Thaci To Step Down as Kosovo President if War Crime Indictment Is Confirmed

Hashim Thaci BETAFOTO

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci on June 29 said he would resign his office if the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) confirmed the indictment against him, Kadri Veseli and others. In a televised address to Kosovo citizens, Thaci said it would be just to shed light on every doubt and war crime charges regardless of who or where they had been committed.  

“I may have made political mistakes in peace, but war crimes, never,” Thaci said in the evening on June 29, adding that for two decades, he had backed the initiatives for setting up tribunals with international engagement or supervision.

“Today, the one who says that I have become an obstacle, or have sabotaged this court, has been, in the best case scenario, falsely informed, or is in the worst case scenario, biased. Bu,t on the other hand, 21 years of investigations, trials and trials for war crimes committed in Kosovo must be reviewed. I would be the happiest man if I were to see the international community is applying the same standards to Kosovo and Serbia in addressing war crimes,” Thaci said.

He went on to say that unfortunately, he saw no proportionality, but the opposite.  “Of course, I do not see a conspiracy against Kosovo, but the difference in approach by the international community toward the two nations is a fact. On the other hand, a heavy silence has fallen over the crimes committed by Serbia. Serbia’s silence has been additionally worsened by the silence of the international community. We are committed, personally, I am strongly committed to the dialogue and peace with Serbia,” Thaci stressed.

Last week, the SPO said in a release it had “filed a ten-count Indictment with the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) for the Court’s consideration, charging Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, and others with a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, enforced disappearance of persons, persecution, and torture.”