Calm down, you failed former pacifists – the success of the Kosovo Liberation Army is not overturned
Express newspaper
08/04/2026 11:57
Written by: Emrush Xhemajli
According to a statement by Veton Surroi on KTV, “The KLA was neither an army, nor a liberation army, nor of Kosovo,” because, according to him, it was not an army, but an “armed group”; it was not a liberation army, but “served a political purpose”; and it was not of Kosovo, because “it was not comprehensive for all of Kosovo.” This statement by Surroi is regrettable. The Kosovo Liberation Army was both an army, a liberation army, and of Kosovo; in fact, it was formed for the liberation of Albanian lands under the former Yugoslavia.
Yes, armed groups existed until 1994. From November 17 of that year, under the auspices of the LPK, the army of our country was formed and developed – the Kosovo Liberation Army. The LPK and the KLA served the political goal of liberating the country, which was also expressed in the Constitution of Kosovo and in the Law on the Implementation of the 1990 Constitution. The Constitution and the Law on its Implementation obliged the removal of the occupying forces from Kosovo. Failure to implement this obligation belongs to those who had received mandates in 1992. Therefore, as stated in Article 77 of the 1990 Constitution, it is the duty and honor of every citizen of the country to fight for Kosovo. It is for every gratitude that the Kosovo People’s Movement formed the Kosovo Liberation Army and, together with the democratic world, fulfilled what was required by the people – the liberation of the country. Therefore, the KLA war was liberating, progressive and humane. Yes, the KLA did not include all political variants of Kosovo. But this was inevitable. It was created to enable all those who wanted to rule the country to fight and help, regardless of region, religion or idea. The fact that someone had pacifist ideas about the need for liberation, or did not want to participate in the war to remove the occupier, does not make an army not be called the army of that country. In no liberation war, the forces that fight with weapons are comprehensive; therefore, they cannot include those who do not want to fight, but aim for a solution without war.
It is already proven that the pacifist movement born in 1989/90, called the “alternative”, i.e. “neither with the occupier nor with the liberation movement”, collapsed in 1993. It failed. While time has proven that the liberation political line, led by the LPK and implemented by the Kosovo Liberation Army, was the path that led our people to salvation. We understand these failed pacifist forces, which flirted with the occupier during the occupation, but we cannot understand them well. Apparently, they still have difficulty adapting to an independent Kosovo, in which the Kosovo Liberation Army and its heroes are honored. Therefore, from time to time, they try to cover up their failure by attacking the forces that succeeded in forming the Kosovo Liberation Army and the KLA itself. This is not the path of honor. It serves no purpose. And, above all, it is an impossible mission, which speaks more for those who attack. The victory of the patriotic forces is sealed with the sacrifice and blood of the liberators and cannot be undone by statements that express passions.