The Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, Vjosa Osmani, has officially taken over as Kosovo President.
Hashim Thaci resigned as Kosovo’s president this morning after the Specialist Chamber in The Hague confirmed the indictment of the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office.
She took over the duty from Thaci’s advisor, Ardian Arifaj.
She took office in accordance with Article 90 of the Kosovo Law on the President, according to which she can perform the role for a maximum of 6 months.
The President of Kosovo is elected by members of the Kosovo Assembly, which is why their election is a matter of political agreement between the parliamentary parties.
The candidate for this seat must first provide 30 signatures of deputies, and then a two-thirds majority of votes from all deputies, i.e. 80 votes in the assembly in the first two rounds of voting, or the majority of votes (61) in the third round.
If no candidate is elected in the third round of voting, the Assembly is dissolved and new elections are called within 45 days.
Vjosa Osmani met with the ambassadors of the Quint countries and the head of the EU office, and also with the commander of the KSF. She also had her first public address in the new capacity.
Following Thaci’s and Veseli’s public address earlier in the day, Osmani repeated their alerts that Kosovo is facing difficult days, underlining that people must show unity and loyalty to „our republic”. She also recalled, as did Veseli and Thaci, the 1999 war, which she described as a struggle for freedom.
Osmani welcomed the fact that the indicted responded to court summons, confirming that this is an international obligation. She emphasized the need for stable institutions, but also that „the national project for freedom built on victims of generations and the spilled blood of the soldiers of our liberation army“ will not be put into jeopardy.
„The battle for state building is the most difficult political battle, and right now we need wisdom and prudence – the characteristics of our tradition. This time requires strong leadership and a united state response. Today, when our country is also facing a pandemic, we need solidarity and mutual understanding. As the acting president, I will dedicate myself to performing the function by promoting these values,“ she stated.
„During this journey, as I did before, I will strive every day for Kosovo to become a state in which the dreams of our citizens are realized, where equal opportunities are created for all in all spheres. I will do my best to make my voice join the voice of the citizens and resonate louder than ever.“
She, however, delivered a portion of messages addressed against what she perceived as the “genocide state” of Serbia.
„Serbia murdered over 13,000 people in Kosovo – 1,133 children from our families, more than in all the wars waged in the former Yugoslavia, per capita. Sustainable peace in the region thus requires that victims and aggressors are not equated. We, Kosovo Albanians, were victims of hegemony, a genocidal state, while Serbia was the state that committed these crimes. We have to say this out loud every time, here and in every other country „- the acting president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani announced tonight.
Although this was Osmani’s first public address as the new acting president of Kosovo, such a message sent by the most popular female politician in Kosovo, as many people have assessed, is nothing new.
While speaking about the criminal role of Serbia, Osmani often uses the term „genocidal state.“
In early October, the current President of the Serbian Assembly, Ivica Dacic posed a rhetorical question on the “Cirilica” talk-show on TV Happy on what should be done with Serbs who reveal the locations of mass graves of Albanians in Serbia. Osmani was one of the first Kosovan politicians who reacted on the occasion. She shared a clip from that talk-show, alleging that Serbia is still led by „genocidal minds“.
Also, during her guest appearance on the show „Rubikon“ on TV Klan Kosova, while commenting on Thaci being questioned in The Hague at the end of June, she said: „Unfortunately, we did not manage to talk openly about the crimes of the genocidal state.“
At that time, Osmani also shared a comment, via her Facebook page, on the Specialist Chambers’ announcement that the indictment against Thaci and Veseli has been sent for confirmation. The President of the Assembly of Kosovo said that Serbia „has not yet been held accountable for the horrific crimes against innocent civilians in Kosovo.“
„Serbia is a genocidal state. And we have to say that today and every day in Kosovo, in the United States, in Europe and everywhere in the world,“ she wrote on her Facebook page.
Osmani also sent similar messages during the election campaign.
In addition to holding the post of the president of the assembly, she is one of the most popular politicians among Albanians in Kosovo. Osmani is also a university professor.
A link to her first public address as the acting president, without Serbian translation, was sent in a press release from the Kosovo president’s office.
Data on the number of killings in Kosovo
According to the findings of the Humanitarian Law Center from the „Kosovo Book of Remembrance“ project, from January 1st, 1998, to December 31st, 2000, 10,093 civilians lost their lives or went missing in Kosovo – 8,645 Albanians, 1,013 Serbs, 262 Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, 84 Bosniaks, and 203 members of other ethnic groups. During the armed conflict in Kosovo from January 1st, 1998 to June 14th, 1999, and after the arrival of international forces in Kosovo until December 2000, a total of 13,421 people were killed or went missing in Kosovo – read the HLC data.
In its reaction on the International Day of the Missing last year, the RECOM coalition assessed that „the issue of missing persons in connection with the war in Kosovo is extremely politicized“, while „politicians and leaders of victims’ associations are snowballing the number of missing persons from their ethnic community, and pro-regime media are increasing the belief that only one side is the victim while the other is the ‘criminal’ and the civilizational perspective and the humanitarian dimension of the problem of missing persons have been completely lost.“
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
