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President Thaçi’s address after his return from The Hague

Dear compatriots and fellow citizens, Sister and brothers of blood and language, Citizens of Kosovo, regardless of the language you speak and ethnicity you belong, Dear friends, you who represent friendly countries here in Prishtina and dear most valuable international partners, During this week, for four consecutive days, I carried out my civic and institutional duty by appearing in front of the Prosecutors of the Specialized Chambers in The Hague. I went through 30 hours of facing the prosecution body where I learned about all their allegations and I answered all their questions. I have full respect for the process of shedding light, until the very end, on the truth and on my role in the struggle for freedom and independence. For ethical reasons and due to legal constrains, I cannot elaborate details of this encounter. Still, I cannot go without sharing anything with you. I am aware that all of you stood by me with fraternal care and you all legitimately have questions about allegations of the Specialist Prosecutor against me. Dear citizens, I want to make three points while asking for your understanding that I don’t dwell in the details of this encounter. First: As I stated even before stepping on the gates of the court – the glorious history of our liberation struggle and state forming of an independent, democratic and European Kosovo cannot be rewritten by anyone! Today, I can tell you with full confidence that this process not only that will not rewrite this history, one that was written by the blood and sacrifices of a whole nation in the fight for freedom. On the contrary. In this process, no matter the path and no matter how long it will last, the glorious story of resistance, survival and the triumph over an occupier that aimed to annihilate Albanian people of Kosovo from the face of the Earth with strokes of ethnic fascism, once and for all will be rendered untouchable by anyone! Second: This latest process is another one among 21 years of accusations, allegations and fabrications about the Kosovo Liberation Army and the struggle of the people of Kosovo for freedom and sovereignty. This process will seal once and for all the historical role of the KLA as an indispensable and unalienated role for freedom, won for all the generations that will come, that will inherit Kosovo as an independent and democratic state. This ethnic contempt, mistreatment of Albanians from even before they were born, genocidal campaigns against inhabitants with historical rights over this land, repression that peaked with ethnic cleansing of genocidal dimensions, will be one of the darkest chapters of our history that cannot be ever repeated. And thirdly: Having had the opportunity and the honor to have a role in the war and in the path to independence and state-building of Kosovo; I am even more convinced today, even more determined than before this hearing, about the great value that the struggle and personal sacrifice to reveal this 22-year-old history, has. A history filled with wounds caused by accusations against myself and against our joint war alongside the USA, NATO, member states of the European Union and other allies, for the liberation of the people of Kosovo from the fascist dictatorship of Slobodan Milosevic and the Serbian state. My beloved, Tonight I want to reiterate that to me Kosovo always comes first, and as I was ready to give my life for Kosovo when I was still a young boy, today when I am a grey-haired parent I have no doubt that my duty is to defend Kosovo by not allowing that the process I’ve been included in unjustly, becomes an obstacle for the work towards a better future for Kosovo. Therefore, by thanking you from the bottom of my heart for this nationwide respect and solidarity, I want to ask you all to put Kosovo above any party differences, over daily glooms and dissatisfactions. Kosovo is a testament of our ancestors, our founding fathers, our martyrs, our heroes, of Hasan Prishtina, Shota and Azem, of Adem Jashari, Adem Demaci and Ibrahim Rugova, and hundreds and thousands of others who are the guardian angels of this land. Kosovo is a vision, but also a debt we owe to our children and to the children of our children. Those who are growing up in this land and those who will be born and live in the land that many attempted to take away from us, a land burnt and smeared with blood. It is our joint duty to build the path of democratic and multi-ethnic coexistence. This way we make our democracy stronger, improve wellbeing, and build bridges of lasting peace between each-other and our neighbors. More than ever, Kosovo needs a civilized dialogue between political actors, needs institutional stability, good governance, and political and citizens’ unity, especially in the dialogue for recognition by Serbia and the world. Today, Kosovo needs to foster plurality of thought and live with the healthy debate between government and opposition. However, at the same time we need to speak to the world with one voice and continue the dialogue with Serbia with an exemplary unity like the one we had in Rambouillet, Vienna, and in Brussels. Fellow citizens, Yesterday, I was a warrior in the service of Kosovo, and you’ve given me everything. You’ve trusted me with everything that can be given to a man by his country, his people! To build a new Kosovo, a European Kosovo, home to all its citizens I bow with respect to your trust. I am forever grateful. I haven’t been perfect, but I have always tried to do the best for my country and for you. I want to shake hands with each and every one of you, to give everyone a hug, and assure you that I will return to you with every cell of myself cleared of accusations and continue the journey with you and for you. Thank you!  

