Behind the scenes of the Specialist Court — Hoxhaj: “If we hadn’t established it, the UN would have, with Russian and Chinese votes”

Kosovo’s former Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj has recounted the behind-the-scenes story of the establishment of the Specialist Court, the international pressure on Kosovo’s institutions and the difficult debates that took place inside the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Kosovo Government.

Hoxhaj said that at the time of the publication of Dick Marty’s report, Kosovo’s institutions had considered the possibility of suing him, while international partners had initially suggested the report should not be taken seriously.

“If the UN Security Council establishes the Court, with Russian and Chinese votes, this could have dizzying consequences. ‘If you don’t establish the court, the UN will.’ This was a serious topic. When the news of Dick Marty’s report broke, first in The Guardian, I know that on that day we gathered with Prime Minister Thaçi. The first reaction was that we should take Dick Marty to court, that he should face justice. But I also know that the first reaction of our Western partners, the American and European ambassadors, the QUINT, was that we did not need to take this report seriously. I think the second big blow Kosovo received was the publication of Clint Williamson’s report, which in an 8-page text claimed that Dick Marty’s allegations stand,” Hoxhaj said.

Asked about the international pressure, Hoxhaj said international partners had initially given explanations for the need to establish the Specialist Court, and that pressure on Kosovo’s institutions then began.

“The explanation was of the nature that Dick Marty’s report had produced dark clouds over Kosovo. These dark clouds had to be removed because they are to the country’s detriment. Then there was international pressure saying ‘if you don’t establish the court, the UN will’ and this was a serious topic. At that time we had a hope: that if it is established by Kosovo, a court that is Kosovo’s, it would not make us victims of any geopolitical trick or trap. We thought that if the UN Security Council made such a decision and established the court with Russian and Chinese votes, this could have dizzying consequences for the state of Kosovo,” Hoxhaj added.

Hoxhaj was also asked whether there had been hesitation inside the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Kosovo Government over the establishment of the Specialist Court.

He said the issue had caused major debates and disagreements within the country’s institutions, stressing that he personally had strongly opposed Dick Marty’s report.

“There was hesitation, there were difficult debates in the parliamentary group, there were difficult debates in the leadership of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, there were big debates and disagreements also within the Kosovo Government. I attacked Dick Marty’s report with all my political, academic potential; it is at its core racist. When you see the report and what kind of society it describes, it is a Serbian concept of Albanian society. Only when the judicial process in The Hague began did we see that the main motive for which the court was created was not Dick Marty’s report at all. It was an entirely political goal. This special war against Kosovo will continue. If the sentence is confirmed on appeal, I am sure that the next phase, the next target, will be the state of Kosovo,” Enver Hoxhaj said on “Untold Histories” on Klan Kosova.