Koha Ditore’s publisher Flaka Surroi writes today that Kosovo scored an own goal with regards to the establishment of the special court and it should now bear the consequences. Surroi claims that the constitutional amendment paving way for the court was passed by the Kosovo Assembly because the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader Hashim Thaci wanted so and in the run-up to the voting he managed to prove he is the only one who “can get a job done” in Kosovo.
In an opinion piece, Imer Mushkolaj writes that it should be up to the special court’s indictees to secure financial means for their defense and that the people of Kosovo should not be the ones to pay for it. Mushkolaj says there are many reasons why the people of Kosovo should not bear the financial costs of the possible special court indictees, the main being that alleged crimes are thought to have been committed by individuals and therefore not related to the people of Kosovo or the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
The German daily, Die Welt reports that Hashim Thaci, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kosovo, might face the trial for war crimes. This paper notes that despite the fact that this powerful man is negotiating with Brussels on getting Kosovo closer to EU, he is in danger of facing the Special Court for war crimes, voted recently at Kosovo Parliament.
The Vetevendosje Movement MP, Albulena Haxhiu, told the news site that the opposition parties tomorrow will send a case to the Constitutional Court contesting the decision of the Assembly for the establishment of the special court. “We will send our case to the Constitutional Court to review in general the constitutional amendment in relation to Kosovo’s sovereignty and jurisdiction. We will send the case at 11:00 hrs tomorrow,” Haxhiu said.
Lumir Abdixhiku, executive director of the Pristina-based Riinvest Institute, argues that the formation of the special court was the best among the available solutions. “Kosovo had a moral, legal and international obligation to address allegations of crimes. Kosovo had no longer the right to do so itself. Nationalistic, euphoric and pathetic discussions would only send the country toward isolation … Beyond the special court, Kosovars should be more concerned with the political level in the country.
The former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander, Agim Ceku, told the news site that the establishment of the special court was a political issue. According to him, this court is being established to make a balance in the Balkans so no one appears a winner. He said that no one from the locals knows the names of the alleged suspects.
The paper on its front page editorial writes that a special court is being established to address alleged war crimes, but that this court doesn’t have competencies to address a very big problem in Kosovo, corruption. “The fight against corruption is considered a challenge already lost for Kosovo, while the main responsible are high level politicians. The special court will not deal with such things, and probably after UNMIK and EULEX, the internationals will not interfere in Kosovo’s internal affairs.
"Experience has shown that in Kosovo is not easy to collect evidence based on the testimonies due to insufficient protection of witnesses," considered an Austrian law professor Joseph Marko.
He warns that when prominent politicians are under the suspicion, it was always difficult to find evidence and witnesses willing to accuse them.
After adoption of the decision on the establishment of the Special Court for KLA war crimes in Kosovo, the most important is that there is a good witness protection program, assesses Vienna daily "Standard". Months-long straining about the establishment of the Court shows that leader of the largest party PDK, Hashim Thaci, doesn’t have control over his people, which is less likely knowing hierarchical relationships, or encounters organized resistance in shedding the light on the KLA crimes, writes the paper.
The formation of the special court and its departments is underway, while the European Union has yet to decide about the seats of the specialist chambers and the office of the specialist prosecution. EU officials in Pristina told the news site that they are finalizing agreements with the country host where the special court will be based. This will then be followed by the selection of judges and the recruitment of staff.