Sentencing of 4 former KLA leaders, Erion Veliaj: I will propose that Thaçi, Veseli, Krasniqi and Selimi be named “Honorary Citizens” of Tirana

Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj says he will propose that the 4 former KLA leaders, who were sentenced by the Special Court to a combined total of 81 years in prison, be named “Honorary Citizens” of the capital.

In a statement posted on social media from his cell, Veliaj says he is deeply shocked by the ruling handed down in The Hague against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi.

The mayor emphasizes that there are “moments in a person’s life when their personal drama becomes small in the face of a national cause,” and that he has therefore decided to propose to the Municipal Council that Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi be named Honorary Citizens of Tirana.

Veliaj’s statement:

Dear citizens of the Republic of Albania,

Dear citizens of Tirana,

Dear Albanians wherever you may be,

I have now spent 19 months in isolation. Nineteen months without any real opportunity to exercise the constitutional mandate entrusted to me by the citizens of Tirana with a historic record number of votes.

Just a few days ago, another court decision was issued that dealt an institutional blow to local democracy. Naturally, you might have expected me to speak to you about that today.

But there are moments in a person’s life when their personal drama becomes small in the face of a national cause.

The ruling handed down in The Hague against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi has deeply shocked me. Of course, the legal process must follow its own course, and justice must adhere to its procedures and standards to the very end. But we Albanians also have a responsibility to remember.

To remember how Kosovo’s freedom came after decades of repression, pain and resistance; after families were driven from their homes, lives were lost and extraordinary sacrifices were made; after a people decided they would no longer accept having their fate determined by others. In that history, the Kosovo Liberation Army has its glorious place, as do its soldiers Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi.

They are four men whom history placed in one of Kosovo’s most difficult and decisive chapters. I have lived and worked in Kosovo, and I know Hashim personally …

That is why today I want Tirana to speak. Tirana is not only the capital of the Republic of Albania, but also the center of the Albanian nation. For this reason, in my capacity as Mayor of Tirana, I will propose to the Municipal Council that Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi be named Honorary Citizens of Tirana.

Certainly not to replace justice with politics. Not to tell a court what it should decide. But to exercise our city’s right to express its gratitude and appreciation for their historic contribution to Kosovo’s journey toward freedom and statehood.

Unfortunately, Tirana cannot give them their freedom. But Tirana must honor them.

And from Tirana, I also want to call on the mayors and municipal councils of other Albanian cities to honor them as Tirana will. These four men are not merely part of one city’s history. They are part of Kosovo’s history and, through it, part of our Albanian history. Let us show their families that they are not alone. Let us show the Albanians of Kosovo that Albania does not forget Kosovo. Let us show future generations that a society can respect justice while also preserving its historical memory.

Therefore, today, from where I am, I want to say to Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi: Your legal process will continue. Justice will follow its course. But our memory will also follow its own. We will not forget the Kosovo of repression and expulsions. We will not forget those who lost their lives. We will not forget the families that sacrificed everything, and we will not forget the contribution of those who took responsibility during the war and later in building the state of Kosovo.

I may be behind a closed door today, but it is precisely here that I have come to understand something very simple even more clearly: freedom is one of those words whose full weight you understand even more deeply when you are deprived of it. Perhaps that is why I feel even closer to Kosovo today. Because its history reminds us that freedom does not become permanent simply because it was won once. It is preserved. Defended. Remembered. Honored.

For those who did not live to see its day. For the families who paid its price. For all those who fought and worked for it. For Kosovo. For freedom. For our national memory. They must and will be the pride of our capital, Tirana.

Erion Veliaj

Mayor of Tirana