Vetëvendosje

Kosovo opposition parties announced a protest in Pristina on Saturday against what they call the "hijacking of the government" by the ruling parties, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

They called on all "unsatisfied citizens, farmers, students and all of those who are unemployed" to join them.

As Kosovo's parliament debated the Mustafa government's four-year plan on Thursday and Friday, opposition MPs criticised the Prime Minister for putting together an "unclear and complicated" programme which had achieved little so far.

Kosovo Liberation Army veterans broke into the courtyard of the government building during a protest calling on the authorities to start paying them state benefits.

PACE president on visit to Serbia

BELGRADE -- "Kosovo has not yet applied to join the Council of Europe (CoE) as a member," Anne Brasseur has said.

The president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) commented on the issue during her visit to Belgrade on Tuesday.

Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa announced on Tuesday that the Minister of Communities and Returns Aleksandar Jablanovic, whose resignation was demanded by protesters, has been dismissed.

Jablanovic, who is a Serb Kosovar, infuriated Kosovo's Albanians by calling a group of protesters against Serbian pilgrims on the eve of Orthodox Christmas "savages", the Balkan Insight reports.

The opposition Vetevendosje (Self Determination) movement announced another protest in Pristina after clashes this week between demonstrators and riot police that left 170 people injured.

Protesters in Pristina rally over Trepca, Serb minister

PRISTINA -- Protesters in Pristina have demanded the removal of Aleksandar Jablanovic from the Kosovo government, and a law that would turn Trepca into a public enterprise.

The rally was organized by opposition parties and civic organizations and held on Saturday.

Stone-throwing protesters attacked the government building on Saturday and a fire broke out on central Mother Theresa Square amid clashes with police who fired tear gas as anger flared at one of the largest protests in Kosovo since it declared independence in 2008.

Police have boosted their presence throughout Kosovo in preparation for the main religious holiday of the Serbian minority.

Ice thrown at Serbian Pilgrims in Gjakova

Kosovo police arrested two members of the nationalist Vetevendosje Movement for throwing ice at a bus carrying pilgrims to Serbian Orthodox ceremonies in the western town of Gjakova.

The US ambassador to Kosovo, Tracey Jacobson, delivered a colourful message to Kosovo leaders on Thursday, using an expletive in Albanian to urge them to reach an agreement to form a government. "Don't s- on it," Jacobson said, in a message that made international news.

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