Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that resignation of Ramush Haradina from the position of a PM was a political ploy by which he wanted to gain more popularity in Kosovo.
Vucic added that Serbia must react calmly and steadily to these developments, without euphoria.
“We understand the expectations and need of our people of having the justice served, our people who suffered a stigma of culprit and of being the only responsible for everything that was happening in former Yugoslavia, so I can understand some sort of satisfaction after Ramush Haradinaj was summoned for interrogation on the basis of suspicion that he was involved in war crimes,” Vucic told a press conference.
Kosovo Prime Minister resigned on Friday after he was summoned as a suspect by The Hague-based Special Court for war crimes committed by Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1998-1999 period in Kosovo area.
He said he was not indicted by The Hague-based court, but was called to give a statement as a suspect, and he decided to leave the post because as the PM he could cause damage to Kosovo.
“After the resignation, I returned my mandate to the people, and you are the first to know,” Haradinaj told reporters after the Government session.
“We believe that there is no reason for euphoria (regarding Haradinaj’s indictment), not because we think positively of Haradinaj but because we are aware of all facts and all consequences of this, especially how will Albanians and the international community act towards the Serb people and the Serb community in Kosovo,” he stressed.
Haradinaj’s resignation, according to Vucic, is a “political ploy” which he used to gain more popularity and to “defeat his opponents.” Haradinaj wants to be seen as a hero who fights for integral Kosovo, added Serbian President.
“At the same time there is silence about the crimes against the Serb and non-Albanian people, and they keep quiet about that while speaking the most about political implications,” he emphasised.
According to Vucic, the continuation of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue on stabilization of the relations is crucial for peace and stability. “But, we are afraid that political developments in Kosovo go towards further delay of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. He will go to The Hague next week, then he will be released after 48 hours to return as a great hero of the Albanian people and his popularity will double,” said Vucic.
“He wants to secure in this way, and I’m not sure if this is only his own wish, a landslide victory of the hardest Albanian option in the election which will, as it seems, take place in the end of September or in October.”
“We predict that he will go to The Hague next week, will be released within 48 hours, and come back to Kosovo as an Albanian hero. Also, his popularity will double and that of his opponents will decline,” Vucic believes.
The Serbian President argues that the result of this situation will be a further homogenization of the Kosovo Albanians.
The former Prime Minister of Kosovo has already gone to court twice in the Dutch city of The Hague. Both times he was summond by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and he was released both times.
(BBC Serbia, 20.07.2019)
https://www.bbc.com/serbian/lat/srbija-49057333
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