With regards to the recent information that former defender of Thaci, and first UNMIK chief Bernard Kouchner, may be a witness against the current Kosovo President before the Special Court for KLA crimes, Hashim Thaci said in The Hague that he supports the work of the court, adding that it is an opportunity for Kosovo, not a punishment. Bernard Kouchner, head of UNMIK from July 1999 to 2001 shook his head in disagreement when previously asked about organ trafficking from the Yellow House by a VoA correspondent.
Kouchner could be in the position of having to answer the same questions again, but this time as a witness against Hashim Thaci before the Special Court, writes French daily Figaro. “If Bernard Kouchner has some evidence, he does not hold it as himself, Bernard Kouchner, but as an UNMIK chief. So, experience shows that behind the heads of big missions is an apparatus, and I wouldn’t bet that high officials will testify. Still, it all depends on the severity of the indictment,” said Nenad Djurdjevic from the Forum for ethnic relations.
If the credibility of Kouchner’s eventual testimony can be questioned, beyond any doubt in the processes against Albanians from Kosovo, the weakest links are the witnesses. This has been proven by alleged suicides and overnight changes of statements. “One of the reasons why the court is in the Netherlands is to ensure the protection of witnesses who will freely express their testimonies. In any trial of this type the most important links are the witnesses, both international and local, victims, or those who participated,” said Djurdjevic. Although it was stated that the possible witnesses are already under the system of protection – outside Kosovo, doubts still exist.
