Arben Gashi: The KLA was born from the people of Kosovo, the LDK was among its foundations

LDK deputy Arben Gashi assessed that the LDK and the KLA constitute a single journey of the Albanians of Kosovo toward freedom and independence, calling for history to be examined only on the basis of facts and without political appropriation of merits.

According to him, to understand the present one must know the past in its entirety, while both movements cannot be treated as separate projects, but as part of a common national effort.

Gashi emphasizes that the LDK, under the leadership of Ibrahim Rugova, became a movement with a nationwide character, organizing peaceful resistance, creating parallel institutions and keeping alive the dream of statehood, with the participation of activists of diverse convictions, including former members of the NDSh, LPK and LKÇK.

He recalls that as early as the beginning of the 1990s, the LDK began efforts to organize resistance and defense through local headquarters, territorial defense structures, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In this continuity, according to Gashi, the KLA was also formed – as a form of armed resistance and of the desire for the liberation of Kosovo – a product of the reality of the time, of the activity of various political organizations, including the LDK, LPK and LKÇK, and of the necessity to counter repression with arms.

“The KLA is a creation of the people of Kosovo and the LDK is among its foundations,” Gashi stated, adding that this does not erase the differences in strategy and organization, but places them before the common goal – the liberation of the country.

He emphasizes that the road to freedom was traveled in extremely difficult conditions, under Serbian oppression and in a rapidly changing international situation, where, besides sacrifices that deserve to be honored, there were also mistakes and wounds that demand justice – a history that must be studied without prejudice and without double standards.

According to him, any attempt to artificially separate the LDK from the KLA or to attribute the merit of freedom to only one side harms historical truth and political harmony, as divisions have brought serious consequences, while unity around common interests has been a national necessity.

Gashi emphasizes that today’s challenge is building Kosovo as a democratic and functional state, with strong institutions, independent justice, a developing economy, quality education and leadership that puts state interests above party ones.

“Freedom is a shared legacy, the state is everyone’s responsibility, and the future is an obligation to the generations to come,” he concludes, calling for a politics that recognizes contributions without appropriating them, and leadership that uses history to unite, not to divide.