The context created by the Specialist Chambers in The Hague has once again drawn attention to how the Kosovo Liberation Army was treated after the end of the war. Eliza Hoxha made this assessment during the opening of the national conference “The struggle for the KLA,” organized by the “Freedom has a name” platform.
Të lidhura
None found
According to Hoxha, in addition to attacking and undermining various KLA figures, society and institutions have not done enough to preserve, document and pass on its history.
She described the current situation as a critical and historic period for Kosovo, but at the same time as a sensitive moment for the state and society.
Hoxha: We have not done enough to preserve the KLA’s war in our collective memory
Eliza Hoxha said that the title of the conference, “The struggle for the KLA,” carries an irony, as the process in The Hague appears to have prompted Kosovars to reflect on how they treated the war after liberation.
She raised questions about what has been done to document the war, include it in the ongoing education of children and younger generations, and portray it in museums and publications that would address the battles, fallen fighters and those who remain active in public life.
Hoxha also criticized public judgments against various figures, saying that, beyond denigrating and tarnishing certain individuals because of their personal positions toward specific actors, nothing else dignified has been done to address this history.
She stressed that this is an important and sensitive moment both for the former members who, she said, have been unjustly held in The Hague for six years now, and for Kosovo as a society and state.
Professor Enver Hasani expressed his conviction that Kosovo will overcome this process as well and emerge “with its honor intact” from what he called “the latest storm.”
Hasani said that Kosovo, as a young and fragile state, has faced numerous difficulties both before and after declaring independence.
Hasani: Kosovo will weather this storm as well and emerge with its honor intact
He said he was optimistic that Kosovo would emerge with its honor intact both politically and legally. According to Hasani, since the post-war period, before independence and after its declaration, the country has faced successive processes and problems of various kinds, difficult for such a small and fragile people and state to overcome.
Nevertheless, he believes that Kosovo will weather this latest storm as well and emerge with its honor intact.
Diplomat Ylber Hysaj described the “Freedom has a name” project as an effort to fight forgetting.
During his speech, Hysaj also recalled the 1990s, when he had written about the existence of the KLA and the reactions he received for taking that position.
Hysaj: “Freedom has a name” represents the fight against the curse of forgetting
Hysaj recounted that when, in the 1990s, he wrote that the KLA existed, an important figure from the world of journalism told him, half jokingly and half seriously: “You are either a spy or a fool.” He assessed that, from today’s perspective, the expression appears cynical and harsh, but at the time it had been a human reaction.
Enver Hoxhaj, a deputy from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, said that after declaring independence, Kosovo faced another political and legal battle linked to the proceedings before the Specialist Chambers.
Hoxhaj expressed optimism that the former KLA leaders being tried in The Hague would be released and return to Kosovo.
According to him, the KLA’s war was unique also because it had NATO’s support and “certification.”
Hoxhaj: The KLA’s war was certified by NATO
Hoxhaj stated that there had been no other war in Europe or the world certified by NATO, referring to the KLA’s war. He added that Kosovo’s independence was also the result of a process based on the concept of sovereignty and a deserved independence, after the people of Kosovo had met many conditions and criteria.
