Karaj: The Albanian Parliament’s resolution on KLA leaders will have no impact in The Hague

Political analyst and owner of the LEAL law office in Tirana, Leonard Karaj, told Kosovo Online that the resolution adopted by the Albanian Parliament in support of former KLA leaders currently on trial before the Specialist Court was long expected, but he believes it will have no impact whatsoever in The Hague.

“In such cases, in judicial proceedings — especially in The Hague — we must finally understand that it is almost impossible to exert pressure on or influence the judges. What should have been done in a timely manner was lobbying within the sphere of judicial practice. In other words, lobbying in the ‘corridors’ of The Hague court, because such lobbying is something normal. Other forms of intervention are impossible. We did not do that. Perhaps it was not done because they did not know how to do it or did not want to do it. Perhaps there was not much interest in this issue,” Karaj says.

Despite the resolution adopted in the parliament in Tirana, he emphasizes that Albania — and especially Kosovo — should have done much more regarding Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi in The Hague five or six years ago.

“Among other things, there is no official position from Prime Minister Kurti on this matter. Throughout all these years, I cannot find a single case where Mr. Kurti, as Prime Minister of Kosovo, expressed any kind of dissatisfaction with what is happening to Hashim Thaçi, his political opponent. I have never heard Albin Kurti mention Hashim Thaçi’s name. I have never heard him mention the names of those being tried in The Hague. It appears as if they are not Albanians. It seems that a political opponent is your enemy. That is a very vulgar approach for someone who promoted himself as a politician with an open mindset,” Karaj stated.

He believes that the steps taken by Croatia during the trial of Ante Gotovina should have served as an example.

“The entire pan-Croatian world — not only the Croatian state — raised funds. Agreements were made with the largest law firms in the world, and strong lobbying efforts were carried out in defense of what they considered vital to themselves. This is because it is not merely about winning a court case. We are talking about a national issue. In this case, the fate of Kosovo is at stake. We are moving toward the idea that the war of the Kosovo Liberation Army was terrorist in nature, rather than a war of liberation. We are not speaking here about the fate of four political members of the KLA — and they were not even military commanders of the KLA,” Karaj opines.

As he adds, these are extremely expensive trials with very high fees, and in previous years some defense lawyers representing the four defendants in The Hague withdrew precisely due to financial problems.

“Was it really such a problem for Albania and Kosovo — or for the Albanian diaspora — to raise funds for a more effective defense? I do not believe it was. The Albanian state and the state of Kosovo should have invested in this matter, which is a national issue. This is not about four individuals who appeared before The Hague court. As a lawyer, I do not wish to enter into the question of whether they are right or wrong. The court will decide how guilty or innocent they are. Of course, any Albanian may say they are innocent, and any Serb may say they are guilty. Someone else decides that. The question is why our governments in Pristina and Tirana did not work on this issue, which they now declare to be a national issue. Why was this not done six years ago?” the analyst concludes.