At the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, former US Special Envoy during the Kosovo war, Christopher Hill, continued his testimony today. Today in the Hague courtroom, he said that at the time he never heard that former President Hashim Thaçi had ordered illegal activities for which he is charged.
Hill was also accompanied in court by a representative of the US State Department.
During the first part of today’s session, the former American diplomat, Christopher Hill, answered questions from Thaçi’s defense, Luka Misetiq.
Hill said that knowing Thaçi is in prison for war crimes charges, he felt he should say what he knows about that period.
“Time does not heal all wounds, but I think after 25 years it is a significant time to reflect, and I have no reason to believe that Mr. Thaçi was involved in such decisions. I have no reason to believe and I did not hear at the time that he ordered such activities or illegal actions, and as I understand it, he has been detained regarding these matters. So when I was asked, people contacted me, and I felt I should say what I knew about the situation,” he said.
When asked whether he had communicated with former President Thaçi during the NATO bombings, Hill denied this. But he added that during the NATO bombing period, former Kosovar President Ibrahim Rugova was held in Belgrade against his will.
“When I said I was working in Macedonia at a certain point during the bombing campaign, Rugova, who had been held against his will in Belgrade, went to the Vatican. He was released from Belgrade and went to the Vatican… I was asked to meet him and understand his intentions and goals, whether he was planning to make any public statement regarding the bombing campaign. I did this; he had not planned to make any public statements, and I returned to Skopje,” he said.
During his further testimony, Hill stated that immediately after the meeting in Kumanovo, Serbian military and police forces began withdrawing from Kosovo, and NATO was entering Kosovo.
“As far as I could see in the days immediately after the meeting in Kumanovo, the Serbs had begun to withdraw from Kosovo; police and military units began to pull out of Kosovo; NATO started entering Kosovo, where it had been previously stationed in Macedonia, moving from Macedonia into Kosovo, and began patrolling the situation in Kosovo,” he declared.
He confirmed that US President Bill Clinton visited North Macedonia in the summer of 1999, where he thanked Macedonian authorities for accepting refugees.
When asked by Thaçi’s defense whether he had been requested to be interviewed by prosecutors or defense lawyers on war crimes issues, the former American diplomat said that during 2002-2003, while serving as ambassador in Poland, he had been asked to do so but preferred to continue his current duties.
“A few years later, I am saying this before 2002-2003, when I was ambassador in Warsaw, I was asked to testify at the War Crimes Tribunal. I worked as a foreign service officer and was ambassador in Poland, and although I did not refuse the conversation with the person from the State Department, I did not refuse it; however, I spoke with the responsible people in the State Department and said that I preferred to continue with my current duties and thus continue as ambassador in Poland,” he emphasized.
After finishing the questioning by Thaçi’s lawyer, Luka Misetiq, the trial where Christopher Hill is testifying continued with questioning by Jakup Krasniqi’s defense.
The former American diplomat, Christopher Hill, began his testimony before the Hague court yesterday, where he explained how he first became involved in the Kosovo issue. He said that this was requested by former US Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, at that time.
Hill, who holds witness code 1DË-008, is the fifth witness called by Hashim Thaçi’s defense, represented by attorney Luka Misetiq. 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.
