Prime Minister Edi Rama shared today part of the speech of the former president of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, at the Hague Court, where he gave the last defense arguments together with the other three former leaders of the KLA. Rama accompanied the post with the text: “Freedom has a name”.
In his speech, Thaçi recalled the 18th anniversary of Kosovo’s Independence and expressed his conviction of his innocence.
“Yesterday in Kosovo, the 18th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Kosovo was marked. I wish today, from this hall, to convey the most heartfelt congratulations to all the citizens of Kosovo for this great celebration. It is only a truth that the accusations do not stand. I am completely innocent. But I have said it and I say it again, with full conviction: I sympathize and express regret for all the victims who have suffered in Kosovo, regardless their ethnicity”, he said.
Thaçi emphasized that his support for the establishment of the Special Court was a decision taken with the conviction that it would not criminalize the fight for freedom.
“I sincerely hope that time will prove that I was right and the critics were wrong”, he added, describing the accusation of “joint criminal enterprise” as a “black storm” over Kosovo.
“It is hard to hear this accusation, especially when during the war I did not know if I would be alive from hour to hour and from day to day. I was not sure if I would see my family, my wife and my newborn son, let alone dream of exercising control in Kosovo, in Kosovo completely occupied for about 90 years, but Kosovo was more important than my personal fate. I have been criticized and criticized in Kosovo for why I supported the establishment of this “Critics say that this court aims to criminalize our fight for freedom and the idea of independence. I did not believe this at the time when we voted, and I sincerely hope that time will prove that I was right and the critics were wrong. This prosecutor, instead of removing the black cloud from Kosovo, is looking for the so-called ‘joint criminal enterprise’.”
This speech comes on the last day of the closing statements in the judicial process against the former leaders of the KLA in The Hague.
