Kosovo Arrests Opposition Officials Ahead of Rally

A day ahead of a major anti-government rally, Kosovo arrested a number of opposition officials from the Vetevendosje [Self-Determination] Movement on Tuesday, in relation to offences dating back to 2009.

On Tuesday morning, police arrested Vetevendosje MP Glauk Konjufca and two other officials, Skender Merturi and Kasim Uka. Vetevendosje spokesperson Frasher Krasniqi was arrested on Monday night. Police are looking for 22 others.

The arrests are connected with a Vetevendosje action back in 2009, when the suspects turned over 28 vehicles of the EU rule-of-law body EULEX in protest against the international body's decision-making role in Kosovo.

Apart from one suspect who has already appeared in court, the rest failed to turn up to most sessions, delaying trials for years and causing the judge to lift the arrest warrants for most of them.

As the latest arrests occurred just one day before a planned opposition protest, Vetevendosje said the timing was deliberately aimed at sabotaging the rally.

"The more the protest approaches, the more the establishment shows panic. This will not stop the opposition and the protest will be huge," the party said.

The opposition has planned a major protest for Wednesday - Kosovo's independence day - calling for the government of Isa Mustafa to resign and hold snap elections.

Opposition parties have launched a campaign of sometimes violent protests and have disrupted the work of parliament since last October.

They want the government to scrap controversial agreements with Serbia and Montenegro or at least hold a referendum on them.

In particular, they object to an agreement with Serbia on the formation of an association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo, saying it gives the...