Haradinaj: I have never threatened witnesses

In this interview he has talked about resignations and political processes in the country.

Total interview:

Ramush Haradinaj was born in 1968 in Decani, until this part belonged to the Autonomous District of Kosovo, which was part of then-Yugoslavia. Following the formation of the Kosovo Liberation Army in the mid-1990s, Haradinaj was appointed commander in his region.

Following NATO's commitment to the Kosovo war, which Serb forces were pursued, Haradinaj founded the political party “Alliance for the Future of Kosovo” (AAK), which managed to be stabbered in the country. At the end of 2004, Haradinaj was appointed prime minister of the government, which that world was administered by the UN Mission. Following the establishment of the indictment by the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, Haradinaj resigned in March 2005.

Haradinaj was released from The Hague Tributal after the process, which lasted 3 years. After there was doubt that there was pressure on witnesses, an indictment arose from which he was again released. Now late last month, from the special trial for Kosovo with headquarters in The Hague, Haradinaj was invited last month as a suspect, however without an indictment.

Haradinaj, who was elected Prime Minister in 2017, resigned from the post of prime minister in the year 2005. He continues to be prime minister in office, since no successor has been appointed to the post.

FAZ: Mr. Prime Minister, in July when you were invited as suspect by Kosovo's Special War Crimes Chambers, you refused to issue statements. That's why you won't tell me what charges were made there either?

Haradinaj: Investigators opened the issue they wanted to learn from me, the issue of beginnings to establish the Kosovo Liberation Army and my role there. On specific charges I have not faced. My lawyer, who was present with me, gave me advice not to answer specifically either.

FAZ: How long has the interrogation lasted?

Haradinaj: About an hour.

FAZ: Do you expect an indictment?

Haradinaj: That's why I haven't been informed. I've been invited and done my duty to appear there. Everything else remains the judge's assessment.

FAZ: On the basis of the questions that you have been confronted with, can you state a conclusion if it is about the same charges that were made twice by the UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and where you are accused of being protected?

Haradinaj: What I can say is: Foundation of The NLA and my role in it, in the two ongoing processes that have lasted eight years and my release in both of these processes, are well documented.

FAZ: There is an attitude that the Special Tribunal is an instrument that proves Kosovo politicians to be disciplined when they do not listen to the directives of Western centres. Is that what you say?

Haradinaj: Since I myself was twice accused before the War Crimes Tribunal and twice I was released, it was a great surprise to have been invited back. There is no secret that changing borders in our region, the project that has been supported by a part of the international community, has rejected as extremely dangerous. That's why I say that the 100 per cent tax on Serbia's goods, imposed by the Government I have led, will remain until Serbia accepts Kosovo's independence. In view of these circumstances, of course there are many theories and speculations about how this invitation came to me.

FAZ: The tax settlement seems to have cost you Washington support after President Trump supports the exchange of territories and changing borders between Serbia and Kosovo.

Haradinaj: For possible consistencys I was aware of, but I was also honest with our partners in Washington and Europe, in what I told them: changing borders threatens stability here in Kosovo and across the region. It is also difficult to open the market for a neighboring country that questions our existence and threatens us. There is also unity in Kosovo that the tax will remain until it comes to recognition.

FAZ: Kosovo's president Hashim Thaci has also been invited to The Hague, but this in contrast to you has made it public.

Haradinaj: I've heard these speculations everywhere, but I can't say anything about that. It was clear to me immediately that my country and citizens should inform and resign. In secret or with agreement to appear before the investigators for me has been unacceptable. For this reason I also resigned for the second time in my life in connection with undesirable accusations as head of government.

FAZ: With the distinction since your 2005 resignation, you have been invited only for questioning this time.

Haradinaj: But even as an indictment suspect, I do not want to travel to The Hague as prime minister. That's not what I wanted to do to my country and my people.

So your resignation has nothing to do with what this coalition was before its destruction?

Haradinaj: This coalition has been ahead of major challenges, but these have not affected my resignation. An invitation from a court of law represents a whole new degree.

FAZ: As a problem of previous processes against you, it was that witnesses against you have lost their lives in accidents, killed or withdrawn evidence.

Haradinaj: I have to correct you here. Serge Brammertz, chief chief of the War Crimes Tribunal, in 2011 in Belgrade has been asked the same question and he has answered that in my case not one of the witnesses on the prosecution list against me or the witness programme has not been killed. In The Hague's second process against me, judges have proven that I have instructed witnesses not to be threatened. Of course, witness protection is a topic in Kosovo, but it has proved to be wrong to link this to the processes against me. All those who had to testify against me could do that.

FAZ: You would not say that Kosovars who would like to testify against the former KLA commanders would not be threatened or their families would not be declared traitors?

Haradinaj: Some have probably even distanced themselves from the circle, while others have been supported by the other circle. But there have been not a few cases when people have tried to enter the protected witness programme just to ensure better lives in another country. These have offered the indictment co-operation with new identities and have gone as far as they have sworn in and then experienced judges have noticed it immediately. This has been very common in the past.

FAZ: Were potential Witnesses so never threatened by you or the third party?

Haradinaj: Not from me and from my instructions ever. There was once a witness who lost his life in an accident with a drunk Serb in Montenegro. But only after his death did he find himself on the list of potential witnesses against me. I have expressed my genuine respect to the courts when I have resigned as Prime Minister and when the charges have been filed against me.