Thaci says he wants Serbia "to apologize"

Thaci says he wants Serbia "to apologize"

In a statement for the Vienna daily Standard, he also criticized Belgrade for "not approving" his recently planned then canceled trip to the capital.

Thaci was last month informed by the Serbian authorities that he would be detained if he decided to traveled to Belgrade, considering that there is a valid court ruling finding him guilty of terrorism and sentencing him to ten years in prison.

Thaci told the newspaper that it would be "good if Serbia acted according to the model of South Africa and apologized to the victims of the Kosovo war."

"However, we are witnesses that Serbia is still opposed to apologizing. We must therefore find a legal way to document history and find at least some comfort for the families of more than 10,000 people killed and 20,000 raped women," Thaci has been quoted as saying.

He then added that "Pristina is discussing this with its allies and lawyers."

That means, he explained, they are "considering how make the demand to receive information about who the Serb killers from 1999 were."

As for the planned "genocide lawsuit against Serbia" Thaci claims there are "several possibilities for it," and that "more than a hundred Kosovo Albanians living in the United States and Europe want to seek reparations from Serbia."

"The then government is responsible for the destruction of 65 percent of private property of Kosovars (residents of Kosovo)," he said, and added that there was also the possibility to "invite" the Hague Tribunal for war crimes.

Thaci commented on his intention to travel to Belgrade at the invitation of an NGO, to say:

"If a candidate for accession to the EU refuses a visit of a neighbor on such topics, then the question is how can we look forward in the Balkans and thereby encourage normalization of relations. Such behavior leads to tensions and creates uncertainty about the political will of Belgrade to looks to the future."

Thaci "confirmed that Serbia issued a warrant for his arrest," and said this was the same as with Javier Solana, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton who were "accused of terrorism" and attacking Serbia (in 1999).

"These orders are absurd, and I expect that Serbia will come to its senses as soon as possible and declare all charges from the time of Milosevic invalid. We are in 2015 and it is strange that decisions from a dark phase are still legally valid," said he.

Thaci also revealed that he "expects Belgrade to act like a Pristina which has granted a number of visits of highest Serbian officials to Kosovo."