| Self-Determination Vetëvendosje |
|
|---|---|
| Leader | Albin Kurti |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Headquarters | Pristina |
| Ideology | Radicalism[1][2][3] Nationalism[1][4][5] Left-wing nationalism[6] |
| Political position | Left-wing[7] |
| Official colours | White, Red |
| Assembly |
14 / 120
|
| Website | |
| www.vetevendosje.org | |
| Politics of Kosovo Political parties Elections |
|
Vetëvendosje (Albanian for 'Self-Determination') is a radical[2] nationalistic[1][4] political movement in Kosovo[a] which opposes foreign involvement in internal affairs in the country and campaigns for the sovereignty exercised by the people and government of the Republic of Kosovo instead, as part of the right of self-determination.[8]
The movement has always refused to declare its ideology as left- or right-wing because it is a political movement that is centered around principles of all parts of the political spectrum. The movement is both conservative in asking for a strong military and at the same time socialist in asking for developed healthcare and social support programs. The Vetëvendosje! movement believes in a free market in which the government aids domestic producers of goods and services in order to enable them to compete in the regional and global markets.
The dominant figure in the movement is the Kosovar activist, Albin Kurti. One of the movements political points is to hold a referendum on union with Albania.[4][9] The Vetëvendosje! movement is the largest political subject in the Republic of Kosovo regarding active membership, regarding amount of "centers" (central offices in each Albanian city worldwide, including any place abroad with a community of Albanians living there), regarding way of organization and also regarding the masses of people it can mobilize for any activity, whether concert or protest. Currently the movement counts around 20,000 activists, who are active members at the movement's disposal any time necessary.
On 10 February 2007 a demonstration organized by Vetëvendosje and attended by more than 60,000 people took place in the streets of Pristina. Riot police were deployed after the rioters allegedly planned to storm the government office. Following this deployment, after few minutes Romanian UNMIK riot police started firing tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd which until then was protesting peacefully. The Romanian UNMIK police officers then fired directly at the face of one of the protesters, resulting in the immediate death of this unarmed civilian. Following the first casualty the situation went fully out of control and the police began firing rubber bullets at the protesters while always aiming at their heads, resulting in another casualty of a protester who was shot point-blank while he was hiding from the tear gas inside Hotel Iliria, countless other protesters were injured wile one protester who was shot next to the heart survived after a long state of coma and still today lives with the projectile inside his chest. The end of the protest resulted in 2 deaths, 7 serious injuries and 73 minor injuries.[10]
The movement campaigned through graffiti opposing the negotiations for the final status of Kosovo. The graffiti in Albanian is: Jo Negociata -- Vetëvendosje! (Albanian for "No negotiations - Self-determination!"). Among the targets for activities of Vetëvendosje activists are also the vehicles of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) with UN signs, to which the activists add an F character at the beginning and a D character at the end resulting in FUND signs, which in Albanian means The End. The movement also opposes the decentralisation process which is leading to the de facto division of Kosovo along ethnic lines, separating Kosovo into ethnic Albanian and Serbian parts and as such resulting in ethnic discrimination of both Albanian and Serbian communities by creating ghettos based on ethnicity. The movement has also organised protests in front of the headquarters of the United Nations in both New York and in Kosovo during the visits of the heads of state of Serbia.
In December 2010 the movement participated for the first time in national elections and obtained 12.66% of the votes in an electoral process where there was "industrialized" ballot stuffing and election manipulation done by the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo of Hashim Thaçi, Democratic League of Kosovo of Isa Mustafa, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo of Ramush Haradinaj and Alliance for New Kosovo of Behgjet Pacolli. According to international election monitoring reports these elections were the worst in Kosovo history and according to Vetëvendosje! the final result of 12.66% only shows the percentage of votes the movement was able to protect and not the total percentage of votes which the movement actually won, claiming that in a fair electoral process the movement would be the largest political subject in the parliament. Vetëvendosje! deposited more than 1500 complaints as a result of which there were repeated elections in most Kosovar municipalities at least once (in the worst cases going up to a total of three rounds of voting in problematic towns like Skënderaj and Mitrovica).[11] Although this result would place Vetëvendosje as the third political subject of Kosovo, one day after the elections Vetëvendosje presented findings of its observers who had witnessed voter manipulation and fraud in some constituencies.[11]
Currently in the Republic of Kosovo the only real opposition to corruption, organized crime and international isolation is the Vetëvendosje! movement. It is the main target for Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's verbal assaults and activists of the movement have always been harassed and arrested by Thaci's police. According to the movement Thaci has turned the country into an isolated authoritarian regime of the mafia and the only way out of such a situation would be the resignation of the current government, early elections and the immediate arrest and prosecution of all cases of corruption, organized crime and terrorism.
The New Spirit Party merged into Vetëvendosje! on 31 March 2011.[12] The chairman of the movement's parliamentary group is Visar Ymeri. The President of the Vetëvendosje! movement Albin Kurti is also Chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee in the Republic of Kosovo while Vetëvendosje! MP Glauk Konjufca is Deputy-Speaker of Parliament and is the current editor of the movement's weekly journal. Vetëvendosje! MP's also head, or are members of, different Committees in the Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo and have increasingly been vital to a healthy functioning of these Committees which in the past were just means for MP's to get additional salaries.
Contents |
Chairperson
Members
Glauk Konjufca
Albana Fetoshi
Albulena Haxhiu
Alma Lama
Albin Kurti
Afrim Kasolli
Liburn Aliu
Rexhep Selimi
Florin Krasniqi
Afrim Hoti
Albana Gashi
Notes:
| a. | ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognised by 86 UN member states. |
References: