TIRANA, Feb 12 /ATA/ Albania’s parliament adopted with 92 votes in favor a joint declaration affirming support for the innocence of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). 

The declaration was prepared by lawmakers Igli Hasani and Tritan Shehu, with the Socialist Party parliamentary group chairman Taulant Balla proposing it at the start of Thursday’s plenary session.

The declaration voices concern over the request by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, which has sought 45‑year prison terms for each of the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) — former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi, ex‑parliament speakers Kadri Veseli and Jakup Krasniqi, and former MP Rexhep Selimi.

The draft declaration, read by lawmaker Igli Hasani, states that the Kosovo Liberation Army’s (KLA) war was a legitimate liberation movement that fought for the rights of the people of Kosovo, for their freedom, dignity and self‑determination.

Albania’s parliament, exercising its constitutional powers and role as representative of the Albanian people, voiced deep concern over the request by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, which has brought charges against former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders, including ex‑president Hashim Thaçi, former parliament speaker Kadri Veseli and former minister Rexhep Selimi. Taking into account the historic value of Kosovo’s liberation struggle, the declaration reaffirmed that the KLA was a legitimate liberation movement that fought for the fundamental rights of the people of Kosovo — for freedom, dignity and self‑determination — in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Charter.

Albania’s parliament said the request by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office could create a serious risk of equating Kosovo’s legitimate struggle for survival and freedom with the crimes of Slobodan Milošević’s regime, which carried out a campaign of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity against Kosovo’s population.

Albania’s parliament declared its full and unwavering support for the leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), describing them as representatives of the justice aspirations and rights of the people of Kosovo and of their legitimate struggle. The statement added that the KLA’s fight was rooted in universal principles of human rights.

/sm/