Saturday, January 9, 2016

Many Anti-Govt. Protesters in Kosovo Get Violent; 10,000 Protest Govt.Approving Serb-Run Districts

Thousands of anti-government demonstrators took to the streets of Pristina -- the capital of Kosovo -- today (January 9, 2016), with police firing tear gas as  some protesters threw Molotov cocktails and set fire to a government building, according to the AFP (Agence France-Presse) website.

The rally was the latest in a long-running protest against deals reached by the government with Serbia -- the country from which Kosovo seceded in 2008 -- and a border demarcation agreement with Montenegro.

The protesters -- who numbered around 10,000 -- called for the government to resign because it failed to withdraw from the controversial agreements, particularly a deal to set up an association of Serb-run municipalities for Kosovo's Serb minority.

Those opposing the deal believe it will deepen the ethnic divide and increase Serbian influence in Kosovo, whose 1.8 million-strong population is mostly ethnic Albanian and Muslim. On the other hand, the vast majority of Serbians are Greek Orthodox Christians.

No comments:

Post a Comment