The Hague indictment: what the resignation of the president of Kosovo can lead to

The president of the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, has resigned.

He made this decision after the Special Court in The Hague upheld the indictment against him for the war crimes of 1998-1999. 

“In order to protect the sovereignty of Kosovo, respecting the partnership with the international community, today I am submitting my resignation from the presidency.

In the new circumstances, I call on political forces for unity so that there is no institutional crisis, ”Thaci said during a press conference broadcast on his Facebook page.

In addition, the ex-president of Kosovo has promised to voluntarily go to The Hague.

The Serbian news agency Tanjuk later reported that Thaci had surrendered to the EU's Rule of Law Mission (EULEX).

Earlier, the Special Court in The Hague extended the secrecy of the indictment against Thaci and other key figures of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) military-political organization.

At the end of April, an indictment was issued by the special prosecutor's office of the International Court of Crimes in Kosovo (SPO).

It was reported that the suspects were charged with about 100 murders of Kosovars of different nationalities.

As a reminder, the special court for Kosovo was created to consider crimes committed in the period from 1998 to 2000 in Kosovo.

This structure was formed after the publication in 2010 of the PACE report, in which it was reported that members of the KLA were involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping and murder of people, and trafficking in human organs.

A special court was stationed in The Hague to ensure the independence of its work.

• Special court in the Hague for crimes in Kosovo

• AFP

• © Phil nijhuis / ANP

"An important event for Kosovo"

Georgy Engelhardt, a researcher at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is confident that Tachi's resignation is "an important event for Kosovo."

According to the expert, for twenty years Thaci headed the authorities of the Kosovar Albanians, wielding enormous influence within the Kosovar-Albanian society.

“And the fact that he has now been quite firmly pushed back from his first political roles means the coming to power and consolidation of the next generation of politicians in Pristina, who, I hope, will not have a bloody military past behind them,” the expert said in a conversation with RT.

At the same time, as Engelhardt clarified, "one should not expect a significant political crisis after Thaci's resignation."

According to Elena Guskova, head of the Center for the Study of the Contemporary Balkan Crisis at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the resignation of Hashim Thaci "will certainly affect the negotiation process that is going on between Pristina and Belgrade."

“The showdown of various political clans inside Kosovo is an important factor for the negotiation process.

Depending on who will negotiate and which political line will win in Kosovo, we will be able to talk about the degree of effectiveness of the negotiation process, ”the expert said.

However, Georgy Engelhardt took a slightly different position.

In his opinion, Thaci's resignation "will not greatly affect the negotiation process" of Belgrade and Pristina.

“After all, the instructions of Washington and Brussels are behind the decisions of Kosovo in these negotiations.

Pristina politicians on the whole almost always follow the instructions in a fairly disciplined way.

Personalities change, but the common logic of the West remains: Washington and the European Union are putting pressure on Serbia to voluntarily renounce its sovereignty, in fact, to recognize the secession of Kosovo and not to hinder its entry into international organizations and the final registration of independence.

And work in this direction on the part of our Western colleagues will continue, ”the analyst said.

Let us remind you that the negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina with the mediation of the United States were held in Washington on September 4.

Then the summit of Serbian President Aleksandr Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Avdulla Hoti ended with the signing of an agreement on the normalization of economic relations.

At the same time, the Serbian leader told reporters that he was offered to sign a document providing for the recognition of the independence of the rebellious region, but he refused.

• Belgrade-Pristina talks in Washington

• Twitter

• © @WHNSC

The next meeting of representatives of Serbia and Kosovo took place a few days later, on September 7, in Brussels, mediated by the EU leadership.  

“At our meetings today, we talked about economic cooperation, as well as missing and displaced persons - we discussed topics that were opened during our last high-level meeting.

And I am pleased to announce that we have made full progress in conducting these discussions, ”said the official statement of the EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak.

According to the special representative, during the negotiations between Vucic and Hoti, the issue of settling mutual financial claims and property issues was raised, as well as agreements regarding the communities of national minorities were discussed.

New president

As Pavel Kandel, a leading researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted in an interview with RT, after Thaci's resignation, early presidential elections should be held in Kosovo.

“But the point is that the president is elected by the parliament.

And this will be a rather difficult process, since the current ruling coalition has a rather fragile majority, and it does not have the required number of deputies to elect its candidate for the presidency.

For this reason, a rather long period of political turmoil lies ahead, ”the analyst explained.

According to him, "the internal political turbulence, which is formed as a result of a vacuum in the presidential office, will affect all participants in the political process in Kosovo."

"The internal political struggle between clans and parties will noticeably liven up," the expert believes.

At the same time, as Kandel noted, "external players may try to influence the appointment of a new president."

“Kosovo practically exists on the money of the European Union and at the same time depends on the US authorities, therefore they are extremely sensitive to any teams from the West.

However, when clan party interests are affected, patrons can go against it.

And this has happened more than once.

Western colleagues, of course, will try to take any part in the election of a new president, but it is difficult to say how it will all end, ”the expert said.

Kandel recalled that the ruling party in Kosovo is the Democratic League, and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo party of Ramush Haradinaj is in coalition with it.  

“Haradinai himself is unlikely to risk nominating himself, since he is already under the scrutiny of the Special Court in The Hague.

And the Democratic League, most likely, will nominate its chairman - it is ex-prime minister Isa Mustafa.

The first time they, of course, will not be able to provide him with the required number of votes, so, most likely, there will be several attempts.

But in the end they can succeed, ”the expert concluded.