Kurti Will Not Oppose Protests Against New Govt in Kosovo

Outgoing Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Thursday said he would not stop citizens of Kosovo from protesting in public on May 4 against the formation of a new government under a different leader without fresh legislative elections.

"Citizens have never been angrier; I can't stop them from protesting, but I can't say that this protest was organised by us," Kurti told BIRN Kosovo's TV show Life in Kosovo.

Kurti, also leader of the Vetevendosje movement, LVV, said he would not engage in the organisation of such protests. "If I have to return to the position of LVV chairman in the active sense of the word, then we must gather the leadership and make decisions - but this is not a protest that we have initiated," Kurti said.

The Prime Minister, whose government was toppled by a no-confidence vote in parliament in March, was referring to a Facebook message calling on people to protest on May 4 against what it called the theft of democracy in Kosovo.

The Facebook event, "Manifestim per Zgjedhje" ("Election manifestation"), is being organised by the Facebook page "10 Milion Shqiptare" (10 Million Albanians), which regularly publishes posts in support of Kurti and his party.

"We want elections and we will not allow the theft of power. We want a government that is legitimate and elected by the people of Kosovo. Do not disregard the will of the people," the organisers wrote.

"U bo boll! Jemi lodhe!" ("It has been enough! We are tired!"), they added. On April 22, the administrators of the page insisted that the protest was not being organised by Vetevendosje.

By the time of publication of the post, 4,500 Facebook users had promised to participate in the protest, while another 9,600 had expressed interest.

The call for...