Albin Kurti
Encyclopedia
Albin Kurti is the leading activist and party leader of VETËVENDOSJE!
. He came to prominence in 1997 as the vice-president of UPSUP, the University of Prishtina Student Union, and the main organiser of the nonviolent demonstrations in autumn 1997 and spring 1998. When Adem Demaçi
became the political representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA), Albin Kurti worked in his office. In April 1999, during the NATO's air strikes on Yugoslavia, he was arrested by Serbian forces and beaten up. Later that year he was charged with "jeopardizing Yugoslavia's territorial integrity and conspiring to commit an enemy activity linked to terrorism," a crime that carries maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was freed in December 2001 by Serbia's
post-Milosevic government.
Since 2000, Albin Kurti has stayed outside party politics in Kosovo, but has been a severe critic of the UNMIK
and of corruption. He has organised nonviolent protests in support of the families of those whose relatives disappeared in the war, and in favour of Kosovo self-determination. However, after UN police killed two unarmed protesters and injured 80 others with plastic and rubber bullets at a Vetevendosje rally in February 2007, he was arrested. He was detained until July, and then kept under house arrest with police guarding his house. Amnesty International
has criticised the irregularities in his prosecution, and his trial has yet to be concluded. Kurti remains an advocate of "active nonviolent resistance".
VETËVENDOSJE!
Vetëvendosje is a radical nationalistic political movement in Kosovo 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.The...
. He came to prominence in 1997 as the vice-president of UPSUP, the University of Prishtina Student Union, and the main organiser of the nonviolent demonstrations in autumn 1997 and spring 1998. When Adem Demaçi
Adem Demaçi
Adem Demaçi is a Kosovo Albanian writer and politician and a longtime political prisoner who spent a total of 28 years in prison for speaking out against the poor treatment of the Albanian minority in Yugoslavia as well as criticizing communism and the regime of Josip Broz Tito...
became the political representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
(KLA), Albin Kurti worked in his office. In April 1999, during the NATO's air strikes on Yugoslavia, he was arrested by Serbian forces and beaten up. Later that year he was charged with "jeopardizing Yugoslavia's territorial integrity and conspiring to commit an enemy activity linked to terrorism," a crime that carries maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was freed in December 2001 by Serbia's
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
post-Milosevic government.
Since 2000, Albin Kurti has stayed outside party politics in Kosovo, but has been a severe critic of the UNMIK
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK is the interim civilian administration in Kosovo, under the authority of the United Nations. The mission was established on 10 June 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244...
and of corruption. He has organised nonviolent protests in support of the families of those whose relatives disappeared in the war, and in favour of Kosovo self-determination. However, after UN police killed two unarmed protesters and injured 80 others with plastic and rubber bullets at a Vetevendosje rally in February 2007, he was arrested. He was detained until July, and then kept under house arrest with police guarding his house. Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
has criticised the irregularities in his prosecution, and his trial has yet to be concluded. Kurti remains an advocate of "active nonviolent resistance".