U.S. — Former American Diplomat Daniel Serwer Criticizes Verdict Against Former KLA Leaders

American professor, diplomat and scholar of conflict and international relations and the Balkans, Daniel Serwer, has reacted after the verdict of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague against the four former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

In an opinion published on his Peacefare.net website, Serwer called the verdict unjust and also criticized the judicial institution that issued it.

His reaction comes after the Specialist Chambers found Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi guilty on war crimes charges.

Thaçi and Krasniqi were sentenced to 25 years in prison each, Veseli to 18 years, and Selimi to 13 years.

The four defendants were acquitted of the charges of crimes against humanity.

Commenting on the decision and its possible consequences in Kosovo, Serwer said many Albanians could consider the verdict unjust and might react with protests, but called on them to be peaceful.

“The most immediate question is what happens in Kosovo. Many Albanians there will consider the outcome unjust. They will protest angrily, but I hope peacefully. Violence will bring nothing,” he wrote.

Serwer also said the decision could provoke different reactions among the Serb community in Kosovo, stressing that in this case too violence would bring no solution.

Furthermore, the American professor sharply criticized the approach of the United States of America and European countries toward the KLA and international justice.

“Americans and Europeans should be ashamed. They have criminalized a liberation movement they supported and reduced international justice to political revenge,” Serwer wrote.

He added that, in his view, the problem lies not only with the verdict but also with the court itself.

“It is not only the verdict that is unjust. It is the court as well,” he wrote.

Serwer also mentioned the case of Hashim Thaçi, arguing that he had no command role over the KLA forces accused of committing the crimes.

According to him, Thaçi had described his role during the war as that of a political spokesman for the KLA and not as a fighter or commander.

The verdict of the Specialist Chambers is first-instance and can be appealed to the Court of Appeals.