Experts believe that if the new special court based in The Hague indicts high-level politicians for war crimes and political assassinations this could bring down the ruling coalition in Kosovo and destroy the bigger parties. The first indictments by the Office of the Special Prosecutor in The Hague for crimes committed during and after the war in Kosovo, which are expected either late this year or early next year, can result not only in calls for early elections but they could also have a profound impact on the political landscape. The indictments are expected to target a number of senior officials of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) who were once part of the senior leadership of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the war. Regardless of the skepticism surrounding the efficiency of the Special Prosecutor’s Office and the Specialist Chambers – commonly known as the Special Court – local analysts believe that the political landscape in Kosovo could change if justice is served independently and free from political influence. The indictments could result in the end of the ruling coalition between the PDK and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) as a large number of cases could be related to the alleged political violence exerted by the KLA during and after the war against LDK officials. “The indictments could destabilise the PDK,” Halil Matoshi, a Pristina-based political commentator, told BIRN.
“Persecution campaign”
According to a 2011 Council of Europe report, confirmed largely by an investigation by the EU Special Investigations Task Force in 2014, an indefinite number of KLA members are believed to have been involved in a “persecution campaign” against Serbs, Roma and Kosovo Albanians who were believed to be associates of Belgrade’s regime.
The alleged crimes include murder, abduction, organ trafficking, illegal arrests, drug trafficking and sexual violence during and after the 1998-1999 war between Serbian forces and the KLA.
The Council of Europe report focused largely on the activities of the so-called Drenica Group, which is believed to have included senior KLA members, including the former Prime Minister and PDK leader and current President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, the Kosovo Assembly President and PDK leader, Kadri Veseli, and other senior members of the KLA.
Both Thaci and Veseli have denied the allegations.
Thaci has constantly said that he and Kosovo “have nothing to hide”, and in the latest plenary session of the Kosovo Assembly, Veseli called on “all witness to come forward” saying that he and his party colleagues supported the establishment of the Specialist Chambers because it was in Kosovo’s interest.
In August 2015, the Kosovo Assembly adopted the law on the Specialist Chambers and the Special Prosecutor’s Office, mandated to prosecute and try cases related to the 2011 Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly report. The law also enables the court to try cases of political violence targeted against the political opponents of the KLA leadership.
Various reports claim that there was an organised campaign of killings, abductions, illegal detentions and torture against the close associates of former LDK leader and Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, and KLA members who were faithful to him.
Implications for the PDK
A recent statement by Assembly President Veseli about possible early elections if there is consensus among the political parties, was largely interpreted as a move related to the eventual indictments.
It is widely believed that early parliamentary elections before the first indictments are raised could serve as an insurance card for the PDK, which according to polls, continues to have lead in Kosovo’s political landscape.
Local political commentators believe that the indictments could affect PDK’s image.
“The indictments would weaken the PDK but would not remove it from the political landscape,” Nexhmedin Spahiu, political commentator and Radio Mitrovica director, told BIRN.
But if its officials are found guilty by the new special court this could threaten the future of the whole party.
“If the indictments are confirmed by decisions of the Specialist Chambers, it will be difficult for the PDK to survive because no one would want to be associated with it anymore,” Matoshi said.
Many people in Kosovo believe that the latest plenary session of the Kosovo Assembly called by the PDK to oppose a decision by the appellate court to keep in force the sentencing of ten former KLA combatants from the Drenica region for war crimes, revealed splits in the party over the new special court.
“There will be major splits within the PDK because an internal war will break out and we have often seen this in the recent discourse … A war will break out over who supports whom,” Matoshi added.
“If the PDK leadership goes to The Hague, people will start abandoning the party, because it is in human nature to abandon something that is being judged especially if charges against the suspects are confirmed”.
The legacy of political violence
In addition to indictments about crimes committed against Serbs, Roma and Albanians who were believed to be associates of Slobodan Milosevic’s regime, the jurisdiction of the special court will also include politically-motived killings committed in the 1998 – 2001 period.
A number of close associates of former LDK leader Ibrahim Rugova were killed or wounded during this period.
