Sejdiu: Thaçi has read the declaration of independence, he has not proclaimed it

Former President Fatmir Sejdiu said that on February 17, 2008, the then-former Prime Minister, Hashim Thaçi, read the Declaration of Independence of Kosovo.

This document is an important act of the Kosovo Assembly, but Thaçi has not promulgated it.

"The Declaration of Independence is a document of the Assembly. We talked, Thaçi read that declaration. He did not announce it, it is the authorship of the Assembly of Kosovo. We are the first signatories, according to the positions of the state. A document that is historic has been signed. Several deputies of the communities have also signed it," said Sejdiu.

Sejdiu, on the show "Debat Plus", stated that he had disagreements with former Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, but important matters for the state of Kosovo were done with understanding.

Cooperation with Thaçi and Krasniqi

"There were issues where we did not agree, but there were also cases where we reached agreements through the necessary institutional cooperation. We had different concepts, which is natural. But on issues related to the path of Kosovo and its development, there was institutional unity. It was productive.

In the Monday tete-a-tete meetings, 99% have taken place in my office. From his position as head of state, he has gone to these levels. Meetings with the Speaker of the Assembly have been rare, but those that have taken place have been constructive.

The topics were current, daily. One of the disagreements with Prime Minister Thaçi was because of the mayor of Rahovec. The reasons were simple and very clear: the Ministry of Local Government had made a decision for his resignation and return to the position. We went to the Constitutional Court, and the decision was made as I had predicted,” Sejdiu added.

Sejdiu recalled that they knew the date of Independence approximately two weeks before the declaration, but such information was kept confidential.

"We knew the date almost two weeks before the announcement. There are moments of motivation that each of us had. But it is true that we did not go beyond institutional discipline. We had in-depth consultations with international partners, especially with the US, starting with the Secretary of State and other personalities of allied countries. We wanted to keep the part of the positive decisions confidential. I wanted to remain in a conciliatory manner, as part of a silent general unity, until the moment came. There were numerous and various urges, and people were tied to conditions. There was pressure, such as, 'You don't dare do this on the 28th, do you?' There was also responsibility for the 28th, as well as the pressure that was there. But this made us understand that we must react. It is easy to boast about foreign things. Be careful," he added.