ĐOKIĆ: SENTENCE AGAINST THAÇI AND OTHERS AN ACT OF DELAYED JUSTICE

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 16 /SRNA/ - Socialist Party /SP/ President Petar Đokić said that the first-instance sentence handed down to Hashim Thaçi and the other commanders of the terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army /KLA/ provides only minimal and belated justice.

Đokić said that such a sentence does not fully reflect the scale of the terror and suffering endured by Serbs and members of other non-Albanian communities in Kosovo and Metohija, which is why a considerably harsher sentence should have been handed down.

"The political and military apparatus under the command of the KLA, headed by Thaçi, was the main driver and cause of decades of insecurity, persecution and the undermining of coexistence in the province, leaving behind serious consequences that the Serb community continues to feel today," Đokić stressed.

Đokić said that genuine satisfaction for the victims and their families will not be achieved until a comprehensive, rather than partial, judicial process is conducted against all those who ordered and committed the crimes, the SP said in a statement.

"The international community has a lasting obligation to ensure the full security and protection of the rights of the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija. It has failed to do so so far, while abandoning UN Security Council Resolution 1244 has enabled the political lawlessness of Albanian secessionists," Đokić stressed.

A court in The Hague today sentenced four leaders of the terrorist KLA to a total of 81 years in prison.

Hashim Thaçi and Jakup Krasniqi were each sentenced to 25 years in prison. Kadri Veseli was sentenced to a single term of 18 years in prison, while Rexhep Selimi received a 13-year prison sentence.