PRISTINA -- Protesters took to the streets of Kosovo's capital in support of ex-President Hashim Thaci and other former Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) leaders who are set to face trial on war crimes charges in The Hague beginning on April 3.
The protest, which drew thousands of supporters, was organized by the Freedom Has A Name group that has expressed support for the former leaders of the UCK, including Thaci, who was a leader of the guerrilla fighters.
Thaci became popular in the young country in the years following its independence declaration and went on to lead Kosovo as president and prime minister at different times.
He and three others are being held in The Hague pending the trial. They have denied the allegations.
"The epochal victories would have been impossible without the courage, struggle, and selflessness of the best boys and girls of the Kosovo Liberation Army of this country," said artist Eliza Hoxha, a speaker at the April 2 protest and a member of parliament with the Kosovo Democratic Party, Thaci's former party.
"The reason we came out today is that we have to support the fighters who gave us freedom. And it's good to support them because they are being held there unfairly," attendee Shqiprim Veseli of Ferizaj told RFE/RL.
A commander of the UCK during the 1998-99 war, Thaci resigned as president of Kosovo in November 2020 after learning that The Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) had confirmed an indictment against him.
The KSC at the time said it was conducting ongoing operations in Kosovo that were being supported by Kosovo police and the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX).
The KSC is mandated to look into allegations that members of the UCK committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1998-99 war to gain independence from Serbia.
It operates under Kosovar law but is based in The Netherlands to shield witnesses from intimidation.
The Council of Europe in 2020 said the charges against Thaci and others relate to the alleged kidnapping and disappearance of at least 100 civilians, mostly Serbs and Roma, along with ethnic Albanian political opponents.
Kosovo's war of independence from Serbia left more than 10,000 people dead -- most of them ethnic Albanians from Kosovo. More than 1,600 people remain unaccounted for. The fighting ended after a 78-day NATO air campaign against Serbia.
Kosovo, which has a largely ethnic Albanian population, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move recognized by many Western states but not Serbia or its allies Russia and China.