President of Kosovo Resigns; To be Tried as a War Criminal
A warrant poster issued by the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia in 1997, calling for Hashim Thaçi (alias “Snake”) to be arrested. The poster accuses him of participating in an attack on police officers, for which he is to be sentenced to 10 years in prison. (Wikimedia Commons)
The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, has resigned from his post to stand trial on accusations of war crimes at The Hague. In a statement on November 5, he announced he would “not allow under any circumstance that a President of the Republic of Kosovo appear in front of the court.” Therefore, he chose to resign to “protect the integrity of the presidency of the Republic of Kosovo, integrity of the state of Kosovo, and integrity and dignity of Kosovo citizens.”
Thaçi has deep links in Kosovar politics. He served as the first leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, founded in 1999. With the backing of the Assembly, he declared independence from Serbia in 2008, becoming the Republic of Kosovo’s first post-independence Prime Minister. In 2014, he became the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign affairs, and he won the presidency in 2016.
Before entering politics, however, he was the de facto leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), an ethnically Albanian separatist organization that was active during the Kosovo Conflict of 1998-1999.
Amnesty International has accused the KLA of persecuting Serbs, Roma, and political dissidents, in addition to organ trafficking, abductions, torture, and sexual violence. A Human Rights Watch report from 2001 details evidence of ethnic cleansing of the groups mentioned above, as well as intimidation actions, including disappearances and murder, against civilians suspected of collaborating with Serbia.
Thaçi himself has been charged with being responsible for nearly 100 murders committed by the KLA, although he denies these accusations.
Other prominent politicians indicted with war crimes include Jakup Krasniqi, the former Chairman of the Kosovar Assembly and the Intelligence Service, and Rexhep Selimi, head of the largest political party in Kosovo, Vetëvendosje. Kadri Veseli, the current leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, also resigned on November 5. Along with Thaçi, all of these men served in high-ranking positions in the KLA before finding success in Kosovar politics. Now, all are awaiting trial in the Hague Penitentiary.
The role of acting President of Kosovo now belongs to Vjosa Osmani, a former member of an opposition party, the Democratic League of Kosovo. According to Article 90 of the Constitution, she may only serve in this role for a maximum of six months, during which the Assembly must decide on a new president. If the Assembly fails to come to a compromise before her term has expired, it will have to hold elections again.