Rally in support of KLA members accused of war crimes held in Pristina

Tens of thousands of people gathered today in the squares of Pristina, where a "Freedom March" was held in support of members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) accused of war crimes, ahead of the publication of the final verdict of the Specialized Chambers in The Hague, on indictments charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In front of the ceremonial stage and along the entire length of the squares in Pristina, flags of Kosovo, Albania, and the KLA were displayed, with slogans glorifying the KLA's struggle.

Next to the pictures of KLA members Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselji, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, there were signs reading "Freedom has a name".

Member of the "Freedom Has a Name" platform Eliza Hodža, one of the organizers of the "March for Freedom", said that today we are marching for those who dared to do more than most citizens.

"Today we march with the KLA, for the KLA, because the KLA unites us, it once united us, it unites us today, it unites us forever," said Eliza Hoxha.

The president of the KLA War Veterans' Organization, Hisni Gucati, said that the protest was not organized to defend individuals, but, as he pointed out, to defend the truth of a people who fought for the survival, freedom and statehood of Kosovo.

"We have not gathered here today to defend an individual, but rather we have gathered to defend the truth of a people who fought to survive, to be free and to build our state," Gucati said.

The President of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (DPK), Bedri Hamza, said that Kosovo remembers, respects and defends the victims of the KLA.

"Today, in this square in Pristina, I see not only thousands of citizens, but I see Kosovo. I see the people who kept Kosovo alive in the most difficult days, I see the families who paid a high price for freedom," said Hamza.