This morning around 0100 hours, an explosion occurred near the Visoki Monastery in Decane/Decani. According to the abbot the explosion was caused by a mortar. No one was injured and the buildings did not suffer any damage in the explosion. However countering the abbot's statement, international peacekeepers have issued a statement that there is no evidence that the attack was targeting the monastery and according to the news, they are still trying to determine the location of the explosion. The monastery dates back to the 14th century and has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Today Vetevendosje will protest at 1400 hours, calling for the release of their leader, Albin Kurti, who was arrested following the violent demonstration in February and of course against the Ahtisaari proposal as it "gives concessions" to the Serbian population and continues with an international presence. The group wants immediate and unsupervised independence, a dream at best.
<soapbox> In addressing the protestors, Konjufca asked "why won't they let us hold a referendum?" and then answered his own question "Because they know the outcome". Konjufca, the international community does have an idea what the outcome would be if there was unsupervised independence in Kosovo. Hence all the protection and rights from minorities in the Ahtisaari proposal! Truth be told, the international community is not convinced that the Albanian population won't just turn around and start committing the same atrocities that they accuss the Serbians of doing to them during Milosevic's crackdown. So, get ready to continue to be supervised by your new babysitter, EU. Maybe when you can convince us that you are "grown-up" enough to behave yourself then you can be left at home alone :o) </soapbox>
There are rumors that Vetevendosje is paying people to come to Pristina to protest. Supposedly those that show up are being paid 50 Euros a head...a good sum of money for a couple hours of standing around :)
Last night we tried a new restaurant on Fehmi Agani Street called Ex Restaurant (044 157 039/044 557 700). The restaurant gets two big thumbs up from me and my friends. The food and service were excellent...and the prices were absolutely rock-bottom for the quality (nothing was over 7 Euros!) The restaurant is located about halfway up the street from Samurai or kind of kitty-corner from Panevino. The menu is a mix of Thai, Mexican, and Chinese dishes with good traditional items like steaks or caprese salad. I can recommend both the BBQ steak and the Chicken Mozzarella main dishes. I'll be putting in a mention for the restaurant under my favorites in my Kosovo Restaurant Guide as I try more dishes!
