WHO IS WHO – Agron Limani: KLA commander and critic of the Specialist Court appointed head of the Missing Persons Commission

The new Chairman of the Government of Kosovo's Commission on Missing Persons as of today is Agron Limani—a former KLA commander who led an association assisting missing persons and testified before the Specialist Court in The Hague, whose work he criticized.

Limani was born in 1966 in Mala Krusa. He graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pristina in 1991.

From 1993 to 2005, he worked as a physics teacher at a secondary school in Prizren.

He joined the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) and was appointed commander of the 124th Brigade during the war.

In Mala Krusa, he lost his father, brother, and three relatives, about which he later testified before the Specialist Court.

Speaking to BIRN about that testimony, he stated that "in that war crimes trial there were ten victims and none of them sought compensation," criticizing Kosovo's legislation for failing to ensure equal treatment for victims of crimes.

Specialist Court

Limani testified before the Specialist Court in 2020 and described the court's work as "anti-Albanian." He claimed that it had been established due to the long-standing failure to prosecute Serbian war crimes and the inefficiency of Kosovo's institutions.

"Years of indifference by our institutions toward Serbian crimes served as a sufficient reason for the establishment of this discriminatory anti-Albanian court. Serbia continuously spread lies for 20 years, while our institutions failed to document war crimes. Institutional silence, both domestic and international, was the best way to conceal Serbian crimes. That is why it is no coincidence that Serbs went from being perpetrators to victims. Instead of establishing competent bodies to collect facts and evidence about Serbian crimes, the leaders of our institutions were primarily concerned with enriching themselves," Limani stated at the time.

He also wrote that Kosovo's "political class raised the issue of Serbian crimes whenever it served personal or group interests, but never with institutional seriousness."

"I would not feel right if, at the end of this statement, I did not thank those who made this court possible—the members of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo and their sponsors. Their names will undoubtedly be written in 'golden' letters in the annals of Kosovo's history and justice," Limani wrote on Facebook in January 2020.

Self-Determination Movement

After the war, Limani became an activist of the Self-Determination Movement (Vetevendosje) and headed the Association of Missing Persons' Families "March 26," which advocates the restoration of the previous pension system.

Speaking about Limani, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that they had known each other for more than two decades and that they had jointly organized actions "in the pursuit of justice," such as the 2004 protest in front of UNMIK offices, where they published a list of 56 people suspected of involvement in the crime in Velika Krusa.

In July 2020, Limani was appointed Director of the Directorate for Agriculture and Rural Development in Prizren.

He remained in that position for slightly more than a year, until the 2021 local elections, when the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) won in Prizren.

As of today, following a decision by Kosovo's acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Limani will head the Commission on Missing Persons, replacing Andin Hoti.