PRISHTINA, Oct. 1 /ATA/ – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that a war crimes verdict against former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders must be fully respected, while stressing that Kosovo’s wartime resistance was not on trial and stating “nothing and nobody can rewrite Kosovo’s history.”
“The judgment of the Specialist Chambers has caused strong emotions. I appreciate your measured response, and that of other political leaders, calling for calm,” EC President said at a joint news conference with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Prishtina.
Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and former parliament speakers Jakup Krasniqi and Kadri Veseli were sentenced to 25, 25 and 18 years in prison respectively, while former lawmaker Rexhep Selimi received a 13-year sentence.
The four men were senior KLA figures during the 1998-99 war against Serbian forces and are widely regarded as heroes by Kosovo Albanians.
“This judgment was delivered by independent judicial institutions and their mandate must be fully respected”, von der Leyen said during her sixth visit to Kosovo.
“But one thing is clear. This judgment is about the individual responsibility of the defendants. Kosovo’s resistance was not on trial. And we must honour the memory of all victims from all communities in Kosovo,” she added.
The Hague-based court ruling has sparked repeated protests in Kosovo, where many Albanians have expressed concern that the proceedings portrayed the KLA as a joint criminal enterprise. The presiding judge has repeatedly stressed that the KLA’s war for liberation was not itself on trial.
Kurti, speaking alongside von der Leyen, also stressed that the court had made clear that the KLA was not on trial and said the ruling did not seek to undermine the justice or legitimacy of Kosovo’s liberation war.
He said this distinction should be emphasised more strongly internationally.
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