Gudzic: Hague judgments cast a shadow over the nature of the KLA’s struggle

Historian from Gracanica Aleksandar Gudzic said that the judgments against Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi in The Hague had cast a shadow over the nature of the KLA’s struggle, given that the prevailing view in Kosovo had been that “the war was just.”

“Justice has been partially served. The judgment and the entire proceedings excluded the period of late 1999 and early 2000, when more than 250,000 Serbs were expelled and Operation ‘Broom’ was carried out. The judgment against Hashim Thaci itself concerns murder, cruel treatment, unlawful detention and other war crimes. The judgment will have an impact on Kosovo itself,” Gudzic told Kosovo Online.

According to him, the judgment will not determine Kosovo’s status, but it will have an impact on the internal political situation in Kosovo.

“Until now, the dominant narrative in Kosovo has been that the Kosovo Liberation Army fought a war of liberation and a just war, while these judgments cast a shadow over the nature of the KLA’s struggle,” he added.

Gudzic said that Albanians would direct their dissatisfaction with the Hague judgment toward Serbs.

“We will certainly see dissatisfaction among Albanian extremists in Kosovo who are unhappy with the judgment, and, as has traditionally been the case, they will direct that dissatisfaction toward Serbs. Whether this will remain at the level of provocations or escalate into more serious incidents remains to be seen,” he said.