Bytyçi: Haradinaj’s proposal for Thaçi could harm him and obstruct a VV-LDK agreement

Alliance MP Ramush Haradinaj has said that electing former president Hashim Thaçi as head of state would be an “honour” for the MPs of the 11th legislature.

Professor Enver Bytyçi, speaking to “Bota sot”, sees this initiative as an action that could have negative consequences for Thaçi, particularly at a time when the former president is awaiting the decision of the Special Court in The Hague.

Bytyçi says that, during the three weeks remaining until the ruling is announced, silence would serve Thaçi better than a public campaign for his return to the presidency.

“Ramush Haradinaj has put forward the idea that former president Hashim Thaçi, who is awaiting the decision of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on criminal charges, should be elected President of Kosovo. My question is: why is Ramush doing this?” Bytyçi stated.

According to him, such lobbying could be interpreted as an attempt to harm Thaçi, as it is unusual to call for the return to the head of state of a person who is on the verge of a court ruling. Bytyçi believes that such a situation could lead the court to view this campaign as deliberate and as an attempt to undermine the investigation and decision-making process.

He adds that Thaçi faces two court proceedings and that, even if he is acquitted in the first, his release from pretrial detention would be difficult without the conclusion of the second case. Under these circumstances, Bytyçi continues, the time spent in pretrial detention could constitute the minimum sentence, while during this period he would be barred from political engagement and from holding public office.

The professor believes that Haradinaj may be aware of this restriction and that the proposal may be a way of maintaining good relations with his former rival, Hashim Thaçi, rather than concrete support for his return to the presidency.

Bytyçi also presents another scenario: if Thaçi were acquitted, Haradinaj could draw a parallel between his own case in The Hague and Thaçi’s case, attempting in some way to “repay the debt”.

However, he compares the proposal to a stone thrown into a river, followed by a thousand people trying to retrieve it. According to Bytyçi, Haradinaj’s initiative concerning Thaçi is a provocation aimed at influencing and intimidating the negotiations between VV and LDK.

“AAK and PDK are in panic over the possibility of an agreement between Kurti and Abdixhiku on the election of a consensual president. To block this process, Haradinaj and Lushtaku have announced a public tender for lobbying against a presidential agreement that would leave PDK and AAK out of the game. McGonigal No. 2, named Richard Grennell, has also been reactivated in this lobbying effort,” Bytyçi concluded to the newspaper.