The historical irony is that the Court in The Hague is becoming a platform that strengthens the image of the KLA. It is documenting not a myth, but a historical reality, the KLA as a decisive actor in stopping ethnic cleansing and in creating the state. And when this story is confirmed by influential international officials, the internal propaganda loses all meaning.
Doruntina Meha
History has its ironies. The Special Court in The Hague, thought by many to be the end of the most important figures of the KLA, is today becoming an extended hand of truth. What was once seen as a platform to question the very existence of the KLA, is being transformed into a space where, through testimonies and documents, the historical memory of our people is being consolidated and the role of our strategic allies is being brought back into focus.
In The Hague, it is not just former KLA fighters who are speaking. People who were close to the historic decisions are also testifying: former American officials, legal advisors, international collaborators who know the context of the Western intervention closely. One of them, former US assistant secretary James Rubin, gave a clear message: what happened in Kosovo was not a random incident, but a political and military process, where international intervention, especially that of the US and NATO, was decisive in stopping ethnic cleansing. Such evidence places the KLA war within a clear framework: who fought, why it was fought, and what sacrifices were made for the state we have today.
Domestically, this leads us to ask: what does this process mean for the ordinary citizen in Kosovo? For most, the answer is bitter. State institutions did not stand by those who are being held in The Hague today. For five years in a row, there was no clear state voice, no guarantees, no commitment to protection. When states like Albania, Croatia or Turkey offered letters of guarantee for the accused, our institutions remained silent. Even financially, the means for legal protection were cut. Silence became state policy, and this message was clearly read by both our citizens and international allies.
This behavior has a direct consequence: it creates a gap between past sacrifice and today's irresponsibility. The paradox is great. Those who once, from the mountain, managed to build bridges of friendship with America and Europe, have today been replaced by a government that, from office, is burning those bridges one by one. The KLA knew that without allies there was neither freedom nor state. Today, an entire government behaves as if Kosovo is self-sufficient, as if we guard our borders ourselves, as if financial development does not depend on anyone else, as if the world should adapt to us. This illusion of self-sufficiency is not only dangerous, but also irresponsible. Friendship with the US and the West is not a symbolic luxury, it is the oxygen of our state.
The historical irony is that the Court in The Hague is becoming a platform that strengthens the image of the KLA. It is documenting not a myth, but a historical reality, the KLA as a decisive actor in stopping ethnic cleansing and in creating the state. And when this story is confirmed by influential international officials, the internal propaganda loses all meaning.
In the coming weeks and months, other KLA collaborators are expected to testify, up to General Wesley Clark. All of them speak with respect for the boys who led a war from the mountains and convinced the world to intervene. And above all, for the role of Hashim Thaçi, who from Rambouillet finally linked the fate of Kosovo with America. This is a historical fact that cannot be undone by either the propaganda of the day or the silence of the institutions.
In the end, The Hague has turned into a boomerang, the court that was intended as closure, is today turning it into indestructible proof that the KLA was and remains the brightest chapter of our new history.
edition
t7 live
