Pristina: Opposition promises "even more fierce" protests

A spokesman for the Self-Determination opposition party in Kosovo's assembly announced late on Wednesday that "the protests in Pristina were over."
Source: Beta, Tanjug Thursday, November 19, 2015 | 10:37

Pristina late on Wednesday (Beta/AP)

However, Frasher Krasniqi remarked, the protests will continue in the coming days and be "increasingly more fierce."
According to him, the Kosovo government has demonstrated it was capable of "doing anything just to preserve the Community."

Krasniqi was referring to the future Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo, to be set up in accordance with the Brussels agreement reached during the EU-brokered Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

The Kosovo government said in the wake of Wednesday's clashes between demonstrators and police that it was "extremely disappointed by the violence the opposition supporters demonstrated in the streets of Pristina" and that the violence had reached "absurd proportions."

The government also denounced "the wounding of innocent citizens, of the police and the material damage, as well as the terrible scenes seen on the streets of Pristina."

"The hypocrisy of the opposition can be seen in the fact they are allegedly protesting to protect the republic, but in the name of protecting it are trying to destroy it, attacking institutions and destroying everything that has been built with much effort," the Kosovo government said.

The unrest on Wednesday broke out after Kosovo police took Kosovo assembly member Donika Kadaj-Bujupi from the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo into custody. Earlier in the week, she was among MPs who fired tear gas inside the assembly in a bid to interrupt its work.

Opposition supporters reacted to her detention by throwing rocks at the government headquarters in Pristina and at the police, the Beta agency reported. Police used tear gas to disperse the rioters, and shut down traffic in the area.

Four police officers were injured and 13 protesters were arrested during the unrest, Kosovo police said.