WATCH – Kosovo: Fists fly between members of parliament
Heated arguments accompanied by fists flying have proven to be not just exclusive to Parliament in South Africa after the internet witnessed a brawl during a parliamentary sitting in the Republic of Kosovo, a country in Southeast Europe. WHAT TRIGGERED THE BRAWL IN PARLIAMENT? Mail Online reports that the furious brawl erupted after an opposition legislator threw […]
Heated arguments accompanied by fists flying have proven to be not just exclusive to Parliament in South Africa after the internet witnessed a brawl during a parliamentary sitting in the Republic of Kosovo, a country in Southeast Europe.
WHAT TRIGGERED THE BRAWL IN PARLIAMENT?
Mail Online reports that the furious brawl erupted after an opposition legislator threw water on the country’s Prime Minister.
In the video, Mergim Lushtaku, from the Democratic Party of Kosovo is seen approaching Prime Minister Albin Kurti and throwing water on him as he speaks about measures to defuse tension with ethnic Serbs in the country’s north. Dozens of MPs then rush towards the lectern and a brawl ensues, with lawmakers scuffling, pushing and punching each other.
It comes as opposition parties have criticised Mr Kurti’s policies in the north of Kosovo which they claim have strained relations with Western allies, Mail Online further reports.
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A brawl broke out in #Kosovo's parliament on Thursday (July 13) as lawmakers hurled objects across the floor of the house and grappled with one another.
The scenes of chaos erupted after an opposition party lawmaker sprayed water at Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his… pic.twitter.com/zgDrrAkAjS
— In Context (@incontextmedia) July 13, 2023
KOSOVO IN EUROPE DIVIDED OVER ETHNICITY
Further reports indicate that in May, the Kosovar Government put Albanian mayors in municipal buildings in Zveçan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic, causing violent protests from the ethnic Serb majority – who have a historically strained relationship with Albanians.
Dozens of people were injured in clashes between local Serbs and Kosovo police and Nato-led peacekeepers, fuelling fears of a conflict similar to the one in 1998-99 that killed more than 10,000 people.
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On Wednesday, Mr Kurti announced he would reduce the number of special police officers stationed outside four municipal buildings in the ethnic Serb-majority areas in northern Kosovo, and hold new mayoral elections in each of the towns.
THE US INTERVENTION ON THE CRISIS
But the move has angered the opposition, who argued that Mr Kurti ‘experimented’ for months and jeopardised Kosovo’s international position. Earlier, Mr Kurti’s deputy Besnik Beslimi had torn up a drawing mocking Mr Kurti that the opposition had given the prime minister. Mr Kurti was escorted out of the assembly hall during the chaos, according to local media.
The US and the EU had urged him to keep the mayors in different locations away from the north until the situation is resolved.