EULEX chief: People in Kosovo believe we arrested them at KLA leaders

This also brought about the reaction of a portion of Kosovo citizens who believe it is EULEX that is conducting these operations.

But what does the head of this mission in Kosovo think? Lars-Gunnar Wigemark in an interview for the <x0->Balkan” show in “ABC” explains the role of the EU mission.

Part of the interview:

This is expected. Yeah. Let's keep talking about actual issues. And, you know, the thing or topic people are talking about most of the time now is special courts or specialised rooms. People who may have been here in 1992, trying to continue with peaceful resistance, but which did not work with Serbia and Milosevic at the time, were forced to defend themselves and protect their families and protect civilians and fight. What could they do? We now see them in The Hague. As we know, EULEX has a logistics role in this, so operational and logistics role. How difficult is this for EULEX?

EULEX chief: I have to say, it's not easy for us because people here believe it's EULEX who's conducting these operations, that we are the ones arresting people, that we are arresting Mr. Krasniqi, either President Thaci and so on, or that we are performing the house. It's actually the Special Prosecutor's Office, which has the authority to do so, we don't have the authority to do that. But, we are actually mandated to do this, according to the Kosovo law, based on the legislation here regulating the creation of specialised rooms, but also our supporting role in this regard, our practical commitment is, for example, that we obtain vehicles. So people see EULEX license plates in front of the building, and they assume that inside the building are staff, EULEX police, etc. The work is not so, we are outside, providing protection together with the Kosovo Police. But you don't see the Kosovo Police very much, and they're there, they're informed of these operations properly. They are the first security reacter, we co-operate closely with the Kosovo Police, we also cooperate with KFOR, with NATO force, which is the third security responseer, so we have this three-man. And I have to say, this has worked really well since I got here. But this is sensitive and difficult for the Kosovo Police as well. They somehow think it's a little complicated for them. In an ideal situation, they would have to do so. In an ideal situation, they should have done this job.

I understand. However this is happening and you are in this difficult position, you have to do it and secure what is necessary to ensure, but I still believe it has an impact on the image and security situation in Kosovo. It's not that easy, is it? It has to have an impact.

EULEX chief: Of course. I mean, let's first talk about Kosovo. What's important is said. The American ambassador said very well recently that these charges are not an indictment against Kosovo. We're not talking about some kind of guilt or collective responsibility for what happened here, because we all know what happened, many people really know what happened, I also know pretty well that some things have happened both here and Serbia and elsewhere during this whole period. We are talking about the indictment against certain individuals, who in some cases were part of the establishment of these specialised institutions they voted in parliament in favor of this, and I think this is part of a process to deal with the legacy from the past, the benefits and the disadvantages of the war for Kosovo independence. This is part of a long process that certainly started with Dick Marty's report since 2010, and maybe even before that. I think now what's important is let this process continue. There must be a so-called fair process, where there are some legal rights that are all involved, those who are accused of these crimes should have the right to protection, and I think they'll have some of the best defense lawyers that money can buy, while if any of those accused do not have their own means, their resources, then there are law aid funds available for this. At the same time, I understand that this would be difficult for any society and I have to say I have a lot of respect for the way Kosovo is handling this. I'd like to see, you're alone from Albania, how people in Albania would react, how people in Serbia would react. This is a very sensitive issue even in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but I have to say that along with Bosnia and Herzegovina, I think Kosovo is the only country in the region that is now facing this more openly, because transparency is necessary, you have to know the truth so that everyone can see it.

So you're saying that Kosovo is setting a positive example with the way it's reacting.

EULEX chief: I'd say so. I think this is something people should reflect on and feel a certain pride in the fact that Kosovo is not afraid to deal with its past. I know some who have been charged, former Prime Minister Haradinaj, who said I am proud today because I defended myself and so on, others like Mr. Limaj and so on, as well as other so-called Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. They know that too. So, I think now, as I said, there should be a fair process, there should be no political interference, I don't believe this is a political process or political procedure, that's my opinion, that's my opinion, that there's something different about it, but you have some very good legal professionals, both in terms of prosecutors and defence, and they're going to argue their cases, they're already beginning, and that's the fundamental aspect of the rule of law, that's why we're here, as a mission to the European Union in general, we don't have a magic one that can bring solutions. As I said, we in our member states have gone through these processes, but now with increasing populism not only in Europe, but also in many other countries, we see how these heritages of the past can be used if they are not treated properly. There's a lot of deninforms, people start rewriteing history. Revision in one way or another. Revision is very difficult, if you have evidence, if you have evidence, but it's difficult when one person says one thing and another says another, one word against another, and that's why we have the law, the so-called rule of law.