Kosovo President Resigns Over War Crimes Allegations
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said Thursday he had resigned because a special court at The Hague indicted him for war crimes.
A special prosecutor submitted accusations in June covering Kosovo’s 1998-99 independence war against neighboring Serbia.
Thaci, 52, was among those charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, enforced disappearances, persecution, and torture.
The atrocities allegedly happened while Thaci was commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
The president and other suspected high-ranking officials have denied wrongdoing. “It is true we violated the laws of [Serbian leader] Slobodan Milosevic’s regime. And for that, I am proud as people and as an individual,” said Thaci in recent remarks. “But [I have violated] no international law under any circumstances.”
POLITICIAN DETAINED
Thaci’s decision to step down, however, came hours after veteran Kosovo politician Jakup Krasniqi was detained and taken to The Hague, the Netherlands.
Krasniqi, a 69-year-old former spokesman for the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and an ex-Kosovo president, was detained in a raid on his home by European Union police.
He too faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the
Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office.
Though based in the Netherlands, the court has an international staff working under Kosovo’s law. It is mandated to look into allegations that the KLA members committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The 1998-1999 war for Kosovo’s independence from Serbia left more than 10,000 people dead. Most of the victims were ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, but over 1,600 people remain missing.
The fighting ended after 78-days of airstrikes by the NATO military alliance against Serbian forces. The conflict was part of several Balkan conflicts in recent decades that left deep wounds and ethnic divisions among people across the volatile region.
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