Prof. Dr. Fadil Çitaku, PhD, MME (Unibe), supervisor at ETH)

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen

We welcome you all to our peaceful protest in the Hague in support of the values of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and its leaders who have been unjustly imprisoned here in the Hague for many years. We have gathered here to protest because we are dissatisfied with the fact that this judicial process has been going on for more than two years and we have the impression that the whole process is turning into a political process and not a judicial process. This process, which has started, is directed against the leaders of the Liberation Army of Kosova and against those who built the state of Kosova. Our leaders, who are being held here in the Hague, have contributed a lot to the building of the state of Kosova in cooperation with the international community. Our leaders are the politicians who coordinated their work with the international leaders, for the freedom and development of Kosova, for its integration into various international organizations, so that Kosova became a solid state, in which all its citizens can live together and have a good life.No one would have thought that the people of peace, who fought for the liberation of Kosova would be in prison in the Hague today. This is the main reason why we are here today to tell the world that Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi and others are not only names but also the glorious history of the Kosova Liberation Army. They are not only the founders of the KLA but also the creators of the state of Kosova. They are the founders of the Republic of Kosova. We are only asking for justice. We are shocked by the Dick Marty case. The Dick Marty case has been completely overlooked, it has turned out to be a lie orchestrated by Russian and Serbian circles. We simply appeal to the Special Tribunal to be fair and non-political. We are not against the Special Tribunal. The Special Tribunal has no reason to the contrary, we are only against the injustice done to our heroes and to the Albanian people.Below we want to share with you only few evidence-based facts that justify that KLA fought to protect their families and civil citizens from the barbaric Serbian military and paramilitary forces, who have committed a genocide against the Albanian people in Kosova. Justice must consider these facts and do everything to bring the real criminals to the court, namely Serbian criminals. Serbian State has committed a genocide in KosovaBased on the work of scientists Christopher Rochford and Benjamin Olson (2022) the Kosova genocide was a campaign launched in response to the Albanian population’s growing demand for independence from Serbia. The Serbian government saw the Albanians as a threat to its territorial integrity and used the campaign to try to force them out of Kosova.What is the Kosova genocide?Based on the study of Christopher Rochford and Benjamin Olson, published on 2022, Kosova genocide was the Serbian forces’ mass murder and ethnic cleansing of Kosova Albanians during the Kosova War. Serbian forces targeted Albanians for rape, murder, and forced deportation to cleanse Kosova of its Albanian population. Most victims were civilians, and the violence was systematic and widespread.We call for justiceBased on the evidence-based book, published (2023) authors Hanumshahe Ilazi and Nusret Pllana, 1432 Albanian children have been killed by Serbian criminals during the Kosova war. None of these criminals have been brought to the court. 20000 rapes of Albanian women during Kosova war have been committed by Serbian Military and Paramilitary forcesBased on the publication of Hikmet Karcic, a genocide scholar based in Sarajevo, and Tanya L. Domi professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, USA (2022): 20000 rapes of Albanian women were carried out by Serbian soldiers and police during the Kosova war but, to date, only one criminal has been prosecuted by a court of law, and it is now on appeal. Based on the U.S. Department of State Report, published on December 1999 Ethnic Cleansing in Kosova: An Accounting. A central question is the number of Kosovar Albanian victims of Serbian forces in Kosova. Many bodies were found when KFOR entered KosovA in June 1999. The evidence is also now clear that Serbian forces conducted a systematic campaign to burn or destroy bodies, or to bury the bodies, then rebury them to conceal evidence of Serbian crimes. On June 4, at the end of the conflict, the Department of State issued the last of a series of weekly ethnic cleansing reports, (available at http://www.state.gov/…/eur/rpt_990604_ksvo_ethnic.html) concluding that at least 6,000 Kosovar Albanians were victims of mass murder, with an unknown number of victims of individual killings, and an unknown number of bodies burned or destroyed by Serbian forces throughout the war.On November 10, 1999, ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte told the U.N. Security Council that her office had received reports of more than 11,000 killed in 529 reported mass grave and killing sites in Kosova. The Prosecutor said her office had exhumed 2,108 bodies from 195 of the 529 known mass graves. This would imply about 6,000 bodies in mass graves in Kosova if the 334 mass graves not examined thus far contain the same average number of victims. To this total must be added three important categories of victims: (1) those buried in mass graves whose locations are unknown, (2) what the ICTY reports