Hashim Thaçi’s Interview From The Hague
“We won that war. But now we must strengthen the peace… We cannot win the future with history alone, history must be respected, institutionalized. It is the embodiment of the citizens, but it does not guarantee success for today and the future.” — Thaçi in an interview from his holding cell in The Hague
(My note: The following is the English translation of an unprecedented interview given in writing by the former President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi to one of Kosovo’s foremost journalists Berat Buzhala, the founder of nacionale.com news portal. The interview was authorized by the Special Court, with no redacted parts, to the best of my knowledge.
President Thaçi found out he’s indicted by the very Court he helped establish after sustained pressure from the Western allies, in a controversial manner, while being in a flight to Washington DC, planning to sign a normalization agreement with Serbian counterpart and President Trump.
He spent over two years in detention without a trial. An increasing number of court observers and critical voices are questioning the very premise of the former prosecutor Jack Smith to indict the most senior KLA leaders on the so-called “command responsibility”. KLA was not an organized military but more of a “ragamuffin guerilla”, to quote then NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson.
My translation contains minor language edits. The link of the interview in original Albanian: https://nacionale.com/politike/interviste-ekskluzive-hashim-thaci-nga-haga-flet-per-veten-familjen-edi-ramen-dhe-te-ardhmen-e-kosoves )
NACIONALE: Mr. President, let me start with a question on something you said few years before you were arrested. At that time you repeated several times that you would retire after the end of the President’s term? Do you still think the same?
I don’t miss the office of the President or the Prime Minister, nor the official agenda or the daily political, party or parliamentary debates. After the end of the political commitment and the process that I am currently going through, I want to open chapters of other life commitments.
Today I am in physical isolation, but I’m not in a mental prison. I feel that I have the physical and creative energy, experience and mental freshness to do good, useful and creative things for society and my country.
For all Kosovar citizens, freedom and independence should not be enough. Kosovo has many unrealized opportunities — and human capital is the most valuable asset. I believe in the active, dynamic and innovative Kosovar society; I believe in the safe future of our children and our children’s children.
What did you miss the most in Kosovo?
I miss my family, to sit and talk freely with them: Lume, Endrit, who now grew up and became a man, to attend his graduation ceremony, to do my usual long walks in the mountains — the rocky beautiful sites of Kosovo, to watch football matches together, or to spend some time together while skiing in the mountains of Brezovica. Or just chat about his life dreams, or the latest movie or book…
We miss each other every day, but that’s the price of freedom.
I know that longing is somewhat of a weakness, but it is also very basic human emotion: we are human beings.
Yes, I miss my parents who have entered the old age stage, though I often talk on the phone with them. Their travel here last year to visit was an unforgettable moment, seeing them after a very long period.
Also my visit home some months ago, on May 29, 2023, which lasted only few hours and was carried out under the protection and accompaniment of detention authorities, in our hometown in Brojë, the conversation with my parents, for several hours, represented an extraordinary little miracle for me. The time and conversation with them was maybe the most special in my life.
We evoked memories of the past, talked about the close and wide family circles, about their grandchildren today but also for the future. They are blessed to have many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nephews and nieces, and even a great-grandson. They are living their old age peacefully, proud and dignified.
Those little things matter now.
I miss the people I love and who love me, who trusted me for more than two decades, in the joint process of building and developing a free, independent, tolerant Kosovo.
In the last speech before the people of Kosovo, the day you were arrested, one part left a great impression on me: the one when you sent a message to the wider public to “stay together and not allow ourselves to deepen into a constitutional and institutional crisis.” What did you mean when you said those words?
I continue to believe that only by staying united as a people, we can overcome the challenges. United, we succeeded in the process of freedom and independence, and we must continue in the same way in the phase of Euro-Atlantic integration.
This civic and institutional unity should be embodied in Western values, in the sense of moving forward, not joining wrong causes. Not to spend time together reflecting on past confrontations, but to look towards the future. Our past is not challenged, it has been earned, it is very proud and with integrity, we cannot and should not try to change it.
Challenges and solutions are ahead of us. People want development, jobs, welfare, quality education, health service, cleaner environment, etc. We really have to ensure that, by dealing too much with the past, we don’t harm and delay, or even lose the future. Both intra-Albanian unity and the investment for inter-ethnic reconciliation are the keys to success for Kosovo. The world is moving and changing faster than our local intuitions or agendas.
Every crisis delays Kosovo a lot, but also undermines the efforts of international friends to consolidate the state of Kosovo on the domestic level, but also in its international affirmation.
International support should not be taken for granted. It should always be deserved. Every day, Kosovo must continue to produce arguments that facilitate the support of international friends.
Edi Rama’s [PM of Albania] personal support for you after you were arrested has surprised many. He calls you brother and expresses great friendly love. We witnessed good reports, even while you were in Kosovo. But were they always good?
When we arrived to the detention in The Hague, as a result of anti-Covid measures, we spent about 9 months in isolation without any physical contact, not even with family. It wasn’t easy. Edi’s visit took place in an extraordinary and unimaginable place and circumstances, beyond politics and the judicial process and was a very fraternal conversation. I missed it.
Edi fights and usually wins in the causes he believes in, it is impressive how he continues to build and affirm the European Albania.
I was very happy that, after the authorization of the detention chiefs, I accepted the books that Edi had brought me to the detention facility. As usual, he was full of good humor. But, when we parted, I felt that he was very emotional, yet always keeping a certain faith for a better and safer future, beyond that very closed space where we were drinking coffee for about two hours.
