Jasharaj: Kosovo's symbolic response to the verdict should be to elect a president from the KLA

Political analyst Durim Jasharaj said that the ideal solution would be for Kosovo's political parties to sit at the same table and discuss the election of a president, proposing that the president be someone who comes from the ranks of the KLA.

Jasharaj said that, following the Special Court's decision against the former KLA leaders, electing a president from the ranks of that organization would represent a symbolic and political response by Kosovo.

“The ideal situation would be to invite all the parties and have them sit down and talk after the court's decision. The president is the first step toward a good beginning. Are we saying that the KLA has been convicted? Elect a president who comes from the KLA. Since they convicted our KLA, our response as Kosovo, symbolically and politically, would be a president who comes from the KLA. For example, someone from the Jashari family,” he said.

According to Jasharaj, such a decision would send a message that the KLA stands at the head of Kosovo.

“You have convicted the KLA, we are putting the KLA at the head of the state, to be the bearer of the state strategy on how we should conduct ourselves,” Jasharaj said, Koha reports.

Speaking about the lack of trust among political parties, he said that, in his view, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) had unfairly perceived the Hague proceedings as a case against its political leaders.

“Those being held in The Hague are not PDK presidents, but KLA leaders, and the approach would be different. They are not being held there as two or four people representing political parties,” he said.

Jasharaj also criticized the way the proposed amendments to the Law on the Kosovo Specialist Chambers are being handled.

“I believe this starting point is problematic, and the amendments being sought to the law on the Special Court, viewed from this perspective, also seem problematic to me,” he said.

He added that it is necessary to organize a public and parliamentary debate on the amendments to the law and on how Kosovo should respond to the current situation.

“It is not clear today what these amendments contribute to. There should be a public and parliamentary debate, and we should discuss what the best way to respond is,” Jasharaj said.

He also opposed equating the PDK with the KLA, stressing that the KLA is broader than any political entity.

“Any attempt to equate the PDK with the KLA is a mistake. The KLA is the whole, while the PDK is only one part, as are the Democratic League of Kosovo, the Self-Determination Movement and the Alliance. The people created the KLA,” Jasharaj concluded.