The Hague verdict as a moment of reflection

By Ergys Mërtiri

The verdict against the KLA leaders is a disgrace. Punishing the victim while the aggressors’ crimes have still not been uncovered and punished shows the deep lack of morality and human sensitivity of those who pushed this process forward.

Sadly, Kosovo remains a victim even today — even after the cruelty of the war, and now even by court decision. But still, today we cannot and must not remain silent about the bitter truth that we ourselves bear a good share of the blame. Albanians, on both sides of the border, have done very little to internationalize the Kosovo issue — both in terms of international recognition and in terms of raising awareness about Serbian crimes and genocide. On the contrary, Serbia has worked hard, in every aspect, and these are only some of the results.

Albanians thought that, since we have NATO, everything would go smoothly and victory is in our pocket. The folkloric nationalism of Albanian politics begins and ends with waving flags and patriotic songs on holidays or at political and football events, and offers nothing serious to advance national interests or the real issues of our society. On the contrary, Albanians have worked and invested harder in advancing the favorite sport of accusing one another of treason, in a completely banal and provincial way.

The selfishness and provincialism of our politics is what hinders and betrays our highest aspirations. Over these decades we have been filled with leaders and politicians who congratulate themselves and speak words and gestures about nation and homeland, while they don’t lift a finger for national interests — or who, even worse, rob and cripple their own country economically and institutionally. And of course, under these conditions you will begin to lose your advantages one by one. This is a bitter day, but it must serve to reflect that the nation is not defended with çifteli and drums, but with plans, projects and concrete work that guarantee its future.