European Forum

Ethnic clashes break out amid elections in Kosovo

During elections held in the Kosovar city of Mitrovica on Sunday 30 May, protests broke out between Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs. Police used tear gas to separate the protesters during elections organised by Serbian authorities.

The poll in the divided city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo has been described as illegal by Kosovo authorities and its international backers. Kosovo's central government has no authority in the northern part of the country. Serbian elections were also held in eastern Kosovo, Novo Brdo.

Kosovo Liberation Army veterans and members of the Vetevendosje movement were protesting on the southern side of the Ibar River Bridge (New Bridge), to ‘protect Kosovo’s sovereignty’ in the southern, Albanian majority area of the city. They also insisted Serbia should not be allowed to organise elections in Kosovo. Meanwhile, Serbs gathered on the northern side of the bridge in reaction to the war veterans' demonstration and insisted that the north would never be part of Kosovo's institutions. The groups threw stones at each other, and local media reported that some journalists were attacked by Serb protestors. Gunshots coming from the Serb-dominated north were also reported. The Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, EULEX, and the NATO Kosovo force KFOR were present together with the Kosovar police. 

Election results
Opposition parties in the Serbian parliament – the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party, led by Tomislav Nikolic, and Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia – won the majority of votes in northern Mitrovica. Both received over 17% of votes, but whether they will be able to form a local government is unclear. Serbian President Boris Tadic's Democratic Party (DS) was third, with 16% of the votes. According to unofficial results, five other parties that are in coalition with the Democrats also won seats in the local assembly.

In Novo Brdo the turnout was more than 75 per cent by, and the coalition between the Socialist Party of Serbia, SPS, United Pensioners Party, PUPS, and United Serbia, JS, looked to have secured the most votes.

Worst ethnic clashes
Earlier this weekend, on 30 May, NATO peacekeepers and police separated thousands of ethnic Albanians and Serbs in Mitrovica during the worst ethnic unrest since the country's independence two years ago. Kosovo police fired tear gas to disperse violent crowds while NATO and the EU police officers in full riot gear were deployed on the New Bridge, which is above the Ibar River that divides Mitrovica into two ethnically separate halves. Ethnic Albanians were protesting against the Serb local elections.

Kosovo, a former Serbian region with a mainly ethnic Albanian population of 2 million, declared independence in 2008 but is not recognised by Belgrade.

Sources: B92; SE Times; RFE/RL