The President of the Council of Albanian-American Relations, Martin Vulaj, reacted to the decision of the Special Court today against the former leaders of the KLA. According to him, the Assembly should undertake all legal and constitutional measures, including the amendment of Article 162 of the Constitution, to dissolve the Specialized Chambers.
Vulaj also said that the Council for Albanian-American Relations strongly condemns the verdict of the Special, expressing deep concerns about the legitimacy and reliability of a process which, since its creation, has put one side of the war in Kosovo under a particularly focused judicial process.
“”The KLA fought to liberate Kosovo from a campaign of repression and violence by the Serbian state. Its leaders should not be placed in a separate prosecution framework that risks reducing the complex history of Kosovo’s liberation to a one-sided criminal narrative, while providing no comparable judicial accountability for the crimes committed against the Kosovo Albanian population.”it is said, among other things, in the reaction.
Full post:
The Assembly of Kosovo must undertake all legal and constitutional measures, including the amendment of Article 162 of the Constitution, to dissolve the Specialized Chambers.
The Council for Albanian-American Relations (AARC) strongly condemns today’s sentences of the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army by the Kosovo Specialized Chambers in The Hague.
AARC has deep concerns about the legitimacy and credibility of a process which, since its inception, has placed one side of the war in Kosovo under a particularly focused judicial process. The disparity is obvious: the proceedings of this court have resulted in charges against Albanians, while the wider record of crimes committed during the war in Kosovo has not been dealt with through an equivalent judicial process by this institution.
When a court equates the organized struggle for the independence and liberation of Kosovo with a criminal enterprise, it risks losing the trust and legitimacy necessary for a judicial institution to enjoy the respect of the people directly affected by its decisions.
The trial also included testimony from prominent US officials with direct knowledge of the conflict. Former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, General Wesley Clark, who had access to detailed intelligence information during the war, testified for the defense and stated that, in his view, the charges were unfounded. Ambassador Christopher Hill and other former US State Department officials also testified regarding the nature of the Kosovo Liberation Army and its role as a liberation movement opposing Serbian state repression and violence.
This evidence, by itself, does not determine the legal outcome of a trial. But they underline the deep disagreement regarding the historical and factual characterization of the KLA and the conflict, which this judgment already places before public opinion.
For the AARC, this is not simply a matter of disagreeing with a ruling. It is a matter of justice, historical memory and institutional credibility.
The KLA fought to liberate Kosovo from a campaign of repression and violence by the Serbian state. Its leaders should not be placed in a separate prosecution framework that risks reducing the complex history of Kosovo’s liberation to a one-sided criminal narrative, while not providing comparable judicial accountability for crimes committed against the Kosovo Albanian population.
Today’s decision will also be experienced by many Kosovo Albanians as a deep re-traumatization of a population that during the war experienced mass deportations, murder, persecution and the destruction of homes and communities. For a nation of approximately 1.8 million Kosovo Albanians, the verdict affects not only the fate of the individual defendants, but also the collective memory of a war that was born out of repression and war.
AARC believes that the Specialized Chambers have failed to enjoy the trust of a significant part of the people of Kosovo and that today’s judgment will deepen this loss of trust.
This is injustice in the name of justice.
We call on the people of Kosovo and the Albanian-American community to remain calm and reject any violence, revenge or action that could damage the democratic institutions of Kosovo. Defendants must pursue any available avenues of appeal through due process.
At the same time, AARC calls on the Assembly of Kosovo to immediately consider any constitutional and legal means allowed to address the continued existence and mandate of the Specialized Chambers. According to AARC’s position, an institution that has lost the trust of so many citizens of Kosovo should not continue indefinitely and the Assembly should follow the necessary legal process for the dissolution of the Specialized Chambers.
We recognize that such an action could have serious diplomatic and international consequences. These consequences must be weighed against the consequences of allowing an institution, which has lost the trust of so many citizens of Kosovo, to continue indefinitely.
Kosovo fought for freedom, democracy and the rule of law. Justice must be impartial, stable and based on the totality of historical data. Accountability should not be selective, politically shaped or disconnected from the wider reality of the conflict.
AARC stands by Kosovo and those who fought for its freedom.
