PDK MP Blerta Deliu has called on Kosovo’s Assembly to vote on changes to the Law on the Specialist Chambers.
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Her reaction came a day after the government resubmitted to the Assembly the draft law sponsored by the PDK. Deliu said that, if the draft law is approved, her party will make its 22 votes available for the election of Kosovo’s president.
Speaking on KosovaPress’s “Interview of the Week” program, she said that approving the amendments in two readings could create the basis for a political agreement on the president. According to her, Kosovo needs stability and a figure who can bring political entities closer together.
“If the Assembly approves the amendments to the Law on the Specialist Chambers in two readings, the Democratic Party of Kosovo will have its 22 votes available for the election of the president. We believe that, when citizens are in need, a candidate who contributes to stability must be found. Representatives of the European Commission have also called for stability, while Kosovo today needs political stability more than ever. To achieve it, the party that has received the largest number of mandates must reflect,” Deliu said.
Asked who could be an acceptable candidate for LVV and the PDK, the MP did not provide a specific name. She emphasized that the president should be someone who unites political forces and prevents the country from heading toward new parliamentary elections.
“I cannot say which political entity that person should come from, but we must all show responsibility toward the situation and the political moment. It must be someone who brings political forces closer together, so that the country does not move toward new parliamentary elections. We have not yet reached the issue of the president, so I cannot speak more specifically. I want to believe that there is a willingness to unite, not necessarily around principles, but around the will that Kosovo needs at this time,” she said.
Deliu stressed that the PDK does not view new elections as a solution, but at the same time will not vote for decisions that, in her view, would turn the party into a supporter of LVV’s rule.
“If an agreement is not reached, we do not want elections, because they do not serve stability. But we cannot become a source of support for anyone’s decisions or an extension of a power that is growing. If the parties that have received more seats reflect and demonstrate through concrete steps their concern over developments in The Hague, without attempting to create the impression that these are ordinary matters of day-to-day politics, then we will have no other option,” Deliu said.
Regarding the possibility of the country holding new elections in November if the president is not elected, Deliu said that the September 16 verdict against the former KLA leaders would inevitably affect the election campaign.
She mentioned inflation, the state of healthcare, education and relations with international partners as some of Kosovo’s main problems. However, according to her, beyond the economic and social difficulties, the country is also facing the risk that the history of the war will be interpreted unfavorably for Kosovo.
“Even if elections are held, the process cannot bypass the verdict of the 16th. Citizens have many needs: inflation is very high, life has become more difficult than ever, healthcare is in collapse, while the latest PISA results show the problems in education. Relations with our partners have also been damaged further, and citizens’ well-being has been affected. But alongside all these problems, our history is also being put at risk, as we may be portrayed as a joint criminal enterprise. Even mothers who cooked during the war or opened their doors to KLA soldiers could be presented as part of such an enterprise because of an entirely political verdict on September 16. Therefore, there can be no elections without confronting this serious blow,” she said.
Asked whether she regretted voting in favor of establishing the Special Court, Deliu argued that the political circumstances at the time of the vote were completely different.
She said that her vote had been in line with Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli and the other leaders of the PDK. According to her, at that time the country was facing Dick Marty’s report and allegations that she described as unjust and sponsored by Russian and Serbian circles.
“At that time, the political context was completely different. We were facing claims that the Kosovo Liberation Army had trafficked organs, references to the Yellow House and accusations that the KLA had committed crimes against humanity. These false claims have fallen away, as neither the indictment nor the conviction mentions organ trafficking, the Yellow House or crimes against humanity. Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi knew that they would individually face a heavy cost, but they believed in partnership and in the justice of the KLA’s war. For this reason, my vote was with Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli and the leaders of the PDK, because I have always stood with the freedom fighters,” Deliu said.
The PDK MP also warned that civic protests could escalate if the draft law amending the Law on the Specialist Chambers is not approved.
“If the government that received the vote in the last elections does not reflect on the will expressed in the protests, then we have a serious problem. I feel the citizens’ dissatisfaction every evening and at every meeting. Yesterday’s march was one of the largest Kosovo has seen. It is not only the PDK protesting there, but citizens without distinction, who are calling for the political spectrum to unite and for Albin Kurti and Ms. Gërvalla to reflect, since they are in power,” Deliu concluded.
