Ratification would make Albania the 10th country to approve the mechanism, which requires 25 states to enter into force, Gogu told a parliament session.

Around 65,000 claims have so far been submitted to the Register of Damage, which the commission will review and use to determine compensation, the minister said.

He added that Albania would make an annual financial contribution to the mechanism.

Gogu also commented on Wednesday’s first-instance verdict by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague against four former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders.

He said the verdict had been received with “deep disappointment,” while stressing that an appeal was the appropriate avenue for challenging the ruling.

Gogu described the KLA’s war as “a just, necessary war of liberation.”

“We do not support international justice only when we like its decisions. But neither do we remain silent when they disappoint us,” he said.

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Nasim Haradinaj, a former deputy head of the KLA War Veterans Organisation, called on lawmakers to convene parliament and respond to the protesters’ demands.

“Let’s help them and send a message tonight that lawmakers should gather in parliament, whether in an extraordinary session or otherwise, and make a request tonight or tomorrow about the direction this people wants to take, after you promised to represent us,” he said.

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) lawmaker Ganimete Musliu backed Haradinaj’s call and urged lawmakers from all parties to join the protesters.

“I join your call. I invite all parties, without distinction, and all members of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo to be here with you today and inside parliament,” she said.

Other lawmakers and public figures also joined the protest, including Time Kadriaj and Albana Bytyqi of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), PDK lawmaker Sala Jashari, the wife of former KLA commander Abedin Rexha, and former PDK lawmaker Safete Hadërgjonaj.

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EU Ambassador Gonzato noted that the European Affairs Committee plays a central role in EU-proofing draft legislation and supervising Albania’s EU accession process.

“I was glad to hear from Chair Jorida Tabaku and Deputy Chair Etilda Gjonaj how the Committee is getting prepared to play its full role in the upcoming steps of the EU accession negotiations process, in a bipartisan spirit,” Gonzato said.

“The EU is here to support the Committee in its important task,” the EU Ambassador Silvio Gonzato said in a post on the social media.

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Albanian lawmakers, namely Denis Deliu, Pandeli Majko, Damian Gjiknuri, Dhurata Cupi, Blerina Gjylameti, Gazment Bardhi and the Albanian ambassador to Washington, Ervin Bushati, met with the U.S. envoy for Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, in Washington.

The U.S. Embassy in Tirana reacted via a message on the social media on Wednesday, saying “it is great to see Albanian elected representatives in Washington coming together to work on important issues for the people of Albania.”

“The United States appreciates the strong partnership with Albania and its elected representatives on important regional and international issues,” the Embassy said.

“The Albanian people deserve a strong, healthy democracy where all political actors work together for the common good of the country,” the message reads.

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The exhibition was opened in the area in front of the Assembly and included archival materials, a part of which is also from the fund of the Albanian Telegraphic Agency. Attending the event were MPs, relatives of the victims of the communist dictatorship, journalists and others.

“This is an exhibition to honor the memory of the group of lawmakers and their contribution to build a free and democratic Albania, a dream and a project that was interrupted before it had a good start,” said the Speaker of the Assembly Lindita Nikolla.

The lifting of the mandate, the arrest, punishment and execution of the group of lawmakers in 1947, was one of the heaviest blows dealt to Albanian parliamentarism, but also to Albanian democracy.

Parliamentarianism was the first pillar of the democratic system to be hit, to be followed by other blows.

“Let this exhibition be a momentum to reflect and increase our contributions to the consolidation of values and democratic institutions in Albania. Gratitude to the Authority for Information on the Documents of the former State Security for the cooperation with the Assembly in the opening of this exhibition”, wrote Speaker of Assembly Nikolla in a post in the social media.

In this event, there delivered greeting messages Chairman of the Authority for Information on the Documents of the former State Security Gentiana Sula as well as representatives of the family members of the group of the late lawmakers, prof. dr. Nevila Nika and Vera Karbunara./p.s./