Naim Kryeziu, a young Kosovar born after the war, has explained why he will join tomorrow’s march in support of the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), who are currently facing trial in The Hague.
Although Kryeziu did not experience the war himself, he says he learned about the KLA through his family, the testimonies of those who lived through the war, and history.
For him, joining the march is not about following the crowd, but about what he describes as a personal obligation to history.
Kryeziu’s full statement:
“I was born on May 10, 2003. I did not experience the war. Everything I know about the KLA comes from others — from my family, from the testimonies of those who lived through it, and from history. But tomorrow, I will march.
Not because everyone else is marching.
Not because I want to be part of the crowd.
But because I feel it is my obligation.
I belong to a generation that was born into a free Kosovo. A generation that never experienced a time when freedom was not a reality, but a dream and a sacrifice.
When our homeland needed them, people like Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi took up arms and joined the fight of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
Today, they are in The Hague, facing a judicial process.
We may hold different political views. We may have criticisms and different opinions about everything that happened after the war. But that should never make us forget what the KLA’s struggle represents for Kosovo’s freedom.
That is why I will be there tomorrow.
I will be there as a young man who did not experience the war, but who feels a responsibility toward history.
And I will also be there as a journalist.
To me, journalism is a noble profession. I chose to be where events unfold, to bear witness and to report.
That is why I am proud that tomorrow I will march for freedom while also reporting on it.
Because freedom is not something we should ever take for granted.
Freedom has a history.
It has sacrifice.
It has martyrs.
It has liberators.
And for me, freedom has a name: UÇK.”
