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Kosovo Albanians Happy Yet Frustrated by Milosevic Extradition - International Justice - Global Policy Forum Kosovo Albanians Happy Yet Frustrated
by Milosevic Extradition
Agence France Presse
June 29, 2001Kosovo Albanians were generally satisfied yet frustrated late Thursday by the extradition of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic to the UN war crimes tribunal in the Netherlands. While many of the people Milosevic's military terrorised until it was forced out of Kosovo by a NATO bombing campaign were happy at the news there was a sense of frustration that others indicted for war crimes were still at large.
"Bon voyage! The Hague, it's only one percent of what he merits," said Florent Krasniqi from the terrace of a cafe in Pristina.
"I don't believe it, it's just a story," said Latif Bejta, stunned by the idea that Milosevic, who was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 1999 for war crimes and crimes against humanity, had finally been handed over. "If it's true, it's a miracle and we have to celebrate that," said Nasuf Zena, who was about 20-years-old.
But there were ethnic Albanians who claimed they were no longer interested in what happened to the former dictator. "That doesn't interest me, it's shameful to be preoccupied by what's happening to him after all he's done," said Nazmi Rrahmani, an Albanian writer.
Given the repression brought down on them by Milosevic's 10 years in power, Pristina's streets were surprisingly quiet, no celebrations or honking of horns.
"The Hague, it's like a holiday for him," said Omer Rushiti, a street seller more preoccupied by his business bottom line.
"To send him to The Hague makes no sense. Milosevic's extradition is all about business," said an ethnic Albanian from Macedonia in reference to the substantial international financial aid Belgrade may have secured with his extradition.
Others still thought, like many Serbs, that they should have had the chance to see Milosevic tried for his crimes.
Muhamet Sulejmani said "The Hague is not enough for him. It would have been better to try him where he committed his crimes," in Kosovo, Bosnia or Croatia.
Kosovo's UN administrator, Hans Haekkerup, hailed the extradition as an "extremely important move" and said the ethnic Albanians would be happy to know that justice is being done. "For more than a decade, the horrible acts of Mr. Milosevic and his collaborators have spread immense suffering in this region," Haekkerup said in a statement. "The new authorities in Belgrade should be congratulated on this extremely important move," he said.
Haekkerup, the chief of the UN mission in Kosovo, said the people of the southern Serbian province "as others in the Balkans need to see that justice is served in order to begin to reconcile with one another." "One of the greatest impediments to much needed reconciliation here has been a fact, but those who held the positions of responsibility while the tragedy unfolded have not answered for what happened," Haekkerup said.
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