Kosovo's president Hashim Thaci has resigned after a court in The Hague confirmed that he would face war crimes charges related to a 1998-9 conflict between Kosovar guerrillas and Serbian forces.
Kadri Veseli, another former member of the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army who later became speaker of his country's parliament, also announced on Thursday that he would travel to the Netherlands to face charges brought by the so-called Kosovo Specialist Chambers.
The court’s indictment published in June accused both men of involvement in “a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, enforced disappearance of persons, persecution, and torture”.
Prosecutors said the pair were suspected of being “criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders” and of committing crimes against political opponents and members of Kosovo’s Serb, Roma and other minorities, as well as trying repeatedly “to obstruct and undermine the work” of the court.
Mr Thaci and Mr Veseli have denied any wrongdoing and vowed to clear their names at a court that many of their compatriots view as biased against Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority.
“I will not allow under any circumstances that I appear before court as the president of the republic of Kosovo,” Mr Thaci said. “Therefore, in order to protect the integrity of the office of the president and the country, as well as the dignity of the citizens, I resign from the position of president.”
“I believe in truth, reconciliation and the future of our country and society. . . The indictment against me and my brothers-in-arms is a small price to pay for the freedom of our people,” he added.
Ethnic Albanian victims
The vast majority of the 13,000 people killed and the more than one million displaced during the war were ethnic Albanians, but armed Kosovar groups were accused of subsequently launching reprisals against political rivals and ethnic minorities in Kosovo, which declared independence from Belgrade in 2008.
"We are a freedom-loving people and not vengeful," Mr Thaci (52) said. "That is why no claim may re-write history. Kosovo has been the victim. Serbia has been the aggressor."
Serbia rejects Kosovo's independence and their relations are still icy despite years of talks brokered by the European Union, which insists they must establish functioning ties to have any chance of joining the bloc.
Brussels welcomed Mr Thaci’s pledge to co-operate with the court and called Kosovo’s respect for the rule of law a “core element” of its push for EU integration.
Jelena Sesar, Balkans researcher at Amnesty International, said confirmation of the indictment "brings hope for thousands of victims of the Kosovo war who have waited for more than two decades to find out the truth about the horrific crimes committed against them and their loved ones" and showed that "senior officials are not above the law".
