Serbia seeks removal of new Kosovo Prime Minister, alleging war crimes News
Serbia seeks removal of new Kosovo Prime Minister, alleging war crimes

[JURIST] Serbian officials held an emergency cabinet session Saturday to petition UN Administrator for the Kosovo region Soren Jessen-Petersen to annul the recent election results that put Ramush Haradinaj in the office of Kosovar Prime Minister. Haradinaj has been accused of committing war crimes during the Bosnian conflict, where he led a rebel Albanian military group. Serbian officials have repeatedly petitioned the UN and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to indict Haradinaj. The ICTY recently interviewed him, but no charges have yet been filed. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said that allowing Haradinaj to stay in office would be making a mockery of the struggles that Serbia has endured over the past few years on its return to democracy. Serbian officials said that the continuing presence of Haradinaj "cannot be justified by phrases about democracy or formal procedures." The Serbian government press release (in English) is here. Serbian independent radio B-92 has more.