The Organization of War Veterans of the Kosovo Liberation Army (OVL-UÇK) has rejected statements from Kosovo’s European Union partners concerning recently approved amendments to the law governing the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.
OVL-UÇK disputed claims that the amendments violate Kosovo’s international obligations, describing such assertions as “unfounded and unacceptable.”
“The claims of our EU partners that the amendments to the Specialist Chambers inherently violate Kosovo’s international obligations are unfounded and unacceptable,” the organization said in a statement.
OVL-UÇK argued that no international obligation should place an institution outside Kosovo’s constitutional order, democratic oversight or accountability.
The organization also challenged the mandate and work of the Specialist Chambers, saying the institution was established to examine specific allegations arising from the report by former Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty.
According to OVL-UÇK, the Chambers’ mandate and practice have moved beyond that original purpose. The organization characterized the proceedings as selective justice and said they had become a prolonged prosecution of the Kosovo Liberation Army and its former members.
“The institutions of Kosovo have a duty to protect state sovereignty, equality before the law and the dignity of those who won our freedom,” OVL-UÇK said.
The veterans’ organization called on Kosovo’s international partners to address what it described as a deviation from the institution’s original purpose rather than oppose parliamentary action.
“Partners should confront this deviation and not prevent lawful parliamentary action aimed at correcting it,” the statement said.
The amendments have been the subject of strong political and public debate in Kosovo, particularly following the convictions of four former senior KLA figures by the Specialist Chambers in The Hague. European Union representatives have emphasized the importance of respecting Kosovo’s international commitments and the Chambers’ legal framework.
