Tensions rise in Kosovo after arrest of lawmaker

Chaos returned to Pristina in Kosovo on Monday evening as protesters clashed with the police following the arrest of an opposition lawmaker.

Albin Kurti, a member of the Kosovo Assembly from the biggest opposition party, Vetevendosje, was arrested in the evening in connection with last week's events in the parliament, where tear gas was used to interrupt a plenary meeting. He was later released.

Kurti's arrest followed an incident in parliament last week in which he opened a tear gas canister that forced the evacuation of members. He opened the canister to protest a deal brokered by the European Union that would give more local powers to Kosovo's ethnic Serb minority.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008 with the backing of the West almost a decade after NATO undertook 11 weeks of airstrikes to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanian civilians by Serbian forces fighting a guerrilla insurgency.

China had expressed grave concern over Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence.

Beijing said the settlement of the Kosovo issue concerns the peace and stability in the Balkan region, the basic norms governing international relations and the authority and role of the UN Security Council.

China has always held that the best way to resolve the Kosovo issue is that Serbia and Kosovo reach a plan acceptable for both sides through negotiation.

The EU sees the 2013 deal, which is still being implemented, as a way to cement stability in the former Yugoslavia, but Kurti - who was jailed by Serbia for agitating against Belgrade's rule of majority-Albanian Kosovo during the 1990s - said it represents a threat to Kosovo's hard-won sovereignty.

As the violence subsided, Kurti appeared outside Parliament to address supporters, accusing police of "being in the service of daily politics".

"I call on you not to stop until we prevent the creation of the community," he said, referring to an association of ethnic Serb municipalities in Kosovo that will have greater control over local affairs. Ninety percent of Kosovo's 1.8 million people are ethnic Albanians.

Kurti's party, which he no longer formally leads, has been disrupting the work of Parliament in protest at the accord. On Thursday, he calmly opened a tear gas canister on the floor of the assembly, kicking it around. It caused two deputies to faint.

"Based on the order from the competent prosecutor, police units detained this evening Mr Kurti and sent him to the police station for an interview," according to the Kosovo police.

Vetevendosje claimed that a couple of its activists were injured in the clashes with the police, who used tear gas to disperse protesters who gathered in front of the police headquarters in Pristina. Protesters threw stones at the headquarters, causing damage, and set on fire at least two cars belonging to Kosovo prosecutors.

Protesters continued gathering in the center of Pristina and called for Kurti's immediate release. Leaders of three opposition parties - Vetevendosje, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and Initiative for Kosovo - held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation.

Kurti, who was later released by the police, joined supporters. The police said that six officers were injured in the clashes, and three of them were given emergency medical assistance.

Xinhua - Reuters