War crimes tribunal decisions further strain Balkan region

Carla Del Ponte, the former chief prosecutor for war crimes for the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia, has sent shock waves through Kosovo, as she claims the Kosovo Liberation Army harvested organs from its prisoners while they were still alive, to trade across the border in 1999.

The former prosecutor described these events in her soon-to-be released memoir, “The Hunt: Me and War Criminals.” Del Ponte, who led investigations against Slobodan Milosevic, Ratko Mladic, and Radovan Karadzic, served as the chief prosecutor for the ICTY for 8 years. Del Ponte described visiting a house in Albania, just across the Kosovo border, where KLA agents removed the kidneys from Serbs, Albanians, and others while they were still alive. Further organs would be harvested and sold after the victims were killed.

Kosovo has responded defiantly. “Del Ponte’s accusations are aimed at blackening the image of former Kosovo Liberation fighters,” said Hajredin Kuci. Del Ponte’s colleagues are unsure of what to make of the allegations, because no mention of them was ever found in any of the cases she pursued at The Hague.

Kosovars are also celebrating the acquittal of Ramush Haradinaj, the former Kosovar PM and military leader who was charged with war crimes at The Hague. Haradinaj, after studying law at Pristina Univesity, then led a guerrilla battalion in the Dukagjini operative zone in 1998 and 1999. He was tried on charges of “participation of a joint criminal enterprise” in attempting to control the Dukagjini province through the murder of Serbs, Kosovar Roma (Gypsies), and Kosovar Albanians who were suspected of aiding Serbs.

The Serbian Prime Minister, Vojislav Kostunica, denounced the finding, declaring that “Serbia shall not accept justification of Haradinaj’s crimes against innocent Serbs.” Other analysts are concerned that the acquittal will encourage Serbs to vote for extremist Serbian national parties, which would make it harder for Serbian fugitives to be delivered to the war crimes tribunal.

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