Gashi after ruling against former KLA leaders: Albanians consider them and will always consider them liberators

Afrim Gashi, Speaker of the Assembly of North Macedonia, said that no court ruling can undo the fact that Hashim Thaçi, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi are part of one of the most glorious chapters in Kosovo’s history.

Reacting after the Specialist Chambers’ guilty verdict against the former KLA leaders, Gashi stressed that, for the Albanian people, they have been and continue to be liberators.

He added that the proceedings before the Specialist Chambers do not end with this ruling, as the legal battle will continue at the appeals stage.

In his full Facebook post, Gashi wrote:

At a time when Kosovo’s freedom, as well as peace and stability in the region, remained ideals that still had to be fought for, they showed the courage to commit themselves and assumed the historic responsibility of bringing freedom to their people.

In the eyes of the Albanian people, they are and will remain Kosovo’s liberators. It was precisely the KLA’s struggle, and the sacrifice and selflessness of its leaders and members, that paved the way for Kosovo’s liberation and the beginning of a new era of peace and stability for the region.

The ruling issued today is at first instance, so the pursuit of justice will continue.

For this reason, today we must remain united, calm and dignified, showing that our thoughts and hearts are with the liberators and their families.

The struggle for a free Kosovo was the most difficult battle, and they managed to win it. A free Kosovo remains the testament of the generation that had the courage to dream of freedom, but also the consolation that should give us the strength to face today’s ruling and other challenges.