British history professor at Oxford University, Jamer Pettifer, says that the reason for the loss of support from the Vetëvendosje Movement, Albin Kurti's party, is also this party's stance regarding the trial of former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army at the Special Court in The Hague.
In an interview on Serbian public television, the Briton was asked whether this judgment will affect the future of Kosovo and the future of Balkan politics.
“I think not. Look at what happened with the Hague trials for people like Thaçi, Selimi and others. These trials dragged on for too long and, according to all independent assessments, the judicial standard in The Hague is very low and the court’s conduct has been extremely bad,” he said.
"I think this is now being understood, especially in the US. This, in the eyes of the ordinary Kosovo Albanian, has discredited the entire international justice process. This means that the imprisonment of these people has not influenced politics. We have seen this," the British professor added.
Pettifer recalled that "Thaci's party did very well in the last elections even without him. Because now he is seen as a martyr and a national hero - after having spent so long in prison without a sentence."
"I think the diplomats and international representatives in Pristina were very surprised when they saw that the Democratic Party of Kosovo received twenty-four percent of the vote and remained a large, dominant party in places like Malisheva in central Kosovo. This should not have happened," he said.
"Meanwhile, Kurti's party is losing support, partly because he was very vague about the Hague trials," he added.
Pettifer says that in this direction of influence that the journalist suggested, "not much has been achieved."
"Can I ask you - did the trial of Milosevic and Seselj change anything in Serbia? I don't think much, right?"
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