Acting President Haxhiu: today’s verdict and the sentences handed down are deeply shocking news for the Republic of Kosovo
Today’s verdict and the sentences imposed on Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi represent a heavy blow to their families, deeply shocking news for the Republic of Kosovo, and a difficult moment for the Albanian nation wherever it resides.
On a day like this, the weight of this decision cannot be separated from the history that shaped us. Kosovo endured the violence of a state apparatus that killed civilians, committed massacres, expelled hundreds of thousands of Albanians from their homes, and left behind thousands of dead and missing persons. This experience is an indelible part of the memory of Kosovo and the Albanian nation.
My thoughts are, first and foremost, with the families of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi. For years, they have borne the burden of absence, of anticipation and uncertainty. Today’s sentences make that burden even heavier.I send them a message from Kosovo: stay strong; Kosovo stands with you. The final legal word has not yet been spoken. The right to appeal is part of the process and must be fully exercised.The struggle of the Kosovo Liberation Army was a war of liberation. It emerged in the face of the oppression, violence, and crimes committed by the Serbian regime against the people of Kosovo. No court ruling can alter the nature of that war, nor can it undo a people’s right to fight for their freedom.
Respect for justice does not imply silence in the face of any attempt to distort history. Today’s verdicts must not be allowed to be used to relativize the crimes of the Serbian regime, to diminish its responsibility for them, or to create a false narrative.We expect this same clarity from our friends and allies.
Today, we need composure, dignity, and unity. The pain of this day must not divide us.
The Republic of Kosovo will weather this trial as well, remaining steadfast in its commitment to justice, freedom, and the truth. For court rulings can neither judge a people’s history nor rewrite it.
This post is also available in:SQSR
Sixth President of the Republic of Kosova Presidentja e gjashtë e Republikës së Kosovës
Twenty five years later, we remember.We remember the lives taken, the families shattered, the courage of those who risked their lives to save others, and the extraordinary solidarity that followed.On September 11, we mourn the innocent, honor the brave, and remember that
At a ceremony in Pristina today, representatives of the Republic of Kosovo, the Board of Peace & the International Stabilization Force signed the Participating Country Agreement for the inclusion of Kosovo in the ISF. Kosovo will provide critical support for the mission of
Today, on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we remember the over 1,500 people still missing from the last war in Kosovo, many of them children.They remain without a grave, without justice, and without answers.For thousands of families, justice
The world is rightly outraged by Vucic regime’s reaction to the death of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić.But this is what we warned Europe about all along: Serbia and its regime have never changed.What has changed is that Serbia today is an EU candidate country that
©2025 – Office of the President of KosovoDesigned and Developed:SPINP
Notes
Today’s verdict and the sentences imposed on Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi represent a heavy blow to their families, deeply shocking news for the Republic of Kosovo, and a difficult moment for the Albanian nation wherever it resides. On a day like this, the weight of this decision cannot be separated from the history that shaped us. Kosovo endured the violence of a state apparatus that killed civilians, committed massacres, expelled hundreds of thousands of Albanians from their homes, and left behind thousands of dead and missing persons. This experience is an indelible part of the memory of Kosovo and the Albanian nation. My thoughts are, first and foremost, with the families of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi. For years, they have borne the burden of absence, of anticipation and uncertainty. Today’s sentences make that burden even heavier.I send them a message from Kosovo: stay strong; Kosovo stands with you. The final legal word has not yet been spoken. The right to appeal is part of the process and must be fully exercised.The struggle of the Kosovo Liberation Army was a war of liberation. It emerged in the face of the oppression, violence, and crimes committed by the Serbian regime against the people of Kosovo. No court ruling can alter the nature of that war, nor can it undo a people’s right to fight for their freedom. Respect for justice does not imply silence in the face of any attempt to distort history. Today’s verdicts must not be allowed to be used to relativize the crimes of the Serbian regime, to diminish its responsibility for them, or to create a false narrative.We expect this same clarity from our friends and allies. Today, we need composure, dignity, and unity. The pain of this day must not divide us. The Republic of Kosovo will weather this trial as well, remaining steadfast in its commitment to justice, freedom, and the truth. For court rulings can neither judge a people’s history nor rewrite it. This post is also available in:SQSR Sixth President of the Republic of Kosova Presidentja e gjashtë e Republikës së Kosovës Twenty five years later, we remember.We remember the lives taken, the families shattered, the courage of those who risked their lives to save others, and the extraordinary solidarity that followed.On September 11, we mourn the innocent, honor the brave, and remember that At a ceremony in Pristina today, representatives of the Republic of Kosovo, the Board of Peace & the International Stabilization Force signed the Participating Country Agreement for the inclusion of Kosovo in the ISF. Kosovo will provide critical support for the mission of Today, on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we remember the over 1,500 people still missing from the last war in Kosovo, many of them children.They remain without a grave, without justice, and without answers.For thousands of families, justice The world is rightly outraged by Vucic regime’s reaction to the death of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić.But this is what we warned Europe about all along: Serbia and its regime have never changed.What has changed is that Serbia today is an EU candidate country that ©2025 – Office of the President of KosovoDesigned and Developed:SPINP