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WORLD NEWS Friday 6 November 2020
Kosovo's president resigns to face war crimes charges

By ZENEL ZHINIPOTOKU and from "all public political ac-
LLAZAR SEMINI tivities."
Associated Press Both Thaci and Veseli have
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — denied committing any
The president of Kosovo, crimes. They and another
who served as a guerrilla indicted former KLA fighter
leader during Kosovo's war were taken by plane to the
for independence from Netherlands later Thursday.
Serbia in the late 1990s, Thaci, a commander of
resigned Thursday and the Kosovo Liberation Army
will face charges for war during the war, said he was
crimes and crimes against proud to have belonged
humanity at a special court to that force, calling it "the
based in The Hague. most sublime value of the
President Hashim Thaci said Albanian nation."
he decided to relinquish He called the indictment
his post "to protect the in- "the smallest price we have
tegrity of the presidency to pay for the freedom of
of Kosovo" and to preserve our people."
the historical truth of which The government said in a
side was the perpetrator, statement that all defen-
and which the victim, in dants should be consid-
the conflict that killed more ered innocent unless the
than 10,000 people. court decides otherwise.
"We are a freedom-loving "No one may judge our
people and not vengeful," fight for freedom," the gov-
the 52-year-old Thaci said ernment said, adding that
at a news conference in the KLA "fought for the lib-
Pristina, Kosovo's capital. eration of our country, to
"That is why no claim may protect the house and not
rewrite history. Kosovo has in a foreign land, and as
been the victim. Serbia has such it has the support of Kosovo president Hashim Thaci addresses the nation as he announced his resignation to face war
been the aggressor." the international commu- crimes charges in Kosovo capital Pristina on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020.
Thaci was indicted in April nity." Associated Press
along with nine other for- Thaci held a ceremony at
mer rebel leaders by a spe- his office to hand over his Balkans researcher, Jelena ing war." Prime Minister Edi ers and killed Serbs and fel-
cial Kosovo court and asso- presidential duties to par- Sesar said the indictment of Rama described the indict- low ethnic Albanians.Sesar,
ciated prosecutor's office liament speaker Vjosa Os- Thaci and the nine others ments as resulting from an the Amnesty International
based in The Hague, Neth- mani, who will serve as act- would give hope to "thou- "absurd process that will fi- expert, said that a "culture
erlands, which were set up ing president. The govern- sands of victims of the Koso- nally stamp the KLA clarity of impunity" had persisted
five years ago to investi- ment said the "constitution vo war who have waited and the inability to rewrite in Kosovo since it has taken
gate and try former ethnic and the laws in power guar- for more than two decades its history." nearly 10 years for those
Albanian rebel leaders for antee a clear transition of to find out the truth about Exact details of the suspected of criminal re-
alleged war crimes. powers and exercising the the horrific crimes commit- 10-count indictment sponsibility to be brought to
The charges, which were responsibilities without any ted against them and their against Thaci, Veseli and court.
made public in June, in- institutional vacuum." loved ones." the others have not ben After the war, Thaci creat-
clude murder, enforced Osmani, 38, the second The European Union issued released. Announcing the ed the Democratic Party of
disappearances, persecu- woman to serve as head of a statement welcoming existence of the indictment Kosovo and has been for-
tion and torture. A pre-trial state out of post-war Koso- Thaci's cooperation with earlier this year, the Spe- eign minister, deputy prime
judge had six months to vo's six presidents, called the with the Hague-based cialist Prosecutor's Office minister and prime minister,
decide whether to uphold for unity in a late afternoon legal institutions, saying it alleged that the men were and now president since
the indictment and ruled to speech that held Serbia re- "strongly supports the work "criminally responsible for April 2016.
do so, a decision that pre- sponsible for the lives lost of the Kosovo Specialist nearly 100 murders." Kosovo-Serbia ties are still
cipitated the timing of the during the war. Chambers and the Special- At the time, the prosecu- tense 21 years after war's
president's resignation. "A sustainable peace in the ist Prosecutor's Office. tor's office said it made the end, despite nine years of
Most of the people who region asks that the victims "Full cooperation with these existence of the indictment negotiations mediated by
died in the 1998-1999 war and the aggressors are not institutions is essential as an public because of what it the European Union and
in Kosovo were ethnic Al- equalized," she said. "We, important demonstration called repeated efforts by supported by the United
banians, and 1,641 people Kosovo's Albanians, have of Kosovo's commitment to Thaci and Veseli "to ob- States.
are still unaccounted for. A been the victim of the he- the rule of law, which in turn struct and undermine" the The indictment was an-
78-day NATO air campaign gemony of a genocidal is a core element for Koso- work of the court and said nounced in June when
against Serbian troops end- regime, while Serbia has vo's progress on its Euro- they were believed to have Thaci was en route to a
ed the fighting. been the state that com- pean path and for EU's en- tried to overturn the Kosovo meeting at the White House
Among others charged mitted these crimes." gagement with the West- law that created the court. with Serb counterpart Alek-
with committing crimes Thaci was elected presi- ern Balkans as a whole," the The formation of the court sandar Vucic. That meet-
during and after the war is dent in February 2016. His EU statement said. and prosecutor's office fol- ing was held with Kosovo's
Kadri Veseli, a former par- current term ends in April, The prime minister of Alba- lowed a 2011 report by the prime minister instead in
liament speaker and an when the national Assem- nia, which borders Kosovo, Council of Europe, a hu- September.
opposition party leader, bly of Kosovo was expect- expressed his country's sup- man rights body, that in- In 2008, Kosovo declared
who said he planned to ed to elect a new presi- port to Thaci in "this battle cluded allegations that KLA its independence from Ser-
travel to the The Hague on dent. for Kosovo and the invio- fighters trafficked human bia, a move that Serbia re-
Thursday and was resigning Amnesty International's lable justice of the liberat- organs taken from prison- fuses to recognize.q