Osmani opposes veto override: LDK does not support initiatives that fail to protect Kosovo’s historical truth

Vjosa Osmani, a member of parliament for the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and a former president of Kosovo, said her party would not support overriding the president’s veto if the aim was to bring the same law back before parliament and pass it, Ekonomia Online reports.

Osmani said the LDK was waiting to see what would be presented in parliament, as its position also depended on the content. In principle, however, the party opposed using a veto override to pass the law unchanged. In addition to the reasons it gave at the previous session, Osmani said the LDK had other arguments it would present at today’s session if given the opportunity.

She said it was not yet clear whether the matter involved overriding the president’s veto or a new initiative to amend the law. In any case, Osmani stressed that the LDK did not support initiatives that, in its view, offered no real protection for the historical truth of the Republic of Kosovo and its liberation war, but instead created false expectations.

Osmani said the institutions should have focused their efforts on defending that truth, particularly internationally. Although nearly two months had passed since the decision, she said there had been no interviews with major international media outlets to defend Kosovo’s historical truth before the world.

She said there had also been no coordinated presentation by the state on major international platforms. Osmani noted that she herself had spoken about the issue in The New York Times and on other major international platforms from September 16 onward. She described the initiatives undertaken in the meantime as incompatible with the Constitution and Kosovo’s international obligations.

Osmani warned that, in her assessment, these initiatives could further undermine the defense of the historical truth, especially ahead of the appeal proceedings. She said they could also harm the KLA leaders themselves, whose defense on appeal, in her view, should rest on strong legal arguments.

Responding to criticism of the LDK, Osmani said the party had expressed its positions on principle but had been attacked and smeared for doing so in an unacceptable manner. As an example, she cited the placement of LDK representatives’ names alongside those of people from Serbia, calling it unacceptable labeling.

She reiterated that the LDK would continue to defend Kosovo’s historical truth and the just war of the Kosovo Liberation Army. At the same time, Osmani said, the party would defend, without asking anyone’s permission, the dignity of its members and the families of LDK activists who had been killed, tortured and labeled collaborators in the past because they remained loyal to the historic president.

According to Osmani, defending the truth about the KLA and defending the dignity of LDK activists are not at odds, but complement each other. To illustrate her point, she cited the pairing of President Ibrahim Rugova and Adem Jashari, the KLA commander and commander-in-chief.