A planned protest in Tirana on Friday in support of former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders being tried for war crimes in The Hague has triggered a sharp political confrontation between Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Albin Kurti’s Vetëvendosje Movement.
Vetëvendosje accused Rama of being one of the main lobbyists for establishing the Specialist Chambers, which is prosecuting former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi and other ex-KLA commanders. In a Facebook post, the party said Rama “came to Kosovo by helicopter to convince MPs to vote in favor of the court’s creation,” urging him to “show at least a minimum of remorse.”
The party added that the Albanian government should use its presence in international forums such as the UN, Council of Europe and NATO to raise concerns about the justice process against the KLA leaders, instead of organizing protests “in Skanderbeg Square.”
Rama dismissed the accusations as “a politically motivated attack” linked to upcoming local election runoffs in Kosovo, where Kurti’s party is expected to face tough contests in several municipalities on November 9. In a post on X, he said Vetëvendosje was “mixing Kosovo’s institutional relations with Albania into the soup of municipal runoffs.”
“The Special Court was established over allegations of organ trafficking, not to hold hostage the President of the Republic of Kosovo,” Rama wrote, adding that he had publicly defended former President Thaçi “whenever he had the chance.” He denied organizing the protest but said he morally supported it.
Following his remarks, Vetëvendosje spokesperson Arlind Manxhuka urged Rama to answer three specific questions: whether he had arrived in Kosovo by helicopter to lobby for the court’s creation, what Vetëvendosje’s historical stance on the court had been, and in which international organizations Rama had raised concerns about the trials in The Hague.
Meanwhile, the Organization of KLA War Veterans (OVL-UÇK) accused Vetëvendosje of trying to “politicize” Friday’s rally. “This protest belongs to no political party – it is the voice of the Albanian people, the veterans, and the families of the fallen,” the group said in a statement, thanking Rama for removing the highway toll on the Nation’s Road for 24 hours to ease travel from Kosovo.
“We demand justice for our fighters and punishment for Serbia’s crimes,” the veterans’ organization declared.
The protest, titled “Justice for the Liberators,” is scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. Friday in Tirana’s Skanderbeg Square, organized by veterans and supporters of the former KLA commanders.
The confrontation marks the latest escalation in strained relations between Rama and Kurti, which have worsened since the launch of the “Open Balkan” initiative, supported by Tirana but rejected by Pristina. Tensions further deepened after the cancellation of a joint government meeting in 2023 amid unrest in northern Kosovo.
Similar protests in support of Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi, and Krasniqi were held in Pristina in August and in front of the Specialist Chambers in The Hague in September.