The Socialist Party (PS) and Democratic Party (PD) have issued a joint statement in Parliament regarding the ruling by the Specialist Chambers in The Hague, which sentenced four former KLA leaders — Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi — to a combined 81 years in prison.
In the statement read in Parliament by Speaker Niko Peleshi, the Albanian Parliament expressed its “deep indignation and complete disagreement” with the ruling, which it considers “profoundly unjust” toward the four former KLA leaders.
“The Parliament of Albania reiterates a historical truth that cannot be relativized: the war of the Kosovo Liberation Army was a war for the freedom and liberation of Kosovo. It was the struggle of a people to put an end to repression, violence and persecution and to gain the right to live freely in their own country,” Peleshi said.
According to the statement, the KLA emerged in response to systematic repression, violence, ethnic cleansing and genocide committed by the regime of Slobodan Milošević. Parliament described the KLA as a decisive force in the resistance of the people of Kosovo and in the path toward liberation, freedom and independence.
“Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi are inseparable from this history, from the struggle for liberation and from Kosovo’s journey toward freedom, independence and statehood,” Peleshi said.
The Speaker of Parliament also stated that a court ruling cannot change Kosovo’s history.
“A court ruling cannot rewrite the history of a people. It cannot undo the liberating character of Kosovo’s war or equate the aggressor with the victim. It cannot undo the sacrifice of the KLA,” he said.
In the statement, Parliament also expressed concern over what it described as double standards in dealing with the region’s past. Peleshi also referred to public and state honors given to individuals convicted of war crimes, as well as the glorification of figures associated with genocide and ethnic cleansing, including Ratko Mladić.
“These undermine the memory of the victims, hinder reconciliation and run counter to European values,” the parliamentary statement said.
Parliament also expressed opposition to any attempt by Serbia and Russia to politically instrumentalize the proceedings, relativize the crimes of the Milošević regime and delegitimize the liberation struggle, independence and statehood of Kosovo.
“The Parliament of Albania stands in full solidarity with Kosovo, its people and institutions, as well as with Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi and their families,” Peleshi said.
The statement emphasized that Parliament remains convinced of the innocence of the four former KLA leaders and that “the KLA fought for the freedom and liberation of Kosovo.”
“This is not the final word. Parliament expects all legal remedies and further stages of the proceedings to be pursued to the end, while ensuring full respect for the standards of due process,” Peleshi said.
In conclusion, the Parliament of Albania pledged to denounce in international forums the crimes committed in Kosovo by the Serbian regime of Slobodan Milošević, to seek justice for the victims and, according to the statement, to condemn the lack of commitment by Serbian authorities to fully investigate and clarify these crimes.
Parliament also stated that it will coordinate its actions with the Assembly of Kosovo and called on the two governments to coordinate their efforts with the aim of addressing what it described as this injustice through institutional channels.
The post The Hague ruling unites PS and PD, Parliament: Sentencing of Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi is unjust appeared first on Euronews Albania.
