Petronijevic: Thaci is not being tried for justice, but because he was ready to compromise with Belgrade

Lawyer Goran Petronijevic believes that the accused former KLA commanders before the Special Court in The Hague, especially Hashim Thaci, are not being tried in order to reach the truth and justice but rather because Thaci was ready to compromise with Belgrade prior to his arrest.

Petronijevic says for Kosovo Online that the trial of former KLA commanders so far has demonstrated that The Hague does not want the narrative about the KLA to be undermined, which is why, he adds, the trials are mostly closed to the public.

"My view from the beginning is that the focus of all these indictments and verdicts will be on the suffering of Albanians caused by Albanians. What does that matter to us, apart from the fact that it will become evident that they were killing each other. That is the only satisfaction for Serbs, to have a kind of burden lifted from our shoulders," Petronijevic says.

He adds that when it comes to crimes against Serbs and non-Albanians, "there will be a delay in providing evidence."

"All those Albanians who testify as witnesses regarding Albanian victims will not and are not willing to talk about Serbian or other non-Albanian victims, and this can be seen in the trials so far. We can expect that this will be a trial of Albanians for their criminal and political mutual destruction," Petronijevic said.

He says that Serbs are mentioned in the indictments, but he is pessimistic about proving the truth about what happened to them.

"Exactly because Albanian witnesses are reluctant to talk about it because they are intimidated. However, when it comes to their internal conflicts, they remember everything very well, and there is much more evidence and witnesses in that direction," Petronijevic states.

Speaking about the closed proceedings, he says that it indicates that neither the defense nor the prosecution is responsible for it.

"The motive of the prosecution for the closed nature of the process would probably be pressure from some side to prevent certain things from being revealed, as that would likely undermine the narrative about the KLA and their liberation character. That could be a reason, as well as covering up the role of NATO in all of this. I am inclined to believe that it is both," Petronijevic emphasizes.

He points out that his thesis is that the former KLA commanders are not being tried to reach the truth and justice.

"My thesis is that Thaci and the others are being tried not to reach the truth and justice and to punish the perpetrators of crimes, but rather because Thaci was ready to compromise with Belgrade, and that did not suit the US and the part of the international community behind them. They removed them so that they would not do anything with Belgrade against their will. Something that would not fully respect the interests of Western powers. They are interested in those interests, not in Serbs, Albanians, victims, or crimes. If it weren't for their interests being the primary ones in all of this, we would have reached some kind of agreement with the Albanians long ago," Petronijevic concluded.