To whom did the president show the door?

Although Thaci in his speech before the Kosovo Security Force, has largely adhered to the European Union's Mission to End the Law EULEX and the Special Court for War Crimes, the opposition warns that KFOR's peacekeeping force is part of international missions.

Kosovo Parliament MP from the Vetevendosje Movement ranks Rexhep Selimi told Radio Free Europe that Thaci's statements are scandalous. Selimi said he would like the mission NATO, KFOR and similar missions, respectively, not to take seriously the president's statements.

It is dangerous to declare that the time of international missions in Kosovo has ended, when it is considered that the most successful international mission in Kosovo is that of NATO, through KFOR. This is beyond hypocrisy and now begins to become dangerous when a president claims that the time of international missions has ended, not excluding the NATO mission”, Selimi said.

According to him, Thaci is seeing foreign missions in Kosovo from his personal prism and his personal agenda, not institutional prism.

The “seems to be in a crisis not only political, but also endangering security in Kosovo, when you see all these missions from personal prism”, Selimi said.

Meanwhile, Avdullah Hoti, chief of the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic League of Kosovo, said Kosovo as a new state still needs international partners. He said that all, including the president of Kosovo, should be careful with statements.

“We need our main partners, who have been constantly [here] from key countries like those of the EU and the US. We need them to stand by our side in integration processes. Therefore, from this perspective I think we should be taking care of the language we use because we are the ones who need partnership, for support of the friendly states”, Hoti said.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said on Tuesday that a non-justified number of international missions” is operating in Kosovo, creating the impression that the country is at a very early stage of transition”. According to him, the time has already come, when Kosovo institutions “must act as home lords in their country”.

“With hundreds of millions of euros of European taxpayers have been spent and continue to be spent on the management of the EULEX” mission, Thaci stressed.

He has also voiced disagreement over the Special Court, which is expected to start working with the opening of suspected war crimes cases, where, primarily under “the justice pipe”, some of the former Kosovo Liberation Army members are expected to be.

But, deputy Selimi from the Vetevendosje Movement ranks, said Thaci has consistently supported the EULEX mission and the formation of the Special Court.

“Thaci is among the main sponsors of the Special Court vote in the Kosovo Assembly. He has even pressured MPs in the country to vote on him. So it's completely hypocritical to say the opposite of what he said two years ago before the Special Court was formed. His statement now against the EULEX mission is also hypocrisy”, Selimi said.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has recently been holding a very severe course of political rhetoric in addition to the European Union's approach to Kosovo, in particular to conditioning visa liberalisation and integration processes.

Political Science Professor at Pristina University Anton Vukpalaj told Radio Free Europe that such statements by President Thaci can be understood as a kind of pressure faced by the European Union to change its approach to Kosovo.

This is because we have recently witnessed numerous promises that the EU is giving to the states of the region, while Kosovo is having problems with visa liberalisation”.

So we have a statement on this Kosovo integration process. Likewise, you know that within the EU we have five member states that have not recognised Kosovo's independence, and in this direction nothing has been done that advances to have the integration process”, Vukpalaj said.

As regards statements to the Special Court, Vukapalaj thinks those statements are made only for domestic political consumption rather than as the true objection of that court.