Old divisions and accusations persist even after The Hague judgment

It is no surprise that the governing majority and the opposition are locked in perpetual conflict. There is no doubt that this also characterizes relations between Albania’s two main political parties, the ruling Socialist Party and the opposition Democrats. Nevertheless, there has traditionally been a common position on issues regarded as matters of national importance.

Written by: Bledar Kuka

With the approval of all parties—and without even holding a vote, but rather by acclamation—the Albanian Parliament adopted a declaration condemning the decision to imprison four former KLA commanders, beginning with former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and including the other three. The declaration also expressed “belief in their innocence” and in “the just nature of the KLA’s war,” while claiming that they had been convicted amid attempts by Serbia and Russia to politically instrumentalize the proceedings. However, even within this unified position, sharp differences soon emerged.

One of the longest-serving members of the Albanian Parliament, former Deputy Prime Minister and former Foreign Minister Tritan Shehu, speaking to Kosovo Online, sharply criticized the Socialist majority and Prime Minister Rama, who for the past two years have rejected a Democratic Party resolution condemning what the Democrats describe as the “Serbian genocide in Kosovo.”

“Undoubtedly, the adoption of a joint declaration in the Assembly opposing this unprecedented decision—an act that truly lacks any legal basis or evidence, a decision that tarnishes and strikes at something that is indisputable and untainted, namely Kosovo’s war of liberation, the KLA’s war against Milosevic’s aggression and crimes—is a positive step. Our declaration is undoubtedly a positive action. It was adopted jointly, which I welcome and which I voted for. However, we must clearly state that this declaration cannot mark the end or completion of the Albanian Parliament’s entire legal framework for condemning the crimes of the Serbian army, recognizing and condemning the genocide in Kosovo, and directing and obliging the Albanian Government to assist the Kosovo Government in preparing and submitting a final application to the International Court. That cannot be the case, which is why on that very day, and indeed even the day before, we submitted a resolution on behalf of the Democratic Party parliamentary group. For the sake of truth, I must say that this is a resolution we submitted to the Assembly several years ago, but which, unfortunately, Edi Rama’s majority has systematically blocked in an arbitrary and entirely anti-national manner,” Shehu said.

Political analyst and veteran journalist Ben Andoni, on the other hand, says Albanian politics appears to have a short memory when it comes to declarations or resolutions concerning Kosovo.

“The declaration adopted by the Assembly after extensive discussions between the two parties produced only one positive element: for the first time in a long while, the opposition and the governing majority joined together in supporting this declaration concerning the innocence of the four KLA members in The Hague. That was a positive element. It would be wrong to say that this action came too late, because the decision had been handed down only two days before the declaration was adopted. However, this declaration once again brought extraordinary disputes and demonstrated a failure to properly formulate parliamentary documents. I must draw your attention to the fact that, over the past two years in particular, the Democratic Party has repeatedly pointed to the absence of a resolution condemning Serbian crimes in Kosovo, whereas the truth is that there have been several resolutions and declarations by the Albanian Parliament from 1991 until recently. In a way, this demonstrates the stagnation and profound contradictions within Albanian politics, as well as an extremely high degree of polarization,” Andoni said.

Another analyst with extensive knowledge of regional affairs is Gezim Podgorica, a former Albanian Ambassador to Kosovo and former Director of the Albanian Telegraphic Agency. He considers the declaration a positive step, but says lobbying by Tirana and Pristina should take concrete form—not through declarations, but by helping Kosovo gain admission to important European organizations.

“The Assembly’s reaction was expected and certainly necessary. I believe that other institutional steps must also be taken, in coordination with the Kosovo Government, in response to the decision in The Hague. Of course, this is a judicial matter that cannot be resolved by states, whether through declarations or rallies, but lobbying at the institutional level must take place. What do I mean by lobbying? The primary objective should be for Kosovo to become an integral part of important European organizations. Kosovo should therefore become a member of the Council of Europe. By joining the Council of Europe, Kosovo would have the opportunity to challenge decisions of this nature before the Strasbourg Court. Without membership in the Council of Europe, Kosovo cannot exercise that right. This is a major disadvantage because it deprives Kosovo of the possibility of challenging this decision, in addition to the possibility of appealing before the Court of Appeals in The Hague. The Governments of Albania and Kosovo should therefore cooperate. In my view, this would constitute very concrete and effective lobbying. Why? Because other forms of lobbying have value, but states cannot interfere in the policies of judicial institutions,” Podgorica said.

