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Serwer: Kosovo is in trouble RTKLive 3 minutes _____ Balkans analyst Daniel Serwer said he was surprised by the indictment being filed against Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli and others by the Specialist Prosecutor in The Hague for several reasons, the first being that he didn’t think there was sufficient evidence to bring charges and second because it comes days before Kosovo and Serbia delegations are set to meet in Washington for talks sponsored by the Trump administration. Serwer notes that in principle, the talks could proceed anyway, even if Thaci does not travel to the U.S. “It may test whether the Prime Minister can exercise independent authority, but it will necessarily put him at considerable political risk. If he appears in Washington, he will be criticized at home and an enormous disadvantage diplomatically,” he writes in his blog. “It is also a test of Thaci and Veseli. If confirmed by a KSC judge, they should both resign their positions and go to The Hague to defend themselves, as former Prime Minister Haradinaj has done several times. Their resignations would make big waves in Kosovo politics. The Assembly would need to replace Thaci, which would be a big challenge in the aftermath of the indictment. Replacing the head of a political party would be far less controversial, but still consequential. Would the PDK (Democratic Party of Kosovo) respect its Kosovo Liberation Army heritage, or move beyond it to choose someone less connected to the armed rebellion against Serbia?” In case Thaci and Veseli do not resign, Kosovo will face other challenges, warns Serwer. “Neither Europe nor America will be interested in meeting with or helping politicians under indictment. The result will be international isolation. The political response inside Kosovo will be defiance. It is hard to picture anything positive coming off that kind of confrontation.” “Belgrade, of course, will be pleased with the indictment, both because it has sought justice for crimes against Serbs in the aftermath of the war and because it will give Serbia a leg up in any negotiations with Europe and the US. Belgrade may try to reopen the question of territorial compromise with Kosovo, claiming that the indictment proves Serbs should not be expected to live in a country dominated by criminal enemies.” Serwer concludes that the indictment is not only a personal question for Thaci and Veseli but an institutional and international matter. “Kosovo is in trouble,” he remarks. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SERBIAN NEWS NETWORK" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/senet/017e01d64ad9%249efeddb0%24dcfc9910%24%40gmail.com.
