Anger erupts in Pristina after Kosovo parliament stalls bid to curb powers of Hague court

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Hundreds of demonstrators rallied in Kosovo’s capital Monday night after the country’s parliament failed to advance legislation that would weaken the powers of a Hague-based court, weeks after the war crimes convictions of four former rebel leaders sparked weeks of unrest.

The demonstration in Pristina was the latest in weeks of protests gripping the small Balkan nation. The anger briefly spilled into clashes, with protesters launching flares and firecrackers and police using tear gas to disperse the crowds. Many protesters waved Albanian and Kosovo Liberation Army flags and carried placards that read “Vote for the Law!”

Twelve people were injured, including one police officer and 11 civilians, said Naser Syla, emergency director of an emergency center at a central Pristina hospital. All were treated and discharged, he said.

The unrest comes weeks after a court in The Hague, Netherlands, convicted former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA, commanders of war crimes committed during the 1998-99 war for independence from Serbia . They were sentenced to between 13 and 25 years in prison.

After their conviction, lawmakers in late September unanimously condemned the war crimes verdicts in a declaration, and Kosovo has seen peaceful daily protests for more than 20 days since the convictions, expressing concern over what they say are unjust sentences.

The opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo has suggested going further, proposing a law that would limit the mandate of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, the Hague-based court for handling KLA crimes.

Kosovo has criticized the verdicts as unjust, maintaining that the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA, which Thaci had led before entering politics, fought against Serbian oppression. Many KLA supporters fear the court ruling tarnishes the country’s wartime struggle.

The protesters want Kosovo’s Parliament to limit the court’s powers by capping maximum prison sentences at 15 years, allowing appeals to the Supreme Court, and enabling convicted persons to serve their sentences in Kosovo.

On Monday, after Kosovo’s Parliament voted in the first reading on amendments to the law, which proponents said would narrow the scope of the court’s powers, protesters took to the streets and blocked the exits of government buildings to prevent lawmakers from leaving until they advanced the law to a second vote.

“Why has the court deviated from what was discussed and what was voted on?” said Bedri Hamza, chairman of PDK, the largest opposition party, during a parliament session Monday. “We are not closing the court, but it should continue its investigation into what it was established to investigate.”

Kosovo established the Specialist Chambers in 2015 following international pressure over allegations contained in a report by Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty. The allegations included claims of human trafficking, which were not the subject of the trial against the four convicted men.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo, which sponsored the bill, said the changes are intended to ensure that the court’s mandate remains within the scope for which it was established.

Though largely peaceful, the protests have added pressure to a political crisis following a deadlock of over 19 months that has blocked the election of a president and led to two early elections.