The Organization of KLA War Veterans (OVL-UÇK) issued a fierce public rebuke on Wednesday following the Special Court’s decision to delay the verdict for former KLA leaders until September 16, branding the international judicial process an “unacceptable, politically motivated farce.”
In an official press release, the veterans’ organization characterized the latest scheduling shift as a deliberate “round of public humiliation” targeting Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi, and Jakup Krasniqi, who have been held in pre-trial detention in The Hague.
Accusations of Political Collusion with Belgrade
The OVL-UÇK strongly rejected the Trial Panel’s official justification that the delay was required to review the massive volume and complexity of the case files. Instead, the veterans’ leadership argued that the recurring postponements reveal a deeper systemic bias.
- Amnesty for Belgrade: The organization claimed the court is actively working to criminalize Kosovo’s defensive war of liberation while simultaneously granting functional amnesty to Serbia’s wartime genocidal state machinery.
- International Interference: The statement accused the Kosovo Specialist Chambers of inheriting a legacy from EULEX (the EU Rule of Law Mission) aimed at creating structural barriers to undermine the values of the KLA and stifle Kosovo’s sovereign development.
“No judicial calendar can rewrite the foundations of Kosovo’s freedom or our just war for survival,” the OVL-UÇK statement declared. “This process is simply serving the political interests of Serbia and its allies.”
Ultimatum for Street Action and Escalation
Warning that public patience has been entirely exhausted by years of judicial delays, the veteran network announced that it is shifting its strategy from legal appeals to direct civilian mobilization.
The leadership explicitly paralegalized nationwide street protests, warning international monitors and local authorities that they are fully prepared for widespread escalation across Kosovo’s major municipalities if the grievances of the wartime generation continue to be ignored by the international court.
