ICTY acquittal of Albanian war-crime suspects does not serve justice and reconciliation in Kosovo and Metohija

SERBIAN UNITY CONGRESS (USA)

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 6, 2005

 

CONTACT: Andy Verich 202-463-8643

 

The Serbian Unity Congress (SUC) hereby expresses its deep disappointment with circumstances surrounding the November 30 ICTY verdict regarding the gruesome crimes by Kosovo Albanian separatists (KLA) at the Lapusnik prison camp, and the consequent acquittal of the top two out of three suspects due to alleged lack of evidence of their involvement.

 

Significantly, the Trial Chamber determined the existence of a KLA-run prison camp for civilians, the execution of at least 12 loyalist Yugoslav citizens of both Albanian and Serbian ethnicity and the fact that scores of others were subjected to "crimes of torture" and "cruel treatment." However, the present judgment appears contradictory, given the ICTY's liberal interpretation of proof "beyond reasonable doubt" within its accepted principle of chain-of-command responsibility (particularly for alleged Serb-perpetrated crimes), and thus strengthens suspicions about the court's impartiality.

 

On a broader plain, the ruling begs a more important question: beyond prison guard Haradin Bala acting on orders, who then is responsible for the proven horrific crimes against civilians in an organized camp run by a military organization, the acknowledged backbone of today's Kosovo Albanian political elite? If indeed Fatmir Limaj and Isak Musliu are not the KLA commanders responsible for the Lapusnik crimes (among many others) - can't the organizational structure of the KLA easily be ascertained by today's leading Kosovo politicians, who were among its founding fathers and leaders, and are now nominally committed to truth, justice and standards?

 

The SUC considers equally disturbing the reaction of the current Kosovo Albanian political class to the said judgment. Far from any concerns about the culprits of this and other hideous crimes, "moderate" Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova set the tone, immediately stating that "today's trial justifies the liberation struggle of Kosovo Albanians against Serbian occupation, the righteousness of the struggle for freedom and independence." He had nothing to say about the dozens of crime victims, yet expressed the hope that "not all legal possibilities have been exhausted" for freeing the sentenced Bala as well; other Kosovo Albanian leaders followed, praising the decision on the eve of status negotiations. With such moderates, who needs extremists? Utter disdain by the nominal head of the province for all his subjects who don't share an extreme secessionist vision increasingly casts this conflict away from the "Pristina vs. Belgrade" cliché into one of simple intolerance vs. compromise.

 

The implications of this heightened intolerance are not just a matter of late 1990s history, but have profound present relevance on the highly important standards implementation at the eve of future status talks for the UN-administered Serbian province. Just two days after the ICTY verdict, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) published a report asserting the devastating effects of lacking accountability for the well-known 2004 pogrom of Serbs and other non-Albanians, stating:

 

"The justice system failed to send out a clear message to the population condemning this type of violence [...] This relatively weak response ... not only contributes to the impression of impunity among the population for such kinds of ethnically motivated crimes but may also be considered inadequate to prevent similar acts of public disorder in the future".

 

In light of all these facts, and in the interest of genuine reconciliation and stability, the SUC calls on UNMIK and the International Community at large to seriously reconsider plans to fully hand over control over the judiciary to Kosovo's interim institutions (PISG) with the creation of justice and police ministries.

 

Furthermore, the SUC continues to maintain that lasting stability and prosperity in the Balkans are possible, just like elsewhere, only with factional reconciliation, which in turn requires truth and justice. Both the ICTY Lapusnik verdict, and the mindset of current Kosovo Albanian leaders displayed in its aftermath, are certain to obstruct this challenging process.