International police was compelled to use force and disperse the crowd only when protesters
 turned violent trying  to break police cordon and storm the Govenrment building

Koha Ditore, quotes a police source saying that during last week, police officers tried to arrange a meeting with the leaders of “Vetëvendosja”, to discuss regarding the protest, but “Vetëvendosja” refused to participate.

On this issue, the paper quotes Kurti who said on Friday, that he is not going to participate in any meeting where UNMIK representatives are present.

Papers say that around 19 hrs, Kosovo Police Service Special Unit stormed the premises of “Vetëvendosja” movement, where the leader of “Vetëvendosja” Albin Kurti was arrested.

 

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Two dead following Kosovo clashes 
 
BBC, February 11, 2007

Two people have died overnight following clashes in Kosovo between ethnic Albanian protesters and police.

They were among four people seriously wounded when United Nations and local police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse some 3,000 protesters.

 

The crowd in Pristina was protesting against a UN plan on the future status of Serbia's province. Many ethnic Albanians are unhappy that the plan falls short of granting full independence for Kosovo.

 

The proposals, unveiled on 2 February by chief UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari instead recommends a form of self-rule - which is itself strongly opposed by Serbia.

 

The UN has agreed to delay talks on its proposals until 21 February, at the request of Serbian President Boris Tadic.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday again warned that Moscow would not back any solution for Kosovo that was not also acceptable to Belgrade.

 

 

Only 3000-4000 protesters gathered to protest against Marti Ahtisaari's plan
Beside other slogans protesters openly called for ethnic and religious hatred

 

Kosovo Police Service spokesman Veton Elshani has confirmed this information, adding that it is not presently known how many police were injured. "The protest turned violent and police had to react after the demonstrators began to remove barricades and throw stones at police despite previous warnings. Police used tear gas and that is how a clash occurred," said Elshani. He said police reacted to prevent the demonstrators from accessing the Kosovo Government and Assembly (buildings).

Kosovo Government spokesperson Ulpiana Lama said that police reacted appropriately to the situation. "The police acted professionally and responded proportionately only at the moment when several demonstrators attempted to topple the barricades around the government building," Lama said, adding that the process of status resolution is on the right path and that there is no reason for protests.

Thousands of citizens protested in central city square named after Skenderbeg, warning that Ahtisaari's plan is in accordance with Belgrade's plans and does not lead to the independence of Kosovo. The demonstrators, who were led by Self-Determination head Albin Kurti and activist [sic] Adem Demachi, chanted slogans against the Ahtisaari plan and the Kosovo negotiating team, and demanded the departure of the UNMIK mission.

Albin Kurti said that Ahtisaari's plan is to Serbia's advantage, especially parts relating to decentralization and the protection of Orthodox (Christian) cultural heritage. "Ahtisaari has brought a package but there is no independence in it. This proposal gives autonomy to the Serbs within Kosovo, and (it gives) Kosovo autonomy within Serbia," said Kurti. He called the members of the Kosovo negotiating team deceivers who do not want independence but only to stay in power.

The protest began at 2:00 p.m. and the demonstrators dispersed in the late afternoon. During the protest additional police forces were deployed in the main streets of Pristina, in front of Kosovo institutions and the UN mission headquarters. Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu had previously said that "the citizens have a right to protest, but they do not have a right to destabilize Kosovo".

Tear gas was used to disperse demonstrators who tried to break
the police cordon and barricades throwing stones and using clubs

80 hurt, 14 Albanians arrested in Pristina

Mondo, Belgrade, Saturday, February 10, 2007 21:00

Eighty people have been hurt and 14 arrested during clashes between police and demonstrators during a protest gathering in Pristina. The organizer of the demonstrations, Self-Determination movement leader Albin Kurti, is among those arrested.

The director of the Pristina Clinical Center Abdul Krasniqi told reporters that a total of 80 people had been admitted to hospital, and that 25 of those had kept for treatment. Four people are seriously wounded and required surgical intervention.

The Kosovo Police Service advised that the leader of the Self-Determination movement Albin Kurti was arrested Saturday night a few hours after the protest by his organization and clashes with police in Pristina.

"Albin Kurti has been detained this evening at the request of the public prosecutor," said KPS spokesman Veton Elshani, who did not wish to provide details.

Kurti was arrested after a press conference in which he accused police for violence and clashes during the protest.

It is presently calm in Pristina and no roads are blocked; the situation has returned to normal.

Thousands of Albanians protested on Saturday in Pristina against UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan for Kosovo status, and police used tear gas to stop the gathered demonstrators from forcing their way through police lines.

During the police intervention 14 people were arrested, confirmed the spokesman of the Kosovo Police Service according to foreign news agencies.

