Jetlag and internet issues have kept me from trying out this blogging thing. I have been here 10 days, and they have for the most part been entertaining, amusing, interesting days, and I will try and post some of my first experiences and impressions in Prishtina over the next few days to catch up.
Unfortunately though, I will start with some tragic weekend events in Prishtina. There were opposition party protests that ended in two protesters confirmed dead from injuries sustained from police who were trying to control the crowd (a third protester is reported dead this morning - although it hasn't been confirmed). The protests were held on Saturday a block from my apartment, and the tear gas was still evident in the air as late as Sunday afternoon. I am hearing a lot of criticism of how the police, both local and UN international, handled things, and new protests have been scheduled for this Saturday. It is altering the mood of the city, I think, from what it was when I first arrived on Feb. 2nd, coincidently, on the same day that the UN announced its plan for resolution of the final status of Kosovo.
(If you don't know much about Kosovo - I recommend Wikipedia, or the International Crisis Group reports.) The UN recommendation on the future status of Kosovo was for de facto independence (without ever using the word "independence") for Kosovo from Serbia with a decentralized system that would allow Serb majority enclaves to maintain some ties with Serbia.
My colleague, a Kosovar, who picked me up at the airport on Feb. 2nd, said that in his opinion, most folks were very pleased with the recommendation -- as he put it -- "we can have a party now". Nevertheless, an opposition party, the Kosovar Self-Determination Party, announced that it would hold demonstrations on February 10th, under the slogan "No Negotiation -- Self Determination" - basically, their leader believes only outright independence is acceptable and that anything less should be rejected.
When I heard there would be protests last weekend, I was told that this opposition party is considered radical and not mainstream, but as they have a dynamic leader, he can draw a crowd. He had led another demonstration in December of a couple thousand people that resulted in damage to government buildings. This time around, it looked to be about the same number of people who marched through the center and then faced a police barricade at the square in front of the government building. After a couple hours, the crowd pushed forward and the police reacted with tear gas, rubber bullets and batons. I could hear the tear gas canons being fired, and what I am guessing were the rubber bullets being fired from my apartment, but I didn't venture out. The footage on the nightly news depicted a chaotic scene - with 80 sent to the hospital and forty arrested.
The next morning, we learned two were dead, and two in critical condition. I've heard a lot of criticism as to how the UN and Kosovar authorities handled the protest. Now, with more protests scheduled for Saturday, people anticipate a much greater turnout -- not necessarily because they support what the opposition party stands for, but because they oppose what the Kosovar and international police did. In addition, police presence has been greatly increased throughout the town, and the police have moved in and closed the opposition party's headquarters (down the street from my office) and arrested some of their members. It will be interesting to see how things develop.
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