Kosovo Opposition Put Street Protest on Hold

Following a meeting of leaders of the opposition coalition on Friday, consisting of Vetevendosje, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK and the Initiative for Kosova, NISMA, a protest planned for Saturday againt Hashim Thaci's election as President has been called off.

"Hard and difficult days await Kosovo," said Ramush Haradinaj, the AAK leader, who gave up his seat in the parliament in February.

"And the problems caused by wrongful agreements are only weighing Kosovo down. Still fully determined to oppose these agreements, we have decided to postpone the protest that was announced for Saturday for some other day," Haradinaj added.

On Friday, NISMA leader Fatmir Limaj insisted that the opposition would continue to pursue its demands, regardless of the fact that the protest had been postponed.

"We will continue our protest and will continue our cause with which citizens are familiar until we realize our objectives as a unified opposition," Limaj said.

Saturday's protest was announced by the three opposition parties after Thaci was elected President of Kosovo last month. He is expected to be sworn in as President on April 7.

Opposition parties have been protesting for months against agreements signed under EU auspices with Serbia and Montenegro, letting off tear gas in parliament and disrupting sessions.

They have demanded the resignation of the government of Isa Mustafa in which Thaci has served as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

Parliament voted in Thaci as Kosovo's new President on March 4 in a tense atmosphere, as opposition MPs let off tear gas in the chamber and while street protests erupted in the main square of Pristina.

Since autumn 2015, the opposition has launched a...