Riot police line up to secure the parliament building as hundreds of Kosovo War veterans protest, asking for a pension rise, in Pristina, Kosovo June 6, 2022.Riot police line up to secure the parliament building as hundreds of Kosovo War veterans protest, asking for a pension rise, in Pristina, Kosovo June 6, 2022.
The International Monetary Fund and other financial institutions have warned that financially strapped Kosovo, riven by poverty and corruption, cannot afford to extend higher benefits to nearly 50 000 registered war veterans. Facing criticism by the opposition and quarrels within the ruling party, the lawmakers failed to pass the law as there was not a quorum to proceed.
Around 10 a.m. veterans began gathering in front of parliament and police fired pepper spray when they tried to push their way into the building.Protesters waved flags of the former guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army, which waged a 1998-99 campaign against Serbian rule. Kosovo won independence in 2008.