Reuters reports that UNMIK police in Pristina used tear gas to disperse thousands of Albanian demonstrators who attempted to break through a security barricade.

According to the AP some 3,000 Albanian demonstrators protested in the streets of Pristina against a UN draft plan on the future status of Kosovo and Metohija presented last week by UN special envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari.

Demonstrators emphasized that the plan does not provide for the full independence of Kosovo, demanding the right to a referendum on independence and rejecting negotiations with Serbia.

Members of the Kosovo Police Service, with the support of Italian carabinieri and UN police, sealed off the main road leading to UN headquarters in Pristina.

A similar protest in November 2006 also ended with the use of tear gas. On that occasion demonstrators threw bottles and stones at the buildings of the Kosovo provisional parliament and the UN headquarters.

Kosovo Government spokesperson called police intervention professional

Some Albanians oppose the strong controls the European Union is expected to have in the province according to the plan of special envoy Martti Ahtisaari, as well as local self-government for Serbs, writes Reuters.

The protest began at 2:00 p.m. in front of the offices of Self-Determination from where the column of demonstrates set out down the main streets of Pristina, which had been closed to traffic even before the protest began.

Demonstrators chanted slogans against the Ahtisaari plan and the Kosovo negotiating team. "Down with the negotiating team", "UNMIK out", "Decentralization brings divisions, divisions bring war", "Kosovo Protection Corps should become the Kosovo Army", "Freedom and independence cannot be brought in a package" are some of the slogans shouted by the protesters.

In the central Pristina square named after Skenderbeg, demonstrators were addressed by long-time activist [sic] Adem Demachi, Self-Determination leader Albin Kurti and others.

Demachi said that "the people of Kosovo love Europe" but that Europe must listen to the voice of the people of Kosovo, and respect and acknowledge the will and right to freedom of the citizens of Kosovo.

Kurti said that Ahtisaari's proposal foresees autonomy for Serbs in Kosovo and autonomy for Kosovo within Serbia. "As long as UN Resolution 1244 is in power, there can be no sovereignty and no independence for Kosovo," said Kurti. He added that Kosovo cannot achieve independence with its present institutions.

He also said that when institutions are not working for the interests of the people, they have no choice but to take to the streets and express their dissatisfaction.

At one point Kurti addressed the special police forces providing security at the protest. He called on them to serve the people, and not UNMIK.

After Kurti's speech the demonstrators removed the metal fences put up by the police and headed toward the police lines, which then used tear gas.

During the afternoon police dispersed the demonstrators on the square, which is located near the buildings of the government and the Kosovo Assembly.

There are no demonstrators remaining on the square but smaller groups can be seen on other streets. Special police forces are present on the main streets of Pristina.

Senior official of the Human Rights and Freedoms Committee Bexhet Shala assessed that the police had used excessive force and that there was no reason to use such a large amount of tear gas.

Albin Kurti is considered directly responsible for yesterday's violence

Two dead following Kosovo clashes - police

Reuters, 11 Feb 2007 11:17:14 GMT

PRISTINA, Serbia, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Two people died overnight of injuries sustained in clashes in Kosovo on Saturday between police and ethnic Albanian protesters, U.N. police said.

They were among four people seriously wounded when United Nations and Kosovo police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of Albanians protesting a U.N. plan they say falls short of full independence for the Serbian province.

Police opened fire when protesters tried to break through a barricade around parliament in the capital Pristina.

"It is totally regrettable that two lives were lost as a result of wanton breach of security at the government buildings," the head of U.N. police in Kosovo, Stephen Curtis, said in a statement on Sunday.

"The demonstrators at the government buildings compelled the police to take defensive measures to restore order," he said.

The violence on Saturday underscored Western fears of mass unrest if a decision on the Albanian majority's demand for independence does not come soon. Fifteen people were arrested.

A U.N. plan unveiled this month would, if adopted by the U.N. Security Council, set the territory on the path to statehood, eight years after NATO bombs drove out Serb forces and the United Nations took control.

But some among Kosovo's 90-percent ethnic Albanian majority are angry at the plan's provisions for a powerful European overseer and self-government for the 100,000 remaining Serbs.

The protesters called for an independence referendum and rejected talks with Serbia, which in 1998-99 killed 10,000 Albanians and expelled 800,000 in a two-year war with rebels.

Serbia opposes the amputation of its medieval heartland, but the Albanians living there reject any return to Serb rule and are impatient to end eight years of U.N.-imposed limbo.

Washington and the European Union back the blueprint drafted by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari. Russia says it will not support any solution rejected by Belgrade.

Ahtisaari has invited Serbia and the Kosovo Albanians to a final round of talks in Vienna from Feb. 21. He hopes to present the plan to the U.N. Security Council in late March.

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