Report of the lead prosecutor of the EULEX investigation team, Clint Williamson, on war crimes against Serbs in Kosovo, indirectly points on something that is a real scandal – complete failure of international representatives in Kosovo to prevent atrocities, or to prosecute them, writes Zurich based daily Neue Zuercher Zeitung (NZZ).
“That a formation like KLA, under the leadership of small war-lords, deeply involved in a guerilla war against Serbian forces, which didn’t refrain from committing massacres against civilians, has also committed crimes – is not surprising. That leading KLA circles also had the interest to create, if possible, ethnically clean Kosovo – is also clear,” writes daily.
What Williamson’s report indirectly shed the light on is a real scandal, and that is complete failure of KFOR, UNMIK and EULEX, along with the international justice, which didn’t manage to prevent crimes, prosecute and bring perpetrators to justice.
However, assessed Swiss daily, the biggest price for such failure could be paid by the Kosovo society, since ‘former small war-lords are today politicians who have maybe set aside their uniforms, but not necessarily and bad manners’.
The system was created where they have usurped state public institutions and are using them for paying off their clientele.
Through a continued ruling of such politicians Kosovo was stabilized, however political and economic development have been left blocked in such a system, writes NZZ.
Paper assessed that there are two reasons for the failure of international community in Kosovo.
On one side it is about the difficulties of foreign police officers and judges to carry out their duties efficiently in an unfamiliar surroundings and without being familiar with the language, argues NZZ. The second reason is, assessed the paper, reluctance of officials from the EU and UN missions to deal harsher with former guerilla members who have become powerful.
“They were afraid of unrests and uprisings. Instead, they asked support from those powerful persons. Thus, an interest based alliance has emerged. The deal was ‘I won’t prosecute you, in turn you will take care that peace prevails in my protectorate,” concluded NZZ.
