"Kosovo's Two Big Mistakes With The Special Court" Haradinaj Speaks Openly: Those Who Brought Us Here Are Wrong Again
Nga OraNews Përditësimi i fundit 7 Dhjetor 2020, 15:03
Former Prime Minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj has admitted in front of Ora News journalist, Matilda Mcini that he has always been against the construction of the Special Court in The Hague.
Ramush Haradinaj told Ora News that with the vote to start the court, it was accepted in front of everyone that "we are not capable of judging correctly, which is a big and long-term strategic mistake."
Ramush Haradinaj for Ora News: It was a mistake to vote for this court. At that time I personally and the Alliance did not vote. We have been open to the court and we are always for justice and the judiciary, we are interested in uncovering and establishing the truth about the victims in Kosovo, because we are the victims.
We have asked for that court to be entrusted to Kosovo as any independent state, at the same time not to be an ethnic one. We had these two remarks. Voting of Mr. Thaçi, Mr. Veseli, of PDK at that time was wrong, because they agreed to vote a court that has directly expressed distrust of the local justice system and in the state of Kosovo, for this reason it was decided abroad.
It is also mono-ethnic, so at that time it was thought of as a court only for the KLA and we think it was wrong.
Ora News: Should Kosovo politics take the same initiative towards the other side, the Serbian side?
Ramush Haradinaj for Ora News: I think that Kosovo had the opportunity to vote for the same court but based in Kosovo, at the time when it was requested by our American and European allies but to leave the possibility of the activity of this court abroad. International judges should also be required.
The first mistake was that we gave up on ourselves and the ability to make fair judgments, regardless of ethnicity. We have admitted in front of everyone that we were not good at judging right, and this is a big and strategic, long-term mistake.
Serbia has done what I wanted in court in Kosovo. Serbia has its own war crimes tribunal in Belgrade. I was the subject of that court, I went through two lawsuits.
I have gone through international judicial filters three times.
Kosovo has managed to vote the same as Serbia has for itself and when someone criticized Kosovo, then tell them, they were parties to the war and we, we are equivalence.
Why did Kosovo have to do something different from what Serbia has. Even if someone came out to criticize, you tell him that we are at the level of Serbia, which is an ally of the Russians, and there would be nothing for anyone to ask Kosovo if it did not ask Serbia. But our political class then err in surrendering to the respect of the allies. But also the respect for the allies had to go in accordance with the interests of the country.
Now is the second mistake we are making, describing this court as against the KLA and fighting it politically. The judiciary is not fought politically. You must prove your innocence in court. The access of some today in Pristina is the same as what they voted for. The same ones who brought us to this court now take the wrong stance again. They come back and say that this court is against Kosovo and against the KLA.
We are not satisfied that our fellow passengers are in court, but it is not the court against the KLA, it is our decision we once made against the KLA. We are now in the process, even when the trial takes place, politics has a problem. You must get a certificate from the court that you are innocent. We all need to focus on how to help this court and prove the innocence of our people.
Interview taken on December 5, 2020.
