President Thaci failed with army, continues mission for reconciliation

The country's president, Hashim Thaci, addressing the soldiers of the Kosovo Armed Forces on March 5th of this year, had suggested he would not sit back in terms of transforming this force.

From “Kazerma Adam Jashari”, Thaci had declared he would operate within constitutional competencies and that he would take legal action to establish the Kosovo Army through amending the KSF law.

The legal changes have been the only open door, as the founding of the army was possible with constitutional changes, because they would not vote on the Serbian List.

Thaci had everything ready. Just two days after he spoke, he handed it over to the Parliament through President Kadri Veseli, the draft law on transforming KSF into force with military protection competencies.

This bill was then forwarded to the Kosovo government.

From the role of the KSF Supreme Commander, Thaci had added that there was nothing to stop the founding of the Armed Forces.

It took him two days to initiate everything and just one month to back off.

On April 7th, he had asked the Prime Minister Wessel through a letter that the proposed bill would not be approved in the Assembly.

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Thaci's initiative to make the military through amendments to the law had opposed the US. US Ambassador to Kosovo Greg Delawi had confirmed that he supports Kosovo for the Armed Forces, but not with legal but constitutional changes.

So since spring, this issue, besides the many discussions that have been made, is stuck there. So the year 2018 captures Kosovo without its army.

But the army was not the only front for the president.

He had in advance launched another initiative. That of the Commission's establishment of reconciliation and truth.

Several meetings have been held under this initiative during 2017, including representatives of high institutions, then diplomatic missions and civil society.

New generations need to know what previous generations have done. Bilateral trust must be gained, respecting the interest of the parties. The initiative for consultative meeting comes after consultations I've had with great leaders of reconciliation. I have met many Albanians, Serbs, Bosnians, Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians to consolidate this idea and that concept”, he had said the day he presented the initiative.

During December, Thaci has introduced the commission's feasibility team, where five people will be from civil society and the other four from the institutions that will deal with preparing the establishment of the mechanism called the Commission for Truth and Compensation.

While the military and the commission for reconciliation await work in 2018, Thaci 2017 concluded with several foreign visits.

Earlier in his direction harsh criticism was addressed that he is the isolated and unloving president of the international community.

During 2017, Thaci has held several bilateral meetings, including what he did not long ago in distant Canada. He is also expected in Croatia, Turkey and Malta.

The head of state during the following year has also been hosted by Pope Francis of the Vatican, as well as attended by several international conferences.