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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi declared before the trial panel in The Hague that his decisions during the war were dictated by circumstances and responsibility towards his people, rejecting the Prosecution's claims of power motives.
In his speech, Thaçi emphasized that returning to Kosovo in 1998 was a personal decision, made at a time when the country was facing existential danger.
The former president of Kosovo described the accusations against him as unfair and contrary to the historical context of the war, emphasizing that, according to him, the actions taken were aimed at freedom and peace, not power.
"I decided to return to Kosovo in 1998. This was a personal decision, no one else's. I could not stand by while my family and people faced extermination. I did what any of you would do if your country experienced what my people experienced. I am proud of this and I never regret it."
The prosecution claims that my goal was to take control of Kosovo. This is untrue, but it is also offensive. It is an insult to the memory of thousands of heroes who gave their lives for freedom. It is an insult to the thousands of innocent victims killed during the massacres. It is an insult and unfair also to the efforts of NATO and the Western alliance, with which I cooperated closely.
The only opponent of me, the people of Kosovo and the democratic world was Slobodan Milosevic. It is hard to hear this accusation, especially when during the war I did not know if I would be alive from hour to hour and day to day. I was not sure if I would see my family, let alone dream of exercising control in occupied Kosovo for almost 90 years.
The fact that I am alive today is a coincidence and a blessing. I did not come back to risk my life for control and power; I came back risking my life for freedom and peace. The question is: taking control from whom? Who?
The truth is that control and power were in the iron hands of Milosevic. Albanians did not exercise power; it is paradoxical. They were oppressed by Milosevic. I had no illusions, but our only hope for salvation was the democratic world, the USA and NATO. My entire focus was on building and strengthening this alliance. To this end, I traveled to many cities to convince them of our cause: Brussels, London, Berlin and other places.
"Wherever I was, I was in constant contact with officials of the American administration. Milosevic had started the war and we were only defending ourselves. Only NATO could end the war, and that's what happened. If it weren't for NATO's intervention, there would be no independence for Kosovo," said Thaçi.
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