PRESIDENT OF KOSOVO RESIGNS DUE TO WAR CRIME CHARGES

MICHELLE MOORE

President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi resigned on Nov. 5, following allegations of war crimes that led to an indictment by the Hague, which hosts the International Court of Justice.

The allegations stem from Thaçi’s time in the Kosovo Liberation Army, an Albanian separatist group. The Republic of Kosovo was once part of Serbia, but tensions between ethnic Serbians and Kosovars, who are ethnically Albanian, led to conflict. The KLA formed in 1993 with the goal of gaining independence for Kosovo.

Thaçi joined the KLA shortly after its formation and rose to prominence, becoming known for his charisma. By the time the Kosovo War broke out in 1998, he was one of the leaders of the KLA. When the peace treaty ending the war was signed in 1999, Thaçi led the Kosovo delegation. He was elected prime minister of Kosovo in 2007, then president in 2016.

The Serbian government maintains the KLA was a terrorist group. In 1997, Thaçi was charged with terrorism due to his participation in the KLA. The Serbian government convicted him and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, but he never served his sentence.

In 2015, The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office was formed to investigate allegations that the KLA committed war crimes.

In April, the special prosecutor’s office filed an indictment charging Thaçi and several other KLA leaders for “a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, enforced disappearance of persons, persecution and torture.”

Reactions from the international community have been mixed. Albanian President Ilir Meta has supported Thaçi, tweeting “the war of the KLA has been just and heroic” and “I believe in [Thaçi’s] innocence and that of all his comrades.”

Others have indicated their support for the indictment.

“It’s hugely significant that Thaci turned himself in,” said Dutch journalist Stephanie van den Berg.

“He has always denied involvement in any crimes and presented himself as a liberator of his people, a peacemaker. It will be interesting to see how the special court cases against him and others play out because previous cases against Kosovar Albanians were marred by witness intimidation.”

A researcher for Amnesty International said “the indictment brings hope for thousands of victims of the Kosovo war who have waited for more than two decades to find out the truth about the horrific crimes committed against them and their loved ones. Charges, which are the first for the Special Prosecutor’s Office, show that senior officials are not above the law.”

“The Kosovo indictment moves victims, survivors and their families one step closer to learning the truth about the crimes committed

KOSOVO PRESIDENT HASHIM THACI ADDRESSES THE NATION AS HE ANNOUNCES HIS RESIGNATION. VISAR KRYEZIU/AP PHOTO

against them in a credible process,” said Lotte Leicht, European Union and Human Rights Watch director. “It’s also a pointed reminder that justice can reach those who once seemed beyond its reach.”

Thaçi voluntarily stepped down from the office of president to travel to the Hague and take part in the trial, stating he had done so “to protect the integrity of the presidency of Kosovo.”

Two other former KLA members and prominent Kosovo politicians, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi, have joined Thaçi in traveling to the Hauge to face trial. Former President Jakup Krasniqi was arrested after a raid on his home and forcibly brought to the Hague to stand trial.

Thaçi has denied the allegations, stating in court “the indictment is completely without basis, and I plead not guilty to all the charges in the indictment.”

Vjosa Osmani, the chairwoman of the Assembly of Kosovo, will serve as acting president until the presidential elections next April.

“A sustainable peace in the region asks that the victims and the aggressors are not equalized,” Osmani said. “We, Kosovo’s Albanians, have been the victim of the hegemony of a genocidal regime, while Serbia has been the state that committed these crimes.”

THE FATE OF E-SCOOTERS IN PORTLAND

MEGHAN UTZMAN

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is seeking to implement a permanent electric scooter program by 2021, but the Portland City Council (PCC) isn’t sold.

With only two months left in Portland’s temporary e-scooter program, PBOT recently shared the results of its 2019 trial with Portland City Council members. However, issues surrounding equity, safety and liability gave some members pause.

In 2018, Portland was first introduced to escooters during PBOT’s initial 120-day pilot program. The majority of residents viewed the devices positively, and used them more often for transportation than recreational use. However, concerns surrounding equitable access, sidewalk riding, improper parking and helmet use motivated PBOT’s 2019 program, in order to test solutions to these problems.

E-scooter companies operating in Portland must agree to share their user data with PBOT in order to gain a permit, which allows the city to evaluate whether companies are meeting the city’s goals.

“PBOT prevented unauthorized deployment of e-scooters in 2018,” said Jacob Sherman, PBOT’s new mobility program manager. “We were not going to let technology occur for technology’s sake alone, but instead determine whether and how escooters could advance the city’s goals, especially around congestion, climate safety, and equitable access.”

