Politics
Miami Vice, with a Balkan twist
Published 03 April 2000
A camera surveillance video is the most popular entertainment in Pristina. As Lindsey Hilsumdiscovered, its curious tale of violence, confusion and revenge is the story of Kosovo
The man in the shell-suit saunters up to the building. The one with white stripes on his sleeves looks more purposeful, as he gets out of his Yugo car and strides up to the door. "Mirko!" he shouts. "Mirko!"
Look carefully - there are three others a few yards up the road. The one in the black jacket is fiddling with something by his side. Click! It's a pistol, and he's cocked it. What's he saying?
"Rewind!" someone shouts, and we watch again. A grainy tape from a security camera has become the most popular bootleg video in Pristina. It tells a story of revenge, violence, confusion and injustice involving heavily armed Serbs, Albanians and foreign soldiers - in short, the story of Kosovo. The video is in black and white, or rather, in fuzzy shades of grey. Every time you watch, you can see more detail, but the details only serve to make the story more complex, and more difficult to decipher.
The Momcilovic video, as it is known, is supposed to be a secret, a potential piece of evidence in a murder case which should be heard this month in the town of Gjilan. But someone somewhere wanted it to be circulated, because they fear that three Serbs - the men of the Momcilovic family - are about to be tried for a crime they did not commit.
"The Momcilovic case raises broad issues and allegations of judicial bias and potentially unlawful convictions," reads a confidential memo from a human rights monitor at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the body charged with building up Kosovo's justice system.
Mirko Momcilovic and his two sons Boban and Jugoslav are detained in Camp Bondsteel, the huge American base outside Gjilan. They have been charged with the murder of Afrim Gagice, a hero of the Kosovo Liberation Army and - presumably - a member of the gang seen on the video. The American legal officer at Bondsteel writes: "The Momcilovic family faces the prospect of a trial by a group of individuals whom I believe will consider ethnicity foremost and facts only as a passing concern."
In Kosovo today, the idea of a Serb accused of murdering an Albanian - worse, a KLA hero - being found not guilty is inconceivable.
The Momcilovic family had a business in the centre of Gjilan selling motor spares. In the video, you can see a sign advertising "Tomos", a Slovenian vehicle. They were relatively wealthy, with a spacious apartment above the workshop. When fear or guilt drove most of their Serb neighbours out of Kosovo last June, the Momcilovics stayed. People who have visited them in detention say the men explain that their livelihood was in Gjilan and most of their customers were Albanian, so they thought they would be safe. And so they were until 10 July when Shellsuit, White Stripes and Black Jacket approached.
The Momcilovic's security system had four cameras, one inside and three outside activated by motion. This means that the video suddenly switches - just as Black Jacket cocks his gun, the scene changes because another camera has been prompted. The camera does not know which is more important: a man waving a gun, or a bird flying past. The result is a disjointed edit, a random assembly of what happened that day.
"Come down now, give up your weapons and nothing will happen to you! Mirko, come out as fast as you can!" one of the gang outside calls out in Albanian. There is no reply. The internal camera clocks on to show one of the Momcilovic sons scuttling upstairs with a bundle - money - to hide. Suddenly,we're outside again and White Stripes is kicking the door and yelling; then he and Shellsuit look up, presumably at the window. What are they looking at? Crack! It is a shot, seemingly from inside. White Stripes pulls a pistol and there is a cacophony of shots. A thin, precise line of black smoke - the aftermath of a semi-automatic rifle round - drifts out of the apartment window.
So far, so Balkan. Then suddenly we're in a scene from Miami Vice. Rounds of sniper shots - apparently fired by an American soldier on a building 100 metres away - crack and thump across the audio. The Americans have arrived. We see them wriggling on their stomachs and taking cover behind a vehicle. The Albanian gang has disappeared.
"You better get some fuckin' cover between you and that goddam sniper!" shouts one sergeant to another. They have clearly seen this movie before, and know their lines. Language is no barrier to the sergeant - after all, everyone has seen those movies, haven't they? "Hold your hands up!" There is the sound of breaking glass. The Americans yell at each other. "Bull, get your fuckin' arse over here!" "Get the fuck down, you fuckstick!"
After a few minutes, what looks like a paper bag flutters down - it's a white flag, the Momcilovics are trying to surrender. "Get out, get out!" A translator has arrived on the scene. "You've got 30 seconds!" shouts the American sergeant. "You've got a minute!" the interpreter says unhelpfully in Serbian. Off camera, the Momcilovics are coming down the stairs. "Put your hands on your head!"
Amid the swearing and screaming, one soldier seems to think he's in a different film. "Sir!" he says breathlessly. "Permission to clear the stairwell! Sir!" In the background, one American soldier seems to be barking like a dog. "Woof! Woof!" The Momcilovics' front doorbell rings and rings. The video stops, buzzing grey clicks to black.
So everyone has played their part.
Post this article to
We want to encourage people to comment on our content and to exchange views with other readers and hope this will be done on a courteous basis. However, if you encounter posts which are offensive please let us know by using the 'report this comment' facility or by emailing comments@newstatesman.co.uk and we will take swift action where necessary.
