US Ambassador Averted EULEX-Police Violence, WikiLeaks

A violent clash between Kosovo Police’s special unit, ROSU, and the riot police of the EU rule-of-law mission was only averted by the intervention of the US ambassador, Christopher Dell, a WikiLeaks cable says.

As tension between EULEX and the Kosovo government mounted over a protocol that the mission wanted to sign with Serbia, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci sent 25 members of the paramilitary police unit to northern Kosovo to protect Albanian returnees who were reconstructing homes.

“EULEX subsequently sent two Formed Police Units (FPU, anti-riot police), consisting of 100 French, Italian, Romanian, and Polish officers, to the three bridges across the River Ibar to prevent the ROSU from crossing,” according to the cable.

The EULEX commander was unable to convince his ROSU counterpart to stand down and at 8pm the KP unit was pulled back to a police station in southern Mitrovica.
“Responding to a call from the Ambassador, Prime Minister Thaci called the ROSU back to Pristina,” the cable reads.

“The decision to send ROSU forces north represented a dangerous escalation in tensions between the GOK and EULEX.

“We were fortunate that Prime Minister Thaci recalled the ROSU forces, and that the incident did not end in a violent police-on-police confrontation," it adds.

“We are also fortunate that the Europeans have thus far, also refrained from escalating the issue, though there are some within EULEX who want to do so by moving forward with the police protocol regardless.

“We will continue to urge all sides to put aside the issue of EULEX-Serbia police cooperation for several days, in the hopes that calm can increase the political space necessary for Kosovo leaders and EULEX to maneuvre.," the cable concluded.

Wikileaks Highlight:

Orthodox Church Pays

KEK
“On December 30, 2009, Father Simeon, secretary to Bishop Artemije, Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Ras and Prizren, signed an agreement with the Kosovo Electricity Corporation (KEK) for Gracanica Monastery, and stated that all SOC sites in Kosovo were now authorized to become KEK customers. KEK reconnected Gracanica Monastery the same day.

Gracanica Monastery, along with 57 other Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) monasteries, convents, and churches had been disconnected from the electrical grid in autumn 2009 due to their failure to register to pay for electricity. SOC buildings were reconnected to the electrical grid about one month after KEK began to disconnect non-paying mosques, a process that began after Islamic Eid al Fitr celebrations.”

The Zanzi Bar Fiasco

“By most accounts, Prime Minister Thaci acted rashly last night when he decided to dismiss the LDK from the coalition about an hour after he learned of the LDK-AAK agreement. He had not consulted with either AKR or LDD, and he would have had trouble in securing votes to maintain a government. In fact, this was Thaci at his worst -- emotional, impulsive, and hasty. It appears that the folly of his exercise was clear to him the following morning, when he came away from a meeting with President Sejdiu with nothing to show.”

On PDK’s 2009 Election

“In this fight, PDK has several clear strengths and weaknesses. Chief among its weaknesses is a reputation for corruption and crime. No fewer than three of PDK's mayoral candidates have prior criminal convictions and/or face felony charges (Sami Lushtaku, Skenderaj/Srbica: convicted for threatening a judge; Xhabir Zharku, Podujeve/Podujevo: two arrests for kidnapping, obstruction of justice; and, Shukri Buja, Lipjan/Lipljan: vehicular homicide). That said, PDK enjoys the natural advantages of incumbency -- patronage and power.

Another PDK asset is Prime Minister Thaci, a tireless campaigner who has promised voters an impressive, if not always plausible, array of public sector projects and new investment as he barnstorms across Kosovo in support of PDK candidates.”