Organizations emerging from the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) war will stage a protest on November 16 in front of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, in support of the former KLA leaders currently on trial in The Hague.
The head of the KLA War Veterans’ Organization (OVL-UÇK), Hysni Gucati, said during a press conference on Wednesday that they will protest to demand justice and remind European institutions that they established what he called an “ethnic court” based on the lies of former Swiss senator Dick Marty.
Gucati also called on the Albanian diaspora to join the protest, adding that they will send a letter to all members of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly to demonstrate what he described as the injustice of the Special Court against the former KLA leaders, who have been detained in The Hague for five years under accusations of war crimes.
“The war veterans’ organizations have decided to hold their next protest on November 16, at 1:00 PM, in front of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The reason for choosing this location is clear — it was here, in France, within the Council of Europe, that the decision was made to establish an unjust court against us. It is a court based on ethnicity, targeting only Albanians and members of the Kosovo Liberation Army. That is why we decided to protest in front of this parliament.
As you know, Dick Marty unjustly convinced the members of that parliament to vote for this miserable court… We will protest to demand justice and remind European institutions that they voted for an unfair court, founded on Marty’s lies and on testimonies by people who were never in the war or in Kosovo.
We have decided to send a letter to every member of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, informing them about the Special Court and showing them exactly what they voted for. All observations and violations are documented and will be delivered to each member so they can see for themselves what kind of court they are funding,” said Gucati.
Previously, the veterans have held protests in Prishtina, The Hague, and Tirana. When asked about a possible protest in Skopje, Gucati said it will not be held for now due to the political situation there. He also emphasized that no protest will be organized in the Presheva Valley.
“In North Macedonia, not for the moment. Elections are ongoing, and the country is in a runoff phase. We don’t want to hold a protest in Skopje right now — it will be held eventually, but not at this time. The situation could get out of control or lead to provocations. We want to avoid any problems, and we don’t want it to be said that the Kosovo war associations came and caused unrest there.
As for Presheva, the answer is no. The situation there is very tense, as you can see from Serbia’s raids against war veterans. Even if we wanted to, we wouldn’t risk the safety of our people and comrades,” he said.
Alongside this, Gucati highlighted that the testimony of former U.S. General Wesley Clark in the Hague trial of the former KLA leaders will be, in his words, “a bomb” for the Special Court.
“Clark’s testimony will be a bomb for them — a very big one. It’s a great success that they managed to secure his participation. In the U.S., you need permission to testify abroad, so we thank the American government for allowing him to do so. We are eagerly waiting to hear Clark’s testimony on November 19,” said Gucati.
Former U.S. General Wesley Clark led the 78-day NATO bombing campaign against Serbian forces, who were committing genocide against Albanians. His leadership played a key role in ending Serbia’s regime in Kosovo.
