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Newsletter from the Movement for SELF-DETERMINATION!, Lëvizja VETËVENDOSJE!, Nr.286, 20th January 2012

22. January 2012

This issue of Vetevendosje is about the reactions of human rights reports of the course of events January 14 and a call for a new protest January 22.

Conclusions of human rights observers: January 14

The Kosova Ombudsperson, which had teams of observers at both points, concluded, “The Police intervention, the choice of instruments and methods and use of violence during the protests in Podujeva and Dheu i Bardhë, are considered by the Ombudsperson as unnecessary, unjustifiable and unproportional.”

The Ombudsperson also noted, “In general, at the start arrests were done selectively, with a special focus on organizers, especially deputies of the Parliament of the Republic of Kosova present in the protest, towards whom violence was used, accompanied by degrading and humiliating acts. In addition, during the police intervention, violence was used against members of the media doing their jobs.”

The CDHRF, which was observing, concluded “the police intervention was hasty and unnecessary because no one was at risk during the protest.” They concluded, “It appears that there was no will to resolve the problem without the use of force and tensions were raised unnecessarily in certain cases by police exceeding their competences using force against those arrested.”

The Kosova Rehabilitation Center for Torture victims observed at the protest. They expressed “concern at the use of force against protestors” and concluded that “the intervention by the Kosova Police was unprovoked by the mass of protestors, the protestors were calm and the organizers continually appealed for a peaceful protest, trying to maintain order and calm amongst protestors.”

Amnesty International issued a statement in which they, “condemned the excessive use of force by Kosovo police against apparently non violent protestors at two demonstrations on Saturday 14 January.”

Amnesty reminded Kosova’s law and order institutions that, “International standards on policing call for the use of force to be proportionate, and consistent with national law and international human rights law and standards, including the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, which states, “In the dispersal of assemblies that are unlawful but non-violent, law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force or, where that is not practicable, shall restrict such force to the minimum extent necessary”.

In defense of the Republic, For domestic production, SERBIA WILL NOT PASS!

Press Conference: Peaceful protest January 22

In a Press Conference held on Saturday January 21, Albin Kurti and Glauk Konjufca explained Lëvizja VETËVENDOSJE!’s position on the overturning by the Government of Parliament’s decision for reciprocity with Serbia on Friday January 20.

Albin Kurti argued that by attacking the peaceful protest on January 14, the Government was opening up Kosova to Serbia economically, whereas by overturning Parliament’s decision yesterday, it was opening up Kosova to Serbia politically.

He stated, “The Government continually is comparing our demonstration and the north. This comparison is not being made so that the Government can act against Serbia’s criminal structures. This comparison is being made to attack us in the name of criminal structures, while allowing them to remain. Thaçi is not bothered about Belgrade’s illegal structures, but about Kosova’s citizens and peaceful people.

Thaçi has said that Serbia’s criminal structures are dialogue partners, whereas in practice, they are his collaborators in economic crime.

This has not just been about ignoring reciprocity for the Government, but about a planned ignoring of Parliament in 2012, the year we are starting. The Government wants to sell KEK’s distribution, PTK and Trepça and in political dialogue, to accept autonomy for the north, and to this end, they want to eliminate the obstruction of Kosova’s Parliament.

With this Government, the state of Kosova is failing. It is failing as a republic and as an economy.

We are a political subject that has demanded the Government’s resignation and early elections. However with tomorrow’s protest, we aim to take power from Serbia in Kosova and to give this power to the state of Kosova, which we want to strengthen.

We ask the Kosova Police, and especially the special police, not to obstruct us in obstructing Serbia.

Our Republic is being extinguished while we have no reciprocity with Serbia.

Peaceful protest democratizes the Republic.”

Glauk Konjufca stated that the Government has extinguished republicanism and parliamentarianism in Kosova.

He said, “Now we understand what the expression ‘sui generis’ state means. We are ‘sui generis’ toward Serbia. Yesterday, Kosova entered a new phase of authoritarianism. Now, we all understand that we have a Government which is enitrely unrestricted by Parliament. Yesterday, the Government told us: I can do what I want with the state because I have 59 deputies.

The approval of the agreements with Serbia with just the Government’s 59 deputies shows that it considers Kosova part of Serbia. The constitution states that international agreements must be ratified with 2/3 of votes of all deputies. This means a minimum of 80 votes out of 120 seats in Parliament. What an irony: in the same session, an agreement with Germany was ratified with the required 81 votes and immediately after, an agreement with Serbia with just 59 votes. Yesterday, Hashim Thaçi showed us that since he has 59 deputies, he can bring Serbia inside Kosova. This is a dictatorship of numbers.”

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