Organizations emerging from the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) held a symbolic protest in front of the EULEX offices on the fifth anniversary of the arrest of former KLA leaders.
Participants carried a banner around the building that read:
“Five years of organized injustice, five years of international shame.”
Hysni Gucati, chairman of OVL-UÇK, stated that five years after the arrests, justice remains absent.
“On November 5, 2020, those who brought freedom, peace, and independence to this country were unjustly imprisoned. Today marks five years of innocence, five years of injustice, five years away from their families, five years in which many loved ones have passed away without them being able to say goodbye. Five years that the men of freedom have been held for a war that brought liberty, peace, and our state. We are sending a message to UNMIK, EULEX, and the international community: you are holding hostage the people who delivered freedom, independence, peace, and democracy. Those who think with the body in Kosovo and the mind in Serbia are mistaken. This land belongs to Albanians and to all who love it. The KLA fought a just war for its country and people. EULEX and its officials are trying to equate the KLA’s liberation struggle with Serbian paramilitary gangs. We are not criminals; we brought peace,” Gucati said.
Asked whether he believes the former KLA leaders will ever be released, Gucati expressed no faith in the Special Court’s justice.
“Given the path this court has taken, no, I do not believe so. I trust God that they will eventually be free, but this court is more political than judicial,” he said.
Former KLA soldier Bujar Haradinaj also sharply criticized the judicial process, calling it unjust and weak.
“This court, unfortunately established by the Kosovo Parliament, was expected to deliver justice because it comes from our state. But we see a process full of injustice. Looking at many of the witnesses, sometimes it is laughable — the process is so weak and flawed that I cannot even call it a proper court,” Haradinaj stated.
On Wednesday, November 5, it marked five years since the Special Prosecutor’s indictment against former KLA leaders Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi was published. All four remain in pre-trial detention at The Hague under charges of war crimes, with the proceedings now in the hands of their defense teams.
