Joachim Rücker receives me at the UNMIK headquarters in Pristina. He has been here since 2005 and was appointed UN Secretary General Special Representative in Kosovo last year on September 1. He has a background as a diplomat and a mayor in small-town Sindelfingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
UNMIK stands for United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. The headquarters are in a well-guarded building. You can spot the barbed wire on the fence and guests proceed through security controls as thorough as the ones at an international airport.
Joachim Rücker admits that UNMIK isnt particularly appreciated among the people in Kosovo, even though the latest opinion poll points toward a certain improvement.
Obviously, after eight years of international administration people are tired and frustrated. They want clarity on the status of Kosovo. Nobody is saying that the current political condition is good, but we are trying to make the best out of the situation."
Dagens Nyheter asks him to give an account of the UN's rule as he has perceived it. A very positive picture emerges.
In 1999 there was a humanitarian crisis in Kosovo. Law and order had collapsed, just like the central and local administration. It was during theses circumstances that the UN arrived, at first with disaster relief and food. Thousands of buildings that had been destroyed were rebuilt. A new police force and new courts of law were created. I think it is fair to say that we not only handled the first crisis situation but also laid the foundations of a working democracy, a functioning judicial system and a functioning market economy!"
Hence a picture quite different from the one in Maciej Zaremba's article series, where the UN is accused of not wanting to fight corruption and UN officials are above the laws and rules that Kosovo's inhabitants are supposed to comply with.
"The articles are very unbalanced. They focus on a few specific cases and draw far-reaching conclusions based on these. UNMIK has had its share of bad eggs over the last eight years, we look upon them seriously and have taken action. But basing a series of articles on a few cases produces a misleading picture of the mission, and it's also humiliating to the thousands of honest and devoted persons working at UNMIK."
Joachim Rücker says he also discovered racist undertones in the articles. When Dagens Nyheter asks him to specify, he refers to one of Zaremba's depictions of the KFOR with units from Romania, Morocco and Mongolia.
The most important criticism concerns the systematic corruption, that the UN has yet to create efficient control mechanisms and has failed to fight fraud. Comment?
"That's a sweeping accusation. The fact of the matter is that during our eight years we have done a lot to fight corruption. To give you an example: Right now, prosecutors are working on more than forty cases concerning serious corruption. It has led to three verdicts, two ongoing trials and more of these are about to begin."
Dagens Nyheter's articles are, among other things, based on reports from OIOS, the UN internal audit body. The reports reveal several cases of corruption and mismanagement, for instance at the Pristina airport and at Kosovo's energy and telephone companies. OIOS also criticised UNMIK heavily for not having taken action against these cases.
"UNMIK has been very persistent and thorough in following up on several of the suggestions and recommendations that we have been given. In a couple of cases we have been in disagreement with OIOS on which administrative measures that were possible to implement. We think we did what could have been done under the circumstances. OIOS for instance wanted us to deal with persons at the airport that were accused of mismanagement and not necessarily corruption. These persons had left their assignments a long time ago."
According to Marie Fucci, in 2004 the head of the Kosovo Trust Agency that governs all publicly-owned companies, "the man in the street is worse off today than when the UN or the Western diplomats arrived, bringing amounts of money hitherto unseen in Kosovo." Comment?
"Let's look at the facts instead. Look at Kosovo's electricity supply for instance. Here there are mistakes in Dagens Nyheter's articles. There is now a steady increase in supply of electricity. You can say that its not enough, but electricity supply is increasing, so it hasn't been getting worse. Look at the facts instead of quoting persons that probably haven't been too successful."
In the articles, several examples are given of persons that have failed to win their cases against UNMIK because the officials have immunity.
"You have to remember that immunity isnt the same thing as impunity. UN staff all over the world have immunity and diplomatic benefits. It is true that a UN official can't be tried in court when he is on a mission. But we have lifted immunities in several cases when there has been signs of someone doing wrong."
How can an ordinary Kosovo citizen who feels mistreated win his case against UNMIK if you all have immunity?
"There is a legal system, perhaps not perfect, but we have laid a good foundation. People that feel they have been treated unjustly can go to court and sue UNMIK or his employer. The articles are wrong in saying that citizens here can't obtain redress against a public authority decision."
UNMIK has been criticised from more than one side. Not long ago, Human Right Watch published a critical report where the UN is said to be lacking liability, which tarnishes its reputation and undermines its legitimacy.
"I think it's a sweeping statement to say that there is a lack of liability, so I don't buy that description. We take Human Rights Watch's reports very seriously and try to follow up on their recommendations as much as possible. There is criticism in the report but there is also the acknowledgement that we have institutions that protect human rights in Kosovo."
How come the criticism about corruption comes from so many directions?
"If you are saying that there is a trend to criticise UNMIK, then I am not seeing it. I don't believe in conspiracy theories."