Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic criticized the reactions of Prime Minister Edi Rama and President Bajram Begaj, after the decision of the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo in The Hague to sentence the former leaders of the KLA to a total of 81 years in prison.
According to Vucic, the Hague decision shows that many serious crimes committed against Serbs have not yet received a judicial conclusion.
“I was waiting to see everyone’s statements, so that you would understand what problems Serbia is facing today and how much hypocrisy we are facing,” said Vucic.
He first referred to the reaction of President Bajram Begaj, who expressed “deep sadness” for the court’s decision and declared that “for Albanians, no one and nothing can tarnish the KLA” and that “freedom has a name”.
“Just imagine if one of our officials said: ‘Freedom has a name’ and mentioned a Serb convicted at the Hague Tribunal,” said the Serbian president.
Vucic also criticized the reaction of Prime Minister Edi Rama, who, after announcing the decision, published the word “shame” on social networks.
According to him, these statements show a double standard towards court decisions and towards Serbia.
“And I thought they were criminals, at least convicted in the first degree. Not all of them are liberators, heroes and heroines,” Vucic said, referring to reactions in support of former KLA members.
He also mentioned the statements of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, who called the decision “unacceptable injustice” and “severe punishment”, as well as the reactions of the Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, Niko Gjeljoshaj, and the Albanian politicians in North Macedonia.
Vucic raised the question of whether such statements would have consequences for the European integration process of Montenegro.
“Will they stop European integration because they spit on the decision and deny the rule of law? Or does this only apply to Serbs?”, he asked.
The Serbian president also criticized the attitude of Croatian diplomacy. He said that Zagreb, although it declared that it takes the decision into account, continued to emphasize its political and historical interpretation of the war in Kosovo.
Vucic said that the reactions of Albanian officials and other politicians in the region show that Serbian victims continue to be oppressed by political narratives.
“Serbs should be criminals in every announcement and in every statement,” said the Serbian president.
