Prishtina, 5 October 2026
Full Speech by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, at the extraordinary session of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo:
Honourable President of the Assembly, Ms Albulena Haxhiu,
Honourable Members of the Assembly,
Dear citizens of the Republic,
The just struggle of our people was a war of liberation and an anti-colonial struggle. The bearer of this struggle was the Kosovo Liberation Army. The KLA represents the highest political and military expression in our history of liberation, dating back to the League of Prizren.
The KLA was not simply a response to the suppression of Kosovo’s autonomy in 1989, but a response to Serbia’s fourth genocide against the Albanians.
The first genocide took place in 1875–1880, the second in 1912–1913, the third in 1944–1946, and the fourth in 1998–1999.
Every genocide committed by Serbia was first set down on paper and then implemented in practice. In total, there are 24 programmes of the highest state and Serbian academic institutions for the extermination of Albanians. Therefore, the historical conflict, marked by several wars over a period of a century and a half, was not between Albanians and Serbs, but between the Albanian nation and Serbia as a state.
The KLA is the name of the armed uprising of the Albanians against Serbia’s fourth genocide. There can be no trial against the KLA.
Honourable Members,
There has been very little time to properly analyze the law, especially since we still do not have the Judgment in its final form.
We consider these moves to amend the law on the Specialist Chambers to be hasty and insufficiently analyzed and considered. Hasty actions were also taken in 2013 and subsequently in 2015, when the establishment of this Court, namely the Specialist Chambers, was voted on. At that time, you did not listen to us. At the very least, today you should have consulted us and given us the necessary time for the matter to be addressed much more seriously.
Citizens’ anger towards the Court today is justified. It was also present in 2015, but at that time this anger was not taken into account by Members of the Assembly. Therefore, complaints about the Court should be addressed to those who established it, not to those who opposed it. Responsibility lies with those who established it.
We opposed the Specialist Chambers from the outset, but at that time we did not have your support, whereas today we are supporting you.
We supported you through the Resolution adopted by the Assembly.
We also supported you by submitting the draft law from the Government to the Assembly.
Today, we are also supporting you with our vote at first reading.
Therefore, whenever an issue concerns the common interest of the country, we have not only been right, but have also demonstrated that we know how to act beyond political differences.
We are not convinced of the merits of this law; we know that you believe in it, and we want to trust your conviction. You have also told us that this draft law is supported by the defence teams, and therefore we are supporting it.
Honourable Members of the Assembly,
As Prime Minister, I am trying to address and correct the mistakes that have been made over many years, but some of them are very difficult to correct and take a great deal of time because they do not depend solely on us. But even when they do depend on us, we must act with great care, not with great haste.
Therefore, if I were in your position, I would not rush. I would conduct a thorough analysis, wait for the Judgment in its full form, and then we would act together.
We are telling you that this matter requires more time and more analysis. You are telling the citizens that you have the solution. We are not convinced that this is the case, but we will nevertheless not stand in your way.
You must consider not only the reason that is driving you to vote today, but also the consequences that this vote may produce tomorrow. It is not enough merely to react to an injustice; we must also ensure that, in attempting to correct one mistake, we do not create another.
Nevertheless, we are not standing in your way. But along with this vote, you must also assume political responsibility.
Honourable colleagues from the Government and Members of the Assembly,
The road to victory is through the Appeals Chamber. That is where victory is achieved. And victory requires organization and strategy. The organization must be state-wide and national. And the strategy must be state-wide and national. The organization must not be partisan or non-governmental. Nor do actions and gestures without a strategy, or undertaken before a strategy is in place, help. They are merely energy without power, while positive change requires power. Venting anger without achieving the necessary success is not what we need; we need success. Therefore, we are supporting this draft law precisely so that, immediately after the election of the President, we can sit down together to develop a state and national strategy to ensure that we emerge victorious.
We must also be clear about one more thing. To have a sustainable strategy for the unjust situation in The Hague, we must also have a strong, stable and fully functional state in Kosovo.
We need a law for the Court in The Hague, but we also need a President for Kosovo.
One without the other could be highly damaging. We cannot claim that we are defending Kosovo’s interests in The Hague while allowing an institutional vacuum and uncertainty in Kosovo.
We need a serious strategy for The Hague. But to implement that strategy, we need functioning institutions, a President who guarantees constitutional continuity, and stable governance.
Otherwise, a law concerning The Hague without institutional stability and without a President of Kosovo, accompanied by repeated elections, risks ending in failure for the citizens, the liberation fighters and the State of Kosovo itself.
Finally, allow me to thank the Chairman of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Mr Bedri Hamza, for the constructive meetings we have had. We will meet again today, because we must meet, we must reach an agreement, and we must all move forward together.
Thank you!
