Kosovo Opposition Builds Resistance to Brussels Agreements

The ruling that parts of the Brussels-brokered agreements with Serbia were unconstitutional swelled the ranks of opposition protesters who caused unrest on the streets of Pristina on Saturday, experts suggested.

"The decision of the Constitutional Court has given the opposition a strong weapon that they can continue to [use to] oppose the government and the agreements that were reached," Pristina-based analyst Imer Mushkolaj told BIRN.

Up to 60,000 people took part in the biggest protest yet against the establishment of an association of Serb-majority municipalities within Kosovo and a border demarcation deal with Montenegro, both of which were agreed by the Pristina government in Brussels in 2015.

Previous opposition protests last year only attracted between several dozen and a few hundred hard-core supporters.

The large rally marked a shift in the opposition parties' demands - they are now not only asking for Prime Minister Isa Mustafa's government to scrap the agreements with Serbia and Montenegro, but also for him to resign and for snap elections to be held.

But the protest ended in chaos as some young protesters threw stones and petrol bombs, set part of the government building on fire, and clashed with police in the streets.

On December 23, the Constitutional Court ruled that some of the principles of the agreement with Serbia did not comply with the constitution.

Mushkolaj said that the court's decision boosted public support for the opposition cause and emboldened the three opposition parties - Vetevendosje (Self-Determination), the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, and Nisma (Initiative for Kosovo).

While previous opposition protests focused their slogans on the territorial integrity of Kosovo, the slogan...