Lawyer Gregory Guy-Smith, who has a long experience on the judicial cases related to the war crimes, spoke about the establishment and the role of the special court for war crimes committed in Kosovo.
The Dutch Ambassador to Kosovo, Robert Bosch, said on Monday that if Kosovo fails to establish special court, then Kosovo would have a United Nations court. "For Kosovo, it is better to have a special court, rather than a UN court, since there are countries that are not good friends with Kosovo and they have a great influence,” Bosch said. He said he expects that special court would be located in Netherlands, although, according to him, there is still no final decision on its location.
Special court for war crimes which is due to be created in Kosovo, will include and Albanians from Macedonia who took place in fights in 1999 on the side of Kosovo Liberation Army. Political analyst from Pristina Behlul Becaj said to Skopje-based media that court will include all who participated in conflict, but politicians who inspired killings during the conflict as well. “That is why most of parties don’t support the creation of court. They fear that their current members will be amongst the indicted ones, who were part of the KLA.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, said on Wednesday that special court will deal with individual cases and not with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). He said that the Law on special court soon will be processed in the government and in Parliament. "By the end of this week or early next week we will proceed with the establishment of special court. It is a difficult process but helps to resolve the issues raised. The court is not directed against the KLA, but only against certain individuals,” said Mustafa.
At least ten Kosovo Liberation Army members will stand trials in front of the special court for war crimes in Kosovo, which should be established soon, amongst whom and some from the very top. Considering that their names are kept strictly confidential, public in Pristina speculates great deal about who will be targeted first of those investigated in relation with the organ trafficking, some are even whispering Hashim Thaci’s name. It is planned that this court should deal with the destiny of Serbs and other non-Albanian population in the period 1998-2000.
The US Ambassador to Kosovo Tracey Ann Jacobson said that quick creation of the special court is important for the wellbeing and future of Kosovo and stressed that the court won’t deal with more than ten cases. “This court will remove the black stain over the KLA, and will not deal at all with the glorious fight of the KLA,” said Jacobson in Prizren.