KOSOVO: "SELF-DETERMINATION MOVEMENT" PROTEST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000112 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL UNMIK YI SUBJECT: KOSOVO: "SELF-DETERMINATION MOVEMENT" PROTEST TURNS DEADLY Classified By: COM Tina S. Kaidanow for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: A planned protest by radical "Self-Determination" Movement members in Pristina February 10 turned deadly when two protestors were killed as a result of police efforts to block demonstrators from reaching and ransacking key Kosovo government buildings. Order was restored within hours, and the security situation remains calm, but local criticism is mounting that police -- both Kosovo Police Service (KPS) and UNMIK international police -- overreacted to the provocation of demonstrators throwing stones and bricks by using tear gas and rubber bullets. An internationally-led investigation is underway, and our effort -- together with UNMIK and KFOR -- is to keep the public focused on the real locus of responsibility for the violence: the Self-Determination movement and its extremist leader, Albin Kurti, who was arrested Saturday evening and remains in custody pending formal charges. End Summary. Demonstrations Turn Ugly ¶2. (C) Anywhere from 1300-2500 demonstrators took part in Saturday,s demonstration, which began at 2 pm Saturday afternoon in central Pristina with speeches by Vetevendosje founder Albin Kurti and firebrand politician Adem Demaci, and rapidly deteriorated into a series of confrontations with police. In keeping with advance intelligence that demonstrators were likely to be armed with stones, other projectiles, and possibly weapons, the police presence was heavy. Police sealed the city center in order to prevent the protestors from reaching UNMIK or PISG premises, particularly the Kosovo Assembly and government buildings. Protestors nevertheless breached two lines of barricades and then advanced toward police, using stones, hard objects, and in one instance a small truck to try and break through the police cordon and inflict damage on the Assembly and government building (where Self-Determination protestors had caused significant material damage in November demonstrations). Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and other special equipment to maintain control and drive the crowd back. In response to the developments on the ground, KFOR also deployed 6 platoons of PSU to assist UNMIK police; COMKFOR told local Contact Group reps February 11 that KFOR had ample evidence, including pictures, of protestors accosting and provoking police and emphasized that this was a fully joint operation with UNMIK. ¶3. (C) Six police were injured in the fray. Roughly 75 people were treated on the scene for tear gas inhalation; six were hospitalized for more serious injuries, of whom two died overnight (both were treated at Bondsteel after consultation among PM Ceku, UNMIK PDSRSG Schook, USKFOR commander BG Earhart, and COM). Two more remain in critical but stable condition with possibly life threatening injuries. Albin Kurti was arrested on a warrant from a local prosecutor late Saturday afternoon under a 72-hour custody order, which UNMIK Police Commissioner Stephen Curtis said would provide enough time for KPS, under international supervision, to search Vetevendosje offices in Pristina and other locations in the hope of finding evidence that would conclusively show Kurti,s intention to incite violence and thus provide the basis for a conspiracy charge against him. UNMIK Investigation Underway ¶4. (C) UNMIK Police Commissioner Curtis, who was on scene at the demonstrations throughout the day, immediately ordered an investigation into the events surrounding the deaths of the two protestors, ensuring that forensic evidence was collected from the hospitals where the injured were treated and placing his (brand new) Deputy Commissioner for Crime at the head of the investigative task force. Curtis also asked the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo (PIK),the OIG equivalent in the Ministry of Interior, to participate in the investigation. Autopsies are being conducted Monday morning, which will provide further information on the exact cause of death. Curtis was particularly careful in his briefing to Contact PRISTINA 00000112 002 OF 002 Group reps not to point to any specific police element, UNMIK or KPS, as responsible for the deaths, noting that such information would emerge as the investigation proceeded. ¶5. (C) International press coverage of the events was generally muted (with BBC in particular asserting that the demonstrations did not reflect the views of the vast majority of Kosovars). Kosovar coverage, however, was less objective and focused heavily on the alleged overreaction by police against protestors. The Unity Team (at COM prodding), President Sejdiu, other political parties (including AAK), KFOR, UNMIK police and the local Contact Group representatives all issued statements February 11 condemning the violence, pointing to Vetevendosje as the instigators, and welcoming the establishment of an investigation into the circumstances of the demonstrations and the ensuing deaths. Less helpful were statements by the opposition PDK party and the government, despite early interventions by COM with both PDK leader Hashim Thaci and Prime Minister Ceku, which traded accusations and inferred that police would be held responsible for the deaths. Comment ¶6. (C) The security situation remains stable, and Kosovo leaders have been responsible in calling for continued calm. However, the events of February 10 again point to the overall fragility of the Kosovo political construct and especially of the Unity Team, which has come under local fire for not pushing independence fast enough and thus "stoking" frustration among the Albanian population of Kosovo. The Self-Determination protest and the ensuing deaths will also provide an almost irresistible temptation for opposition leader Thaci to attack the government's handling of the situation, despite the negative impact on Unity Team relations. ¶7. (C) We will watch events carefully over the next few days and attempt to prevent any effort on the part of Kosovo leaders to foist blame onto UNMIK or the international community for the sad and regrettable deaths of the two protestors -- particularly if the investigation determines that UNMIK FPUs (formed police units performing crowd and riot control) fired the fatal shots. We can expect that some Kosovo politicians will seek to cover themselves rather than point the finger squarely where it belongs, at Vetevendosje and Albin Kurti; calls have already emerged for the resignation of UNMIK police commissioner Curtis and the Kosovo Interior Minister. Clear evidence of Vetevendosje,s intentions (as well as past history) supported an initally assertive posture by police, but the investigation now being conducted will have to address the question of proportionality of police response. ¶8. (U) U.S. Office Pristina does not/not clear this cable for release to U.N. Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari. KAIDANOW