Kosovo prosecutor: Special Court is Kosovo's international obligation

Kosovo Special Prosecutor, Drita Hajdari, said the country must support The Hague-based Special Court to meet its obligations to the international community

Drita Hajdari said at a debate in Pristina on Wednesday evening that Kosovo is obliged to support new Specialised Chambers set up at The Hague to prosecute former Kosovo Liberation Army fighters for war crimes and after the war.

The war crimes issue cannot be an isolated issue for Kosovo alone,” said Hajdari.

Kosovo is part of the world, so when we talk about the Special Court, we cannot avoid international law,” she added.

She said it was painful to listen to people as they suggest that the existence of Specialised Chambers, which is part of Kosovo's justice system, but with international staff, shows the failure of local courts and prosecutors.

“What hurts me are statements from some people who claim that the establishment of the Special Court represents the failure of the prosecution and the courts of Kosovo, labeling us as unprepared and courageous,” she explained.

The debate over the new court, organised by the Kosovo 2.0 website, comes amid continued efforts by Kosovo deputies from the ruling coalition parties to revote the law allowing the functioning of the Special Court.

The United States and the EU have expressed concern about trying to damage the tribunal and warned that this could isolate Kosovo internationally.

Glauk Konjufca, head of the opposition Vetevendosje party parliamentary group, said the effort to stop the Specialised Chambers had been disguised as an initiative by MPs so that senior Kosovo officials who were once senior figures of the Kosovo Liberation Army could escape prosecution.

“Determination refused to be part of revote of the law that allows for the selection of the Special Court in such a dangerous and experimental manner, where concern concerns involve individuals and not the one that would harm Kosovo,” said Konjufca on Wednesday.

The initiative to challenge the law came after Kosovo Liberation Army veterans launched a petition calling it the new discrimination court, as it would try former Kosovo Albanian governors, not members of Serb forces that committed atrocities during the war.

Bekim Blakaj, executive director of the Fund for Humanitarian Law in Kosovo, said his organisation supports the new court because the row has damaged efforts to try war crimes within Kosovo.

“During these trials, we have noted that whenever there were cases suspected of crimes committed by former KLA fighters and, in most cases against Albanians, the victims were also Serbs, the families of the victims had no courage to come or monitor those trials,” explained Blakaj.

He added that witnesses have been threatened to prevent them from telling the truth and that in most cases it has resulted in success.

The witnesses have changed their statements to the main session, comparing it since the investigative phase. Victims are marginalized, and only a few have seen justice. Especially those from the Serb community,” he said.