8th session in trial of Albin Kurti EULEX, EC and EUSR unite over
Transcription
8th session in trial of Albin Kurti EULEX, EC and EUSR unite over
Newsletter from the Movement for SELF-DETERMINATION! THIS WEEK: • 8th session in EULEX trial of Albin Kurti • EULEX, EC and EUSR united over egging • EULEX caught smuggling goods • 8th session in trial of Albin Kurti th On Monday 19 April, the eighth session in the trial of Albin Kurti by EULEX was held. Neither Musa Dragusha, or Avni Gjakova, the two defense lawyers assigned by EULEX, attended. In the trial, the prosecutor Ali Rexha addressed the court for the first time. He asked that the third charge be dropped from the indictment. This is the charge that Albin Kurti ‘called for resistance’, the only charge that he has stated he accepts with pride because Lëvizja VETËVENDOSJE! continually calls for resistance against injustice, oppression, and the partition and sale of Kosova. We called on the prosecutor to drop all the other charges and thus to end the trial. Ali Rexha also condemned the egging of Avni Gjakova in this address, even though he had remained silent the day it happened. The Presiding Judge adjourned the th court until Wednesday 28 April and a new arrest warrant for Albin Kurti was issued. In his statement, the Judge criticized Kosova’s justice institutions for being ‘incapable’, as well as noting the ‘unwillingness’ of the Kosova police to arrest Albin Kurti. Lëvizja VETËVENDOSJE! condemns the pressure EULEX is putting on our institutions to participate in this trial and welcomes their refusal, which demonstrates their commitment to true justice. Rr. Perandori Justinian, nr.9, Qyteza Pejton Prishtinë, Kosovë Nr.195, 23 April 2010 This scandal occurred in the midst of the now daily statements from the head of EULEX and the head of the EC in Kosova, about how Kosova needs to do more to fight corruption and establish the rule of law. While EULEX is focusing all of its energy on bringing Albin Kurti to court, to assert its authority over Kosova’s institutions, its staff on the other hand, exploit their immunity from the law, to smuggle goods out of the country. In responding to the news about the crime committed by 16 Rumanian members of its staff, EULEX stated that it would take the issue very seriously and initiate an immediate investigation into whether the internal disciplinary code of the mission had been violated. We remind EULEX that a contingent of Rumanian police serving in Kosova, at that time with UNMIK, committed a far greater crime, killing Arben Xheladini and Mon Balaj, and injuring over 80 other people in a peaceful demonstration. No independent investigation has ever been opened into this crime. Nor have they ever been held responsible. Instead, EULEX is currently attempting to prosecute Albin Kurti! These UNMIK police also were immune from the law and above the law, as are EULEX staff working in Kosova. Kosova is indeed, the perfect site for committing crime if you work for EULEX, or if you happen to be one of Kosova’s corrupt politicians, protected by EULEX. The demand for justice for the 10th February 2007 killing of Mon Balaj and Arben Xheladini by UNMIK police is now part of Amnesty International’s world‐ wide Appeal. http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.a mnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/documents/Th eWire/Wire_WWA_Insert_AprMay10_ web.pdf EULEX, EC and EUSR unite over egging Yves de Kermabon, head of EULEX, Renzo Daviddi, head of the EC in Kosova and ICR Pieter Feith, issued a joint statement last Friday. This dramatic statement of unity was not, as might be expected, a condemnation of Serbia’s illegal parallel structures operating in Kosova, or a condemnation of Serbia’s plan to illegally hold its elections inside Kosova again. Nor was it a statement condemning the murder of two innocent peaceful th protestors on 10 February 2007, shot by UNMIK police who remain free, and calling for an independent investigation of this crime, as demanded by 150.000 of Kosova’s citizens. No. Instead, they united to condemn the egging of Avni Gjakova by activists of Lëvizja VETËVENDOSJE! This protest against a blatantly political trial, which EULEX is leading, was sufficient to motivate the leaders of the international protectorate to remind us once again, that our justice system is neither independent from them nor just, and to again demonstrate their contempt for the people they are ruling over. Symbolic action ridiculing EULEX staff caught smuggling goods out of Kosova EULEX caught smuggling goods This week, 16 Rumanian EULEX staff were caught trying to smuggle cigarettes and alcohol out of Kosova, to a reported value of 6,000 Euros. Editor: Alex Channer E‐Mail:selfdeterminationk@gmail.com