Prime Minister Edi Rama described the Hague verdict against former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders as a painful moment for Kosovo and Albanians. He spoke during a meeting with the Albanian community in Michigan.
Rama said he struggled to find the right words. He said the Hague decision felt like “a large, heavy stone” that left words powerless.
“I struggled to find the words this time. I could not avoid what happened in The Hague a few days ago. But I could not find the right way to approach it either,” Rama said.
He described the situation as “a funeral while people are still alive.” He also spoke of what he called national powerlessness in the face of an international disgrace.
Rama said people must respect court decisions. He also said democratic societies depend on the rule of law.
“But the issue is not whether we respect the court’s decision. The issue is how to reject the live burial of four people in the name of the people, when the people themselves do not see themselves in that decision,” Rama said.
Rama said respecting the verdict does not mean accepting it as an irreversible fate. He argued that people can respect the judicial process while continuing to challenge the decision through available means.
“Albania cannot do more in this situation than stand by Kosovo. The elected representatives of its people will decide how to reject the live burial of those four men,” Rama said.
He also reaffirmed Albania’s support for Kosovo. He said Kosovo’s institutions must decide how to respond to the verdict.
“I believe that the obligatory and unquestionable respect for that court decision does not prevent us from rejecting that burial as an irreversible fate,” Rama said.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague issued the first-instance verdicts against former KLA leaders Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi on September 16.
The court sentenced Thaçi and Krasniqi to 25 years in prison each. It sentenced Veseli to 18 years and Selimi to 13 years.
The verdicts remain subject to appeal.
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