Tear gas violence: Five years since Hashim Thaci was elected president

Hashim Thaci, who after having tried on two terms the prime minister's position and for a time the chief diplomat's position, under political tensions and violent clashes outside the Assembly, was elected president on February 26, 2016.

Under political tensions, with tear gas, violent street clashes between opposition supporters and rule forces, Friday February 26th 2016 in Pristina, however, had ended with parties and fireworks on the road for the new president.

In the third round of voting, with 71 votes for, Thac was elected president.

As predicted, Thaci's election was a challenge not only to the survival of the then ruling coalition, P DK-LDK. Until that day, the ruling political parties prefeded to reach with other subjects an agreement on resolving the crisis in which the country was located so that the vote would not occur under the tear gas and whistles of then opposition deputies from LVV, AAK and Initiative, as happened at that time in almost every session.

Based on the coalition agreement between the two largest political parties in Kosovo then, the Democratic Party and the Democratic League, the common candidate for the post was then the then leader PDK, Hashim Thaci. Then Prime Minister and LDK Chairman Isa Mustafa gave public support to Hashim Thaci's goal. Similarly, most MPs to this political subject were declared.

But within the LDK there were several deputies who would not support Thaci for president. Among them was Vjosa Osmani, who now aims at the same position.

A few days before Thaci's voting hearing, Osmani talked about scenarios that could undermine Thaci's candidacy on the day of his vote in the Assembly.

“I am convinced that the only way to prevent Thaci's election from being elected by the president is to prevent the two-thirds of the vote required since the president's election procedure begins. So, besides the opposition, it takes another 10 LDK deputies to not stay in the hall that day so that his choice at the head of state for the next five years --”, Osman said to Radio Free Europe.

In her reasoning that she will not support Thaci for president, Osmani, among other things, estimated that he does not meet the two main criteria, which are envisioned with the Kosovo Constitution.

The first “, Thaci is not a figure of unity, but, rather, is a divisive figure. And second, because the post of president is also the chief or foreign policy leader, according to the Constitution, which implies we should have a figure that regulates Kosovo's image in the world, meanwhile Mr. Thaci has done it and continues to do it only the opposite”, Osmani said.

The leaders of the three then opposition parties in Kosovo -- Wisar Ymer from the Vetevendosje Movement, Ramush Haradinaj from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and Fatmir Limaj from the Initiative -- had stressed and re-backed for days their stance that they would reject Thaci's election to the president's post.

Opposition leaders invited the ruling coalition to resign and allow the country to go to early elections.

then opposition against Thaci's presidential candidacy

Thaci's choice, however, stopped. With being elected to the post of Kosovo president, Hashim Thaci had pledged to work in the interests of the state and citizens of Kosovo.

Until the vote for Thaci president, the session was covered with many tensions, tear gas and security intervention. The opposition continued to oppose in many ways.

In contrast to the recent sessions, which the opposition largely interrupted at the beginning, through the drop of tear gas into the hall, that tear gas was poured out after discussions were exhausted.

Tear gas in the Assembly

By the opposition's actions -- as usual those days, even that day -- had been disappointed by the American Ambassador to Pristina, Greg Delaway.

I have to express my frustration again, since the opposition has prevented a democratic process in the Parliament”, Delawie expressed. He criticised the opposition, saying these institutions have emerged from the free vote of Kosovo citizens.

Due to similar opposition behaviour, 11 MPs were suspended, while Ilir Deda as LVV deputy then was the only opposition deputy who had followed the voting procedure for president.

The Vetevendosje movement, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and the Initiative, through a media conference had stressed that Hashim Thaci, who had just been elected president, “could not be president of Republic”.

There have been flagrant violations of democracy “in this current election process, said Visar Ymer, then LVV chairman

On the other hand, the protest organised by three opposition parties outside the Parliament, which had gathered thousands of their followers, had escalated shortly after 5: 00 p.m., when Albin Kurti, then deputy of the Kosovo Assembly, had called on protesters to move from the “square. Skenderbeu” for “Adem Jashar” Square, which is even closer to the Kosovo Assembly, to enable, as it were, that their “be heard by” by lawmakers.

“We, let's continue our protest on the other side, because our speeches and our cheers are not heard in this area, but only on the other side. I invite you to go there together”, Kurt said.

But, just recently after this speech, the situation at “Adem Jashari” Square had escalated when cheering against the Government and Thaci, protesters had started throwing Molotov cocktails, stones and hard spots towards the Kosovo Assembly facility.

Members of the Kosovo Police had interviewed for the distribution of protesters by throwing tear gas, as well as using water oil to disperse protesters.

Protest outside of Parliament the day Thaci was elected president

13 injured by these protests had sought urgent medical assistance, from them 12 Kosovo police members and a journalist.

Supporters of the new Kosovo president, Hashim Thaci, currently deputy prime minister of Kosovo and leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, have celebrated in the capital with fireworks for several minutes.

Kosovo police, which had later blocked roads leading to “Adem Jashari” and “square Skenderbeu” in the capital, had scattered the protesters away from them to the peripheral streets.

Parasely, near noon, police had averted several possible clashes between the opposition and PDK followers, who had come in favour of PDK leader Hashim Thaci.