Albanians from the United States and various European countries will travel to the Netherlands to take part in a mass protest expected to be held near the Special Court building. The Albanian diaspora has united in support of former KLA commanders, in an event set for September 14 – one day before the first defense witness hearing begins. Through the protest, they will demand a fair trial.

The Specialist Chambers, which investigates alleged war crimes, is based in the Netherlands and operates with international staff, although it was established under Kosovo law in 2015.

There, Kosovo’s former president Hashim Thaçi, former Assembly speakers Kadri Veseli and Jakup Krasniqi, as well as former MP Rexhep Selimi, are undergoing a prolonged judicial process at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

They are accused of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. All have pleaded not guilty to every charge brought against them by the Office of the Specialist Prosecutor.

The KLA Four have been in detention in The Hague since November 2020, while their trial began in April 2023.

The prosecution closed its case in April of this year, while on September 15 the defense teams will begin presenting their evidence.

At the time when the first witness testimony is about to begin, Albanians from across the world – supported by the Organization of KLA War Veterans – will deliver their message regarding this process.

Uk Lushi, a representative from America, stated that “The Special Court’s legitimacy comes only from the Assembly of Kosovo.”

“There is no doubt that there are legal abuses and violations both in the procedures and in the treatment of the accused at The Hague court. The Hague court has only one source of legitimacy, and that is from the Assembly of Kosovo. Kosovo created this court so that, for the fourth time, it could be proven that all the accusations made against the KLA were false. And of course, it did so not only for legal reasons but also political ones. Because Kosovo’s war has been misused, especially by Serbia and Kosovo’s enemies, but in some cases even by its friends,” he told KosovaPress.

The former KLA soldier said that “the state of Kosovo has not reacted during these five years,” adding that it has now fallen to the people to organize a protest against the trial process in The Hague.

For years, the Specialist Chambers has been criticized for bias and lack of transparency.

“We are demanding, first and foremost, a fair trial, impartiality, and no influence from false evidence that the prosecution and court have accepted from the occupying and terrorizing state of Serbia, because the chances are very high, and in many cases proven, that they are fabricated. A state that occupies and kills children, women, and the elderly has no problem fabricating information or evidence to present to a court. Now, the defense has started calling witnesses who were part of the American state, and there will be a confrontation…We only want to turn the focus back to justice – if there is justice, those people should have already been released,” he said.

From Florida, Texas, New York, and Michigan, many Albanians have expressed interest in attending the September 14 protest, which will be held at 2:00 PM.

“I have received messages, and there has been expressed interest so far from Michigan, Florida, Texas, and New York. The only problem is the short time frame, and of course, from here, there’s no way to go except by plane, so there won’t be organized travel but mostly individual arrangements. More important than the actual participation is the fact that the Albanian-American diaspora here in America, about 1 million Albanians, is absolutely outraged by the treatment of justice, the trial process, and Kosovo itself by this court. This trial should have already been finished and the men should be home,” Lushi noted.

There is also significant interest from European countries to participate in the protest demanding justice for former KLA leaders.

Fatmir Koci, the European representative, said for KosovaPress that the protest messages will be in English.

“I am in Germany, and we are cooperating with all the European states. Those close by will travel by car in an organized way, while those farther away will come by bus. The demand and interest from the diaspora to participate on September 14 in The Hague is huge…On September 14, most of the banners will be in English, and we will deliver a message addressed to the world, to democratic Europe: enough is enough. It is the statehood of Kosovo, the freedom of Kosovo, the leaders of the KLA being judged. After the protest, we will take some of these demands and banners and deliver them to the European Council and all the embassies across Europe,” Koci stated.

He added that permission for this protest was obtained from the Dutch authorities.

“It was difficult. We addressed the state of the Netherlands and requested permission for the protest, and we did not dare set a date until we had official approval. Once we received permission, we went public. We also asked for help from war associations based in Prishtina, and fortunately, we received 100% support from these associations,” he told KosovaPress.

A large number of citizens from Kosovo are also expected to travel.

“The protest there [in The Hague] will have its effect. It is on the symbolic day of our first witness, in this case, the defense’s, and we believe that there will be large participation. We inform you that in Kosovo we have also received many messages and have had communication with many citizens who will travel from here to there…So far, six buses have been secured through donors, and we are in daily contact with them. There is great interest even from here to travel all those kilometers by bus. You know how long the journey is, but this is a kind of civic momentum because people have clearly seen how this court functions and the injustices happening there,” Syla added.

Another protest in The Hague was held in April 2023, when the trial of the former KLA commanders began.

More recently, in Prishtina, the Organization of KLA War Veterans gathered former fighters and other citizens on August 7 in a protest against what they consider injustices by the Specialist Court in The Hague.

It has also been recently reported that the Special Court accepted documents as evidence from Serbia – something that has only increased criticism in Kosovo against a court long accused of bias and lack of transparency.