OVL-UÇK calls on the Assembly not to delay amendments to the Law on the Specialist Chambers

The Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans’ Organization (OVL-UÇK) reacted after President Justina Shiroka-Pula returned the Law on the Specialist Chambers to the Assembly for reconsideration, at the request of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

OVL-UÇK called on parliamentary parties not to turn the issue into a means of securing party gains.

In its statement, the organization said it was following with concern the debate on amendments and additions to the Law on the Specialist Chambers. It said the law is directly linked to the KLA’s war and its former leaders, who are being tried in The Hague and were convicted at first instance in rulings that OVL-UÇK considers unacceptable, unjust and entirely political.

The organization said that, according to the legal experts supporting it, there are no legal obstacles to approving the amendments and that the decision depends solely on political will.

OVL-UÇK also rejected claims that including the issue of pardons for war crimes is unconstitutional. According to the organization, the current Law on the Specialist Chambers explicitly addresses pardons and sentence reductions, granting this authority directly to the President of the Specialist Chambers, Ekaterina Trendafilova.

Noting that most members of the Assembly of Kosovo have expressed readiness to vote for the law, OVL-UÇK said proposals for new provisions should not be used to delay or block the process.

The organization called for the necessary amendments and additions to be made without delay and adopted through an expedited procedure if the law is returned to the Assembly. Otherwise, it warned that actions and protests in defense of veterans’ demands and the liberation war would be escalated.