War crimes tribunal in Kosovo is now almost a done deal. The statement was made by an international source according to whom, EU member states and the US have agreed to the establishment of such a court. The issue was discussed at the foreign ministers’ level. According to the source, officials from Pristina have been informed of this. “Apart from Government officials, a part of the opposition was also informed about the Tribunal issue,” the source said.
A member of one of the opposition parties also confirmed this. The official, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Gazeta Blic that EU and US senior officials have already agreed to establish the tribunal, outside Kosovo.
The source from the opposition said it will be very difficult to prevent the tribunal from being set up. “We have opposed the establishment of such a Tribuna, but representatives from the EU and the US seem to have already made up their minds. It seems this is a done deal,” the official said.
Alike international sources, the official from one of the opposition parties said the internationals insist this issue is finalized before June.
At the same time, officials from the Government of Kosovo told Gazeta Blic that they object to the creation of the Tribunal. Deputy Prime Minister, Hajredin Kuci, said the establishment of the tribunal would not only ruin justice system in Kosovo but also the image of Kosovo as a state. Nevertheless, he said there is room for the issue to be negotiated with the EU and the US.
“As a Justice Minister I am perhaps the only official to publicly react on this as it was my institutional, political and legal obligation. First, I want to say that Kosovo cooperated on all actions including The Hague Tribunal. Second, I want to stress that from 1999 onwards, the issue of war crimes was under the authority of international judges; entirely, not one percent but one hundred percent. Third, we still today have international presence, EULEX, that has special competencies in the field of war crimes.
And I say it, Kosovo has sufficient capacities to address any case in the sense of asserting justice, and in this aspect, it has capacities, primarily EULEX judges and prosecutors. It means, in the aspect of impartiality, independence, and professionalism, they are the ones that want such a Tribunal to be set up. We have not yet addressed this, either at the Government or the Assembly because decisions like these require the approval of the Government, and in particular a decision with two-third of votes at the Kosovo Assembly,” said Kuci.