We both believe in justice, truth and transparency. The citizens of Kosovo are eager to see and hear the truth. Not truncated, or biased. Kosovo and its citizens believe in the principles of modern justice, which it has included and respects with the constitution and state laws. Justice that respects contemporary standards, fast and efficient. Justice that gains internal legitimacy. Kosovo has suffered a lot from injustice. Kosovo has moved forward only by respecting the principles of freedom, justice and democracy.
In Kosovar politics, you have built personal relationships with other political figures. Can you name any of them that you might be missing today?
I would not separate people from politics and non-politics. I miss the friends with whom I have worked together for over two decades, with whom I have shared joy, sorrow, success and failure, the people of the proud journey for freedom, the state and the development of the country.
I am inspired by these people and I am humbled with respect and gratitude for bearing with me in my mistakes and trusting me in my success. The integrity of these people is remarkable.
Even though they knew that the journey with me was not easy and short, they kept the belief it was the safest and most durable path forward.
Cooperation with partners or political rivals for me has always been based on respect, care and purpose. I have spent my entire political life with people of different political profiles. For me, political priorities have always been more important than ideological, party or individual ones. During the political confrontations, I have gained many friends and opponents, but various prejudicial political antagonisms have also been created, which is I guess normal for a pluralistic democratic society. They are understandable to me.
I am very grateful to everyone who has stayed close to my family, but also for the visits they made to me in The Hague. But, above all, for the faith they show in what I represent.
I repeat, I miss people, not politics. I have been visited while in detention by presidents, prime ministers, ambassadors, congressmen, politicians, civil society activists, leaders of religious communities, human rights activists, intellectuals, academics, journalists, people of art and culture, the world of sports, entrepreneurs, citizens from Diaspora, known and unknown. To be honest, I enjoyed talking about private, family and professional topics.
I am very grateful to all citizens, wherever they live, who share their solidarity.
You have had time, like never before, to think about different things, maybe even about the last war in Kosovo. Is there anything new you can tell us about that period?
T o be honest, I think more about the future than about the successfully closed chapters of Kosovo. We did not start the war, nor did we want it, the people of Kosovo resisted the aggressor. We did neither less nor more than what had to be done, as many nations that are carriers of world civilization have done and are doing today.
We won that war.
But now we must strengthen the peace. It brings development, order and law, harmony between people, better life and well-being for citizens.
We cannot win the future with history alone, history must be respected, institutionalized. It is the embodiment of the citizens, but it does not guarantee success for today and the future.
If we fail today, we hurt and muddy the history of yesterday’s victory. However, it should be borne in mind that our success story is not only a “property” of Kosovo, it is also an extraordinary merit of the Western allies.
Kosovo is the story of joint success. Without the support of the supporters of freedom and independence as a society we can somehow survive confusingly, but as a functional state we cannot exist.
Let’s remember the Rambouillet Conference, the time of the bombings, the liberation of Kosovo, the making of Kosovo a state, its recognition by over 100 countries, the decision of the International Court of Justice, our republic’s integration into many international institutions and organizations.
It should be remembered that not all relevant world factors were enthusiastic about making Kosovo free and independent.
Otherwise, Kosovo will look gloomy, uncertain, discouraging and with many dilemmas. It will be economically poorer, with no foreign investments and a shaky democracy. No one trusts a country with permanent crises.
But, I firmly continue to believe in Kosovo in NATO, in the EU and in eternal special relations with the USA.
Permanent peace with Serbia must be achieved, with mutual recognition, a legally binding agreement. The more this agreement is delayed, the more delayed Kosovo will be in NATO and the EU, and the weaker the support of the USA will be.
My experience shows me that Brussels supports Kosovo, as much as Washington encourages and keeps it as a live issue.
The alliance with the USA should be cultivated for the strategic future, not just for the sake of gratitude. Our success is the greatest gratitude that the West can accept and appreciate from Kosovo.
Kosovo these days is facing big problems, the flight of young people. You frequently stood up for unifying messages, also because of the former position as a president. Do you have any message for these young people: Why should they stay in and love Kosovo?
The departure of young people and entire families from Kosovo is disturbing and represents an alarm.
People do not leave because they do not love their homeland, but because of the lack of opportunities for a better life. With this trend, very quickly, in a few years, we can have the proportion of over half of Kosovar citizens living in the Diaspora. One should not only complain or mourn their departure, but create the conditions for curbing or reducing this phenomenon. But, no one should think that the departure of people to the Diaspora can be completely stopped. We must ensure they have a reason to come back.
It should not be forgotten that Kosovo was a great beneficiary of the Diaspora. They invested a lot for the freedom and development of Kosovo. Now we have to turn this factor into an advantage for the economy and social emancipation.
It is known that many brilliant talents are leaving, with this state of departure will increase, i.e. “brain drain”. I wish that it is not one-way. So, I believe that very soon we can have the “brain gain” where people leave, stay abroad and then return to their countries… I want to believe that different investments in Kosovo can be connected with knowledge and experience of entrepreneurship in Kosovo.
Young people believe in and feel proud of Kosovo. Kosovo’s achievements are extraordinary. Kosovo is a country that has proven that it can do miracles. So, more hope, faith and optimism for today and its future. Work so that every citizen feels good and proud of Kosovo.
