Protecting people's right to protest in Kosovo

A group of 70 KPS officers completed the course, which was part of efforts to build police capacity to deal with tense situations such as the March 2004 riots, as well as to ensure respect for the rule of law and human rights.

The training offered by the KPSS was based on the Danish 'Force Mobile' tactics that are now being adopted by a number of west European countries.

After the training was completed in late March, the OSCE and the KPSS organized a civil disturbance demonstration to which local and international observers were invited.

Ensuring freedom of expression

Danish National Police Superintendent Kaspar Andreasen, who headed the team of four trainers and also ran the demonstration, explained: "People have the right to protest and express their opinions.

"The job of the police is to extract violent protesters, to prevent aggression against others and the destruction of property, and to enable people to speak their minds.

"Police need to open a dialogue with representatives of the protesters and agree on the way the protest will be conducted. The simplest thing for the police to do is to close one or two streets and redirect traffic for a while, which doesn't harm anyone," he added.

Avoiding symbols of hostility

The key philosophy of the training was that the police should in no way appear to be hostile towards the crowd of demonstrators. The police - while clearly uniformed law enforcement officers - should not display symbols of force, such as batons, shields or helmets, when dealing with public disorder.

"The police in Kosovo need newer equipment. Right now, their gear, body shields and helmets project an aggressive image which instills a feeling of fear and uneasiness in protesters, so that they see the police as their opponents," said Andreasen.

As the demonstration also showed, the equipment also makes police officers easier targets. Body shields worn over the uniform rather than under it are easier to pull off, endangering the officers.

Conflicting emotions

Handling a riot is one of the hardest things police officers have to do, as they may be put in a position where they have no option but to use force against the fellow citizens they are trained to serve and protect.

One of the trainees, KPS Lieutenant Amir Gërguri, commented: "It is hard to be in a situation where one has to confront one's own people.

"But now we know better. We know we have to remove the instigators of violence from the crowd. We know how to establish communication with protesters and co-operate with them."

Further developing police capacity

Taking on board the lessons learned from the March 2004 riots, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo also sought ways to further develop police capacity, so as to enable them to take on full responsibility and deal properly with such situations.

One of the main problems during the riots was a lack of co-ordination between the KPS, the UN civilian police and KFOR (the NATO-led international force responsible for security in Kosovo), so the Mission is also working to ensure the exchange of information between all parties.

The Norwegian Ambassador to NATO, Kai Eide, who was invited by the UN Secretary General to report on the riots, made police training and exchange of information a priority in his recommendations.

"We have invited both the UN and the KFOR to observe the training," said Heinz Schneider, an OSCE international police trainer from Austria, at the KPSS.

"We want them to know what the KPS is capable of, so they will know what to expect and can plan supporting actions accordingly."

Both KFOR and the UN civilian police still play a role in maintaining security in Kosovo.

"The international community will not be here forever, and it is important that the Kosovo police are capable of acting independently," Schneider added.

Dialogue with the protestors

After protests in Denmark, noted Superintendent Andreasen, the police invite the protest leaders for a coffee and discuss what went well and what didn't.

Lieutenant Gërguri added that another unit was working on community policing and conflict prevention. With these two units co-operating to develop dialogue with protesters, the chances of protests or riots having severe negative consequences will be greatly reduced.

The best 15 trainees, who are now qualified trainers themselves, will pass on their knowledge to some 500 officers who will form KPS public disorder teams to deal with such situations.

The training they will provide during 2005 will be carried out in co-operation with the KPSS and the KPS's regional support units, created to assist training efforts.