change font size

print version

copyright

Other articles:

Apply for Participation in the 1st Round of BIRN’s Balkan Cultural Cooperation Programme

Olli Rehn: Visa-Free Travel Will Follow Reforms

A Judiciary in Limbo

Kosovo Coalition Pact Harms Democracy

Kosovo: A Chapter Closes

NATO, UN to Get Tough in Kosovo

Kosovo Parties Mull Post-Election Coalition

Comment: What’s there to be elected?

EU Countries Prepare to Recognise Kosovo Independence

Kosovo’s Daily Bread Gets Expensive

US Ponders Freezing Kosovo's Status until 2020

Comment: January 5, 2020 - Kosovo's Moment of Truth?

Kosovo Albanians Look beyond December Deadline

Albanian Armed Group Re-emerges from Shadows

Kurti Case Presents Legal Headache for UN in Kosovo

Kosovo: Going Round in Circles

Kosovo Drifts towards Partition

Kosovo Hopes Raised by New Electoral System

Comment: Kosovo`s Choice Between Justice and Organised Crime

Strains Tell within Europe over Kosovo

Spectre of Partition Haunts Kosovo

New Cathedral Symbolises Catholic Rebirth in Kosovo

Serbs Mull Over Partitioning Kosovo

Kosovo Talks Unlikely to Come to Anything

Comment Russia’s Win-Win Situation in Kosovo

Interview Ceku Says Kosovo Is On The Way to Independence

Kosovo Shows Patience, But Frustration Over Status Mounts

Interview Kosova Should Set a Date for Independence Next Spring

IN DEPTH: Kosovo Ponders Voting Before Final Status

US-Albanian Diaspora Bridges Investment Gap in Kosovo

Investigation: Kaludjerski Laz Massacre Still Haunts Montenegro

Sharp Rise in Postwar Suicides Alarms Kosovo

COMMENT: Time to Mobilise Kosovo Behind Ahtisaari’s Resolution

COMMENT: Can Kosovo Be Economically Viable?

National Identity New Challenge for Kosovo

Kosovo Albanians Worry about Russia’s Veto

Kosovo Serbs Give Tsar Lazar’s Guard Wide Berth

Divided EU Stalls Debate on Kosovo

Kosovo’s Future Embassies Face Cash-strapped Fate

Kosovo factor delays formation of Serbian government

Comment: Questions for Kosovars After First 120 Days

Serbs and Albanians Compete for UN Mission's Favour

Serbia Plays Kosovo Partition Card

Romanian UN Officers Blamed for Pristina Deaths

First Shots Fired in Diplomatic "Battle for Kosovo"

Special Package: South Serbia Arranged Marriages Spell Disaster for Many Women

Kosovo Radicals Draw a Blank in Macedonia

Kosovo Nationalists Promise Peaceful Anti-UN Rally

INVESTIGATION: Romanian Police Blamed for Kosovo Protest Carnage

Comment: UN Regime in Kosovo Shows Its True Colours

Kosovo Nationalists Promise Peaceful Anti-UN Rally

01 March 2007   Police and Vetevendosje protesters hold talks to avoid rerun of February 10 clashes.

By Krenar Gashi in Pristina (Balkan Insight, 1 Mar 07)

Kosovo’s nationalist Vetevendosje movement has claimed its new protest against the UN proposal for Kosovo, planned for Pristina on March 3, will be larger than any of its predecessors.

“The number of people joining the upcoming protest will be much higher [than before],” predicted Glauk Konjufca, an activist with Vetevendosje, which means self-determination.

Organisers insist this protest will also be more peaceful than the rally held on February 10, which turned violent and ended in two deaths.

The Kosovo Police Service, KPS, met Vetevendosje activists for talks on February 23, just after the new protest was announced.

The territory’s television station showed clips of the meeting, with Vetevendosje activists sitting around a small table with KPS representatives.

