Brussels, 23/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 23 April, the Kosovo Parliament approved the extension of the EULEX police and justice mission (European Union rule of law mission in Kosovo) until June 2016. It also approved the creation of a war crimes court.
With 89 votes in favour, 22 against and 2 abstentions, the members of parliament gave their agreement to the project aiming to set up an international court in charge of judging the war crimes committed by guerrillas during the Serbia-Kosovo conflict in 1998 and 1999. This court is called for by the EU and is intended to be part of Kosovo's judicial system, according to the draft law.
One of its first missions will be to examine an investigation currently led by a special group of investigators from the EU to check the allegations contained in the Marty report published by the Council of Europe in December 2010. These allegations focus, inter alia, on the alleged organ trafficking of 500 Serbian and Roma prisoners during the war and challenge Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, who was then head of the separatist guerrillas. Before the vote, Thaçi said that this court was going to “exonerate the name of Kosovo, tarnished by the unfair accusations published in the Marty report”. While this court is “unjust and represents the biggest insult that can be addressed to Kosovo”, it is however, “the only option”, he added (our translation).
On 22 April, the EU special representative in Pristina and the member states represented in Kosovo called on the members of parliament to approve the law that “will support the transitioning of EULEX's mandate and will create a specialist court to adjudicate over allegations against specific individuals who may or may not have committed serious crimes”. They recognised that it was a “sensitive and difficult decision”.
The conflict in Kosovo claimed around 13,000 victims, most of them Kosovar Albanians. (CG)