UÇK veterans oppose the verdict against Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi

The Organization of War Veterans of the Kosovo Liberation Army has reacted to the verdict against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi.

Representatives of the veterans categorically rejected the decision, saying that it undermines the KLA’s liberation war and weighs heavily on the families who sacrificed their sons and daughters for Kosovo’s freedom.

In their reaction, the veterans said they had viewed the Special Court as political from the outset, while the proceedings, in their view, had confirmed that position.

“The KLA was not a criminal enterprise, but the organized form of a people’s resistance to occupation, expulsion and massacres. For a nation threatened with extinction, it was the only path left,” the reaction said.

According to the Organization of War Veterans, the sacrifice of KLA members was the foundation of Kosovo’s statehood, sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

“No institution, regardless of where it is located, has the moral authority to put this truth on trial,” the statement stressed.

The veterans emphasized that no verdict can change the character of the liberation war or tarnish the people who fought for the country’s freedom.

“The truth about the KLA is not determined by judicial interpretations; it is the lived history of a people that built its state with blood,” the statement continued.

The reaction concluded by describing the decision as a disgrace to international justice and a stain that will remain for a long time, since, according to the veterans, it shows how the liberation war and the sacrifice of the people of Kosovo have been treated.