PRISTINA: Kosovo’s opposition disrupted parliament by throwing tear gas in the chamber for a second week running on Thursday, in protest at agreements made with Serbia.

Despite tight security at the entrance to prevent a repeat of last week’s chaotic scenes, opposition MPs smuggled in tear gas canisters and set them off before the day’s session could begin, said a journalist at the scene.

Before the gas was released, protesting MPs had gathered around the podium to prevent any debate.

“The opposition has enough gas to block any session,” Glauk Konjufca of the Self-Determination party, which leads the opposition bloc, told reporters outside parliament.

The dissenters are angry at EU-brokered dialogue and agreements with Serbia, particularly a plan to set up an association of Serb-run municipalities giving greater autonomy to Kosovo’s Serb minority.

The government says this association will not hold executive powers, but the opposition believes the move will deepen the ethnic divide and increase Serbia’s power in Kosovo.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2015

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