Tahiri from the square: Kurti and Vetëvendosje must return to the Assembly and vote the law

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) MP Arian Tahiri, together with Altin Krasniqi, the son of the former Assembly speaker and one of the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Jakup Krasniqi, stood in the square where the protest is being held in connection with the demand for the adoption of the Law on the Specialist Chambers.

Tahiri, in a statement before journalists, criticised the use of tear gas against the protesters, saying that the citizens are protesting in a dignified manner and are demanding the adoption of the law.

“It is unacceptable for tear gas to be used and violence exercised against the citizens of Kosovo, who with much dignity and pride chant ‘UÇK, UÇK’ and demand that the law be voted. This is a very reasonable, indispensable and necessary demand at this time,” Tahiri said.

He explained that he stood in the square together with Krasniqi, while the other PDK MPs are in the Assembly, in line with, as he said, the citizens’ demand that the MPs stay in the institution and vote the law.

“I am together with Altin, my colleague. The other colleagues are in the Kosovo Assembly, because the demand of Kosovo’s citizens has been that the MPs stay in the Assembly today and adopt the law in its entirety,” Tahiri declared.

He recalled that the law was adopted in first reading, while he demanded that it also be voted in second reading.

“Our demand has been for it to also be voted in second reading. We proposed the motion, but it did not find support. Only a few hours remain, and all we are asking is that Vetëvendosje and Albin Kurti return to the Assembly and vote the law,” Tahiri stated.

According to him, the adoption of the Law on the Specialist Chambers must be treated separately from the issue of electing the president.

“The law is a national obligation for all of us, it is an institutional obligation, and we must return to the Assembly as soon as possible, where we will stay, and vote the law,” he said.

Tahiri opposed the possibility of the law issue being linked to the process of electing the president, stressing that these are two different matters.

“The issue of the president must not be used to create a political bargain and must not be linked to the law. The law is a national obligation, while the president is a political responsibility,” he declared.

Finally, he called for political consensus on the election of the president, but repeated that, in his view, the priority remains the voting of the law.

“It is very useful that in these circumstances consensus is found and agreement is reached on the election of the president. However, what matters is that the law be voted,” Tahiri concluded, as Telegrafi reports.