Glas razlike sa Kosova

May 26, 2006

 

To:                  Soren Jessen-Peterson, UNMIK SRSG

 

Copied to:       Kai Vittrup, UNMIK Police Commissioner

                                                                       

From:              Igballe Rogova, Executive Director, Kosova Women’s Network

                       

Subject:           Incident in Krusha e Vogel village, Kosovo on 25 May 2006

 

 

Dear Soren Jessen-Petersen,

 

I am writing to present the events that occurred on 25 May 2006, during a United Nations Mission in Kosova (UNMIK) fact-finding mission to the village of Krusha e Vogel, as a supplement to the official reports submitted by the UNMIK police. As a human rights and women’s rights activist for more than 17 years, I have worked closely with the community of Krusha e Vogel since 1999 and am well-aware of the political and social context there. Here, I will explain that context and present recommendations for future UNMIK work.

 

I.       The Events that Occurred

Within twelve hours of the incident, I collected more than 30 personal testimonies from Krusha e Vogel citizens who were at the scene. These testimonies showed that the following occurred:

 

Twelve UNMIK police armored vehicles carrying Serbs who used to live in Krusha e Vogel village arrived there at 09:15 in the morning on 25 May 2006. According to Kai Vittrup, UNMIK Police Commissioner, they were there to collect information for The Hague. The convoy arrived completely unannounced, without informing elected officials, public institutions, the Kosovo Police Service (KPS), or anyone in the village that they were coming. When they arrived, an UNMIK police officer asked a young girl, Mehreme Batusha (12), where the house of the Batusha family (Albanian) was. The house was formerly occupied by the Misic family (Serb). The girl pointed to the house.

While the vehicle was stopped Nazmije Avdyli (70) saw Bora Cvetkovic and Gordana Djordjevic, two citizens who had lived in the village before the war, inside one of the vehicles. Nazmije Avdyli immediately yelled, “They are coming back!” Women, who were on their way to work in the fields (carrying pitchforks to move grass), gathered near the UNMIK vehicles when they heard her yelling.

Shpresa Shehu, a teacher, long-time activist, and leader of the village, approached the UNMIK police representatives on behalf of the women and asked if the women could speak with the passengers in the car who they believed to be their former Serb neighbors. The women wanted to ask the passengers what had happened to the bodies of their husbands and children, missing since the war. The UNMIK police officer refused their request.

Then, the women from Krusha e Vogel sat in the middle of the road, preventing the UNMIK armored vehicles from moving forward. The UNMIK police officers grabbed the women by the shoulders and arms, physically, forcibly moving them from the road. When the women struggled, the police officers began to use riot batons. The women responded by throwing stones at the UNMIK police officers and vehicles. In the meantime, men saw what was happening and came to protect the women. When the men came, some of the UNMIK police officers started their vehicles, while others continued to hit the villagers with the butts of their guns and riot batons. Then, all of the officers jumped in their armored vehicles. As they drove away, they threw tear gas from their moving vehicles at the citizens until they reached the edge of the village. They also threw tear gas near the school where children were playing during recess.

According to Prizren hospital records, 36 people were admitted that afternoon, including three men and 33 women. Of the three men, all had physical injuries. Twenty children were treated for wounds associated with tear gas. That evening, 22 adults and the children were released. On 26 May, 14 people remained in the hospital. Of these, one boy has a broken arm, and 13 women suffer from psychological trauma. They are also being treated for tear gas as well as light physical injuries that resulted from the UNMIK police. One woman is being treated for serious injuries to her kidneys after being hit in the back with a riot baton.

 

On the evening of 26 May, a meeting was called with Kai Vittrup at 20:00 in Krusha e Vogel village. The meeting was attended by citizens from the village, Sheremet Ahmeti – Deputy Commissioner of KPS, and Eqrem Kryeziu – Mayor of Prizren Municipality. At the meeting, Kai Vittrup said that it was not democratic for the citizens of Krusha e Vogel to use violence towards people who came to conduct an investigation. He repeatedly stressed the need for them to act “democratically” and to remember that their actions would influence the “final status talks.”

dalje

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