Dosti calls for calm after Hague ruling: Stop blindly following others, distinguish the war from individual guilt

Following the announcement of the ruling by the Specialist Chambers in The Hague concerning the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, analyst Adriatik Riza Dosti issued a fierce response, taking aim at the protests and the positions adopted by a segment of the public in both Kosovo and Albania.

In a lengthy statement, he appealed to citizens to draw a clear distinction between the legacy of the KLA’s war and the personal criminal responsibility of those tried in The Hague. “Distinguish between them and the individual responsibility that The Hague addressed today,” he wrote.

Dosti did not hold back in criticizing those blaming the Kosovo government and Prime Minister Albin Kurti for the outcome of the trial, emphasizing that Kurti had previously opposed the establishment of the court. He also highlighted the significant financial costs covered by the Kosovo executive for the defense lawyers of the four defendants. “Do you idiots know that, over these six years, the Kosovo government has spent €40.3 million on the defense and trial of the Hague four?” he asked rhetorically.

Another target of his criticism was Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. Dosti described Rama’s reaction on social media as immoral, saying: “How does the rabidly anti-Kosovo Rama have the nerve or the moral standing to write the word ‘Shame’ on Facebook today in connection with the Hague ruling?”

He also brought Richard Grenell into the discussion, questioning his public statements about the Specialist Chambers and asking why the public’s anger was not directed equally at the political figures who supported or were involved in its establishment.

His language became even more forceful toward several public and media figures in Kosovo. He singled out Milaim Zeka, Baton Haxhiu, Berat Buzhala, Sami Lushtaku, Ramush Haradinaj, Time Kadrijaj and Ganimete Musliu. He accused them of adopting contradictory and opportunistic positions regarding the Specialist Chambers and its latest ruling.

In closing, the analyst openly called on the public to preserve the country’s calm and stability and not to blindly follow certain statements. “Do not follow the Serb cur Berat Buzhala like a bucket down a well, and do not heed the idiotic ideas of Sami Lushtaku and Ramush,” was his direct appeal.

He concluded his fiery response with an old Albanian proverb, “You reap what you sow,” linking this truth to the personal responsibility of the individuals convicted by the court in The Hague.