This includes the murder attempt on LDK chairmanship member Sabri Hamiti in 1998 and the assassination of Enver Maloku, a close friend and ally of Rugova and head of the LDK public information service, in 1999.
A number of senior LDK members who were members of Kosovo’s parallel parliament under Serbian rule, including former President Fatmir Sejdiu, were kept in detention in the KLA-controlled Drenica valley for several days when they visited the region in the spring of 1998.
One of them, Gjergj Dedaj, leader of the Kosovo Liberal Party, said in an exclusive interview in 2011 that the inmates were interrogated by Hashim Thaci and that they were tortured during the interrogation.
Dedaj made the allegations after Thaci dismissed him from the post of Deputy Minister of Transport in 2010, two days after his appointment, over suspected abuse of funds while he was Minister of Labor and Social Welfare.
Ahmet Krasniqi, Minister of Defence in Rugova’s government-in-exile, was also gunned down in Tirana in 1998.
After the war, several senior members of the KLA who were faithful to Rugova and some of his closest associates were killed.
Some of them include Ekrem Rexha, also known as Commander Drini, Tahir Zemaj, former MP Smajl Hajdaraj, Shaban Manaj and Xhemajl Mustafa, a close friend and aid to Rugova.
Fetah Rudi, former LDK branch leader in Malisheva, was shot immediately after the 2000 local elections and is now paralysed. According to a TV documentary titled “The LDK target” broadcast this week in Zona Express, around 100 LDK activists, officials and supporters were abducted, killed or wounded in the period 1998-2001.
The survivors and relatives of some of the victims say they believe the killings were carried out by KLA members.
Even though none of these cases have been tried so far, the LDK has constantly accused the KLA political structures of being behind the assassinations – but regardless – its leadership has been in a coalition with the PDK three times, mainly because Kosovo’s election system does not allow one party to secure a majority in parliament.
In the event of an indictment on politically-motivated assassinations, the LDK could find itself in a similar position with the PDK, and head toward internal conflicts and a possible breakout of the party.
“The LDK leadership and the opposition party, Vetevendosje, will be affected by the special court even if none of their members are accused, because the position of a number of people in these parties depends on the power of the PDK,” Spahiu said.
“The long tenure in power has given the PDK an advantage and it has managed to create clientele relations with leaders of rival parties,” he added.
Matoshi said he believes the ruling coalition could be threatened by an indictment that would be followed by an internal dispute within the LDK.
“The ruling coalition will break up after the first indictments. Within the LDK there will be many questions from the membership to the leaders ‘who went to bed with the other party whose main officials are accused of war crimes?” he said.
Implications in the political landscape
Changes in Kosovo’s political landscape are not easy because the ruling parties have managed to establish a strict control over almost every sector in the country.
Corruption, nepotism, lack of proper governance have obstructed economic and social development, and the lack of impact by foreign judicial institutions, including the UN and EU, have made many people skeptical that the recent legal efforts can bring about change.
Many also believe that “internationals” in Kosovo have used the mistakes of senior politicians to achieve their own objectives, such as concessions vis-à-vis Serbia.
On the other hand, it is believed that the current political leaders have learned to use the language of democracy and human rights spoken by internationals making it seem that their wishes are coming true.
“The impact of the special court on Kosovo’s political landscape will depend on its objectives and activities. The broader its scope the bigger the impact will be,” Spahiu said. “If this court becomes truly operational and if it is led by evidence and not politics, if there is remorse for the victims and willingness to bring justice, then it will deeply impact Kosovo’s political landscape and bring new values over the old ones such as arrogance, aggression, ethnic cleansing and the suffering of others in the name of patriotic and heroic actions,” Matoshi added.
Some people still believe that if some of Kosovo’s leaders are indicted this would bring about the transformation of the political landscape. Beriana Mustafa, the daughter of Xhemajl Mustafa, a former associate of President Rugova who was assassinated, said in the documentary “The LDK target” that this could be the last chance for justice. “The special court is our last hope,” she said. “Our only hope”.
