VOA慢速英语--科索沃当局领导人宣布辞职,面临战争罪指控

（单词翻译）

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci resigned on Thursday to face war crimes charges brought by a court in The Hague in the Netherlands.

The 52-year-old leader said he had decided¹ to step down "to protect the integrity of the presidency²."

The charges are for war crimes and crimes against humanity. They date back to Thaci's involvement in Kosovo's war for independence from Serbia. Thaci was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), an ethnic³ Albanian guerrilla group that fought against Serbian security forces in the 1998-1999 war.

Thaci was indicted⁵ in June, along with nine other former rebel leaders, by a special Kosovo court and prosecutor⁶'s office based in The Hague. The court was established in 2015 to investigate and try former ethnic Albanian rebel leaders for alleged⁷ war crimes.

Prosecutors⁸ accuse Thaci and other suspects of being responsible for the murders of nearly 100 civilians⁹ during the war. The group is also accused of causing the "enforced disappearance¹⁰ of persons, persecution¹¹ and torture."

The charges relate to "hundreds of known victims of Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities and include political opponents," prosecutors said.

The president's closest ally, Kadri Veseli, said Thursday an indictment¹² against him had also been confirmed by the court and that he would go to The Hague.

Thaci and Veseli both deny any involvement in war crimes.

The 1998-1999 war killed more than 10,000 people, most of them ethnic Albanians. At least 1,641 people are still unaccounted for.

A 78-day NATO air campaign against Serbian troops brought the war to an end.

Thaci said he was proud to have belonged to the Kosovo Liberation Army during the war. He called the force "the most sublime¹³ value of the Albanian nation." He called the indictment "the smallest price we have to pay for the freedom of our people."

The government said in a statement that all defendants¹⁴ should be considered innocent unless the court decides otherwise.

"No one may judge our fight for freedom," the government said in a statement. It added that the KLA "fought for the liberation of our country, to protect the house and not in a foreign land, and as such it has the support of the international community."

Thaci held a ceremony at his office to hand over presidential duties to the head of Kosovo's parliament, Vjosa Osmani. The government said the move was in line with the country's constitution.

Thaci was elected president in February 2016. Before that, he served as foreign minister, deputy prime minister and prime minister. His current term ends in April 2021, when the National Assembly was expected to elect a new president.

Words in This Story

integrity – n. honesty and the ability to do or know what is morally right

indict⁴ – v. to formally declare that someone should be put on trial for a crime

prosecutor – n. the person acting¹⁵ on behalf of a court process against a person accused of a crime to see if that person is guilty

account for – phr v. to be part of a total number of something

sublime – adj. extreme good or enjoyable

persecution – n. the treatment of someone unfairly or cruelly because of their race, religion, or beliefs

alleged – adj. accused of having done something wrong or illegal but not yet proven guilty