Today at the Hague court, the defense witness for Hashim Thaçi, former political adviser to Wesley Clark, Michael Durkee, appeared once again. Durkee stated that he has not read the indictment in the case against the former KLA leaders — Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi, and Jakup Krasniqi, reports KosovaPress.
During his testimony, Durkee said that it was their impression that in Kosovo there was no consolidated command structure and that no one at a high level was giving orders.
Later in the afternoon, Wesley Clark’s former political adviser, Michael Durkee, concluded his testimony before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
Prosecutor Silvia D’Ascoli asked whether Durkee had read the indictment and knew its contents, to which Clark’s former adviser replied that he had not read the indictment and was unaware of what it charges the four KLA leaders with.
“No, I have not read it… No, I don’t know,” he said.
During his testimony at The Hague, Clark’s former political adviser, Michael Durkee, said that the KLA did not have a consolidated chain of command in the sense of direct coordination as understood in a Western military structure.
“We had the impression that there was no solid or consolidated command structure in which someone at a high level in Pristina would issue orders that would then lead to specific actions or operations on the ground in different operational zones. The commanders of the operational zones had considerable autonomy and acted largely at their own discretion when they deemed it appropriate. There was no consolidated chain of command in the sense of direct coordination of command as understood in a Western army,” he said.
When asked whether Thaçi had the authority to stop the violence, Clark’s former political adviser stated that Thaçi did not have such authority.
“He had no competence, no authority to do that at the time… because in those days after the withdrawal of Serbian forces, the KLA was in the middle of trying to fulfill the undertakings and promises made to KFOR together with General Jackson,” he said.
Durkee added that when he met Hashim Thaçi in Mons, Belgium, Thaçi was identified only as the head of the KLA’s Political Directorate and not as a commander. When asked by the SPO whether he knew that Hashim Thaçi was a founder of the Kosovo Liberation Army, the witness said he did not know.
“I think he was identified in public reports as the head of the so-called Political Directorate of the KLA… I don’t think at that time we had much knowledge or information about the organization and development of the KLA, and this was the case throughout 1998–99… I didn’t know… When we met Thaçi in Mons, I don’t believe he was identified as a leading figure or commander of the General Staff. He was identified as the head — and I quote — of the Political Directorate of the KLA. That would naturally have been separate from the General Staff,” Durkee said.
Former political adviser to Wesley Clark, Michael Durkee, began his testimony before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Wednesday afternoon. Earlier this week, the court also heard the testimony of Christopher Hill, the former U.S. special envoy during the Kosovo war.
On Monday, November 17, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Wesley Clark, is expected to testify in the trial of Thaçi and others.
It should be recalled that Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi have been in detention since November 2020, facing charges of alleged war crimes, to which they have all pleaded not guilty.
