Rama from Michigan on the sentencing of 4 former KLA leaders: 81 years in prison is a live burial, Kosovo does not recognize itself in the ruling

During today’s meeting with Albanians in Michigan, Prime Minister Rama also spoke about The Hague’s ruling against the 4 former KLA leaders.

He said that, despite the principle that judicial decisions must be respected, the 81-year prison sentence for the 4 former KLA leaders constitutes, in his view, a “live burial.”

Rama stressed that the people of Kosovo do not recognize themselves in a decision made in their name, while adding that Albania has nothing more it can do than stand by Kosovo.

Speaking about democracy, the prime minister described it as a disagreement where there is no room for hatred, as a confrontation based on respect, and as a struggle where the end cannot justify every means. According to him, building a society where democracy works for everyone requires a longer road, because freedom alone is not enough.

Rama confessed that he had rarely found it so difficult to arrange the words of a speech. He said he could not ignore what happened in The Hague, but at the same time he could not find a way to approach that reality, which he compared to a large, heavy stone, in front of which all words look the same, as in death. He described the situation as a living death, the burial of living people and national powerlessness in the face of an international shame.

The prime minister also referred to the often-repeated call for respect for court decisions. He acknowledged that these decisions must be respected and that the rule of law, like the democratic world, rests on respect for them. However, according to him, even death in silence can only be accepted by the one who dies.

Rama clarified that the issue is not disrespect for the ruling, but how to oppose the live burial of 4 people in the name of a people that does not recognize itself anywhere in that ruling, written in a foreign language.

He repeated that Albania cannot do more than stand by Kosovo, but that does not prevent it from rejecting the live burial of those 4 men. According to Rama, the mandatory and indisputable respect for the ruling does not rule out opposing this burial as a fate without appeal.