Kosovo parliament descends into chaos after lawmaker throws water on prime minister
A brawl broke loose in Kosovo’s Parliament on Thursday when a member of the opposition party approached the podium, where the Prime Minister was speaking, and drenched him in water.
Albin Kurti spoke about efforts to defuse the tensions that have been escalating in recent months between Albanians who are majority and Serbs in the north. Kurti has been criticized by the opposition for his handling on the deteriorating relations that have strained relationships with Western allies.
A video taken inside the parliament on Thursday shows a member of an opposition party throwing water at Kurti’s deputy. After other coalition and opposition lawmakers approached the podium, there were immediate fistfights.
Kurti had to be pushed away by his MPs and guards, as both sides of the legislature began fighting until police intervened.
The brawl was the culmination of a heated public debate that lasted three days over an audio recording made between Mimoza Kusari Lila, chairwoman for Kurti’s Party, and Slavko Smic, a Serb politician.
Kusari was heard saying she spoke with an official from the Serb community, Milan Radojcic. Radojcic is sanctioned for his involvement in organized crime and corruption by the U.S. Government. He is also wanted by the Kosovo authorities.
The controversy surrounding the recording is set against a background of increasing unrest in the North, which has been intensified ever since ethnic Albanians became mayors in northern Kosovo following elections in April that were boycotted by the Serbs who demanded implementation of an old deal for greater autonomy.
The ethnic Albanians constitute 90% of the population in Kosovo, while Serbs are only 5%.
Kurti announced on Wednesday that he had agreed with the EU, to reduce the police presence in northern Iraq and to take other measures for lowering tensions.
NATO reported that 93 soldiers from its peacekeeping forces were injured, some severely, in the clashes on May 29, with Serb protesters. The doctors in the north reported that 52 Serbs had also been injured.
