Kosovo lawmakers flee, again, as tear gas released in parliament

The attack by the lawmakers from Vetevendosje (Self-Determination Movement) forced the evacuation of parliamentary staff but no injuries were reported.

Just before the protest, an opposition MP released several tear-gas canisters inside parliament, forcing the session to be postponed – for the third time in two weeks.

Outside the building, the police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters who gathered in front of the parliament building throwing Molotov cocktails.

This opposition Democratic Party (DS) official also said that “after the recommendation of the Executive Board of UNESCO, an agreement with Pristina should be entered calmly and without any national charge, cool-headed on regulating of many issues, including the protection of churches and monasteries, property, the position of Serbs in Kosovo”.

A few 100 police officers had been brought in to divide opposition from the ruling coalition’s MPs, in an atmosphere of high tension.

The opposition wants to thwart EU-brokered dialogue and agreements with Serbia, particularly a plan to set up an association of Serb-run municipalities giving greater autonomy to Kosovo’s Serb minority.

“Tear gas and violence have no place in Assembly chamber; such actions jeopardize Kosovo’s future”, U.S. Ambassador Greg Delawie wrote on his Twitter feed.

It also rejects a border agreement with neighbouring Montenegro in August, which it says led to a loss of territory.

The opposition confirmed in a press release in that it used tear fuel at Kadri Veseli’s offices before the beginning of the session.

Since then Kosovo has been recognized by more than 110 states including the United States and most of the European Union member countries, but not by Serbia.

In two other sessions the opposition blew whistles to prevent debate, and on another occasion eggs were thrown at the prime minister.

Kosovo and Serbia were at war in 1998-1999, which ended after Serbian armed forces withdrew from the territory following an 11-week North Atlantic Treaty Organisation bombing campaign.