Hashim Thaci (Full Albanian variation: Hashim Thaēi; sometimes Hashim Thaqi, Serbo-Croat: Hašim Tači) (born 24 April 1968 in Buroje/Brocna in the municipality of Srbica (northwest of Drenica valley], Kosovo, Serbia, Yugoslavia) is the president of the Democratic Party of Kosovo and former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
Before Thaci emigrated to Switzerland, he studied philosophy and history at the University of Priština. By 1993, Thaēi joined the Kosovar Albanian political emigration in Switzerland. There he became one of the founding fathers of the People's Movement of Kosovo (LPK), a political party in Kosovo. Its ideology lied in Albanian nationalism and the plight to unify all Albanian-populated areas into one state. In 1993, Thaci was sent in and became a member of the inner circle of the KLA. Thaēi (nom de guerre "Gjarpėri" [the Snake]) was responsible for securing financial means, training and armament of recruits, teaching them in Albania under the shield of its Kosovar-aims-sympathetic government, to be dispatched to Kosovo.
In July of 1997 Serb judges at the District Court of Priština sentenced Thaci to 10 years of prison in absentia, accused to have committed criminal acts of terrorism It is because of this that on 11th July 1997 Thaci and his Drenica unit went into hiding in the woodlands in Drenica, although they continued to often visit Albania and Switzerland, not remaining in Kosovo in hiding. During 90's judges in Kosovo courts were entirely Serbs and most of them loyal to Slobodan Milosevic. In February of 1998 the government in Belgrade headed by Slobodan Milosevic issued an arrest warrant under the condemnation for having ambushed and attacked patrolling Serbian policemen.
In March 1999 Hashim Thaēi was promoted into a political leader of the KLA and as such participated at the Rambouillet negotiations as the leader of the Kosovar Albanian team. At present, he leads the major opposition political party in Kosovo and is a leading member of the Kosovo team in the internationally-mediated process of negotiations for the final status of Kosovo
Hashim Thaci (Full Albanian variation: Hashim Thaēi; sometimes Hashim Thaqi, Serbo-Croat: Haim Tači) (born 24 April 1968 in Buroje/Brocna in the municipality of Srbica (northwest of Drenica valley], Kosovo, Serbia, Yugoslavia) is the president of the Democratic Party of Kosovo and former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
Before Thaci emigrated to Switzerland, he studied philosophy and history at the University of Pritina. By 1993, Thaēi joined the Kosovar Albanian political emigration in Switzerland. There he became one of the founding fathers of the People's Movement of Kosovo (LPK), a political party in Kosovo. Its ideology lied in Albanian nationalism and the plight to unify all Albanian-populated areas into one state. In 1993, Thaci was sent in and became a member of the inner circle of the KLA. Thaēi (nom de guerre "Gjarpėri" [the Snake]) was responsible for securing financial means, training and armament of recruits, teaching them in Albania under the shield of its Kosovar-aims-sympathetic government, to be dispatched to Kosovo.
In July of 1997 Serb judges at the District Court of Pritina sentenced Thaci to 10 years of prison in absentia, accused to have committed criminal acts of terrorism It is because of this that on 11th July 1997 Thaci and his Drenica unit went into hiding in the woodlands in Drenica, although they continued to often visit Albania and Switzerland, not remaining in Kosovo in hiding. During 90's judges in Kosovo courts were entirely Serbs and most of them loyal to Slobodan Milosevic. In February of 1998 the government in Belgrade headed by Slobodan Milosevic issued an arrest warrant under the condemnation for having ambushed and attacked patrolling Serbian policemen.
In March 1999 Hashim Thaēi was promoted into a political leader of the KLA and as such participated at the Rambouillet negotiations as the leader of the Kosovar Albanian team. At present, he leads the major opposition political party in Kosovo and is a leading member of the Kosovo team in the internationally-mediated process of negotiations for the final status of Kosovo
Early life and education
Thaēi was born on 24 April 1968 in the Drenica region, in the municipality of Srbica of the Yugoslav province of Kosovo (in present-day Kosovo).
He studied philosophy and history at the University of Pristina. During his university years, he was an Albanian student leader and the first student president of the parallel Albanian University of Pristina that broke off in 1989 (and organized in the early 1990s) from the official University due to Kosovar Albanians' protest of Slobodan Miloević's new imposed status of the province of Kosovo.
By 1993, Thaēi joined the Albanian political émigré group in Switzerland, where he also pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Zurich in the departments of history and international relations. There he became one of the founders of the People's Movement of Kosovo (LPK), a Marxist-Leninist political party devoted to Albanian popular nationalism.
