This draft law is being brought to the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo in a hurry, violating the procedures established according to the work regulations of the Assembly for the consideration of draft laws. It is clear that this draft law is brought to the Assembly as a result of the last agreement reached between the two prime ministers, that of Kosovo and Serbia, which the majority of deputies, also in a hurry, ratified in the session of June 27, 2013.
It is understood that the integration of the Serbian structures of the north into the institutions of Kosovo requires amnesty for the group that broke the laws and the constitutional order. However, this amnesty should be valid only for the north and only for humanitarian issues, for example, in the field of education, health, and other basic issues for living. As a result, it is incomprehensible and at the same time very harmful for the future of our state and all the communities of the Republic of Kosovo, that through this law there is an attempt to amnesty even the perpetrators of criminal offenses in the south of Kosovo that have nothing to do with humanitarian issues, such as: (1) illegal occupation of real property; (2) destruction or concealment of archival material; (3) disproportionate benefit contracting; (4) prohibited trade; (5) illegal practice of medical activity; (6) illegal exercise of medical or pharmaceutical activity; (7) violation of employment or unemployment rights; (8) Obstructing the official person in the performance of duties; (9) espionage; and many others.
In the name of normalizing relations with Serbia, attempts are being made to amnesty the most egregious criminal acts of high-ranking public officials, which the public has been following with attention for years, which constitute the usurpation of all private and public properties even in the south (e not only in the north); the beating of authorized officials by people close to public officials in the south as well; the nepotism that has so far destroyed the development potential of Kosovo in the south as well; the smuggling of medical products that have endangered the citizens of the country even in the south; espionage activities, which were not only an open activity in the north of the country, but also of criminal organizations in its south, which have damaged the country to a great extent; theft of public services in the south as well.
Finally, our concern is even greater considering that this draft law allows ambiguity in many cases and contains references to laws and constitutional orders that have now been extinguished with the entry into force of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and its laws, where as a result it also creates a precedent in many court cases in the future.
We call on all the deputies of the Assembly of Kosovo to review this law not only with deputies, but also with citizens, experts in the field, and members of civil society. If the Law is voted in the form it is, then the Assembly of the Republic will deal the most serious blow to justice to date, equating many criminals with honest citizens.
Sincerely,
Ilir Deda
Executive Director