Latest / Gunther Fehlinger Podcast / Elvana Shala: Why Her Vienna Parliament Visit Made Headlines

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Elvana Shala: Why Her Vienna Parliament Visit Made Headlines · Gunther Fehlinger Podcast

• 0:09
  Good, good, good, good. So now it should be fine.
• 0:14
  Yeah. Hello.
• 0:16
  Yes. OK, now I see it as well live on
• 0:20
  on on YouTube. Well everybody welcome.
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  We are now live with Ilvana Shala.
• 0:29
  She is from Kosovo and she became very famous now with her
• 0:34
  visit to Vienna. Ilvana, I want to welcome you
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  very much and please introduce yourself and we want to learn
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  everything about you and what happened in Vienna.
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  You are now famous in Austria and we are happy to have you at
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  the show. Ilvana from the Republic of
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  Kosovo, please explain us everything about you.
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  First of all, thank you so much for having me and best of
• 0:55
  greetings from the Republic of Kosovo.
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  As you said, I am Ivana Shala, the Goodwill Ambassador for
• 1:02
  Kosovo at International Human Rights Commission, where I
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  officially represent the public diplomacy all over the world.
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  And beside this, organized projects that has to do with
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  human rights, specifically with marginalized groups.
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  So my main activist is to represent public diplomacy of
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  Kosovo everywhere in the world, including to the countries or
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  organizations that does not recognize the independence of
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  Kosovo. That are very unfortunate
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  countries, and I'm also campaigning for them to
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  recognize. Which countries are you focused
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  on? Everywhere, I can say
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  everywhere. For us as a new country, as a
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  new state, it is very important to be recognised and we're well
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  known everywhere in the world. Perfect.
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  But you have noticed a focus because I focus on Ukraine, on
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  Slovakia. I can say that I, as I said, I'm
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  focused everywhere. Doesn't matter.
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  The Kosovo is a very new country, so it is very important
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  to be well known everywhere. Doesn't matter if there are
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  there, they are big countries or small countries, it's fine.
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  Very good. You had quite a success.
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  Now when it comes to recognition, this year it was
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  with I think Kenya. Can you tell the names of the
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  countries which have recognized Kosovo this year?
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  Oh, we, we had countries from Arabic as well that has
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  recognized the the Republic of Kosovo.
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  And as I have information from the from the President, we are
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  waiting for the new recognitions as well.
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  Oh, very good. That would be perfect.
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  Yeah, we are all a big fan of the Mrs. President.
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  She is fantastic and I hope that new recognition will come in.
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  It was Sudan, it was Syria, it was Kenya this year three, I
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  think. And that was a major success.
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  Ivana, congratulation what you're doing.
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  But you became famous now in all countries, in Austria actually,
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  and. You want to know?
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  Exactly what happened? Because you came to the cover of
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  our News magazine and they promoted your profile because of
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  your visit to the Austrian parliament.
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  Tell us why you were in Vienna. OK.
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  I was in Vienna in an official visit to represent Kosovo at the
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  0 Project conference, which is the biggest conference to speak
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  about the marginalized groups, especially for people with
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  disabilities. So every year we gather there at
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  the United Nations office to discuss about the disability
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  issues, and this was the first day at the parliament.
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  It was my first day of this visit since I was chosen by the
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  organizers to meet with the speaker of the parliament there,
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  the Rosenkrans. And the idea what I why I became
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  so famous there. It was because of the Barrett
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  that I was wearing with the Utica symbols of course, in
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  respect of my country, because on on that day was the
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  Independence Day of Kosova. So wearing that Barrett didn't
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  have any intention to provoke anyone as it was right into
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  different medias. It was just to respect my
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  country and my Independence Day there.
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  Are you especially related to the Uchika?
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  How do you mean especially? Really.
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  Yeah. Your family was fighting or you,
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  whatever. You.
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  Yes, my uncle, my uncle, my uncle was as.
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  We say a hero thanks a lot for his services to liberate the
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  Republic of Kosovo. Yeah, yeah.
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  But of course everyone of us is very much related to Uchika
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  because we know that the Uchika has has done a lot on the
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  operation of Kosovo. So nothing what is writing in
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  the media that that are organization was terrorist or
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  something or something like that.
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  It's just a propaganda. Very good.
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  And did you know that the Austrian President of the the
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  president of the Austrian parliament is from a party which
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  actually hates Kosovo? I learned it after when I saw
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  all the reactions that have been made from the Serbs umbrella
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  federation in Austria. So I learned in the after.
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  But I think this doesn't have to do anything to be hated or
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  something like that, because as I said, I am goodwill ambassador
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  for Kosovo. I represent public diplomacy.
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  And you know that in public diplomacy everything is possible
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  to be done because I mean, we are not provoking anyone.
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  Or it was, it didn't have any intention for that.
