Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Thaçi: Ramush said he wanted to become great by all means (Koha Ditore)

Koha carries an interview with the leader of PDK Hashim Thaçi where he is quoted as saying, ‘during a meeting I had with Ramush, he clearly told me he is interested in maths and not in politics’ and said that the proposed government cabinet has no capacity to lead a government.

On the coalition agreement between LDK and AAK, Thaçi says he was surprised but not disappointed by it. ‘I wasn’t surprised by the deal reached between coalition actors but by the fact that these two parties seemed to conceptually differ from one another’, added Thaçi.

Thaçi remarked that PDK was in favour of a broad-based coalition, as that would guarantee Kosovo stability, effective functioning of institutions, strong international support, safety for investors and above all, a fair and faster resolution of its status. ‘There is fear that this coalition was joined by short-term political interests of Rugova and Haradinaj. The former is led by the desire to politically eliminate his true rival, the head of PDK while the latter by the unconditional desire for power’, Thaçi pointed out.

‘Instead of Kosovo having a moderate, competent, reformative and all-inclusive government, it is now building a completely irresponsible and a provincial one: with narrow-sighted interest. This government will unfortunately also be isolated from the international institutions’.

Asked about the position that PDK will have in relation to the LDK-AAK coalition, Thaçi said, ‘PDK will be a contemporary political school for other parties on how to build an opposition, how to functionalise its role, be constructive, active and above all, how to present better alternatives for the future of the country’.

With regards to the early general elections, PDK leader denied such a possibility and said that work should be done to strengthen institutions and not to experiment with the will of citizens.

On the question of what he believes will happen if Ramush Haradinaj is indicted by ICTY, Thaçi replied, ‘Haradinaj has concluded his interview with the Tribunal and should now be left in peace’. He also said that ICTY is misusing the good will of Kosovo people and its institutions. ‘KLA has not committed any crimes’, stressed Thaçi.

Asked to comment whether he thought the new government will implement the set of standards, Thaçi answered, ‘Absolutely not. Democratic standards cannot be met with a government made of half-educated people’.

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