Following his two-day visit to Kosovo, Albanian Prime Minister held a press conference on Tuesday reiterating his opposition to the Specialist Prosecution Office’s indictment of Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader Kadri Veseli.
Previously, Rama had deemed the indictment a Chinese Cultural Revolution-style “big-character poster” and a shameful moment that will be remembered in 21st century legal history.
The indictment, Rama said, came immediately prior to the Kosovo-Serbia meeting that would be hosted in Washington, causing a manifold crisis in the country, and casting doubts on the “value of the [Kosovo] war.” It also constituted an attempt to indict the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) as if it was a “regular army, like that coming from Belgrade.” He added that, fundamentally, it was a fact that, in the war of 1999, “Kosovo was the victim not the aggressor”.
The Specialist Prosecution Office’s press release, which announced an indictment was filed though did not make public the actual text of the indictment, constitutes an “brutal act” against Kosovo itself. He also advised “all Albanians” not to politically gloat over Thaci’s indictment, as it was something that would have serious repercussions for Kosovo.
Kosovo, Rama warned, must not underestimate what being implicated in this “brutality” will mean. He reminded the press of the discrepancy between prosecutions and trials of Serbian army leaders and those of Kosovo war leaders. He added that Kosovo has yet to be granted visa liberalization from the EU, despite having met all the conditions set forth by the EU.
Rama also extensively insisted that Albania is not Kosovo’s ‘keeper’, and mustn’t meddle in its internal affairs, but must instead act as a ‘brother’ and support Kosovo unconditionally.
When asked about the defamation lawsuit he filed against former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, he said he currently had 22 different ongoing defamation trials. Nonetheless, Rama announced he would retract his suit against Haradinaj, the only leader who refused to meet him during his Kosovo visit.
