By Qerim Ondozi
Statement by the War Veterans’ Organization of the Kosovo Liberation Army: Who is to blame?
In the most recent attempt at an inaugural session of the Kosovo Assembly, which was interrupted for the fifth consecutive time having failed to reach a quorum, deputies were given the opportunity to speak before people present in the parliament, and those who were following the live transmission.
Among them was a deputy who led the criticism against the PDK-AAK-Nisma coalition — the so called war ‘wing’ — and their refusal to take part in the session. He criticized specific individuals in the coalition, saying that they had committed all kinds of evil, highlighting their status as commanders in the recent war in Kosovo.
Naturally, this deputy’s speech was met with hostility both inside the Assembly (with a few instant reactions), as well as outside of it. By the afternoon of the same day, the War Veterans’ Organization of the Kosovo Liberation Army released a statement, proclaiming, among other things, that:
“We want to let everyone know that if a dangerous situation should arise, we, the veterans of KLA, and the commanders that are being insulted in the Assembly, will be the ones who will come to this country’s aid; and the clique of waiters, translators and commissars will cower in the nearest hole they find, as they did during the War of Liberation.”
This reaction, although seemingly automatic and prepared, is in fact a reflection of the grave reality in Kosovo. This reaction shows the social classification and division which certain people try to instill and reflect in Kosovo. This division is clear and not unknown. It is this division between ‘us’ and ‘them,’ between ‘the good’ and ‘the bad,’ between ‘patriots’ and ‘traitors,’ and so on.