US Watchdog Accuses Kosovo Politicians of Corruption Links

In its latest annual report on trends in democracy, published on Wednesday, Freedom House alleged that two veteran political leaders in Kosovo, Hashim Thaci and Ramush Haradinaj, are among various powerful figures in the country who have criminal connections.

"Major political figures in Kosovo, including former president Thaci and former prime minister Haradinaj, have links to organised crime and high-level corruption, which play powerful roles in politics and have influenced the installation of key leaders," the report says.

Neither of the two men has responded to the allegations so far.

Freedom House said that although Kosovo has held credible and relatively well-administered elections, "its institutions remain weak, and rampant corruption has given rise to deep public distrust in the government".

Thaci and Haradinaj, both former Kosovo Liberation Army guerrilla leaders, have been involved in politics since the war ended in 1999, in different political parties.

While Thaci led the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK and became the country's prime minister and president between 2008 and 2020, Haradinaj established his own party, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, and served as prime minister for two stints, first in 2005 and then from 2017-19.

Thaci stepped down as president to face charges of war crimes at the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers and is currently awaiting trial. Haradinaj was acquitted of war crimes charges by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in 2012.

The Freedom House report notes that "corruption and clientelism often pressure voters' choices during elections" in Kosovo and that "powerful businesspeople in Kosovo may influence their employees' political...