Refusal of Xhabir Zharku to serve his sentence is considered by his fellow-party members as a gesture that damages the image of the largest party in the country. At the same time, the opposition considers this to be only one of the cases that show in what state Kosovo is and not ruling out the possibility of the case affecting the Kosovo’s integration processes.
Comments were made after the meeting of the Kosovo Assembly’s which decided to postpone the request of PDK MP Ramiz Lladrovci on the “Kiçina” case for next session while the regular session is set to take place on Thursday.
When asked about Xhabir Zharku’s escape from justice, deputy speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, Xhavit Haliti, said the issue is not related to the Assembly and is Zharku’s personal problem but added that the question should be addressed to the Ministry of Interior. However, he conceded that the case damages the image of the Democratic Party of Kosovo.
“Democratic Party is so big and powerful that the acts of any of its members or leaders do not damage the Democratic Party in the organizational sense but in the aspect of the image it is not of course good for a former mayor, a head of a branch, not to respect the law. Ultimately, it is his decision,” said Haliti.
Meanwhile, the head of the LDK parliamentary group Ismet Beqiri said the case only demonstrates reality of Kosovo.
“We have always tried to respect decisions of institutions and as a political party acted accordingly. What is happening concretely with the case at hand shows in what state Kosovo is and how our institutions function. This requires no further comment… not only is it shocking but is unacceptable. However, you can ask the party to which Mr. Zharku belongs,” said Beqiri.
He even said that corruption, lack of rule of law and European integration do not go together.
AAK’s MP Burim Ramadani said the case has set a bad standard in Kosovo where former officials don’t respond to justice bodies.
“There is definitely no alternative to decisions from the justice sector and they should not be fled from. This is a serious case and sets a bad standard in Kosovo. Realistically, there was no such cases of political level after the war in Kosovo and I think this is a grave and deplorable act,” said Ramadani.
