During his testimony in The Hague today, former US diplomat Christopher Hill stated that his impression was that Jakup Krasniqi was not a significant figure in the Kosovo Liberation Army.
“Yes, these are unsubstantiated opinions, but in the absence of other information at the time… Ellis: This is your impression from what you saw, that Mr. Krasniqi was not an important person in the KLA… Hill: Yes, that was my impression,” he said.
Christopher Hill, asked by Jakup Krasniqi’s defense whether he was aware of Slobodan Milosevic’s initiative to “create a local police unit” in villages in western Kosovo, denied knowing about it.
He said that if he had known, he would have said it was a bad idea.
Hill, speaking about the negotiations in January 1999 in Rambouillet, said there had been “a single exchange that took place between the KLA and conflict soldiers.”
“No, but had I been aware of this, I would have said it is a bad idea. Not every initiative by President Milosevic was reported to us; frankly, we did not take it seriously… He planned to take very strict punitive measures if nothing was done,” he said.
He added that he did not know that Milosevic had allowed the release of Serbian soldiers and said it was an ongoing problem with the KLA because they did not know who was responsible there.
The former US Special Envoy during the Kosovo war, Christopher Hill, said he still maintains his view and skepticism that organizing conferences could solve Kosovo’s problems.
“I was skeptical that organizing a conference could solve this issue; moreover, I was skeptical and tired of the idea that Dayton was the solution to the Kosovo problem, which I considered a very different conflict,” he said.
During his testimony, the former American diplomat confirmed that on November 6, 1998, he had met with Thaçi and Krasniqi in Dragobil.
Furthermore, in the courtroom, Hill stated that Adem Demaçi was opposed to negotiations with the Serbs and opposed to anything that did not address the issue of independence.
“We knew that Adem Demaçi was against any negotiations with the Serbs and opposed to anything that did not address the issue of independence. So when there were serious problems, we assumed it was Demaçi behind them,” he said.
The defense of Veseli and Selimi did not ask questions to the fifth witness of Thaçi’s defense, Christopher Hill.
Currently, the former US Special Envoy during the Kosovo war, Christopher Hill, is answering questions from the Office of the Specialist Prosecutor.
Hill began his testimony in The Hague yesterday and is the fifth witness called by Hashim Thaçi’s defense, represented by attorney Luka Mishetiq. Only two more witnesses remain to be heard.
Recall that Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi have been in pre-trial detention since November 2020. The former KLA leaders are accused of alleged war crimes, to which they have pleaded not guilty.
