The War Veterans Organization of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) has reacted regarding the process that led to the creation and operation of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, raising questions about the legitimacy and public perception of this court.According to the statement, the process of establishing the Special Court did not come as a result of an internal reform of Kosovo’s justice system, but began after the report presented in 2011 by Swiss senator Dick Marty at the Council of Europe. The report contained serious allegations against members of the KLA, including claims of organ trafficking.It further states that this report created significant international pressure on Kosovo, placing the country before a new political reality.“The mandate of the Court was limited and focused only on allegations of ‘crimes committed by members of the KLA’.
On the political and moral level, this has produced the perception of fragmented justice. In the Albanian public opinion, the picture remains simple: a special international mechanism has been established to judge only one side the Albanians. This perception has been further deepened by the close cooperation of Serbian institutions with the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office in The Hague.
”The statement also mentions the arrests carried out in 2020, which involved several former high-ranking leaders of the KLA.“The arrests of 2020, including former president Hashim Thaçi, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and others, marked the moment when the process took on a powerful symbolic dimension.
Through EULEX operations, arrests were carried out with dozens of vehicles, masked and heavily armed special forces, as well as armored vehicles. Individuals who had publicly declared their willingness to surrender voluntarily had their hands tied as if they were fugitives. Arrests on the streets, phone confiscations, 24-hour detentions and house searches with public exposure a spectacle of excessive force. Even if such measures may be justified by security standards, the public image deeply affected social opinion. Justice is not perceived only through legal documents, but also through the way it is implemented on the ground.”