President Thaçi and HR Borrell agree for a one-year technical extension of the EULEX mandate

Prishtina, 11 July – President of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Hashim Thaçi, has agreed to a one-year technical extension of the mandate of the EULEX mission in an Exchange of letters with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Mr. Josep Borrell. The technical extension is agreed after the pandemic prevented negotiations for the future of the EULEX mandate.

The President’s address to the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo

Sisters and brothers, fellow citizens and compatriots, in Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Presheva Valley, and the diaspora, I address you tonight, from this office, where for 1542 days, I have had the extraordinary honor of exercising the high duty of the President of our country, a free, independent, and democratic Kosovo. My heart is hurt, but not broken. My mind weighs heavy, but is not bleary. My blood is heated, but clean and unified with the blood of my friends in arms whom I lost in the war. It is the same as the blood of those who have loved me and supported me without reservation in this journey of state-building. And, in these moments also those who have opposed me, prejudiced or judged me differently from what I would have liked. Today, more so than ever before, I feel completely liberated from the worry and weight of political strife. These worries have sometimes been given greater magnitude than what they deserved. They have blurred, in your eyes, the simple fact that we are all sons and daughters of this land and we all want what is best for Kosovo. But politics has these things too. Today I see clearer than ever before, that regardless of the good intentions of each, some more so and some less so, all of us, the political leaders of Kosovo during these 20 years of effort, in certain moments, have allowed politics to damage our great and shared purpose. It is entirely natural that at this moment, which is not easy for me, I be reminded of people who no longer live. Others that I have known along my already long road, from the time when I was an idealistic boy who wanted to change the world until today – with the grey hair. I have reminisced about historic moments and completely personal moments, and I have thought of my parents, my grandparents, my family and my son, Endrit. He who today has become a man, and I can look in his eyes without blinking my eyelashes over the ostensible start of a process for war crimes! I have understood very early on that we, the fighters of KLA, would pay a great human, familial, and political cost. This is the price for the freedom of Kosovo. It is just that every accusation and allegation for war crimes be brought to light, from anyone and anywhere it has happened. My friends of war, with some of whom peace has often separated us into different political camps, have challenged with the great strength of truth many low fabrications, and their innocence has shone over the garbage of monstrous accusations in the end. It will be the same for me and my brother from the blood of war, Kadri Veseli. Dear citizens, Political mistakes in peace I could have made, but war crimes, never! Even if I were to go back to the dark ages of Milloshevic, I would do the same thing, by answering the bullet of the enemy with the bullet of the thirst for freedom and by not wronging any Serbian, Roma, or Albanian citizen. But let me make one thing very clear: For over two decade I have supported initiatives for the establishment of courts with international involvement or oversight. This principle remains the same today, when it is I, Hashim Thaçi, who could personally be faced with a court for which I have given my political support, with my word and with my vote. At that time, we were faced with only two paths. One which I have believed in my whole life and believe in to this day – advancing toward a closer alliance with the United States and the European Union. The second – that this issue be left in the hands of the Security Council of the United Nations where countries that oppose the state of Kosovo have powerful influence. My decision was strategic in accordance with my vision for the future of Kosovo. And I have not looked for daily political benefits. Today, whoever says that I have apparently become an obstacle, even a saboteur of this court, in the best case is ill-informed and in the worst case is tendentious. However, on the other hand, someone must assess the balance of these 21 years of investigations, processes and decisions for war crimes in Kosovo. Dear citizens, I would be the happiest man if I were to see that the international community is applying the same standards to Kosovo and Serbia in addressing war crimes. Unfortunately, not only do I not see this standard and proportionality, I see the opposite. And here we are today. Serbia advances along the road of negotiations for European membership, while Kosovo does not even enjoy the right of free movement! Naturally, I do not see here a conspiracy against Kosovo. But the difference in approach by the international community toward the two nations is a fact. Undoubtedly, we have our faults and responsibilities. Myself first, and with me all the leaders of political parties in Kosovo, who over several years have not been able to maintain political cohesion. But no fault or mistake of ours or mine justifies the fact that, for 21 years Kosovo has continued to be confronted with processes of justice for war crimes in her space. While on the other side, the silence of graves for war crimes has fallen in Serbia. The silence of Serbia is made more onerous by the silence of the international community. We have engaged, I have personally and strongly been engaged for dialogue and peace with Serbia. But I do not agree with and cannot accept the fact that, for thousands of Albanians who are missing because of Sllobodan Millosheviç’s killing machine, the bones of whom are in the soil of Serbia, there be no even international statements. Should we even expect the day when we will be told that we must apologize to Serbia for our missing people, for

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