Former Foreign Minister Shehu, one of the leading opposition figures in parliament, doubts Albania’s ability to assist Kosovo in the appeals process, pointing to what he considers the damage Rama has caused to coordinated action among Albanians in the region and his unprincipled rapprochement with Aleksandar Vucic.

“The Albanian Government must clearly understand that our relationship with Kosovo is our priority. Relations with Serbia cannot take precedence over Kosovo. I was Foreign Minister, and I absolutely agree that state-to-state relations with Serbia must be normal, but not beyond certain limits, and they cannot remain unaffected by relations between Serbia and Kosovo. The Albanian factor must coordinate its actions. That means Albania, Kosovo, the Albanians of Macedonia and those in Montenegro should coordinate in order to strengthen the political activity of the Albanian factor, which will undoubtedly become united in the near future when the region becomes part of the European Union and borders lose their significance. For now, however, our actions must be coordinated. Unfortunately, the Albanian Government has not only failed to play its role in recent years, but has also damaged this coordination. Let us not forget that the Albanian Government called for sanctions against Kosovo. It was aggressive toward Kosovo, created divisions in North Macedonia and had problems in Montenegro. We were not united, and Albania consequently lost its leading role in the region, both in terms of regional stability and the region’s European path, by aligning itself with Vucic. Whether initially through the Balkan Mini-Schengen or later through the Open Balkan initiative, it became an appendage of Vucic and, through him, of Russia’s Eurasian arrangement, of which Vucic is a part. That is the most important issue, because all of this, and the weakening of the Albanian factor, has repercussions everywhere. We should not think that it does not. It also affects the judicial proceedings in The Hague,” Shehu said.

Andoni also doubts the ability of Kosovo and Albania to exert the necessary influence in connection with proceedings before the Court of Appeals in The Hague, although for different reasons.

“For the time being, there is no joint plan, so to speak, being developed for Kosovo and Albania to lobby in connection with the appeal. I am speaking on the basis of what is publicly known. The appeals process will take an extremely long time, will require a different level of human resources and, above all, extensive preparation. I believe that Albania and Kosovo lack that,” Andoni said.

Podgorica is optimistic that the judgment could be changed on appeal, but is also deeply concerned by what he considers the political aggressiveness of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, which, in his view, is damaging its prospects in The Hague by failing to help establish the new institutions in Pristina.

“I believe that the outcome before the Court of Appeals must necessarily be positive. How can that be achieved? Given Prime Minister Kurti’s statement from the United States that Kosovo will challenge this decision, I hope that he will argue that it was unjust and present the facts on which the challenge to the first-instance judgment will be based. Such engagement by the Prime Minister of Kosovo will undoubtedly produce a positive result before the Court of Appeals. What needs to change is the approach of the Democratic Party of Kosovo. It has submitted to the Kosovo Assembly proposed amendments to the law aimed at making certain changes concerning the Court’s jurisdiction and the scope of the legal effect of the decisions of the Court in The Hague. The Democratic Party of Kosovo’s approach should be more concrete and appropriate, and it should abandon its aggressive stance. It should do everything in its power to ensure that Kosovo’s institutions are established, because establishing Kosovo’s institutions lends greater credibility both to the appeal and to new applications before the Court of Appeals,” Podgorica explained.

In his view, Thaci’s party bears considerable responsibility for the lack of lobbying regarding the proceedings in The Hague and for obstructing assistance from the Albanian Government.
 

“I do not believe that strained relations between the leaders of Kosovo and Albania prevented cooperation in this area. I place primary responsibility on the Democratic Party of Kosovo. One might say that the Democratic Party of Kosovo was not in government. Of course it was not, but it should not have monopolized the defense of the four senior KLA leaders. It should have broadened it into an issue concerning Kosovo as a whole. In this particular case, the Kosovo Government provided more than EUR 40 million for their defense, to pay lawyers and fund the defense infrastructure, meaning that the Kosovo Government did act, and did so in a very concrete manner. The Albanian Government should have cooperated, including financially, since there is no taboo against providing financial support for their defense in The Hague, and there should have been greater institutional cooperation between the two countries. However, while responsibility for their defense in Kosovo was only partial, with cooperation limited to the financial aspect and the matter not forming part of the Kosovo Government’s agenda in terms of public and diplomatic engagement, the Albanian Government was likewise reserved in this regard,” Podgorica said.

Finally, Andoni pointed to what he described as an obvious development following the judgment in The Hague convicting the four former KLA commanders.

“Some of the people who previously said that Thaci should be brought to justice have now joined the chorus of those saying that Thaci is innocent. That is the contradiction this moment has produced,” Andoni stressed.