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  So that's why I was a little bit surprised why so many reactions
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  for nothing, since I was there just to respect the human
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  rights, to speak about human rights and not to provoke
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  anyone. But the Syrup Association of
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  Vienna got very provoked. Yes, yes, I saw, yes, I so I
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  mean it's not my business and it's not my problem if someone
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  from Serbia or whoever feels provoked with the Barrett of the
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  Utjaka since we know the truth. Absolutely, absolutely.
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  And it was a war of liberation, a just war of liberation.
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  And it was against the genocide which the Serbs have committed
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  in Kosovo in 9899. And it was absolutely justified,
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  courageous thing for you to do. And because in Vienna they live
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  a lot of Serbs and they're very well organized.
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  I heard. I heard Santa Saba Bowl in the
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  January and then the 15th of February is the national day,
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  the Sratinia Day of Serbia, and they have invited Mr.
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  Rosengrantz as their main speaker, as their guest of.
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  Yes, I know. And two days later, he appeared
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  in the media with Ujika Barrett and Yourself and I.
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  Understand, but I think as as a speaker of in parliament, he has
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  to be neutral because Austria is one of the first countries that
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  has recognized recognized the Republic of Kosovo and they are
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  our best alliance, I can say. So that's why I was a little bit
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  surprised why so many reactions just because of 1 Barrett, since
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  Austria recognizes Kosovo and we have a very good relations,
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  political relations. Absolutely, Austria is the
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  number one supporter of Kosovo in many, many years and it was
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  from 99 on and from 2008 we recognised very early and this
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  is this Austrian state policy and it's also for Mr.
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  Rosengrantz to respect. Unfortunately, his party is very
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  close to Serbia and Hadzishtrache, the party leader,
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  before he went even to Belgrade to talk against Kosovo and say
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  they will never recognize Kosovo and it was very unfortunate.
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  So you put yourself directly in the Hornet net in the absolutely
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  it was. I'm very happy.
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  I'm very happy of what happened because my main intention was
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  that the voice of the Republic of Kosovo to be heard at that
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  conference, especially at the United Nations and also at the
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  parliament. And with that, Barrett, I was
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  not forced to do any speech or something like that because we
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  were everywhere. So this is this is public
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  diplomacy. I can say this is a silenced
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  public diplomacy. Very well done.
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  I have to respect you a lot because you know, we in Austria,
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  we have many Austrian politicians who work very much
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  for Kosovo, like Lucas Mandel, Andreas Mini.
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  I also try to do my best for Kosovo and Nietzsche's
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  Nietzsche. Many of us are doing that.
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  But it's very hard to to be in the top media with our issues
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  because it's, of course, Kosovo is already free and there's not
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  so urgency. And your meeting with the
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  president of the parliament has put the Kosovo recognition and
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  Kosovo friendship with Austria very much in the center of the
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  Austria media. And thanks a lot for that.
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  And also there were also many reactions day after when I
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  appeared in the United Nations with the same Barrett.
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  OK, very. Good.
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  The mission, the mission of Serbia and the United Nations,
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  they made also a very how to say big reaction by trying to
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  politicize all the situations. Since I was since I, I, I sat in
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  the media. We gathered there for human
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  rights and especially for a very specific category like
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  disability persons, and it had nothing to do with political
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  issues. So that's why I was like, what's
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  going on? I mean, when we speak about the
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  human rights, liberty and the, the, the, your appearance is the
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  main human rights that every one of us should respect.
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  So it was like something went wrong with the Serbian missions
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  there. So also in the UN, the Serbian
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  mission, the state made a big scandal.
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  Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. What happened there?
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  It continued the whole week when I was in Vienna, with different
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  reactions. Very good.
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  What? So they asked also, they asked
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  also the officials of the United Nations to remove me from the
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  participation at that conference.
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  But this didn't happen. To remove you physically, they
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  ask you yes. Yes, they're going to bear this.
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  This didn't happen. They made the propaganda in ex
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  social media by saying we achieved to remove the Utaka
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  symbols from the UN building and also the representation of
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  Kosovo. But no, this didn't happen.
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  I have removed the Barrett, of course, on respecting the
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  organizers and to not cause any conflict inside of the United
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  Nations building, but I was present there the whole
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  conference. OK, but you still have the beret
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  of the uchica? Of course, of course, of course.
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  No, Wonderful, wonderful. It's just really great.
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  And you know, you when will you come back to Vienna again?
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  Because you have to come very soon.
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  I will definitely, I still consider Vienna one of our great
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  supporters. I have also very close relation
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  personally with Austria since because of some of my healthy
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  issues that I I have, I have been many times in Austria for
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  the healthy conditions and this kind of things.
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  So I still consider Austria one of our close friends and all
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  this situation. What Serbs have done there
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  doesn't make any difference from the Austrian people.
