FREEDOM FOR THE LIBERATORS – THE HAGUE MUST DELIVER JUSTICE, NOT REWRITE KOSOVO’S HISTORY
FREEDOM FOR THE LIBERATORS
THE HAGUE MUST DELIVER JUSTICE, NOT REWRITE KOSOVO’S HISTORY
By Flamur Buçpapaj
The time has come to speak openly, without fear and without complexes, about one of the most important issues to have affected Kosovo since the war: the trial in The Hague of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi. They are figures closely connected with the history of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), the Kosovo war and the political process that led to Kosovo’s liberation and statehood. Above all, however, they are individuals who have the fundamental right to be judged on the basis of evidence, not perceptions; on individual responsibility, not on the history of an entire people.
In a state governed by the rule of law, no one should be convicted simply because they were a commander, politician, professor, spokesperson or leader of a liberation movement. Criminal responsibility is individual. This is one of the fundamental principles of modern justice. Therefore, the question the Specialist Chambers must answer is not whether the KLA was a decisive factor in the history of Kosovo. That is a matter of history. The legal question is whether, for each defendant, personal responsibility for the specific crimes contained in the indictment has been established through admissible evidence and according to the standard required by law.
If that responsibility is not proven, then justice requires acquittal.
And this is at the heart of the concern surrounding Jakup Krasniqi. He is not merely a name in a criminal case. He is a professor of history, an intellectual, a scholar and one of the recognized figures of Kosovo’s political history. He is a man who was part of one of the most dramatic periods in the history of his people. To see a professor of history and an Albanian intellectual spend years in detention should make every democrat reflect on the meaning of justice.
This does not mean that an intellectual should be above the law. Quite the opposite. Precisely because the law must be equal for everyone, we must insist that evidence be the sole basis for a conviction.
THERE CAN BE NO CONVICTION WITHOUT PROOF. THERE CAN BE NO COLLECTIVE GUILT. KOSOVO AS A WHOLE CANNOT BE PUT ON TRIAL THROUGH A HANDFUL OF INDIVIDUALS.
Kosovo must say this loudly—not out of fear of the Specialist Chambers, but out of respect for justice.
The Specialist Chambers were established to prosecute individuals for specific allegations. They were not established to put an entire people on trial. They were not established to criminalize the aspirations of the people of Kosovo for freedom. Nor were they established to turn back the history of 1998–1999. Therefore, every judgment must be individual and based on evidence.
If anyone committed crimes, justice must act. Victims have the right to justice. But defendants also have the right to a fair trial.
These two rights do not contradict one another.
On the contrary, only when both are respected can we speak of genuine justice.
KOSOVO MUST NOT JUDGE ITS OWN HISTORY THROUGH EMOTION
The Kosovo war was one of the most important events in modern Albanian history. It came after years of repression, violence, expulsions and serious violations of the rights of Kosovo Albanians. The KLA became part of this history, while the international intervention led by NATO changed the course of the conflict.
Today, more than two decades later, Kosovo must be capable of defending its history through documents, facts and arguments—not through hatred.
Therefore, it is wrong to interpret every criticism of the Specialist Chambers as opposition to justice. On the contrary, demanding fair justice is itself a defense of justice.
Kosovo must not ask for privileges for anyone.
It must ask only for equality before the law.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY ARE CONVICTED?
A possible conviction of the principal leaders of the KLA would have major political, moral and historical consequences for Kosovo, even if, legally, such a judgment were limited to the individual criminal responsibility of the persons convicted.
For many Kosovo Albanians, Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi are part of the history of the war and the creation of Kosovo’s statehood. For this reason, a conviction would cause profound social and political shock.
But Kosovo must make an essential distinction: an individual criminal judgment must not be transformed into a judgment against an entire people.
If that happens in political discourse, Kosovo would suffer far more than from the judicial decision itself.
Kosovo must continue building its state, its institutions and its European and Euro-Atlantic identity.
DOES SERBIA BENEFIT?
It is undeniable that any judgment that could be used to portray the Kosovo war as an entirely criminal enterprise would be exploited politically by Belgrade.
For years, Serbia has promoted an international narrative aimed at relativizing the responsibility of Slobodan Milošević’s regime for the conflicts and crimes of the 1990s and portraying Kosovo as the principal responsible party.
A conviction of prominent KLA figures would provide Serbia with powerful propaganda material.
