Arben Xheladini and Mon Balaj, who were killed by UNMIK police during the February 10, 2007 protest of the Vetëvendosje Movement against the Ahtisaari Plan for Kosovo’s status, were commemorated, KosovaPress reports.
On this anniversary, acting Prime Minister and leader of the Vetëvendosje Movement, Albin Kurti, together with party members, paid homage at the memorial plaque of Arben Xheladini and Mon Balaj.
Kurti said that UNMIK went out to kill them during the February 10, 2007 protest.
“At that protest we were opposing the package of the former envoy for Kosovo’s status as a compromise that marks injustice for our people and our rights. Ahtisaari himself said that his proposal was a compromise, and we were convinced it was a major one… We were for partnership with the internationals, but not for servility toward them. We wanted decisions in Kosovo to be made by the Assembly, the Government, and the president,” Kurti said.
Kurti also recalled how the killing of the two Vetëvendosje activists occurred and how 84 protesters were injured.
“Here where we are now, our march was blocked and immediately tear gas began, making it difficult to recognize one another, let alone see who was where. UNMIK police began firing rubber bullets that were 11 years past their expiration date, mainly at their heads and chests. 232 bullets eight seconds after the gas, at a moment when almost nothing was visible. They killed Arben Xheladini and Mon Balaj, and 84 protesters were injured. UNMIK itself admitted guilt, but despite admitting responsibility, accountability was not implemented, as they escaped in the name of international immunity,” Kurti added.
Kurti said that Arben Xheladini and Mon Balaj are their permanent memory.
“Arben Xheladini and Mon Balaj are martyrs of the will for freedom, as written on the plaque, and they are our permanent memory in the foundations of the Vetëvendosje Movement and the chapters that followed in our rise in service of the Albanian people and the state of Kosovo. They killed Arben and Mon, but something unstoppable was born, which is the embodiment of the people’s will and its continuous progress,” Kurti added.
Nineteen years ago, the Vetëvendosje Movement, which at the time did not function as a political party, organized one of the largest post-war protests to oppose Kosovo’s negotiations with Serbia and the Ahtisaari Plan. On February 10, 2007, during this protest, Mon Balaj and Arben Xheladini, both activists of the Vetëvendosje Movement, were killed.
