Tahiri: I’m saying it for the first time, these are the two paths Kosovo had when the Special Court was established

Tahiri: I’m saying it for the first time, these are the two paths Kosovo had when the Special Court was created

Former Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Edita Tahiri, has publicly shared for the first time the two options that Kosovo had for the creation of the Special Court, as well as the reasons why it was chosen to be established by local institutions.

Speaking about the political background of the creation of the Court, Tahiri revealed that at the time its establishment was discussed, Kosovo had two options: either its creation by the UN Security Council, which would make it untenable due to the veto of Russia and China, or its establishment through domestic institutions, which, according to the Americans, could be undone in the future.

She emphasized that this was the reason why Kosovo agreed to establish the Court itself, although the process remains contested.

“First, in every liberation war, there has always been some kind of court, we are talking globally. Second, there are many debates in Kosovo and they are controversial: ‘Why was it voted, why did the Parliament vote for it…’ I have not said it often, tonight I will say it. The court had 2 options. The first option was for the Security Council to do it, the second option was for Kosovo to do it itself. From conversations with the Americans, they have explained to us that if it is done by the Security Council, it cannot be undone because it will be a Russian veto. If it is done, Russia will block it first, but also China and that is why it has been suggested that you better make your own institutions, so that we can undo them. Pro-undoing is not a word of mouth. How is it possible, there are so many financial investments for this Court, that investigations are delayed for 5 years? These are the dissatisfactions. The decisions of justice, when they are fair and impartial, Kosovo accepts them. The leaders themselves accepted them. Kosovo is known for cooperation with international justice. That’s why we think it’s unfair. It’s not transparent. Two or three days ago there was news, ‘detention for Hashim Thaçi postponed’, they had given an explanation but it wasn’t convincing.

I say that the Court in principle should be outside of political influences. Even today, when it was not made by the Security Council, it was made by Kosovo, influences from other countries are not excluded. But in any case, I am confident that this great support we have from America will not allow any greater injustice to happen than what is happening. We are alive, we are the ones who did it together. We, the leaders, have also had the people behind us with courage. This was a very strong message for the Special Court in The Hague,” said Tahiri.