Belgrade would use it to say: “You see? The KLA’s war was criminal.”
But we must be absolutely clear: an individual conviction, even if it were to occur, would not prove that the entire Albanian population of Kosovo was guilty, nor would it erase the history of Serbian repression in Kosovo.
History is not written by a single judgment.
History is written through thousands of documents, testimonies, archives, victims, witnesses and events.
DOES RUSSIA BENEFIT?
Russia, too, would seek to exploit any development that weakened Kosovo’s international position.
For years, Moscow has used the Kosovo issue as part of its geopolitical argument against the West. Therefore, any new crisis affecting Kosovo’s political legitimacy could be exploited by Russian propaganda.
But here we must be even more careful: justice cannot decide in order to please Serbia, nor can it decide in order to please Russia.
The court must decide solely according to the law.
If the evidence proves guilt, justice must say so.
If the evidence does not prove guilt, justice must acquit.
That is the best way to confront both Serbian and Russian propaganda
THE FREEDOM OF ONE HUMAN BEING CANNOT BECOME A HOSTAGE TO POLITICS
The case of Jakup Krasniqi also has a human dimension that cannot be ignored.
Years spent in detention are not merely a number on a legal document. They are years of life. Years away from family, country, society and normal life.
Therefore, when we speak about a person who is a professor, historian and intellectual, we must remember that behind every legal file stands a human being.
Justice must remain humane without losing its legal strength.
If a person is guilty, they must be held accountable.
If their guilt has not been proven, they must be free.
It is really that simple.
THE HAGUE MUST SEND A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD
The Specialist Chambers have a historic opportunity: to demonstrate that international justice is not influenced by politics.
If the judgment is clearly based on evidence, individual responsibility and legal standards, it should be respected.
But if a conviction were perceived as an attempt to indirectly criminalize the Kosovo war, the damage would extend beyond the defendants. It would also damage the trust of the people of Kosovo and Albanians in international justice.
Therefore, the responsibility before the court is enormous.
It is not simply dealing with four individuals.
It is confronting a painful history, victims, testimonies and an entire society following this process.
KOSOVO MUST NOT BE ASHAMED OF ITS STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM
Kosovo must have the courage to condemn every crime committed by Albanians, just as it demands justice for crimes committed against Albanians.
That is national maturity.
But acknowledging that certain individuals may be responsible for crimes does not mean accepting that the Kosovo war itself was criminal.
These are two entirely different things.
A people fighting for freedom does not automatically become innocent in every action of every individual, but neither does it become guilty because of the actions of individuals.
That is precisely the principle of individual criminal responsibility.
SHOULD THEY BE RELEASED?
My answer is clear:
If the Specialist Chambers fail to prove, beyond the applicable legal standard, the individual criminal responsibility of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi, then they should be acquitted.
Not because they are Albanian.
Not because they were members of the KLA.
Not because they are politicians.
But because that is what justice requires.
And in the particular case of Jakup Krasniqi, a professor of history and an intellectual, Albanian society has every right to ask:
Can keeping a man in detention for years be called justice if, in the end, his guilt is not proven?
This is a question that must not be silenced.
FREEDOM FOR THE INNOCENT, JUSTICE FOR THE VICTIMS
This must be our message.
Not revenge.
Not hatred.
Not pressure on the court.
But justice.
If there were crimes, let the perpetrators be punished.
If there is insufficient evidence, let the defendants be acquitted.
If someone bears individual responsibility, let them answer individually.
But no one has the right to turn an entire people into defendants.
Kosovo must not be afraid of justice.
But justice must not be afraid of the truth.
And the truth is that Kosovo experienced one of the greatest tragedies in modern Balkan history and that its struggle for freedom is part of its national history.
Today, more than ever, Kosovo needs unity, maturity and dignity.
If Jakup Krasniqi, Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi are guilty, let the evidence and the law speak. If their guilt is not proven, the courtroom door should open and they should return free to Kosovo.
That would not be a victory for a political party.
It would not be a victory for one political camp.
It would be a victory for the greatest principle of democracy:
No one is convicted without proof, and no one is above the law.
And if a just judgment in The Hague brings an end to the uncertainty, Kosovo should accept it with dignity.
But if anyone seeks to use The Hague to rewrite Kosovo’s history, our answer must be clear:
The history of a people cannot be erased by a judgment.
Kosovo is not a crime.
Freedom is not a crime.
And justice must be justice for everyone.
