Western Powers Warn Kosovo on Changing War Crimes Court Law

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Five western nations have warned Kosovo against repealing or amending a law on a war crimes court, saying it would suffer negative consequences “in international and Euro-Atlantic integration.”

A statement Thursday from the nations — the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy — said they were “deeply concerned by ongoing efforts to undermine the work of the Specialist Chambers.” It called on Kosovo politicians and lawmakers “to abandon any thought of repealing or re-negotiating any aspect of the law.”

In late December, a group of Kosovo lawmakers tried to amend the law, seeking to extend its jurisdiction over Serbs, their former adversaries in the 1998-1999 war for independence. That’s although the court says it has jurisdiction over all potential war crimes suspects who were citizens in Kosovo.