Gudzic: The Hague Tribunal dropped the Racak case, but it remains important for Kosovo's political elites

Historian Aleksandar Gudzic told Kosovo Online that Kosovo's political elites have spent the past three decades building their position on the narrative of the KLA's heroic struggle and the notion of exclusive Albanian victimhood, with the Racak case at the very top of that narrative.

"They claim a kind of exclusivity when it comes to Albanian victimhood, and Racak stands at the top of that pyramid. That is why it is entirely understandable why Racak is being emphasized precisely now, when we know that the trial of the KLA's political leadership is approaching its conclusion. In that context, with the trial nearing its end, there is a possibility that Kosovo's political elites, judging by the course of the proceedings so far, are trying to preempt a certain outcome. That is why they are now initiating proceedings related to Racak, even though, I repeat, the Hague Tribunal dropped that case during the trials of the military and political leadership," Gudzic said, adding that in the case against Slobodan Milosevic, the Hague Tribunal ultimately abandoned the Racak case as well.

He further noted that the political elites of Western European countries, as well as Kosovo's political elites, built their positions on the wars of the 1990s, which ended with the bombing of Serbia.

"For that reason, the narrative of Racak, the exclusivity of Albanian victimhood, and the KLA's heroic struggle remains important for the domestic public in Kosovo. At the same time, the bombing of Serbia and the international intervention are also important for the political elites of Western European countries, which built part of their political legitimacy on the events of the wars of the 1990s," Gudzic said.