Radojkovic: Violence against Serbs will continue regardless of whether former KLA leaders are convicted or acquitted

Historian Stefan Radojkovic told Kosovo Online that people across the region are probably all waiting for the verdict in the case against the former KLA leaders with skepticism, albeit for different reasons. Regardless of whether the verdict is a conviction or an acquittal, he believes that violence against Serbs in Kosovo will continue.

Radojkovic noted that Serbia and the Serbian people do not have a good experience with international courts, although in this case it is a hybrid court.

“We do not expect justice to be served. On the other hand, Pristina and Tirana fear that justice will not be served in the way they expect, in other words, that it will be shown that the KLA was far from being a heroic, brave, liberationist and democratic organization, but rather a structure made up of terrorists, separatists and mafia figures, that is, criminal networks in northern Albania, and above all in Kosovo and Metohija,” Radojkovic said.

In his view, violence against Serbs will continue regardless of whether the verdict is a conviction or an acquittal, only the motivation will be different.

“If there is a conviction, it will be an expression of revenge and retribution, while if there is an acquittal, it will be triumphalism. In that case, it will show that there is impunity for crimes, particularly those committed against other ethnic groups. It should be recalled that Thaci and his associates are on trial here for crimes against Serbs, Roma and other Albanians who were political opponents of the KLA, and this will be interpreted as meaning that crimes committed against Serbs and Roma are more or less permitted and that even now there will be no major consequences if there are disturbances, incidents or attacks in predominantly Serbian areas,” the historian pointed out.

In his assessment, Pristina, particularly Albin Kurti’s government, probably has the most reason to be concerned about the verdict.

“If there is an acquittal or a more favorable verdict for Thaci and his associates, Veseli and the others, this could potentially boost the PDK's ratings and make life more difficult for him in the period ahead, as well as for the next election cycle that he is probably planning for December. In that regard, Albin Kurti will of course send messages that he supports the KLA, the KLA's struggle for the freedom of the Albanian people in Kosovo and so on, but privately he will probably be wary of an acquittal, which could potentially undermine his chances of winning convincingly in future elections for the Pristina administration,” Radojkovic said.