Hundreds of students marched in Prishtina on Monday to protest the verdict issued by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague against former senior Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) figures Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi.
The demonstration was organized by students of the University of Prishtina and focused on opposition to the court’s judgment against the four former KLA leaders.
Speaking during the march, student Donart Humolli said Kosovo’s younger generation rejected what he described as an unjust judgment against people whom he credited with contributing to the country’s liberation.
“There is no court or decision that can change the way the youth of Kosovo view the liberation fighters,” Humolli said.
He acknowledged the role of international allies in Kosovo’s liberation, particularly the United States, while arguing that the KLA’s contribution should also be recognized.
“We understand that we are fortunate to belong to the first generations of this nation to experience freedom without having lived through the horrors of war. But we also clearly understand that this freedom would not have been possible without the sacrifice of the Kosovo Liberation Army,” Humolli said.
He added that Kosovo’s liberation would also not have been possible without international support.
“Today, the students and youth of Kosovo stand united in their unwavering belief in the West,” he said, referring particularly to the United States and arguing that international allies should continue to support Kosovo.
Humolli said Kosovo’s younger generation now lives in an independent, democratic and multiethnic state, adding that the country’s experience with oppression and injustice shaped its response to the Specialist Chambers’ judgment.
Prishtina Mayor Përparim Rama also attended the demonstration and described the protests as democratic.
Rama told reporters that he considered the prosecution of former KLA leaders to have been unjust, arguing that national values should not be criminalized through a judicial process.
“No national value can be criminalized by any process,” Rama said, adding that the capital’s public squares should remain open to protests defending what he described as national values.
He also called on Kosovo’s institutions and political parties to approach the issue on a non-partisan basis and urged greater political unity.
The demonstration comes amid renewed public debate in Kosovo following the Specialist Chambers’ judgment concerning the four former KLA leaders and calls from supporters for continued political and public opposition to the verdict.
