On 3 February, Prime Minister Isa Mustafa declared that the Minister for Communities and Return, Aleksandar Jablanović, was no longer part of the Government, on the eve of a new protest that was set to take place on 4 February. As a result, the protest has been suspended for the time being. Jablanović had come under heavy criticism from a large number of political parties, non-governmental organizations, media outlets and the general public after he referred to members of an organization of relatives of missing persons who had blocked the entrance to the Orthodox Church in Gjakovë/Đakovica while protesting the arrival of Serbs to attend the Christmas liturgy as “savages”. At the same time, Srpska lista’s ministers in the government have been under fire since the establishment of the new Kosovo government in December 2014 for statements which indicated that they either ignored or do not recognize the independence of Kosovo, in line with the official standpoint of the Serbian government. On 24 January, a large number of people took part in a protest called by Vetëvendosje, AAK, and “Nisma për Kosovën” demanding Jablanović’s resignation and the adoption of a new Law on Public Enterprises, which would nationalize the Trepça/Trepča mining complex. In a follow-up protest on 27 January, violent clashes broke out between protestors and Kosovo Police.

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