Role in KLA
In 1993, Thaēi became a member of the inner circle of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Thaēi (nom de guerre "Gjarpėri" [The Snake]) was responsible for securing financial means and armaments, and training recruits in Albania to be dispatched to Kosovo.[citation needed] In 1997, Thaēi was tried in absentia and convicted by the Serbian authorities in Pristina for acts of terrorism associated with his activities in the KLA. In March 1999, Thaēi participated in the Rambouillet negotiations as the leader of the Kosovar Albanian team. Thaēi was perceived by western diplomats during the negotiations as the "voice of reason" within the KLA: his attendance at the negotiations demonstrated a willingness to accept autonomy for Kosovo within Serbia at a time when other rebel leaders rejected any solution short of full national independence. Thaēi emerged from the final diplomatic settlement as the leader of the strongest faction within a KLA rife with factionalism. He moved quickly to consolidate power, unilaterally naming himself prime minister within a provisional government and allegedly ordering the assassination of the leaders of rival armed factions.
Alleged Criminal Activities
Thaēi is alleged to have extensive criminal links. During the period of time when Thaēi was head of the Kosovo Liberation Army, it was reported by the Washington Times to be financing its activities by trafficking heroin and cocaine into western Europe.
Thaēi in particular is seen as being central to the criminal activities of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), who reportedly extorted money from businessmen under the guise of "taxes" for Thaēi's self appointed government. While the KLA was officially disbanded at the end of armed conflict in Kosovo in 1999, the new Kosovo Protection Corps was composed primarily of former KLA fighters and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) was formed largely from the political leadership of the KLA. A near monopoly on the means of force, based on the absorption of the KLA into the KPC allowed the Democratic Party of Kosovo to seize control of the machinery of government at the municipal level. The Democratic Party of Kosovo has regularly employed violence and intimidation of political rivals to maintain local political control and protect criminal enterprises which depend upon cooperation from friendly local authorities.
The fact that the Democratic Party of Kosovo was seen as both corrupt and criminal lead directly to the electoral defeat of the DPK in the first free elections in the province in 2001. The BBC stated at the time, "The tumbling reputation of the former KLA was to have a disastrous effect on the PDK because of the perceived overlap between its political leadership and post-KLA organised crime."
A recent analysis of organized crime in Kosovo prepared by German intellegence service BND and a confidential report contracted by the German military, the Bundeswehr accuse Thaēi, as well as Ramush Haradinaj and the majority Kosovo parliament faction Xhavit Haliti of far-reaching involvement in organized crime. The BND writes: The key players (including Haliti, Haradinaj, and Thaēi) are intimately involved in inter-linkages between politics, business, and organized crime structures in Kosovo. The report accuses Thaēi of leading a criminal network operating throughout Kosovo. in the end of the 1990s. The BND report also accuses Thaēi of contacts with the Czech and Albanian mafias. In addition, it accuses him, together with Haliti, of ordering killings by an professional hit man Afrimi, who is allegedly responsible for at least 11 contract murders.
Victory in 2007 election and declaration of Kosovar independence
Kosovo elections were held on 17 November 2007. After early results based on 90 per cent of the votes, Hashim Thaēi who was on course to gain 34 per cent, claimed victory for PDK, the Democratic Party of Kosovo. He stated his intention to declare independence without delay on 10 December, the date set by the United Nations for the end of negotiations with Serbia. At 45 per cent, the turnout at the election was particularly low with most Serbs refusing to vote.
However, on 19 November 2007, several EU foreign ministers warned Thaēi and his allies not to go ahead with their declaration of independence without consultations. Luxembourg's Jean Asselborn and Sweden's Carl Bildt urged the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) not to make any hasty moves while EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana stressed the importance of proper preparations prior to formal independence. After EU talks on Kosovo in London on 19 November 2007, the UK's Europe minister, Jim Murphy, said independence without foreign support could isolate the breakaway province.
Hashim Thaēi was designated as the next leader of Kosovo's government on 11 December 2007 by Kosovar President Fatmir Sejdiu and told to form a government "as soon as possible". His Democratic Party of Kosovo began coalition talks with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) as well as the Alliance for New Kosovo. Those parties together control 75 seats of 120 in the assembly. On 9 January 2008, Thaēi was elected as Prime Minister by parliament, with 85 votes in favor and 22 against. On this occasion he stated his intention to achieve independence for Kosovo in the first half of 2008.
On 16 February 2008, Thaēi announced that the next day, 17 February, would be key for "implementing the will of the citizens of Kosovo", strongly implying the province would declare independence from Serbia. On 17 February 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. Thaēi became Prime Minister of the newly independent state.
On 6 June 2008, gunmen failed in an attempt to assassinate Thaēi at his home in Pristina.
Who is Hashim Thaci?
Mėnyra Linare
