Hundreds of protesters rallied in the Albanian capital on Friday demanding justice for former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) on trial in The Hague, denouncing the proceedings as an attack on the wartime struggle against Serbian forces.
The demonstrators, many waving KLA flags and chanting slogans such as “Freedom for the liberators” and “The Special Court is not justice but betrayal,” packed Skanderbeg Square in central Tirana. They voiced anger over the ongoing trial of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi and three other ex-KLA commanders, who face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. All four have pleaded not guilty.
“We are here to defend the sacred war against Serbian forces. The whole world saw Serbian crimes, not the crimes of the KLA,” said Hysni Gucati, head of the KLA War Veterans’ Organization, as the crowd erupted in cheers. Protesters insisted that the accused were freedom fighters whose sacrifices secured Kosovo’s independence, not criminals to be tried abroad.
Some participants had traveled from neighboring North Macedonia and Kosovo to join the protest. “I came because they are innocent. It hurts to see them treated this way,” said 67-year-old Raif Aliu from Tetovo.
The rally was the third large-scale demonstration against the trial in recent months, following similar gatherings in Pristina and outside the Hague tribunal. The timing reflects heightened emotions as the defense phase of the proceedings advances.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said he supported the cause of the protesters but stayed away, citing fears that his presence would politicize the event. His absence underscored the ongoing friction with Kosovo’s ruling Vetëvendosje party, led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, which has accused Rama and other Albanian officials of previously backing the establishment of the Hague court. Rama countered that he has consistently opposed the indictments and accused Vetëvendosje of “political amnesia,” recalling that when the court was created a decade ago, the party “did not even know Kosovo’s anthem, let alone Thaçi’s innocence.”
Thaçi, along with Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi, resigned from their political posts after being indicted in 2020. They stand accused of responsibility for the deaths of around 100 people during the 1998–99 war. The Kosovo Specialist Chambers, though part of Kosovo’s judicial system, sit in The Hague with international staff to address concerns about witness intimidation in earlier domestic trials.
While the tribunal insists it ensures fairness and accountability, many ethnic Albanians view it as biased for prosecuting only KLA members while failing to pursue Serbian perpetrators. Despite political divisions, most parties in Kosovo backed Friday’s protest, reflecting a broad sentiment that the court undermines Kosovo’s narrative of a just war for independence.
The Tirana demonstration highlighted not only solidarity with the defendants but also a wider struggle over memory, legitimacy, and justice in the post-war Balkans. It underscored how, more than two decades after the conflict, the legacy of the KLA remains central to Albanian political identity and regional tensions.
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