Philip Kosnett, the US ambassador to Pristina, said on Wednesday that convicted war criminals should not be in the Government of Kosovo, the Beta news agency reported.
Kosnett reacted to Pristina’s Government decision to name Sulejman Sellimi an advisor to the Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj.
Sellimi was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1989-1999 war there and was convicted of war crimes against civilians.
He was sentenced to seven years in jail but was released on parole on January 25 after serving the two-thirds of his time.
Kosnett wrote on his Twitter account that “the leaders of all parties should stop supporting such individuals.“
Convicted war criminals have no place in #Kosovo’s government. Leaders of all parties should stop supporting such individuals. Such support calls into question Kosovo’s commitment to the rule of law. Pleased to see groups from different communities speaking out in unison. https://t.co/chVgsCztHa
— Ambassador Philip S. Kosnett (@USAmbKosovo) February 6, 2019
He also retweeted a joint statement by the youth initiatives for human rights from Serbia and Kosovo in which they condemned Haradinaj’s decision.
https://t.co/oSo92u4Yys https://t.co/oSo92u4Yys
— YIHR Kosovo (@YIHRKosovo) February 5, 2019
