Following the verdict issued by the Kosovo Special Court in The Hague, where former KLA leaders were sentenced to 81 years in prison for illegal or arbitrary arrest and detention, cruel treatment, torture and unlawful killing, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić appeared at a press conference.
He expressed dissatisfaction with this decision because, according to him, they were not convicted of crimes against humanity.
During his speech, Vučić had ‘studied’ all the reactions of senior officials from the region. Vučić said that he had scheduled his statement for 6:30 PM in order to await the reactions of political leaders from the region.
He started the first quote directly from the speech of the President of Albania, Bajram Begaj, then continued with the others.
“Imagine if one of our officials said: ‘Freedom has a name’ and mentioned a Serb convicted by the Hague Tribunal,” Vučić said.
He also mentioned the reaction of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who after the announcement of the decision published the word “shame” on social media.
The statement is made at 11:24.
Speaking about the reactions from Pristina, Vučić quoted Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who described the verdict as an “unacceptable injustice” and a “severe punishment”, saying that it should be changed in the appeal process.
The Serbian president also referred to the statement of the Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, Nik Gjeloshaj, who called the decision “extremely unjust” and said that “every Albanian holds the holy war of the KLA in their hearts.” Gjeloshaj also stated that he believes that the decision will be overturned in the highest judicial instances.
Vučić raised the question of whether such statements would have consequences for Montenegro’s European integration.
“Will they stop European integration because they insult the decision, deny the rule of law? Or does this only apply to Serbs?” the Serbian president asked.
He also referred to the reactions of Albanian politicians in North Macedonia, including Bekim Sali, Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi, and DUI leader Ali Ahmeti. Ahmeti described the decision as unfair and deeply disappointing.
“And I thought they were criminals, at least convicted in the first instance. No, they are all liberators, heroes and heroines,” Vučić said.
He also referred to the position of Croatian diplomacy, saying that Zagreb, while declaring that it “takes note” of the decision, simultaneously emphasized its position on the political and historical context of the war in Kosovo.
Vučić assessed that these reactions show, according to him, the existence of different standards towards Serbs and other peoples of the former Yugoslavia.
“Serbs should be criminals in every announcement, in every statement,” said the Serbian president./Top Channel