Clashes have once again occurred between deputies of the Democratic Party of Kosovo in opposition and members of the ruling party, Self-Determination, in the Kosovo Assembly.

The opposition is attempting to prevent the holding of an extraordinary session called by 41 deputies.

They initially blocked the podium when the Assembly approved the second reading of the draft law on the prices of medicinal products. After the vote, there was a scuffle among the gathered deputies.

The extraordinary session comes after the continuation of the regular session was interrupted.

The opposition has placed a banner next to the podium with the inscription “Zdravo” [“Hello” in Serbian] featuring the portrait of the leader of the parliamentary group of Self-Determination in power, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, and that of Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

On the morning of July 13, during this session, there were physical clashes between deputies and members of the Government, as the opposition criticizes the government due to the publication of several wiretapped conversations involving Kusari-Lila. She has admitted to having a conversation with the deputy leader of the Serb List Milan Radoičić. Self-Determination has continuously criticized individuals who have had contact with Radoičić.

Opposition deputies from the Democratic Party of Kosovo physically attacked Prime Minister Albin Kurti and other members of the Government.

Kurti was speaking about the situation in northern Kosovo when his speech was interrupted by opposition deputies chanting “liar”.

After Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi removed and tore down a photo montage of the prime minister with an elongated nose that the opposition had placed there, Deputy Mërgim Lushtaku threw water towards Kurti and then Bislimi.

At that moment, Minister of Finance Hekuran Murati came to the defense of both and was physically pushed by Lushtaku. Bislimi hit Lushtaku with his water bottle, and then Lushtaku had a physical altercation with Minister of Justice Albulena Haxhiu.

At the same time, Deputy Hajdar Beqa struck Minister Murati in the face.

Fistfights broke out between the two sides.

During the scuffle, Kurti, surrounded by security and his ministers, was pushed and collided with one of the seats near the podium.

The Kosovo Police, called by Assembly President Glauk Konjufca, and the close protection of the prime minister intervened to stop the clashes. They remained inside the Assembly hall until the prime minister left.

Earlier, Konjufca stated that “what happened in the Kosovo Assembly is truly unacceptable, the use of violence is also inadmissible, punishable by all of us”, adding that “if there was physical assault in the Kosovo Assembly, it will be dealt with by the law, as our laws and the authorities dictate”.

Later, Konjufca condemned the violence and stated that Prime Minister Albin Kurti agreed to withdraw his speech, which was interrupted due to the physical altercations.

Democratic Party of Kosovo MP Eliza Hoxha stated that “nothing was thrown” in the Assembly, but they “provoked with performative, democratic means”, an act and stance of an opposition group.

Hoxha said that her party has addressed a very important issue, and if the “most important issue for you is the issue of discussions with a person who is under house arrest and is on America’s blacklist, [deputy leader of the Serb List, Milan] Radoičić, and you want to normalize it by creating scandals, it is disgraceful to me”.

Eliza Hoxha, who spoke on behalf of the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, called for the dissolution of the Kosovo Assembly and for the country to go to elections “as soon as possible”, as she stated that the audio recordings “reveal communication and relations between Albin Kurti’s government and the Serb List and Milan Radoičić”.

“What more needs to happen for you to understand that you are captured by a criminal who is on America’s blacklist, who has an arrest warrant from the Prosecution. Resignation or dismissal is not enough because you have daily coordination with Radoičić, not with the Albanians or the internationals,” Hoxha said during her speech in the Assembly.

Before being assaulted, Kurti spoke about Radoičić and how the arrest warrant against him was withdrawn in 2021, a few days before his government was formed.

“When previous governments were in power, this top criminal was in Mitrovica, he was in Pristina. Now, our contribution is that he is in a hotel in Kopaonik, Serbia,” Kurti said.

Milan Radoičić is the deputy leader of the Serb List, who is sought by the authorities in Kosovo and is also on the U.S. blacklist for “involvement in international organized crime”.

He is sought by Kosovo under suspicion of witness intimidation in a judicial case known as “Brezovica”.

Radoičić is also mentioned in an indictment as the “leader of the criminal group” that planned the murder of Serb politician Oliver Ivanović. However, the arrest warrant for Milan Radoičić was withdrawn in March 2021 without any explanation.