Former NATO commander during the Kosovo War, General Wesley Clark, has criticized the judicial proceedings before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague and called for Hashim Thaçi and the other former KLA leaders to be allowed to return to Kosovo.
In an interview with Klan News, Clark said that he had met Thaçi twice during the war, but maintained that Thaçi was not the person directly responsible for directing military operations on the ground.
“I was never shown any evidence of what Thaçi might have done. I met Hashim Thaçi twice during the conflict in Kosovo. He was not the leader; Agim Çeku was the commander,” Clark said.
He added that Thaçi did not have day-to-day control over what was happening on the ground during the fighting.
Clark also criticized what he described as the way criminal responsibility has been addressed in the proceedings in The Hague.
“The decision is offensive,” he said, recalling that he was interrupted while testifying in The Hague after raising a comparison concerning rebellions and responsibility for killings.
The former U.S. general said that, in his view, Thaçi had become a “victim” of a flawed process.
“Europe should respect the people of Kosovo, who fought for principles. Milošević was responsible. He was someone who wanted to promote ethnic cleansing. Hashim Thaçi is a victim, and this is wrong,” Clark said.
He said he had asked to see evidence related to the allegations against Thaçi, but claimed that he had not been shown such evidence.
“I asked for the evidence, and there was no evidence — at least not to my knowledge,” he said.
Clark also compared the Kosovo Specialist Chambers with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, arguing that the latter, in his view, was based on evidence concerning crimes committed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia.
At the end of the interview, the former U.S. general called for the proceedings against the former KLA leaders to come to an end and for them to return to Kosovo.
“I think the court has run its course. Let’s bring Hashim Thaçi and the others back to Kosovo and let them return to their lives. Let’s move forward. Hashim Thaçi has spent five years in detention. Enough is enough,” Clark said.
Asked whether he would be willing to testify during the appeals proceedings in support of the former KLA leaders, Clark said:
“I would very much appreciate being invited to explain what happened.”
