Following the guilty verdict handed down by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, the civic platform “Freedom Has a Name” has called for the engagement and coordination of Kosovo’s institutions.
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Ismail Tasholli, a representative of the platform, called on political parties, diplomats, civil society, experts and the diaspora to join a joint effort concerning the case.
He said the situation should not be addressed through divisions between the ruling party and the opposition, or by reviving the political clashes of the past. According to Tasholli, the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo must act with responsibility, transparency and coordination, while the government must make its state plan and strategy public.
Tasholli also called for clarification regarding the legal and financial support that will be provided, the role of Kosovo’s diplomacy, and how academic institutions and international experts will be engaged.
He called for a joint meeting between the Government of Kosovo and the Government of Albania to be convened as soon as possible.
According to him, the agenda of this meeting should include institutional support for defending the KLA’s war and securing the funds needed for legal defense. Tasholli stressed that Prishtina and Tirana should act through joint institutional coordination and responsibility.
Meanwhile, Eliza Hoxha, a representative of the “Freedom Has a Name” platform, announced that a major march would be held on October 1 under the slogan “NOT IN MY NAME”, in support of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi.
Hoxha explained that the date is linked to October 1, 1997, when Kosovo’s students held a peaceful protest that became one of the symbolic moments of civic resistance. She said that on October 1, citizens would once again take to the streets peacefully with the message “NOT IN MY NAME”, while on October 10 the call would continue in Brussels together with the diaspora, with the aim of Kosovo, both at home and abroad, expressing a common position.
The civic platform “Freedom Has a Name” will also launch the “NOT IN MY NAME” civic petition. The petition will be symbolically sent to institutions in Brussels, Strasbourg and The Hague, as an expression of the position of the citizens who join the initiative.
“Freedom Has a Name” said it would continue organizing civic, academic and public activities in Kosovo and abroad.
Hoxha called on the government to present a plan, institutions to coordinate, political parties to cooperate, and citizens and the diaspora to respond to the initiative through civic participation. She emphasized that the demand is not for everyone to share the same opinion, but for institutions to fulfill their responsibilities and for political differences not to obstruct coordination on matters of national interest.