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  Absolutely, Austria is standing with Kosovo 100%.
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  You can be sure about it. Our institutions support you and
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  you're very welcome in Austria in the future.
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  And we make the event with you because now you're famous and we
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  want to see you with the Uchi Cabaret and.
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  I will, I hope and I would like, I hope.
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  And I would like also to say from here that also to the
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  Serbian people, please don't mix the human rights and public
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  diplomacy with politics, since our constitution here in Kosovo
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  says that we are obliged to respect the human rights of
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  every community in Kosovo. And we do that.
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  Even I, as an ambassador of goodwill for Kosovo, during my
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  projects that I organized in the end of the year, the Serbian
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  community are always part of my projects.
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  So now in this case, it's not fair to make this kind of of
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  reactions and to ask the UN or other other institutions of
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  Vienna to remove the presence of the Republic of Kosovo
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  everywhere in the conferences, since I think we have to be
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  equal in this. Politics is politics, but human
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  rights and are human rights, and we are obliged to respect each
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  other. Let me ask you, the Serbs in
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  Kosovo, the citizens who live there, it's about 5% of the
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  population accordingly. And do they live with full human
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  rights and citizens rights or are they suppressed minority?
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  No, they they live with full human rights.
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  And how is the Albanians living in Serbia, in Preshevo Valley?
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  How do they treat them? Not the same, not the same as
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  you saw. Even they didn't treat me well
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  just because of 1 parrot. Here I see the difference.
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  So if we are obliged with our constitution to respect the
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  human rights of the minorities, specifically of the Serb
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  community, I think they should be also obliged to respect our
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  human rights. Politics is something very
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  different. The Serbs have tried now for 27
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  years to denigrate and talk negatively about the uchika and
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  about the liberation. There's a lot of supposed
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  scandals from the yellow house, from the kidneys and all these
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  things which they have. Invaded, yeah, I want to stop.
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  I think all of these reactions where exactly because of the
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  hard process that is ongoing now and it is in the final, final
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  decision and final process. So otherwise I think they would
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  not react in this kind of way. What's your position to the
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  court and to the former President Fauci facing a trial
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  there? I believe 100% that he will be
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  free very soon. I have criticized the court as
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  being very biased against Kosovo because.
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  Possible. I have a lot of critics about
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  the court, but it's not in my in my competencies to speak about
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  that. But what I can say is I truly
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  believe in the war of the Utica that has done to, to, for, for
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  the people of Kosovo, to protect the people of Kosovo.
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  And I would like to believe 100% that Saatchi and the others will
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  be coming back very soon in Kosovo.
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  Was the war of Kosovo liberation a just war for freedom and for
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  human rights? Yes.
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  Very good of. Course, of course.
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  I thought it was, yeah. And can you a little bit
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  describe the Serb atrocities against the Albanians in Kosovo
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  during 98 and 99? Because we are ahead of the 5th
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  of March where they have killed the whole Yashari family in 89.
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  And it was a terrible massacre and it started the Kosovo
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  genocidal campaign by the Serbs. So maybe some words on that one.
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  At that time I was very young, I was a child, 6-7 years old.
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  So I think it's not again in in in my competences to describe
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  everything, what happened. I think the whole World News
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  what kind of a genocide Serbian has done to the Albanian people,
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  especially in Kosovo. And there are no words that can
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  describe more than all the films that have been have been done,
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  all the recordings and all the things that the world has shown
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  in the media and everywhere about this genocide.
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  So, but I think now it's time for peace between the two
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  countries. And since we are making also
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  this dialogue for many years, it's time to stop this war,
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  especially when we speak about the human rights.
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  It's time to have peace between US and to let the things done.
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  Should Serbia recognize Kosovo now?
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  Yes, of course it's time. It's time to recognize Kosovo,
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  yes. You see yourself as a human
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  rights and peace activist basically.
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  I'm a diplomat who works about the public diplomacy and of
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  course as a human rights activist.
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  Yes, since I said before coming in this position as a goodwill
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  ambassador, I started working when I was 12 years old with a
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  lot of local and international organizations defending the
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  human rights, especially for marginalized groups.
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  So after a work done 12 years for for 12 years, I became a
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  goodwill ambassador in cooperation with the Ministry of
• 17:01
  Foreign Affairs of Kosovo and International Human Rights
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  Commission. So this is my third term now.
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  Very good. Mrs. Ambassador Elvana, I'm very
• 17:10
  happy that you joined the show. You're a very courageous woman.
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  Please come back to Vienna with your Uchi Cabaret and we will
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  make a event together. And we will also try to be in
• 17:20
  the Austrian Parliament again, I hope.
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  And I'm not sure that Mister Rosenkranz will meet you again,
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  because he got a lot of hammering from the media.
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  And from his. Own party, I'm thinking.
