Protest in Tirana for former KLA leaders/ LVV: Albania should raise the issue in international forums, not in squares

2025-10-16 08:41:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Protest in Tirana for former KLA leaders/ LVV: Albania should raise the issue in

The Vetevendosje Movement, the party led by incumbent Prime Minister Albin Kurti, has reacted through a post on social media regarding the protest to be held in Tirana in support of former KLA leaders who are being tried in The Hague. The Vetevendosje Movement says they support the protest, but their stance on the Special Court remains unchanged.

The post states that in order to move forward as a nation, we must reflect on our stances towards this court, mentioning that those who are now opposing it were until yesterday the main lobbyists for its establishment. LVV writes that a prime example of this is Prime Minister Edi Rama, who according to them had traveled by helicopter to Kosovo to convince the parties there to vote in favor of the establishment of the Court.

It is also emphasized that Albania, as a member state of the UN, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, NATO and the EU, has the responsibility and opportunity to raise this issue in these international forums, where justice is discussed, and not in the squares of the capital.

Full post:

The VETËVENDOSJE! Movement stands with all citizens who are protesting and demanding justice for the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army in Tirana. Our position on the Special Court remains unchanged.

We recall that the Special Court did not come about on its own, but began in 2008 from a resolution proposed to the Council of Europe by the chairman of the deputies of the Russian Federation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Konstantin Kosachev, but which was adopted as a resolution at the proposal of Senator Dick Marty in 2011.

The Kosovo Liberation Army's war was just and necessary. On the other hand, the prosecution's claim that a criminal group existed within the KLA is incorrect and unjust. The KLA was not a criminal enterprise and did not have such structures. On the contrary, Serbia should be tried for war crimes, it is the cause of genocide and massive and systematic crimes against the people of Kosovo.

However, for our sincere progress as a state and as a nation, we must definitely reflect on our positions towards this Court at the time it was established. Reflection is not wrong, but in this regard, many of those who today oppose the Special Court were yesterday the biggest lobbyists for its establishment. Before protesting, these actors and politicians should show at least a minimum of remorse for their wrong positions in the past. A clear example is the current Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, who even came to Kosovo on an emergency visit by helicopter to convince the parties here to vote in favor of the establishment of this Court.

But, the VETËVENDOSJE! Movement, as then in 2015, as today in 2025, is unwavering that justice must illuminate the truth and the truth cannot be other than on the side of the war and the relentless effort of the people of Kosovo for liberation and independence like other peoples.

On the other hand, the institutions of Albania, as a member state of the UN, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, NATO and very close to the European Union, have the responsibility and opportunity to raise this issue in these international forums, where justice is discussed and decided, and not in "Skënderbe" Square in Tirana.

Likewise, Kosovo's friendly states that already enjoy membership in these organizations must do much more to protect the truth of our war and to advance justice. Just as more must be done in these forums to recognize the genocide and prosecute the crimes against humanity, war crimes that Serbia has committed in Kosovo and throughout the Balkans. /CNA