Dritan Goxhaj at the protest: The Hague ruling is a theater, Rama sold out Kosovo in 2015

On the 109th day of the protest, former KLA fighter Dritan Goxhaj delivered a harsh speech following The Hague’s decision to sentence Thaçi, Krasniqi, Selimi and Veseli.

He described the decision as completely unjust and said the process was a theater. Goxhaj also directed strong criticism at Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Reading a statement from the general coordinating group, Goxhaj addressed his fellow citizens, calling this a dark day for freedom. He said that severe sentences had been handed down in The Hague against four former KLA members and that, in his view, this was not about justice but injustice.

Goxhaj claimed that this court has nothing in common with other courts, that the decisions were based on false testimony, and that the defendants did not receive adequate defense. For this reason, he described the process as a theater and as an organized injustice.

According to him, this injustice comes from Europe, which in 1913 partitioned Albania and gave Kosovo to Serbia. He said that stability in the Balkans could no longer be used as a pretext and stressed that the KLA was not a terrorist movement, but a response to the genocidal Serbian state.

The former fighter said that the young men of Kosovo rose up, united and fought, because freedom is not given as a gift but won. He recalled the sacrifices and martyrs, while accusing The Hague of trying to portray this victory as a crime. Goxhaj called this an insult and added that history does not end here.

He went on to link the situation to Prime Minister Edi Rama, whose resignation the protesters are demanding. Goxhaj claimed that in 2015 Rama boarded a helicopter and went to Kosovo to pressure lawmakers into approving the creation of this court, telling them that it was a demand from the allies.

He criticized the fact that the same person now writes the word “shame” on social media. According to Goxhaj, Rama should be ashamed of what he says and does, since he is addressing with this word the lawmakers whom he himself pushed to vote. “The real shame is you,” was his message to the prime minister.

Goxhaj said that Rama was not a spectator, but the architect of this situation. He added that it might appear that the other side had won, but the truth, in his view, is that Kosovo is free because the KLA fought. He also stressed that NATO intervened because the KLA’s war was just.

In conclusion, the former fighter considered the demand for Rama’s resignation normal. According to him, the prime minister cannot now come forward and demand justice for the former KLA leaders, because he sold out Kosovo in 2015. Goxhaj said that Rama wants to be believed, but that this cannot happen because he is not the solution, but part of the problem.