It has long be forecasted that should the UN not give the Albanians what they want, the population would basically rise up and "bite the hand that feeds" them. And while groups have been against UNMIK before, I think now things have gotten a bit more serious and troublesome. Distributing flyers or putting toilets in front of the gate is fine...but now the Self-Determination group has threatened to put explosive devices on UN vehicles prompting Security to go crazy with warning staff members to check vehicles and some individuals are starting to tamper with the vehicles creating potentially deadly consequences.
Also few days ago, the entire wheel of one of the UNMIK 4Runners came off while a staff member was driving. After investigating the incident, it was discovered that the wheel had been tampered with and the bolts removed. This coincides with another threat against UN vehicles where the Self-Determination Group said they would deflate tires and otherwise vandalize the vehicles (nothing new.)
Another recent activity of the Self-Determination Group has been in the Gnjilane region. Members of the group have been stepping in front of moving UN vehicles forcing the drivers to apply emergency braking procedures and then either accosting the drivers or attempting to put stickers on the vehicles. Reports are also coming that members of the group have been attempting to spit on international staff members while walking or driving.
This weekend I also noticed a new poster hanging up around Pristina. Every once in a while for American holidays, a group hangs up posters to celebrate the holiday. The new posters say "Thank you USA. We <heart> You! Happy Thanksgiving". I can't think of anywhere else in the world that celebrates the US holidays like they do in Kosovo. In fact, I think that we Americans should go on strike because the Kosovo-Albanians are celebrating three days of Thanksgiving and we only have one!
