11 nights of protest, organizers demand concrete steps from institutions

At “Skënderbeu” square in Pristina, the 11th consecutive protest was held on Saturday against the verdict of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague against former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, as Telegrafi reports.

In his speech, the protest’s organizer, Çlirim Haziri, said that after 11 days of protests and demands, concrete action is now expected from Kosovo’s institutions.

“Tonight is the 11th day! Eleven days and eleven nights that this square speaks. Eleven days that our demands have been heard. Nobody can say anymore: ‘We haven’t heard you.’ You have heard us! But after 11 days, what we are waiting for is action!” Haziri said.

He demanded institutional accountability from deputies and the Government of Kosovo, saying institutions must take steps regarding the situation created after the verdict.

“From the last deputy to the prime minister: Today, in the institutions of a free Kosovo, the responsibility you carry you exercise in a state for which blood was shed. Today you eat your bread in a free Kosovo thanks to the blood of the KLA martyrs! And today, the KLA needs the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo! It needs your responsibility! It needs your action!” he said.

Haziri called on deputies to, instead of public statements, use the Assembly and the vote to take concrete steps.

“So don’t compete with each other with statements. Don’t compete over who loves the KLA more. Don’t deal with the protesters! You have the Assembly! You have the vote! Vote the law! There show your stance! Because history will not remember only what you said these days. It will remember what you did!” Haziri said.

At the start of his speech, he also commemorated the massacre of the Deliu family in Abri e Epërme on September 26, 1998, recalling the victims of this massacre.

The “Not in My Name” protests have been held for 11 consecutive nights at “Skënderbeu” square, following the September 16 verdict against the four former KLA leaders.