Pristina (AFP) – Kosovo’s president-elect has pledged to “fully support” a new war crimes court prosecuting members of the guerrilla group he once led — despite a question mark hanging over whether he himself will be indicted.
Hashim Thaci, elected by parliament in February as the next head of state, made his name as political leader of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which fought against Serbia for independence in the late 1990s.
But as he prepares to step into the top job next month, speculation is mounting over whether he could be summoned to a court due to open in The Hague this year, trying crimes allegedly committed by senior KLA members.
The court’s creation stems from a Council of Europe report in 2011, when Thaci was prime minister. It accused him of heading a mafia-style network involved in assassinations, unlawful detentions and even trafficking captives’ organs during and after the war.
