Tear gas protest causes suspension of Kosovo parliament
Date
2/26/2016 12:21:50 PM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) >Opposition MPs have thrown tear gas in Kosovo’s parliament ahead of a scheduled vote on a new president.
After the speaker suspended business all MPs bar some opposition members left the chamber. The remaining MPs put on gas masks and stayed on fearing security forces would not let them re-enter.
Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and Rafet Rama an MP from the same Democratic Party of Kosovo have been nominated for the post of president. Thaci is seen as the clear front-runner.
Despite high security measures inside and outside parliament opposition MPs managed to bring in tear-gas canisters.
Opposition forces have strongly opposed the vote calling for the resignation of the government for “violating the constitution” over agreements with Serbia for the establishment of an ‘Association of Serbian-majority municipalities’ in Kosovo.
Thousands of opposition protesters gathered in downtown Pristina to oppose the presidential vote calling for government’s resignation and early elections.
Protesters’ anti-government and anti-Thaci chants were heard even inside the parliament during pre-vote discussions.
Kosovo opposition parties reject an agreement signed in August 2015 between Kosovo and Serbia granting more powers to Serbs in Kosovo.
They also oppose a border demarcation agreement with Montenegro.
Since then the opposition have blocked the normal functioning of parliament and held regular anti-government protests.
Many opposition MPs have been arrested for throwing tear gas in parliament causing the worst political crisis in the country since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
Opposition parties – the nationalist Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) Movement the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and the Initiative for Kosovo – argue that this agreement will lead to what they call the ‘Bosniazation’ of Kosovo creating a dysfunctional state.
The Constitutional Court ruled in December last year that the agreement to establish an association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo contains “principles … not entirely in compliance with the respective constitutional standards”.
Kosovo is a former Serbian province populated by nearly 1.8 million people over 90 percent of which are Kosovo Albanians.
The country declared its independence on Feb. 17 2008 and is recognized by about 110 countries including the U.S. the U.K. France Germany and Turkey.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.