Citizens continued protesting outside the Kosovo Assembly on Tuesday evening, with pyrotechnic devices thrown toward the building as a drone flew over the area where demonstrators had gathered.
According to Ekonomia Online, it was not immediately clear who owned or was operating the drone.
The protesters remain outside the Assembly, demanding that the proposed amendments to the Law on the Kosovo Specialist Chambers be approved.
Former Justice Minister Abelard Tahiri said the Assembly remains within its regular constitutional mandate and argued that the legislation could still be approved in a second reading on Tuesday evening.
Tahiri accused Prime Minister Albin Kurti of manipulating constitutional deadlines and the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure, arguing that there was no procedural or constitutional obstacle to holding the vote.
“We are at the right time for the law to be approved tonight; it could have been approved yesterday as well,” Tahiri said, according to Ekonomia Online.
He argued that the current Assembly has the authority to proceed with the legislation and rejected the possibility that doing so would violate the Constitution, parliamentary rules or applicable laws.
Tahiri also accused Kurti and the Vetëvendosje Movement of lacking the political will to approve the legislation, while warning that public pressure would continue even if Kosovo heads toward new elections.
“I see a lack of will from Prime Minister Kurti and from the Vetëvendosje Movement, while, on the other hand, you can see how much the pressure from the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo is increasing,” Tahiri said.
He warned that, in his view, political tensions would remain high if the law were not approved, including during a potential election campaign.
Tahiri linked the issue to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA/OVK), arguing that the Specialist Chambers verdicts delivered on Sept. 16 represented a matter of fundamental importance to Kosovo’s statehood.
He said political engagement and public pressure would continue in an effort to address what he described as the consequences of the verdicts.
The protest comes amid a broader political dispute over proposed amendments to the Specialist Chambers law and the timing of their second reading in the Assembly.
