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Veliaj proposes declaring Thaçi, Krasniqi, Veseli and Selimi 'Honorary Citizens' of Tirana

2026-09-19 14:07:30Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Veliaj proposes declaring Thaçi, Krasniqi, Veseli and Selimi

Erion Veliaj has proposed declaring Hashim Thaçi, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi "Honorary Citizens" of Tirana, as a sign of gratitude and appreciation for their historic contribution to the freedom of Kosovo.

Veliaj has called on other municipalities in Albania to undertake the same initiative.

Veliaj's proposal comes after 4 former KLA leaders were sentenced to 81 years in prison by the Hague Special Court. 

Honorable citizens of the Republic of Albania,
 
dear citizens of Tirana,
 
dear Albanians wherever you are,
 
I am spending 19 months in isolation. Nineteen months without the real opportunity to exercise the constitutional mandate that the citizens of Tirana have entrusted to me with a historic record of votes.

Just a few days ago, another court decision was made that was an institutional blow to local democracy. Naturally, you might have expected me to talk to you about this today.
 
But there are moments in a person's life when his personal drama becomes small, compared to a national issue.
 
The decision given in The Hague against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selim has deeply shocked me. Of course, the legal process has its own path and justice must follow its procedures and standards to the end. But we Albanians also have a responsibility to remember.
 
To remember how Kosovo's freedom came after decades of repression, pain and resistance, after families expelled from their homes, lost lives and extraordinary sacrifices, after the decision of a people to no longer accept that its fate be determined by others. In that history, the Kosovo Liberation Army has its glorious place, as do its soldiers Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi.
 
They are four men that history placed in one of the most difficult and decisive chapters of Kosovo. I have lived and worked in Kosovo, I know Hashim closely…
 
So today I want Tirana to speak. Tirana is not only the capital of the Republic of Albania, but the center of Albanianness. For this reason, in my capacity as Mayor of Tirana, I will propose to the Municipal Council that: Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi be declared Honorary Citizens of Tirana.
 
Certainly not to replace justice with politics. Not to tell a court what to decide. But to exercise the right of our city to express its gratitude and appreciation for their historic contribution to Kosovo's journey towards freedom and statehood.
 
Tirana, unfortunately, cannot give them freedom. But Tirana must honor them.
 
And from Tirana, I want to address the mayors and municipal councils of other Albanian cities, to honor them like Tirana. Because these four men are not just part of the history of a city. They are part of the history of Kosovo and through it, of our Albanian history. Let us show their families that they are not alone. Let us show the Albanians of Kosovo that Albania does not forget Kosovo. Let us show the generations to come that a society can respect justice and at the same time, preserve its historical memory.
 
Therefore, today, from where I am, I want to say to Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selim: Your legal process will continue. Justice will follow its path. But our memory will also follow its own. We will not forget the Kosovo of repression and expulsions. We will not forget those who lost their lives. We will not forget the families who sacrificed everything and we will not forget the contribution of those who took responsibility in the war and later in building the state of Kosovo.
 
I may be behind a closed door today, but it is precisely here that I have understood even better something very simple: freedom is one of those words, the full weight of which you understand even more strongly when you miss it. Perhaps that is why today I feel Kosovo even closer. Because its history reminds us that freedom does not become eternal just because it was won once. It is preserved. Protected. Remembered. Honored.
 
For those who did not get to see her day. For the families who paid her price. For all those who fought and worked for her. For Kosovo. For freedom. For our national memory. They should and will be the honor of our capital, Tirana.
 
Erion Veliaj
Mayor of Tirana


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