Kosovo MPs stage tear gas protest in parliament Thursday Oct 08,2015

 

Opposition MPs in Kosovo have let off tear gas in the national parliament chamber in a noisy protest over a government deal with Serbia.

The gas disrupted the session and made two MPs faint. There were also loud whistles and insults from the opposition

The EU-brokered deal grants more powers to the mainly Serb areas of Kosovo.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanians broke away from Serbia in an armed revolt in 1999, then declared independence in 2008

Under the April 2013 Brussels Agreement, Serbia did not recognise Kosovo's independence but agreed to co-operate in ways that would allow it to operate more like a sovereign state

Both Serbia and Kosovo have begun negotiations aimed at eventual EU membership, though Serbia has made more progress on that path.

Kosovo's government denounced the opposition's actions, blamed on opposition party leader Albin Kurti, as beyond "the bounds of institutional and democratic behaviour".

Ramush Haradinaj, head of the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), warned of "even bigger actions than throwing tear gas... in the assembly chamber".
"It is not a big deal that two MPs passed out, compared to what future actions are going to be," he said

Note

Kosovar Albanians number about 2 million - about 90% of the population. Some 100,000 Serbs remain following a post-war exodus of non-Albanians. The Serbian minority live in separate areas watched over by Nato peacekeepers.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008. It has been recognised by the US and many EU countries

Serbia, backed by its powerful ally Russia, refuses to do so, as do most ethnic Serbs inside Kosovo.

Kosovo and Serbia reached a landmark agreement to normalise their relations in April 2013