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Kosovan Parliament Adjourns Presidential Election Debates Due to Tear Gas

Sputnik News

20:50 26.02.2016

Unidentified person sprayed tear gas in the parliament of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo in order to prevent a debate devoted to the election of a new president.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The parliament of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo adjourned a debate devoted to the election of a new president, as an unidentified person sprayed tear gas in the building, the Kosovo television reported Friday.

According to other media reports, tear gas canisters were opened in the opposition benches.

Lawmakers were debating on whether to make Hashim Thaci, the current foreign minister and a former guerrilla leader, the country's next president.

The Kosovo opposition has repeatedly said it would not allow Thaci to be elected. A new president of Kosovo must be elected before March 6, otherwise, early parliamentary elections will have to be called, which commentators believe is the opposition's current goal, according to the reports.

In recent days, hundreds of opposition demonstrators have been protesting in the center of Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, demanding new elections and trying to scuttle the election of Thaci. Some protests have been staying outside the parliament building 24/7.

In Kosovo, opposition politicians are against the government-proposed deal with Serbia, as it reportedly threatens the country's sovereignty in giving rights to ethnic Serbs in Kosovo. In recent months, the opposition has used tear gas and pepper spray to disrupt parliament sessions to convey its disapproval for the agreement with Belgrade.

In 1998, an armed conflict broke out between Kosovo Albanian independence supporters and Yugoslavia, with the militias seeking independence for Kosovo and Metohija. The following year, NATO intervened in the conflict without UN approval, bombing Yugoslavia.

Since then, Belgrade has effectively lost control of Kosovo, as the Serbian government had to agree to a NATO military contingent being stationed in Kosovo, and the subsequent transition of the territory to UN administration, which is still formally in place.

In 2008, the Albanian government of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia. Belgrade, did not recognize Kosovo's statehood, and believes Kosovo is still a part of Serbia.

© Sputnik