Former advisor of UNMIK: It has been clear that Thaci was linked to all political issues

Former advisor of UNMIK in Kosovo, Hansjeorg Stromeyer, during his testimony at The Hague on Wednesday said it has always been clear to him that Hashim Thaci was related to all political issues.

The “for me has always been clear that Mr. Thaci was connected to all political issues or that we had conversations about the composition of the Kosovo Transitional Council (KTK), when we appointed meetings, talks on the involvement of KLA members in the police force. These meetings were always assigned to Mr. Thaci, and on one occasion he came along with Mr. Ceku. For us this was reality”, the witness said.

Before that, according to Judge Guénawel Metraux, General of UNMIK, Mike Jackson, had said that according to what he had understood, Thaci's role and power were comparable to that of the commander.

The judge said Jackson had described Agim Ceku as the top military in the KLA at the time and as Thaci's subordinate.

I believe that I previously declared it and saw it in documents that Mr. Thaci had signed the commitment as chief commander. So, from our civil interactions with him, we haven't considered Mr. Thaci as chief commander-in-chief. Mr. Jackson had another conversation and another reality that was in a military environment and it could be this aspect Thaci presented in this way before Jackson. It was always clear to us. It has always been clear to me that Mr. Thaci was connected to all political issues or that when we had conversations about the composition of the Kosovo Transitional Council (KTK), when we appointed meetings, talks on the involvement of KLA members in the police force. These meetings were always assigned to Mr. Thaci, and on one occasion he came along with Mr. Ceku. For us that was reality. Mr. Thaci was the person we had to address and address”, Stromeyer said.

On the other hand, for Agim Ceku, the witness added that from a functional point of view he was the highest military he had contacted about technical aspects.

As far as Mr. Ceku is concerned, it was clear from a functional point of view, as described, that the highest military was the person we contacted in technical terms. It means, he was the person General Jackson<x1 was communicating with, he said.

While, at a meeting allegedly held in July 1999 regarding the police force, Strommeier said Thaci had told them Agim Ceku was the person to be led to.

So what I realized was that this person was dealing with these issues, which reinforced the perception that he was the leader under these circumstances... and then he was the one who dealt with these technical issues or the most specialized issues of this matter”, the witness said.

Stromeier stressed that I do not know who appointed Agim Ceku as chief of the KLA General Staff at the time. Also, he said he was unaware there have been signs of rebellion within the KLA leadership during the Rambouillet period.

Former advisor of UNMIK, Hansjeorg Stromeyer, on the third day of testimony in the trial against Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselin, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi, has said that for internationals, Kosovo's Interim Government in 1999 had no legal existence.

This, Strommeer stated by answering the court's questions, represented by Judge Guénawel Mettraux, reports “Justice Trust“.

The Witness also stressed that they have not considered the decrees or decisions made by this government at all. According to him, then, they were of no legal value. He even claimed that this was true of the appointments made by this government.

Strommeier said it is accurate to say they have not addressed Thaci and Agim Ceku on the basis of position they have been able to hold at Kosovo's Interim Government

At Wednesday's session, all the accused are present at the courtroom.

Otherwise, the Specialised Prosecutor's Office, on September 30th, 2022, has handed over the confirmed amended indictment against Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselini, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, which consists of ten points of charges, where the latter are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On April 29th 2022, the Specialised Prosecutor's Office had handed over a amended indictment to Hashim Thaci, Kadri Wessel, Rexhepi and Jakup Krasniqi, where four indictees have committed war crimes even in Gjilan, Budakov and Semtish.

On November 9th 2020, in their first appearances, Hashim Thaci's Jakup Krasniqi has been declared innocent of the charges placed on them. Wessel has also been declared in his presentation on November 10th, as has Rexhep Selimi on November 11th.

The incident against Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselin, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi is confirmed on October 26, 2020. /Betimy for Justice