In the show “3 D” with Alban Dudushin, the analyst Agon Maliqi has commented on the decision of the Specialized Chambers in The Hague for the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army and the new initiative of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) to change the law on the Special Court.
The decision announced on September 16, where Hashim Thaçi, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi were found guilty of war crimes, has incited widespread protests in Kosovo, while the PDK has proceeded in the Assembly with the draft law to supplement and amend the law on the Special Court.
Focusing on the protests that are taking place in Pristina, Maliqi emphasized that they have an important function, as they serve as a political message to the European Union and the institutions that supervise the Special Court.
“Protests are useful because this should not pass to the EU or the institutions that oversee this court as if the people of Kosovo are okay with how this work went. I think there is a benefit, and it is not interference with justice. Interference with justice is if Kosovo would try to abolish the Court.”
He added that the initiative of the PDK cannot be realized simply with legal changes, but must be discussed at a political level with the European Union, raising the issue to the dialogue table.
“Secondly, this is not done only by changing laws, but must be discussed between the government and the EU. So, this political issue must be raised with the EU in the first place.”
Maliqi warned that part of the problem that led to this trial is related to public perception and media propaganda, where the former leaders of the KLA were found guilty before being declared by the court.
“Thirdly, a lot of work must also be done in what is called ‘information war’, because part of the very big problem that has led to this trial has been that in the media, propaganda space, these people have been declared guilty before they were declared by the court.”
