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

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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