During yesterday’s debate at the Assembly of Kosovo over the opposition claims that Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) veterans’ lists were “inflated”, Finance Minister Bedri Hamza said that while at it, the issue of the “inflated” number of women raped during the conflict in Kosovo should also be addressed. “20,000 women were not raped during the war,” Hamza declared.

This led to the reaction of Vjosa Osmani, MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), who took the stand and said Hamza should be ashamed of himself for questioning the number of victims of sexual violence during the conflict. She said the figure of 20,000 has been confirmed by NGOs and the Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Centre. Furthermore, Osmani added, “this figure is presented every three months at the UN Security Council by your former party fellow, now Kosovo’s ambassador to Washington D.C.” Hamza then went on to say he was retracting his statement and that he felt particularly sorry for the victims of sexual violence during the conflict in Kosovo.