Wearing T-shirts with the slogan “Freedom Has a Name” and having their motorcycles ready to go, the motorcyclists from Kosovo decided to begin their journey toward The Hague from historic Prekaz, by paying tribute at the graves of the Jashari family, reports KosovaPress.
Around 150 Albanian motorcyclists from different parts of Kosovo and Europe, under the platform “Freedom Has a Name,” are starting their motorcycle march to The Hague with one single call: justice for the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army who are being tried there.
The representative of this platform, Ismail Tasholli, said that through this motorcycle parade to The Hague, they are demanding justice.
Tasholli explained that from The Hague, the route will continue toward Brussels, with the sole request that justice be transparent.
“It is a symbolic march and a call for justice. The goal is to reach The Hague, where we will hold a parade of motorcyclists, and then continue to Brussels, where we have prepared a request for justice to be transparent,” he said.
The fellow fighter, Nasim Haradinaj, said that this symbolic march is a call for justice and a demand for the judicial process in The Hague to end as soon as possible and be fair.
“We will make only one call for justice and also for the processes to be concluded fairly and as soon as possible. We do not want to influence justice, but we want to say that this justice is not being properly monitored. Therefore, let this be a call to the international community, to government officials, and to everyone who believes that justice is a core value. If justice truly is a core value, then our leaders and comrades in The Hague will return to us as innocent, which will be a victory for us and an even greater victory for Kosovo,” he said.
Haradinaj also explained the entire route they will take toward The Hague along with the motorcyclists.
“From here we will go to Poklek, then to Gllogjan–Deçan; from Gllogjan we will go to Koshare; from Koshare to Meja, where the great massacre took place — as a symbol for Europeans who, it seems, have sometimes forgotten these massacres. From there to Landovicë, since that’s where the route turns toward Morina, then to Durrës where we will take the ferry to Ancona, and then to Zurich, where we will be joined by Albanian motorcyclists from Italy, Germany, Austria… and from Düsseldorf we will head to The Hague and Brussels,” he said.
In support of the former KLA leaders on trial in The Hague — former president Hashim Thaçi, former parliament speakers Kadri Veseli and Jakup Krasniqi, and former MP Rexhep Selimi — a nationwide protest will be held in Tirana on October 17.
Another protest was held in The Hague on September 14, one day before the testimony of the first defense witness, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Rubin, began. The protest took place near the Special Court building, with around 10,000 Albanians from all over the world participating.
The trial of the former KLA leaders in The Hague began on April 3, 2023. They have been held in detention since November 2020, charged with war crimes.
