Kosovo president accuses int’l community of not keeping word

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo’s president on Monday accused the international community of not keeping its end of the bargain after the country created an unpopular war crimes court to prosecute ethnic Albanians in cases linked to Kosovo’s war.

Hashim Thaci said among the things that international officials promised in return were to fast-track Kosovo for European Union and UNESCO membership and visa liberalization, and allow Kosovo to form a military.

Kosovo created the court but the international community didn’t do any of the things it promised, he said. Kosovo’s special court was inaugurated at The Hague last year, but it hasn’t processed any cases.

Nineteen international judges from European Union member countries, the U.S. and Canada are based in The Hague, with jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under Kosovo law that allegedly occurred between Jan. 1, 1998, and Dec. 31, 2000.

About 10,000 people died and 1,700 went missing during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war, which ended after NATO intervened on behalf of the Albanian majority.

Thaci said he agreed to lead “an unfair historical process for Kosovo despite opposition from the public, political and civil opinion to this court, in order to protect the strategic partnership with U.S., EU and NATO.” Thaci said the court was unfair to Kosovo.