Erion Veliaj reacts from prison to the decision of The Hague: Thaçi, Veseli, Krasniqi and Selimi to be declared Honorary Citizens of Tirana
tidings
Express Newspaper
19/09/2026 14:22
In a statement from detention, the mayor of Tirana says that the Hague’s decision against the four former leaders of the KLA deeply shocked him, while emphasizing that the legal process must follow its course.
According to Veliaj, the honor from Tirana does not aim to replace justice with politics or to tell the court what it should decide, but to express, as he says, gratitude for the historical contribution of the four former leaders of the KLA in Kosovo’s journey towards freedom and citizenship.
Veliaj calls on the mayors and municipal councils of other Albanian cities to undertake similar initiatives. In the statement, he also dwells on his personal situation, saying that he has been in isolation for 19 months and has no real opportunity to exercise the mandate of the Mayor of Tirana. But, according to Veliaj, the issue of Kosovo and the memory of its struggle for freedom are bigger than his personal drama. “Unfortunately, Tirana cannot give them freedom. But Tirana must honor them”, says Veliaj, closing the statement with the message that Thaçi, Veseli, Krasniqi and Selimi should be, in his opinion, the honor of the capital.
Veliaj’s full statement:
Dear citizens of the Republic of Albania,
dear citizens of Tirana,
dear Albanians wherever you are,
I am doing 19 months in solitary confinement. Nineteen months without the real opportunity to exercise the constitutional mandate entrusted to me by the citizens of Tirana with a historic vote record.
Just a few days ago, another court decision was taken, which was an institutional blow to local democracy. Naturally, you could expect me to talk about it today.
But there are moments in a man’s life when his personal drama becomes small before a national issue.
The decision given in The Hague against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi deeply shocked me. Of course, the legal process has its own way and justice must follow its procedures and standards to the end. But we Albanians also have the responsibility to remember.
To remember how Kosovo’s freedom came after decades of repression, pain and resistance, after families evicted from their homes, lost lives and extraordinary sacrifices, after the decision of a people to no longer accept that their fate be determined by others. In that history, the Kosovo Liberation Army has its glorious place, like its soldiers Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi.
They are four men whom history placed in one of the most difficult and decisive chapters of Kosovo. I 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 capital of Albanianism. For this reason, in the capacity of the Mayor of Tirana, I will propose to the City 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 historical contribution to Kosovo’s journey towards freedom and citizenship.
Unfortunately, Tirana cannot give them freedom. But Tirana must honor them.
And from Tirana I want to appeal to the mayors and municipal councils of other Albanian cities, to honor them like Tirana. Because these four men are not only part of the history of a city. They are part of the history of Kosovo and through it, of our Albanian history. Let’s show their families that they are not alone. Let’s show the Albanians of Kosovo that Albania does not forget Kosovo. Let’s show the coming generations 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 Thaç, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selim: Your legal process will continue. Justice will take its course. But our memory will also follow its own. We will not forget the Kosovo of repression and deportations. 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 then in building the state of Kosovo.
I may be behind a closed door today, but it was here that I understood something very simple even better: freedom is one of those words whose full weight you realize even more strongly when you lack it. Maybe that’s why today I feel Kosovo even closer. Because her story reminds us that freedom does not become eternal just because it is won once. It is preserved. Protected. He remembers. It is honored.
For those who didn’t get to see her day. For the families that pay its price. To all those who fought and worked for it. For Kosovo. For freedom. For our national memory. They should and will be the honor of our capital, Tirana.
Erion Veliaj
Mayor of Tirana Municipality
