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Strong statement: Obama insisted on the establishment of the Special Court in Kosovo, as a political concession to Russia for a deal with Iran

2026-07-06 18:14:21Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Strong statement: Obama insisted on the establishment of the Special Court in

A recent opinion on the Kosovo Specialist Chambers provides exclusive information about the history and manner of creation, mandate and legitimacy of this international court based in The Hague.

The author of the article published on the "Bridges of Memory" portal, dedicated to transitional justice and history, is Jason Steinbaum, the former Director of Staff at the Foreign Affairs Committee in the US Congress, who for 30 consecutive years was also the chief of staff of Congressman Eliot Engel and as such, a deep expert on all processes involving American interests in the Balkans, but also Albanian ones in Washington DC.

The author in this article argues that the court is a product of mainly American political pressure and not of an internal justice process in Kosovo, and that its structure constitutes a profound deviation from the needs for justice but also from Kosovo's institutional ownership.

Steinabum, who is also a professor at American University in Washington DC, says that the initial stance of US governments regarding allegations of war crimes by the KLA was that they were minimal: “the United States government consistently viewed the allegations against the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), the insurgent force that fought for Kosovo’s independence during the 1998–1999 war, as minimal.

American officials generally acknowledged that no army is perfect, especially in the fog of war, but insisted that, on the whole, the KLA had behaved reasonably.

Steinbaum says that even the most serious allegations, such as terrorism or organ trafficking, “were dismissed in a CIA report drafted in response to an amendment by Congressman Eliot L. Engel, a staunch supporter of Kosovo who later became chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.”

In his op-ed published today in response to a dialogue with former Minister of Foreign Affairs Petrit Selimi, Jason Steinbaum also explains previously unknown details about the interaction of the State Department and the US Embassy with Congressman Engel to pressure Kosovo.

Steinbaum rikujton se “Për disa vite me radhë, Departamenti Amerikan i Shtetit u dha pak ose aspak besueshmëri pretendimeve të Martyt, edhe pas rezolutës së Këshillit të Evropës. Pastaj, pothuajse brenda natës, Shtetet e Bashkuara ndryshuan qëndrim. Diplomatët amerikanë kaluan nga shpërfillja e raportit të Martyt në këmbënguljen, në vitin 2015, se nevojitej një gjykatë ndërkombëtare për të hetuar akuzat e tij. “ Kërcënimi kryesor ndaj Kosovës u bë se nëse Kosova nuk do ta bënte Gjykatë, këtë do ta themelonte OKB-ja, sipas Steinbaum: “Nëse Kosova nuk do ta krijonte Gjykatën, paralajmëronin diplomatët amerikanë, ajo do të krijohej nga Këshilli i Sigurimit i OKB-së – edhe pse, natyrisht, kjo nuk mund të ndodhte nëse SHBA-ja do të përdorte veton e saj. Më e rëndësishmja, Kosovës iu tha se duhej të vepronte pa vonesë, sepse Shtetet e Bashkuara, aleati i saj më i fortë dhe më i qëndrueshëm, po i kërkonin – lexo: po i impononin – ta bënte këtë.”

Këtu Steinbaum jep kontekstin dhe arsyen e këtij ndryshimi të qendrimit amerikan: “një superfuqi si SHBA ka shumë interesa globale dhe nganjëherë ato interesa përplasen me njëri-tjetrin. Ndërsa akuzat e Martyt zienin në Evropë dhe shpërfilleshin kryesisht nga Uashingtoni, administrata Obama po ndiqte prioritetin e saj kryesor në politikën ndërkombëtare: një marrëveshje bërthamore me Iranin. Pothuajse çdo objektiv tjetër i politikës së jashtme kaloi në plan të dytë përballë atyre negociatave dhe ruajtja e koalicionit ndërkombëtar që i mbështeste ishte thelbësore.”

Steinbaum pohon se si kundërvlerë për bashkëpunim rreth marrëveshjes së madhe me Iranin, “shumë besojnë se Rusia, dhe ndoshta edhe disa interesa evropiane, i kërkuan Shteteve të Bashkuara – partnerit kryesor të Kosovës – të ushtronin presion mbi shtetin e ri për të krijuar një gjykatë që do të hetonte dhe ndiqte penalisht këto akuza.

Nga këndvështrimi i Presidentit Obama, një gjykatë e Kosovës e përbërë nga gjyqtarë ndërkombëtarë dhe e përkushtuar, të paktën në dukje, ndaj standardeve më të larta ligjore, ka të ngjarë t’i përshtatej formimit të tij juridik dhe ndjenjës së tij për drejtësi. Për të, kjo ishte një lëshim i lehtë. Udhëzimi zbriti deri te Ambasada Amerikane në Prishtinë dhe në të gjithë Departamentin e Shtetit: Kosova duhej ta kryente këtë.”

Pra, arsyeja se pse Shtetet e Bashkuara kërkuan krijimin e Dhomave të Specializuara, sipas Steinbaum ishte “jo kryesisht për të çuar përpara drejtësinë apo llogaridhënien për trafikimin e organeve ose krime të tjera të pretenduara të UÇK-së, por për t’i shërbyer një objektivi krejt tjetër: sigurimit të marrëveshjes bërthamore me Iranin.”

Steinbaum further explains that “suddenly, American diplomats in Pristina received new instructions: to pressure the Kosovo government to establish the Court and not take “no” for an answer. Senior officials visiting Kosovo were told that the country had to act or face serious consequences. I experienced this firsthand during a visit with Congressman Engel, for whom I worked for 27 years. Ambassador Tracey Jacobson surprised us not only with the sudden change in American policy, but also with the urgency that the American government was giving to the establishment of the Court.”

Jason Steinbaum, who was among the most experienced officials with the Balkans in the entire US Congress, said that Congressman Engel regretted the pressure exerted on Kosovo: "Like many others, we later regretted the position we took and the sad and wasteful mess the Court has become."

Steinbaum further concludes that “The court was not only created for the wrong reason. It was also created in the wrong way, on the basis of a deeply flawed law.” After explaining how American experts stripped Kosovo of its participation in drafting the statute and establishing it, he expresses deep indignation at how the priorities of the Specialist Court are completely inverted: “Given the grave crimes committed against Kosovo Albanians, the creation of a court to try and punish their wartime leaders seemed perverse. In fact, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers may be unique: a court created to prosecute the victims and victors of a war, rather than the main perpetrators and defeated aggressors.”

Steinbaum also deeply analyzes the strange change in the originally proclaimed mandate: “The Court’s mandate becomes even more strange when compared to its original purpose. It was created to investigate the allegations of the Marty report, which focused primarily on organ trafficking. However, the indictments do not mention organ trafficking at all. Instead, they focus on command responsibility for retaliatory attacks carried out by lower-level actors. In other words, the main reason for which the Court was created is no longer what drives its proceedings.”


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

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