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  I'm thinking to I'm thinking to write him an official statement
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  about all of this, since after the meeting I saw all the
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  reactions and especially after what happened in the UNI was not
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  aware that social media and all the medias in Austria are
• 17:50
  writing about me. But I first of all, I would like
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  to let the things to be quiet a bit and after that I'm going to
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  write him an official statement by explaining that nothing was
• 18:02
  to provoke anyone or even him. It was just with the intention
• 18:06
  to respect my country, my people and the independence of Kosova.
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  Since also during the meeting I explained him very well that
• 18:15
  today is the independence of Kosova and that's why I'm
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  wearing the spirit. And I also explained to him the
• 18:21
  meaning of the parrot. So his reaction was
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  congratulations to you and your people and thank you for the
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  good, good work that you are doing.
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  Very good, very good. Mr. Rosenkant, he wants to be
• 18:33
  the president of Austria, so it has a lot of political meaning,
• 18:36
  this situation. Then if he wants to be the
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  president of Austria, he has to be neutral in this.
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  But I was yesterday on the 24th, I was at on Kosovo state
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  reception where also your new foreign minister, but I didn't.
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  Say I have to thank here, sorry for interrupting.
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  I have to thank you also the Embassy of Kosovo in Austria,
• 19:01
  who were together with me the whole time and they tried to to
• 19:06
  help me in any way during my visit in Austria.
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  Very good, but I didn't see anybody from F at the state
• 19:13
  reception of Kosovo. So if Mr. Rosenkantz wants to be
• 19:16
  neutral, he should come the next.
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  Time not to be surprised at this time since the media in Austria
• 19:22
  are still writing about my appearance with the Uche
• 19:24
  Cabaret. So not to be surprised.
• 19:27
  I hope next year you will visit and honor the Austrian, the
• 19:30
  Kosovo National Day in Austria. Please, you should come and also
• 19:34
  in between when you are in Vienna, contact me and we make a
• 19:37
  event together with the Kosovo Community of Vienna, because the
• 19:41
  Serbs unfortunately think they have occupied Vienna and you
• 19:45
  operated Vienna from the nationalist terms we operate.
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  Thanks a lot. This was.
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  Great. Thank you.
• 19:52
  Thank you so much. I was very honored with all of
• 19:54
  your support. I saw all the publications that
• 19:57
  you have made about me during my stay in Vienna.
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  And this means a lot not only for me, but for the people of
• 20:05
  Kosovo as well. We really appreciate not only
• 20:08
  you, but everyone, every citizen of Vienna, that is supporting
• 20:13
  the Republic of Kosovo and its people.
• 20:16
  Very good we do and we will. And Long live the Republic of
• 20:20
  Kosovo and Long live the Uchika. And thanks Ivana for joining
• 20:25
  this show. And all the best to Kosovo.
• 20:28
  It was my pleasure. Thank you so much.
• 20:31
  Thank you. I will stop now here.
• 20:35
  Very good. It was very good interview, very
• 20:37
  sympathetic. Very nice and great you did it.
• 20:41
  Thank you. Let's be in touch.
• 20:44
  Also in the future, when you come to Vienna, let me know.
• 20:47
  I will definitely now very friendly speaking.
• 20:49
  I was not aware for all the reactions that has been done.
• 20:54
  I was like, Oh my gosh, what's going on?
• 20:56
  I didn't do anything. Wrong.
• 20:58
  I was also not super, you know, because, you know, normally to
• 21:01
  make a selfie with a politician is not a big story.
• 21:04
  But this made it so, made it so big that it has turned into such
• 21:09
  a big story because of the political aspects, because
• 21:12
  Rosenkanz wants to be president and he relies on the Serb voters
• 21:16
  here in Vienna for his president's candidacy.
• 21:19
  And so now he has offended them. And so everybody was confused,
• 21:23
  and that was why it became such a big story.
• 21:26
  Oh, sorry for that. No, it's very good because I
• 21:30
  mean. But for us was really very good.
• 21:33
  I was really very happy because the idea was to make the voice
• 21:36
  of Kosovo to be heard. Absolutely.
• 21:38
  So I'm very happy that this silence diplomacy has made its
• 21:43
  impact. Absolutely, Ivana, the position
• 21:46
  of ambassador in Austria is free.
• 21:48
  You should. You should apply to.
• 21:54
  Speak this with the the minister of.
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  You, they need you. They need you urgently because
• 21:59
  it is. I'll be not this very nice guy
• 22:01
  but he's only shasheed affair and they need a political person
• 22:05
  who is going in the media and you would be the perfect
• 22:08
  appointment. Thank you very much.
• 22:11
  Thank you. It's a pleasure to talk to you.
• 22:14
  All the best please. Welcome to Kosovo.
• 22:16
  Join us, one day I will, and let me know if you will be here.