Once called him a tourist, today proposes him as president” – Bekteshi analyzes Haradinaj’s initiative on Thaçi

The initiative of Alliance deputy Ramush Haradinaj to return former president Hashim Thaçi to the head of state has triggered a new debate in Kosovo politics.

Haradinaj has described the proposal as an “honor” that the 11th legislature would bestow on Thaçi. However, the initiative comes at a particular moment, as Thaçi remains in detention in The Hague and on September 16 a decision is expected in the case against him and other former KLA superiors.

Albanian activist in the United States Ramazan Bekteshi commented on this development in a statement to “Bota sot,” questioning the reasons for the proposal and the timing of it.

“The fact that the proposal comes before the final decision of the Special Court creates curiosity, but also dilemmas over unforeseen scenarios or messages. So far, such an idea has been articulated neither by the PDK, Thaçi’s party, nor by academic circles. From outside, the only one who has made noise is Grenell, who in 2020 triggered a coup in Kosovo and installed the PDK-LDK in a short-lived government, with Hoti as prime minister. Although Grenell is a Serbian lobbyist with no influence in the Trump administration, he continues to maintain ties, not only with Vučić but also with opposition politicians in Kosovo,” Bekteshi said.

He also drew attention to Richard Grenell’s attitudes toward Thaçi, describing them more as public statements than as concrete political actions.

“The first paradox has to do with the fact that Grenell’s statements show his political support for Thaçi, but he has made more noise than he has acted. On July 31, 2022, Grenell wrote publicly: ‘Release Thaçi!’ and described Kurti as the problem. In October 2023, he stated that while Thaçi was president, Kosovo and Serbia ‘were on a good path to reaching an agreement,’ adding that Thaçi, unlike Kurti, would implement the previous agreements.

“In August 2026, during a recent interview, Grenell went even further. According to reporting, he said the West wants Thaçi free and in Kosovo so that he can help lead it, while attributing responsibility for the political crisis to Kurti. Every time he wanted to attack Kurti, Grenell mentioned Thaçi, but in reality he never helped Thaçi in the way he promised. The administration did not utter a single sentence in defense of Thaçi, despite the promises. For this reason, Grenell remains a major fraud when it comes to his promises and rhetoric about Thaçi,” Bekteshi said.

Next, the Albanian activist in the U.S. focused on the political relationship between Haradinaj and Thaçi. According to him, it is a paradox that Haradinaj, who once harshly attacked Thaçi, is today seeking his return to the post of president.

“The second paradox is that Ramush Haradinaj has had strong political clashes with Thaçi over the years, although at different periods they cooperated. In 2012–2013 they began cooperation on the Kosovo–Serbia dialogue, while in 2017 Haradinaj became prime minister in a government where Thaçi held the post of president. One of the largest conflicts between them occurred in 2018, when Thaçi supported the idea of ‘border correction’ with Serbia, while Haradinaj categorically opposed changing Kosovo’s borders. So the relationship between them has not always been hostile; it has gone from fierce rivalry in opposition, then to cooperation, and again to clashes,” Bekteshi said.

He highlighted the difference between Haradinaj’s earlier statements and his current stance.

“The contrast between the Haradinaj of yesterday and the Haradinaj of today is great. On August 22, 2026, he proposed exactly Hashim Thaçi for president and declared that it would be an honor for the legislature to extend his mandate. But earlier, Ramush had attacked Thaçi in a ‘brutal’ way, saying: ‘Mr. Thaçi is a tourist, he has stayed in Drenica, at Rogner, he has stayed somewhere else.’

“With these statements, he had reduced Thaçi’s role in the war to that of a tourist. Likewise, Haradinaj had said: ‘If someone has mountains to give away, let him give his own property and not Kosovo’s mountains.’ He had also declared: ‘Mr. Thaçi and the Government have given land to Montenegro,’ ‘Moving borders interests only Putin,’ and ‘The partition of Kosovo is war…,’” he stressed.

Bekteshi underlined that this transformation in Haradinaj’s stance makes it even more important to ask what has driven him to propose Thaçi precisely now.

“It should be remembered that in 2018 Haradinaj did not recognize Thaçi’s right to negotiate territory. He had explained that his support for the president in the dialogue was linked to the goal of Kosovo’s recognition by Serbia, not to the border-correction thesis. In the debate on the partition of Kosovo, Haradinaj also opposed the Rama–Thaçi–Vučić trio and made it clear that he would not accept that project.

“Faced with this previous stance, the question today is: Why did Haradinaj propose Thaçi for president at this untimely moment? Is this his own idea or a push coming from outside? Does Haradinaj see Thaçi as an opportunity to return to power? Or is this simply a political game around a president whom everyone wants for themselves, because of his role in decrees and beyond?” Bekteshi said.

He also commented on the hypothesis that the proposal could be an attempt to put pressure on the Special Court, but described that possibility as unfounded.

“There are also those who think that Haradinaj’s initiative may be aimed at pressuring the court, just like the statements that Kosovo would burn if the freedom fighters were convicted. But these assumptions do not hold, because the court cannot be influenced by such thoughtless threats. There is no way that a liberator would burn his own country, for which he went to war and was ready to sacrifice himself for the freedom of the homeland; only enemy servants could do that.

“I consider Haradinaj’s proposal surreal. A real solution would be the election of a non-partisan, consensual president, the creation of state institutions, and setting aside the grudges and unhealthy ambitions that are leading the country toward chaos. For the liberators, an acquittal would be enough, because as for how they govern, we have already seen that,” Ramazan Bekteshi concluded for “Bota sot.”