The Parliament of Albania has approved, with 92 votes in favor, a declaration supporting the innocence of the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
Through this declaration, Parliament expresses its support for the former leaders and calls for their release by the Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
The declaration states that the KLA was a legitimate liberation movement that fought for human rights. It further emphasizes that the Albanian Parliament notes with concern that the request of the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office risks creating a dangerous distortion of history by equating a legitimate struggle of a people for survival and freedom with the crimes of the Serbian regime, which carried out ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity against the people of Kosovo.
“The Parliament of Albania declares its full and unconditional support for the leaders of the KLA, who were and remain representatives of the aspirations and rights of the people of Kosovo for freedom and self-determination. Their war was just, grounded in the universal principles of human rights. It calls on the Specialist Chambers in The Hague, the international community, and international justice institutions to declare the innocence of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi through a fair and impartial process that respects and does not undermine the dignity of the Kosovo liberation struggle,” the declaration states.
Furthermore, the Albanian Parliament expressed its commitment to undertake all necessary diplomatic and political steps in international forums to ensure that the historical truth of the KLA’s war is not distorted and that justice is carried out fairly.
It also reminded the international community that the KLA’s war took place under conditions in which the Milošević regime was carrying out ethnic cleansing and genocidal acts against the civilian population of Kosovo, and that NATO’s intervention in 1999 confirmed the legitimacy of that war and the criminal nature of the Milošević regime.
The declaration concludes by expressing full solidarity with the people of Kosovo and the families of the KLA leaders, reiterating that the Albanian nation stands united in defending historical truth and the dignity of the struggle for freedom.
