Publicist Enver Robelli argues in his opinion piece that “calls for rejecting the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities by organizing a referendum can only complicate the current situation in Kosovo. People will not vote in favor or against the Association, but will instinctively vote against Serbia – and why should they be judged for this bearing in mind the crimes that Serbia has committed in Kosovo since 1912.
Vetevendosje MP Albin Kurti said in an interview for News24 on Tuesday that he will not stop until “the agreement on the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro are annulled”. Kurti explained how he was detained by police and said that he was later released only due to protests by Vetevendosje supporters. “I was returning from Skopje to Pristina, and in the outskirts of the city a Kosovo Police task force with 15 officers stopped us and asked me to step out of the car.
In today's editorial the paper argues that the government of Kosovo is accusing the opposition for using violence in the Kosovo institutions, but, at the same time the state officials are undertaking acts of violence against the opposition MPs. "The politicized police treated the former Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti as if he was an ordinary criminal. The MPs have immunity and cannot be treated in such manners.
In a press conference today, Vetevendosje’s deputy leader Driton Caushi and the head of parliamentary group Glauk Konjufca said they are determined to continue opposing agreements for the creation of the Association/Community of Serb majority municipalities and the border demarcation with Montenegro. Caushi said the situation in Kosovo is becoming increasingly volatile and unstable while Konjufca said that he was travelling along with Kurti at the time of the arrest and claims that the police did not possess any warrant against Kurti.
The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) said last night’s detention of Vetevendosje’s former leader and MP Albin Kurti is in conflict to the principles of democracy and the Constitution of Kosovo which stipulates that MPs cannot be detained or arrested for their activity in the Assembly. “The scandal with Albin Kurti was premeditated, calculated and aimed at escalating the situation in order to blame the opposition for violent actions,” a statement issued by AAK reads.
The Office of the State Prosecutor of Kosovo issued a press release today saying that it has initiated investigations against certain members of the Kosovo Assembly suspected of having committed criminal offences: “causing general danger” (Article 365 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo), and “use of weapon” (Article 375 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo).
Kosovo Police Spokesperson Baki Kelani denied the allegations of the opposition Vetevendosje former leader Albin Kurti that he was released as a result of the reaction of Vetevendosje activists last night. Kelani said Kurti was released on the order of the prosecutor and it was on the basis of such an order that he was detained and interviewed. Kelani said 15 police officers and 1 person were injured in last night’s clashes between the Vetevendosje supporters and the Kosovo Police.
The former leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, Albin Kurti, writes in an opinion piece today that the teargas that he threw at the Assembly of Kosovo last week was of small quantity and it was no mass attack, arguing that lots of cans with teargas were thrown in the past towards Vetevendosje activists and dissatisfied protesters. “Moreover, we did not use rubber bullets on Thursday. What is this hysteria and this panic?”
Movement Self-Determination is planning to organize a referendum and unrest due to the formation of the Community/Association of Serbian municipalities in Kosovo.
The leader of the radical opposition movement Vetevendosje and member of the Assembly of Kosovo announced in Tirana that he has 100,000 signatures against the ZSO and that there will be a referendum.
According to a survey carried out by the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Hashim Thaci is the most preferred candidate for the post of Kosovo president. Thaci is followed by Albin Kurti from Vetevendosje while the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj is third. The survey also concluded that the decision on whether the president is elected directly by the people or by the Assembly should not be guided by personal ambitions.