TIRANA, July 13 – Kosovo’s parliament session on Thursday got heated after Prime Minister Albin Kurti was splashed in the face with water by an opposition MP, provoking a physical fight between several lawmakers.
Video footage captured the moment Kurti was addressing the chambers on plans to diffuse tensions between ethnic Serbs in the country’s north. However, previous tactics from the Prime Minister have been widely criticized following rising tensions between Kosovo police and NATO-led peacekeepers.
Kurti announced on Wednesday he would be reducing the amount of police stationed at four municipal buildings in predominantly ethnic Serb regions in the country’s north and new mayoral elections will soon be held in each region.
While addressing parliament, a photo of Kurti depicted with a Pinocchio nose was placed on his podium but when Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi removed the photo and ripped it, opposition lawmaker Mergim Lushtaku splashed water at Kurti and Bislimi.
Several MPs from both sides began to physically push and throw fists at each other while Kurti was pushed to the side away from the fight by security.
In the meantime, in a reaction on social networks on Thursday, Albanian PM Edi Rama said he received many messages from Kosovo, asking why he defended Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
“I was “choked” by my friends from Kosovo because I defended Albin, because Bislimi got the first bottle and it was VV which opened the chapter of violence in the Assembly of Kosovo when he was in the opposition!” said Rama.
“I don’t care who threw the bottle first, maybe you’re right, maybe not, but if parliamentary democracy boils down to who threw the first bottle, then we have a problem with the meaning of democracy, and with the meaning of this key moment for Kosovo , which does not owe anyone, I believe, today’s scandalous show,” said Rama in response.
The justification of that ugliness does not help, it damages Kosovo’s reputation even more, therefore the opposition must distance itself from such ugliness, said Rama. /argumentum.al
