Thousands rally in Albanian capital against EU-backed court prosecuting Kosovo war veterans

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Kosovo war veterans and thousands of their supporters gathered Friday in the Albanian capital, Tirana, in a protest against a European Union-backed court prosecuting their former fighters who waged the 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia, claiming the tribunal is biased and unjust.

Demonstrators from Kosovo and other European countries filled Tirana’s main Skanderbeg Square in support of arrested former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA — a former Kosovo Albanian guerrilla group that led the fight for independence.

Many held national Albanian and KLA flags, while a group of former fighters and some youngsters were in KLA uniform. Some sang songs about the KLA and freedom.

The protest was organized by the veterans’ association known as OVL-UCK, and supported by Albania’s government and prime minister, under the motto: “Freedom has a name. Justice for the liberators.”

Kosovo’s former President Hashim Thaci, former Parliament speakers Kadri Veseli and Jakup Krasniqi, and ex-lawmaker Rexhep Selimi are on trial and have been in custody since 2020 at the EU-backed Kosovo Specialist Chambers court based in The Hague, Netherlands. They face charges that include murder, torture and persecution of civilians during and after the war.

A big poster with their photos and bearing the slogan “Heroes of war and peace” hung from the podium.

“Albanians do not trust the Specialist Chambers. Processes at The Hague are biased and unfair,” said Hysni Gucati, head of the OVL-UCK.

Alfred Moisiu, 95, Albania’s former president, was also present and called for justice, saying the defendants “have been detained without evidence, on fabricated charges.”

The rally was peaceful.

The court and an associated prosecutor’s office were created after a 2011 report by the Council of Europe, a human rights body, that included allegations that KLA fighters trafficked human organs taken from prisoners and killed Serbs and fellow ethnic Albanians. The organ harvesting allegations haven’t been included in indictments issued by the court.

Two other former KLA members have already been sentenced by the court. Gucati and another KLA official were also convicted by the court of witness intimidation and obstructing justice.

Some 11,400 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died during the war, before a NATO bombing campaign forced Serbia to pull its troops out of Kosovo and to cede control of its former province to the United Nations and NATO.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, which was recognized by the United States and most of the West, but not by Serbia or its allies Russia and China. Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia remain high.