BEFORE PERMANENT E-SCOOTERS TAKE OFF, CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES ITS CONCERNS

In terms of climate, e-scooters significantly replaced driving and ride-hailing trips—with 34% of Portlanders and 48% of visitors choosing to ride a scooter rather than request a driving service.

“Overall, e-scooter riders replaced enough miles that would otherwise have been driven in a car to ride around the Earth almost 17 times (415,286 miles), saved 167 metric tons of carbon emissions and removed the greenhouse gas equivalent of 27 passenger vehicles from the streets over the course of the pilot in 2019,” PBOT’s report stated.

To address the dangers around improper parking and sidewalk riding, PBOT began issuing parking penalties in 2019. Per Oregon law, PBOT can not issue citations for moving violations, but it did hand out over 1,000 penalties and warnings to e-scooter companies whose devices were found parked improperly. Looking into the future, PBOT would like to implement a “lock-to” requirement or parking corrals for the scooters throughout the city.

Newly-elected City Commissioner Mingus Mapps will take over for Commissioner Chloe Eudaly to oversee PBOT, among other city offices, in January. Before running for office, he taught urban politics at Harvard and Cornell while working for City Hall to help manage the City of Portland’s Neighborhood Association and Crime Prevention Program.

“I’m glad we’ve had this extended period of time to test them out,” Mapps said. “There are some issues we still need to manage, but I’m confident that if we work together, we can resolve problems surrounding sidewalk riding, and serious equity concerns. A lot of those scooters are not accessible to those with physical disabilities or low-income families, and I think we need to develop programming around that...obviously the program is imperfect, but I remain a supporter.”

Helmets, one of the most pressing issues surrounding the scooters, must be worn in order to ride an e-scooter in Portland. However, results from 2019 show helmet use is still significantly low, with only 20% of riders reporting they “always wear a helmet.” Although no fatalities have resulted from e-scooters in Portland, 2.2 accidents occured every 10,000 miles in 2018. This is “much higher than the national average for motorbikes (0.05 per 10,000 miles) and cars (0.1 per 10,000),”

according to Business Insider. The finding led the NW Examiner to question whether the city was suppressing the dangers of e-scooters.

This was the biggest concern for Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who asked PBOT, “If we approve this program knowing that helmet use is low, and knowing that it’s dangerous who takes on the implicit liability, the scooter companies or the city?”

Catherine Ciarlo, manager of the Active Transportation and Safety Division of PBOT, reassured Wheeler and other members that PBOT has worked with city attorneys since the first pilot program in order to make sure that Portland isn’t taking on that liability.

However, when Wheeler followed-up to ask about the potential case of liability involving a minor on an e-scooter, Ciarlo said she would have to consult with city attorneys.

“Honestly, it’s still being worked out through systems nationwide and throughout other cities,” Ciarlo said.

Mapps also shared his concerns surrounding helmet use. “I do think we should have a rule for helmets—I’m not sure how we enforce it, but I think the same way we enforce helmet loss for bicycles is certainly a best practice,” Mapps said. “This is such a new program and device, that I don’t think a lot of people know what the norms are yet, and we need to work together as a community to figure out what those norms are, but I hope we can accomplish most of this through public education.”

Since 2018, PBOT has required e-scooter companies to designate 15% of their fleets to East Portland, as well as provide low-income LINEUP OF LIME E-SCOOTERS. COURTESY OF FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

options for those eligible. However, companies failed to consistently meet that requirement, with only 43 Portlanders signed up for the low-income plan, and barely 6% of all e-scooter rides originating from East Portland. Additionally, e-scooters are now the most expensive mode of travel, since increasing their rate of 15 cents per minute to 27 cents per minute between 2018–19.

Although 74% of BIPOC community members viewed e-scooters positively—and most often sought them as a “last mile” to transit—issues surrounding race-based harassment, violence in the right away, road safety and reliable access still persist.

“I think we understand that the higher the cost, the less likely BIPOC communities will benefit from this type of transportation,” Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said. “I want to make sure we don’t sign any contracts yet, since we clearly can not articulate that BIPOC communities can benefit from e-scooters.”

Planning toward a permanent program for 2021, PBOT has three main goals: limit permits to 1–3 companies, provide longer term contracts and put a stronger focus on partnership and community benefits.

“We believe that a limited number of longer-term contracts will better position companies to provide community benefits and meet our city’s goals,” PBOT’s Sherman said.

If you want to let Portland know your thoughts on e-scooters, participate in PBOT’s E-Scooter Permanent Program Questionnaire before the end of the year.