The Special Court and the Attempt to Undo Kosovo’s Statehood: A Political and National Analysis
By Flamur Bucpapaj
The protest held in Pristina demanding the release of Hashim Thaçi and his fellow fighters from unjust pretrial detention in The Hague is far more than an emotional outcry. It is the voice of a wounded collective conscience—a cry for justice, dignity, and the protection of historical truth in the face of international pressure that is eroding the foundations of Kosovo’s statehood.
The Special Court: A Tool of Selective Justice
The Special Court in The Hague, established in 2015 under pressure from the European Union and certain international circles, deliberately targets only one side of the conflict: the Albanians. Not a single line of the indictments mentions Serbian barbarity, systematic massacres, the rape of thousands of Albanian women, the state violence of Milošević’s regime, or the ethnic cleansing attempts that were documented by international missions in Kosovo themselves.
This is double-standard justice: Serbian war crimes remain unpunished, while key figures of Kosovo’s liberation struggle have been held in detention for years, based on charges supported by questionable witnesses—many of whom were recruited, threatened, or bought by Serbian intelligence services. This is a clear strategy to overturn the narrative of Kosovo’s liberation, to criminalize the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and to delegitimize the very foundation upon which the new state was built.
Serbia, Destabilization, and the Western Game
Post-war Serbia has not fundamentally changed. It has never apologized for its war crimes, nor has it opened the archives related to the disappearance of over 1,600 Albanians who are still missing. Rather than engaging in reflection and reconciliation, Belgrade has launched a quiet yet well-organized campaign to destabilize Kosovo through:
infiltration of espionage networks;
provocations in northern Kosovo through armed parallel structures;
delegitimization of Kosovo internationally;
and recently, through cooperation with Albanian-speaking individuals and media outlets that spread anti-national discourse, downplaying the importance of the liberation struggle and undermining the significance of national unity.
These are calculated efforts to bring Kosovo back under Serbian influence and to strip Albanians of their historical, linguistic, and cultural identity.
Historical Memory Must Not Be Erased: Albania and Kosovo Are One
During the darkest moments of the war—when Kosovo was burning, violated, and emptied of its population—it was the people of Albania who opened their doors, shared their bread, sheltered over 500,000 refugees, provided weapons, soldiers, and unconditional solidarity. Albania was not just a neighboring country—it was the other half of the same nation, carrying on its shoulders the burden of Kosovo’s survival in the face of genocide.
Those who today attempt to separate the national flag from Kosovo’s identity, who see Tirana as “foreign,” and who remain silent when Albanian identity is attacked, are aligning themselves with those who oppose not only Kosovo, but also Albania—and all Albanians.
The Kosovo Assembly Has a Moral and Constitutional Duty
Protesting is no longer enough. It is time for the Kosovo Assembly to reopen the question of the legitimacy of the Special Court, to examine how it was established under pressure, outside the will of the people, and in violation of the fundamental principles of equality before the law and state sovereignty. If an international institution aims to distort historical truth and dismantle justice, then it is not a tool of justice—but of politics.
The Red and Black Flag Needs No Permission: It Belongs to All Albanians
National symbols are not the property of any government or television station. The red and black flag is the shared identity of all Albanians—from Pristina to Tirana, from Tetovo to Ulcinj, from Preševo to the diaspora. There is nothing more sacred than spiritual and national unity, and no one has the right to deny this sentiment to the Albanians of Kosovo.
Time for National Action
The Pristina protest is only the beginning. The call for justice must spread to Tirana, Skopje, Tetovo, Preševo, Ulcinj, and throughout Europe and the United States. This is a national cause—not a matter of party or region. A nation that does not defend its heroes, that remains silent when its liberators are imprisoned, is a nation that loses its dignity and its future.
International References: The Right to Self-Defense and Self-Determination
The KLA’s war was not a criminal enterprise, as portrayed by the Serbian narrative and segments involved in investigations. It was a legitimate liberation struggle, conducted in accordance with international law governing self-defense and the right of peoples to self-determination.
Key international legal references supporting this include:
Article 1 of the UN Charter: recognizes the right of peoples to self-determination;
UN General Assembly Resolution 2625 (XXV), 1970: affirms the principles of international law concerning friendly relations between states, recognizing national liberation wars as legitimate expressions of self-determination;
UN Security Council Resolution 1244, 1999: although it does not declare Kosovo’s independence, it establishes an international presence to guarantee post-war security and acknowledges that the conflict resulted from extreme violence by the Serbian regime against the Albanian civilian population.
Thus, any attempt to criminalize the Albanian liberation war violates the core principles of international law and undermines the post-1999 peace order.
Brief Biographies of the Main Detainees
Hashim Thaçi – Former President of Kosovo, one of the founders of the KLA, political representative at the Rambouillet talks, and a key figure in the post-war state-building process. Internationally recognized for his role in achieving Kosovo’s independence. He has been held in detention in The Hague since November 2020.
Kadri Veseli – Former Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly and a senior KLA figure. A specialist in national intelligence and security, Veseli was instrumental in building Kosovo’s institutional structure.
Rexhep Selimi – Former MP and commander of early KLA units in the Drenica region. Active in the armed resistance and later in parliamentary life.
Jakup Krasniqi – Former Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly and interim President following Kosovo’s declaration of independence. He served as KLA spokesperson and is among the most moderate and respected figures in Kosovo’s political landscape.
These individuals are not just private persons under a routine legal process. They are symbols of Kosovo’s political, diplomatic, and military representation during its most difficult times. Their continued detention is a grave offense to Kosovo’s sovereignty and integrity.
This is not merely a judicial matter—it is a battle for history, truth, and the future. If we fail to act as a nation, if we allow the narrative of the KLA’s war to be distorted, then tomorrow our children will learn a false history—where liberators are labeled as criminals, and criminals as victims.
The Republic of Kosovo must reconsider its position on this court. The Assembly of Kosovo bears constitutional, moral, and historical responsibility to reassess its legitimacy and to defend not only its citizens—but also its national identity. The detainees in The Hague are not “private individuals” in an ordinary criminal case. They are the voice of a people’s will for freedom and of the independence that we all embraced. To defend them is to defend Kosovo. To remain silent in the face of injustice against them is to accept that Kosovo no longer has a voice.
Free our liberator brothers!
Defend the truth of the liberation war!
Preserve national identity and dignity!
The time is now—tomorrow is too late.
