The Organization of War Veterans of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) has responded to recent criticism and debate over amendments to Kosovo’s Law on Specialist Chambers, describing the changes approved by the Kosovo Assembly as an important step toward what it considers a more just legal framework.
In a public statement, the organization said recent opposition to the amendments had been “hasty” and lacked serious legal analysis.
According to the KLA War Veterans, no substantive legal analysis or study has so far been made public demonstrating that the approved amendments are impossible to implement or contrary to Kosovo’s international obligations.
“Instead of legal arguments, the public has largely been confronted with polemics, one-sided interpretations and political positions, which cannot be treated as undisputed conclusions,” the organization said.
The veterans also rejected the suggestion that their position was intended to undermine international justice, while saying that the timing and manner of recent criticism could create such an impression among citizens who have protested for justice.
“We, the categories emerging from the KLA war, believe and are convinced that the approved amendments represent an important step toward putting the Specialist Chambers on the right track of justice,” the statement said.
The organization argued that the amendments should be assessed according to legal standards and principles that should underpin any institution of justice.
It also criticized what it called speculation about the potential legal consequences of the amendments, arguing that such claims cannot replace professional legal analysis.
“Anyone who claims otherwise has a responsibility to support their position with facts, concrete provisions and legal reasoning, not political statements,” the veterans said.
The organization stressed that Kosovo has demonstrated its willingness to cooperate with international justice, including in cases where, in its view, extremely difficult decisions have been taken.
At the same time, it argued that cooperation with international justice does not mean giving up the right to seek impartial justice, institutional accountability and respect for the dignity of Kosovo’s liberation war.
The KLA War Veterans called for the debate over the amendments to be conducted on the basis of legal arguments rather than political interpretations.
“The hope of citizens for justice deserves reasoned answers, not efforts to relativize or extinguish it,” the organization concluded.
