UN SAYS POLICE KILLINGS IN KOSOVA WERE 'CRIMINAL'... A UN commission set up in the wake of a bloody clash between police and demonstrators in February said on April 17 that an interim report found "there is a reasonable suspicion" that the shootings of two protesters were "crimes under Kosovo law," according to a news-conference transcript released by the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). The prosecutor leading the probe, Robert Dean, said that "those crimes would be murder and the various types of murder, attempt to commit murder, and inflicting grievous bodily injury." Dean said there is "a substantial basis on which to conclude that Romanian gunners" fired the bullets, since the rubber bullets found in the bodies were "of the type used exclusively by the Romanian gunners." However, Dean said there was too little evidence to bring charges against specific officers. Responsibility for the decision to open fire will be determined in the second phase of the investigation, he said, adding that the deaths were "unnecessary and avoidable." Dean said that "in light of the above, UNMIK, the United Nations, and the government of Romania may consider initiating appropriate procedures for compensation for the surviving family members of those fatally shot and for those seriously wounded." AG
...WHILE POLICE CHIEF SAYS OUT-OF-DATE BULLETS WERE USED. UNMIK's police chief, Richard Monk, said on April 18 that Romanian police used bullets that were at least 12 years out of date, according to a UNMIK transcript of the press conference. Monk said the bullets were smaller and faster than other types, and were manufactured in 1991. Their shelf life was three years. "Probably the rubber hardened over time, which, given the muzzle velocity, would make them even more risky to use at close range," he said. The Romanian police contingent fired 59 rounds during the incident. Neither Monk nor commission head Dean gave their conclusion about what triggered the violence, though police commanders have previously said it began when protesters tried to enter government buildings (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 12, 2007). The controversy over the events has so far cost Kosova's interior minister and the UNMIK's police chief their jobs (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 13, 14, and 15, 2007). Local anger was subsequently fueled by Romania's decision to rotate out some of the troops involved in the incident (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 26 and April 5, 2007). Commenting on Romania's cooperation, Dean said that "up until the point that [the Romanian police officers] left, it appeared to be professional as we wanted it to be." Subsequent protests have passed peacefully, though the protest's organizer, the radical Self-Determination movement, has retained a controversial high profile in its bid to put pressure on the international community to leave Kosova. In the latest incident, on April 13, 19 of its members were arrested as they daubed slogans on the walls of UNMIK's headquarters, local media reported. A UNDP "Early Warning" report issued on April 12 found that perceptions of the incident run along ethnic lines, with Albanians overwhelmingly blaming the UN police and Serbs overwhelming pointing the finger at Self-Determination. AG Copyright (c) 2007 RFE/RL, Inc ---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." (Carlo Goldoni) "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (Jimi Hendrix)
