Riot police break up Kosovo protest

Thousands of ethnic Albanians demonstrated today in Pristina, protesting against a UN proposal for Kosovo they say doesn’t go far enough in granting the province independence.

Riot police fired tear gas to break up the protest after demonstrators tried to charge a security cordon and head toward a government building. An estimated 3,000 people – many carrying banners reading “No negotiation. Self -determination” – were taking part in the rally on a main street in the Kosovo capital.

Chief UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari unveiled his proposal for Kosovo’s future status a week ago. The plan does not explicitly call for Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, but spells out conditions for self-rule – including a flag, anthem, army and constitution, and the right to apply for membership in international organisations.

Kosovo’s Serb minority would have a high degree of control over their own affairs.

The plan, which needs approval from UN Security Council to come into force, was endorsed by Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leaders but rejected by Serbian officials in Belgrade who refuse to give up the province, considered Serbia’s historic heartland.

Protesters said the plan did not reflect the will of Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority, which they said want independence, not just an internationally supervised statehood.

Protest organisers say the self-rule envisioned for Kosovo’s Serb minority could lead to the creation of a separate Serb entity within Kosovo.

Activists also rejected parts of the plan that call for the establishment of a new international mission that would have powers to annul decisions or laws that run against the plan itself.

The group also criticised ethnic Albanian leaders for negotiating with Serbia. Talks between the two sides are to resume February 21.

Kosovo has been run by the UN since mid-1999, when NATO launched an air war to halt a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.

The group has held many protests against the UN administration in the province, and opposed year-long talks with Serbia over Kosovo’s future.