The international context of the Ramadani case

Written for Kosovo Online by Zeljko Sajn

The Ramadani case has expanded beyond the jurisdiction of the judiciary, gaining not only internal political but also international significance, particularly in the relations between North Macedonia and Serbia. It is expected that the case will also gain multilateral weight among global political giants such as the USA, the EU, and the United Kingdom.

Despite numerous issues in the Balkans within the framework of global perspectives and European integration efforts, and despite the fact that North Macedonia has recognized Kosovo's independence, Serbia and North Macedonia maintain bilateral relations at an admirable level, without any open issues. Serbia has shown great understanding for every action taken by its southern neighbor, the 30th NATO member, which navigates through the waves of conditional good-neighborly relations. Greece blocked its Euro-Atlantic integration for thirty years, conditioning it on changing the state's name. Today, Bulgaria is placing barriers to its European aspirations by demanding a new amendment to the Constitution. Albania insists on protecting its population in this territory, while Albanian parties are increasingly gaining influence under the Macedonian political sun.

The Macedonian people expressed their stance on the governance of the SDSM and DUI coalition in the last elections in this country, dissatisfied with its actions both externally and internally. Among other things, one of the contentious issues raised not only by their opponents but also by the American and Dutch administrations is the issue of the rule of law and personnel issues in the judiciary and prosecution, based on ethnic and unqualified selection. The Ramadani case has now confirmed this.

The Criminal Court in Skopje, through its decisions and rulings, allowed Ramadani to escape from house arrest. The Supreme Court of North Macedonia, by returning the case to the Criminal Court, confirmed the mistake made by Judge Pajaziti. According to the Prime Minister, he was a favorite judge of the former ruling coalition partners.

In North Macedonia, party, national, and ethnic polarization is clearly noticeable. However, although there is political confrontation among Albanian parties, they are united in certain goals. One of them is to prevent Ramadani's extradition to Serbia, his release, and his escape to Pristina, where he is now located. The Albanian party DUI, which evolved from the Albanian Liberation Army in Macedonia and which engaged in armed conflict with this state and its armed forces in 2001, relying on the KLA, advocated the most for Ramadani to be released and not extradited to Serbia, despite the fact that the warrant explained he committed a crime on its territory.

Prime Minister Mickoski encouraged the High Judicial Council to thoroughly review the competence of judges, and it is not excluded that similar personnel cleansing will occur in the prosecutions as well. This is an opportunity to elevate the rule of law to the level it should be, and to implement personnel changes based on expertise, which will accelerate this country's accession to the EU. This can also strengthen bilateral relations with neighbors, especially between judicial authorities and interior ministries.

The Ramadani case has shown how much parties can influence the judiciary and compel the release of a person arrested on an international Interpol warrant. In this chain were certain officials from systemic institutions supporting the latent centuries-old desire of Albanians to live in a single state, a goal first actualized by Adem Demaçi in the 1960s, and today supported by his student Kurti in Pristina.

The actions of the United Kingdom have given Albanians momentum in achieving this centuries-old goal. Namely, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair sought support from U.S. President Bill Clinton for NATO members to bomb FR Yugoslavia without UN Security Council approval. After the first days of bombing, the British were again the loudest, threatening to continue attacks on Yugoslavia, which was confirmed by British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. With such support, KLA soldiers received substantial allied military backing, which resulted in a series of criminal actions, and later, with the involvement of the Quint countries and others, the declaration of Kosovo's independence without respecting international law, the UN Charter, and Resolution 1244 on Serbia's territorial integrity.

Ali Ahmeti, the leader of DUI and one of the main founders of the KLA, was at the EULEX headquarters in Pristina, where he was questioned for two days under the order of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office of so-called Kosovo based in The Hague, which is investigating crimes during the war in Kosovo and Metohija. Ahmeti asked VLEN, the Albanian opposition in power, to explicitly state its position on the Ramadani case. Medzeti, the first Deputy Prime Minister from the VLEN coalition, openly stated that Ramadani should be released, long before DUI called out VLEN. In contrast, Ivan Stoiljkovic, at least publicly, did not comment on this case, which directly affects bilateral relations with Serbia. Former mayor of the Centar municipality Saso Bogdanovic questioned whether the Ramadani case should provoke a conflict according to Kurti's scenario and worsen relations with Serbia.

Regarding the Ramadani case, it is crucial how the Quint countries and the EU will behave and what they will demand in the implementation of the rule of law on the path of European integration processes. It should not be forgotten that criminal cases do not legally expire and are an excellent argument for Brussels negotiations alongside Resolution 1244 for the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

Finally, the question remains open as to who directed Ramadani to North Macedonia and with what aim, given that it was known he was on an international Interpol warrant. Is this a provocation by Serbia through Mickoski, who announced that DUI is preparing a hot political autumn? It is certain that there will be work for both political and competent authorities in the judiciary and in the legislative body of North Macedonia, as well as for the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for war crimes in Kosovo and Metohija.