Fourth Night of Protests in Pristina Against the Hague Verdict: “It Was Not a Party That United Us, but the KLA”

At Skanderbeg Square in Pristina, for the fourth night in a row, supporters of the Kosovo Liberation Army unhappy with the Kosovo Specialist Chambers’ decision in The Hague to sentence four former KLA leaders — Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi — to multi-year prison terms for war crimes have gathered. Tonight’s protest began with the recitation of the KLA oath, which those present repeated in chorus, Reporteri reported.

One of the organizers, Qlirim Haziri, said the protests will continue until the “demand for justice for the liberators” is fulfilled. According to him, it was not a party that united the citizens, but the KLA. Tonight too, UCK flags and symbols as well as Albanian flags dominate central Pristina. Among those present is also the son of Jakup Krasniqi, Altin Krasniqi, Kosovo Online reported. PDK MP Vlora Çitaku shared a photo from the protest with the message: “The people are on their feet.”

The Pristina protests have continued since September 16, when the first-instance sentences were announced: Thaçi and Krasniqi were sentenced to 25 years in prison each, Veseli to 18 and Selimi to 13. The Specialist Chambers found all four guilty of war crimes: unlawful arrest and detention of 385 people, inhumane treatment of 49 people, torture of 303 people and murder of 96 people, according to the summary of the decision. On the first day, protesters threw bottles and stones at the EULEX building, while the windows of the Kosovo Government building were broken; around 11 p.m. the citizens dispersed, but a group returned to the EULEX building, where the roof was set on fire.

The diaspora has also begun to protest: today there were rallies in Switzerland and Germany, while protests have been announced in Canada, Austria and on September 22 in New York, in front of the United Nations building.

Source: Danas