is a significant number of sites where the precise number of bodies cannot be counted, and (3) victims whose bodies were burned or destroyed by Serbian forces. Press accounts and eyewitness accounts provide credible details of a program of destruction of evidence by Serbian forces throughout Kosovo and even in Serbia proper. The number of victims whose bodies have been burned or destroyed may never be known, but enough evidence has emerged to conclude that probably around 10,000 Kosovar Albanians were killed by Serbian forces.Death represents only one facet of Serbian actions in Kosova. Over 1.5 million Kosovar Albanians—at least 90 percent of the estimated 1998 Kosovar Albanian population of Kosovo—were forcibly expelled from their homes. Tens of thousands of homes in at least 1,200 cities, towns, and villages have been damaged or destroyed. During the conflict, Serbian forces and paramilitaries implemented a systematic campaign to ethnically cleanse Kosova—aspects of this campaign include the following:Forcible Displacement of Kosovar AlbanianCivilians: Serbian authorities conducted a campaign of forced population movement. In contrast to actions taken during 1998, Yugoslav Army units and armed civilians joined the police in systematically expelling Kosovar Albanians at gunpoint from both villages and larger towns in Kosova.Looting of Homes and Businesses: There are numerous reports of Serbian forces robbing residents before burning their homes. Another round of robbery occurred as Serbian forces stole from fleeing Kosovars as they crossed the border to Montenegro, Albania, or Macedonia.Widespread Burning of Homes: Over 1,200 residential areas were at least partially burned after late March, 1999. Kosovar Albanians have reported that over 500 villages were burned after March, 1999.Use of Human Shields: Refugees claim that Serbian forces used Kosovar Albanians to escort military convoys and shield facilities throughout the province. Other reporting indicates that Serbian forces intentionally positioned ethnic Albanians at sites they believed were targets for NATO airstrikes.Detentions: Serbian forces systematically separated military-aged men from the general population as Kosovars were expelled. These men were detained in facilities ranging from cement factories to prisons. Many of these detainees were forced to dig trenches and were physically abused. At least 2,000 Kosovar Albanians remain in detention in around a dozen Serbian prisons today.Summary Executions: There are accounts of summary executions at about 500 sites across Kosova.Exhumation of Mass Graves: Serbian forces burned, destroyed, or exhumed bodies from mass graves in an attempt to destroy evidence. Some were reinterred in individual graves.Rape: There are numerous accounts indicating that the organized and individual rape of Kosovar Albanian women by Serbian forces was widespread. For example, Serbian forces systematically raped women in Gjakova and Pejë, and in some cases rounded up women and took them to hotels where they were raped by troops under encouragement of their commanders. Rape is most likely an underreported atrocity because of the stigma attached to the victims in traditional Kosovar Albanian society.Violations of Medical Neutrality: Kosovar Albanian physicians, patients and medical facilities were systematically attacked. Many health care facilities were used as protective cover for military activities; NGOs report the destruction by Serbian forces of at least 100 clinics, pharmacies, and hospitals.Identity Cleansing: Kosovar Albanians were systematically stripped of identity and property documents including passports, land titles, automobile license plates, identity cards, and other forms of documentation. As much as 50 percent of the population has been left without documentation. By systematically destroying schools, places of worship, and hospitals, Serbian forces sought to destroy social identity and the fabric of Kosovar Albanian society.All these and many other facts prove that the aggressor was the Serbian state with its well-armed military and paramilitary forces, which committed numerous crimes against Albanian citizens in Kosova. Unfortunately, the international justice system has done too little to bring these criminals to justice. Instead, the international justice system is still holding in prison our KLA leaders who, hand in hand with NATO, were able to prevent the killings of civilians in Kosova.All we peaceful people of Kosova expect from the international justice system is to be fair of us and to take care of the real war criminals who are still sitting in Serbia.Thank you for your attention!References1. Ilazi, H., Pllana, N. (2019) children Martyrs of Kosovo 1981-1999.Prishtinë.2. Rochford, CH., Olson, B. (2022). Learn about the Kosovo War and genocide. Explore the Balkan Wars, what caused the Kosovo War and genocide, and what the results of the Kosovo War were. Updated: 07/28/2022. Available under https://study.com/…/kosovo-genocide-conflicts-war… (10.2.2023).3. Karcic, H., Domi, T. (2022). We Need a Better Way to Prosecute Sexual Assault in Conflict Though rape is one of the most commonly perpetrated war crimes, it is rarely considered by international courts. Available under: https://foreignpolicy.com/…/rape-sexual-assault-war…/ (10.2.2023).4. U.S. Department of State Report published on December 1999. (1999). Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo: An Accounting. A central question is the number of Kosovar Albanian victims of Serbian forces in Kosovo.