The meeting was seen as a helpful gesture of both sides, which may ensure violence is avoided in future.

“For the first time they are feeling each other’s breath and smells, which is good,” said a young Albanian watching the images in a Pristina café.

“Now they won’t throw stones at the police and the police won’t shoot them with rubber bullets,” another young man added.

The police said they are committed to making sure the next protest ends calmly.

“They informed us about the route of their march, the approximate timeline and assured us that the protest is going to be peaceful,” said Veton Elshani, the KPS spokesperson, referring to the activists.

The public, meanwhile, seems to have mixed feelings about the protest. While Vetevendosje claims its membership is growing, there are signs that many are in no mood for another demonstration.

“I joined Vetevendosje’s protest although I don’t support them. I protested against the unbearable social situation in Kosovo,” said a teenager from Pristina, who’s yet to decide if he’s going to protest on March 3.

Ylli, another young Albanian, told Balkan Insight that he just hoped the demonstration is over quickly. “I don’t like the idea of having to stay away from my favourite café on Saturday just because somebody is protesting in the streets,” he said.

Albin Kurti, Vetevendosje’s leader, remains in custody following his arrest immediately after the February 10 rally, leaving Glauk Konjufca and others in day-to-day charge of the movement.

“If Vetevendosje’s plans are properly implemented in the protest, nobody will get hurt,” Konjufca told Balkan Insight.

The February 10 protest left two men dead and more than 80 injured.

The casualties occurred when UN police used rubber bullets and tear gas on protesters trying to break through police lines and march on government buildings.

A Balkan Insight investigation has uncovered evidence that shows Romanian UN police in Kosovo might have used excessive force to break up the protest. http://www.birn.eu.com/en/72/10/2366/

The police say they had to act firmly to stop the protesters from attacking government property and parliament.

Vetevendosje strongly opposes the presence of the UN Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK. It also opposes the UN-mediated negotiations in Vienna on Kosovo’s final status.

Vetevendosje has previously chosen to announce its protests and activities to the media rather than request an official permit from the police, as the law requires.

They claim they do not recognise the police as they are the agents of an undemocratic UN regime.

The police and government now realise they underestimated Vetevendosje’s potential to cause trouble.

Meanwhile, members of the international community residing in Kosovo are on their guard after a bomb destroyed a UN vehicle in Pristina on February 19, and some have expressed concern about the upcoming protest. “I’ll probably stay at home on Saturday,” said one young woman.

Local newspapers have suggested that UNMIK’s decision to close its offices on March 2 is linked to worries about the following day’s rally. But UNMIK’s spokesperson Neraj Singh said there was no connection between the two.

Analysts in Kosovo believe that if all goes well, the next rally could have a positive impact on the political climate in the territory.

Ilir Dugolli, an analyst from Pristina, said both Vetevendosje and the police had learned from their mistakes. “The police have realised they can’t fire rubber bullets into people’s back and Vetevendosje realised they can’t break through the police lines,” said Dugolli.

Halil Matoshi, another political observer, thinks that the government needs to make a few extra concessions to calm matters. “The best thing that the government could do is to set Albin Kurti free,” he maintained.

The public, meanwhile, remains strongly divided - many view Vetevendosje as a nuisance.

Kushtrim, a student from Pristina, accused the movement of “going against the UN, and thus against the entire world”.

“As far as the March 3 protest is concerned, I would still put extra police forces in the streets because Vetevendosje are not to be trusted,” he added.

Veton Elshani, of the KPS, warned that if Vetevendosje break their word and try to enter government buildings, officers will be ready for them. “We have a flexible plan, depending on protesters’ moves,” he declared.

However, Kujtim Salihu, an international relations student, believes that nothing untoward will happen on March 3.“Protesters will march in the streets, make their views heard and then go back home and watch football,” he said.

Krenar Gashi is BIRN’s Kosovo Editor. Balkan Insight is BIRN’s online publication.