jeton Neziraj, has made in your and other addresses.

 In his emotional and fallacious letter, Mr. Neziraj makes numerous untrue statements, namely that he was dismissed from his position; that the mandates of the members of the previous Board of the KNT hadn’t expired and that their positive evaluation of Mr. Neziraj’s work led to their dismissals; that I have somehow instructed the new members of the Board of the KNT into selecting a new Artistic Director; that the person who is the new Artistic Director is wholly unprofessional for the job; and that the KNT, without Mr. Neziraj, somehow risks to become – as it once was! - a nest of primitive nationalism that promotes racism!

 Appalling as they sound, these dreadful accusations are not just completely untrue, but they are an insult to each and every one person that works and contributes for the development and the advancement of Kosovo theatre and Kosovo arts and culture, in general.

 Let me explain to you what has actually happened in reality.

 First of all, Mr. Neziraj was never dismissed! His three-year tenure

Comment by abdul shayek on August 31, 2011 at 4:20

Hi Jeton

Really sorry to hear about this- I will forward this on through our networks, maybe we could create an on line petition.

 

A

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page