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Police use tear gas to disperse Kosovo protest
2007-02-10
Anti-riot police units used tear gas to disperse some 2,000 protestors from the radical pro-independence ethnic Albanian youth movement in the Kosovo capital. Hospital officials said some 72 people were injured, mostly slightly, but 25 have remained under observation in Pristina's medical center. Fifteen people were arrested -- among them two minors who were later released -- after more than three hours of clashes between police and protestors supporting the ethnic Albanian "Self-determination" youth movement which is seeking Kosovo's independence without any negotiations. The radical movement, whose leader Albin Kurti has demanded the right to a referendum on independence, has called for a protest against the UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari's recent proposal for the future status of the southern Serbian province. "With such politicians as ours, the independence (of Kosovo) will remain just a dream," said Kurti. Some 2,000 protestors gathered close to the provincial government building in Pristina's city centre, but a strong anti-riot police cordon prevented them from approaching the premises. "Freedom doesn't come in packages," they chanted in a reference to Ahtisaari's plan. Police riposted with tear gas as the mostly young protestors tried to break through the cordon and enter the building. Several armoured vehicles belonging to the UN police also arrived at the scene of the clash, while several policemen used batons to stop the protestors. At least three protestors and one policeman injured in clashes in the main street of the Kosovo capital. Police units were soon backed by Italian carabinieri soldiers, members of NATO-led peacekeeping troops (KFOR), while UN police armoured vehicles sealed off the main road. The government of Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku condemned the protest, rejecting charges by human rights activists that the police had used "unnecessary force" to disperse demonstrators. "Police response was appropriate and professional," said government spokeswoman Ulpiana Lama. Last November, the "Self-determination" activists held a similar protest which police dispersed with tear gas as the protestors threw rocks and bottles at the Kosovo's parliament and UN headquarters in Pristina. Kosovo has been administered by UNMIK since mid-1999, after a NATO bombing campaign ended a brutal crackdown by Serbian forces against the province's ethnic-Albanian majority. Kosovo's ethnic Albanians, who comprise around 90 percent of the province's two million people, sought independence from Serbia, something vehemently opposed by Belgrade. After more than nine months of talks between Belgrade and Pristina in 2006 failed to bring any results, Ahtisaari, a former president of Finland, drafted his own solution. Although it does not mention independence, Ahtisaari's plan offers Kosovo self-governance, a constitution, anthem and flag, as well as the right to join international organisations. Belgrade and Pristina teams were expected to discuss the proposal in the final round of talks starting on February 21. An advisor to Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said in an interview published on Saturday that Belgrade would accept a compromise solution on Kosovo's status but would regard full independence as a "gross violation" of a UN charter. "We insist only on respect for the current frontiers (of Serbia)," Vladeta Jankovic told the Austrian newspaper Standard. Jankovic said Belgrade would accept most of Ahtisaari's blueprint except giving Kosovo a seat in the UN and its own army. "Concerning the degree of autonomy for Kosovo, we are ready to reach a full compromise. Albanians should have absolute power," he said. Ahtisaari said in New York that he expected the final status of Kosovo to be settled well before the end of the German presidency of the European Union at the end of June.
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