Leka After the Hague Sentences: A Historic Shame — Albania Should Set Up a Fund for the Former KLA Leaders

Analyst Martin Leka, a guest on the “News Line” show on ABC News, commented on the Special Court’s ruling against Hashim Thaçi and the other former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, who were handed a total of 81 years in prison.

He described the ruling as “unjust and political,” stressing that the situation should serve as a moment of reflection on political mistakes in Kosovo.

According to him, Albania, Kosovo and the Albanian factor in the region must coordinate their positions and use diplomacy to face the situation. The analyst said the time has come for Albania’s Parliament to adopt a resolution condemning Serbian crimes and genocide in Kosovo.

During the discussion, Leka stressed that alongside the resolution, Albania should allocate a special fund in support of the four former KLA leaders in their battle to seek acquittal on appeal.

He also criticized the stance of Albin Kurti’s government, which, as Leka put it, did not hold the right positions during the detention and trial of the former KLA leaders.

“It is a totally unjust decision, a political decision; it is an imprisonment of Hashim Thaçi and the other former KLA leaders; it is a historic shame for those who initiated it and forced the Kosovo Assembly to vote for that Court.

A sentence which, we must say, should not discourage us from learning from political mistakes, especially those of the Republic of Kosovo, because for the sake of truth we must mobilize all our capacities of knowledge and diplomacy to have a unified stance of the entire Albanian factor in the three Balkan states. A major diplomatic offensive is needed, and Parliament must urgently adopt a resolution on Serbian crimes and the genocide committed in Kosovo, on ethnic cleansing, etc.

The Kosovo government did not hold the right positions while the former KLA leaders were imprisoned; there was not a single statement about the Court, which speaks in the name of Kosovo. Albania should allocate funds for the legal defense of the four former KLA leaders, a special fund from taxpayers.

I think Albanian taxpayers are ready to finance any amount to restore the dignity of those four persons. The victim was equated with the aggressor, and that is unjust,” he said.