Veterans again warn protest: # If the situation passes #

Witness Family Association Chairman Xhavit Jashari tells Kosovo that the protest will be the first form through which to reject the second reading approval of this bill until he adds that they will not be held accountable if the protests are out of control. He adds that the responsibility is carried by the government, rather than by veterans who, according to him, are seeking their rights.

The government says minimum wage and veterans' election are separate issues while insisting on a new law with clean lists and then on the possibility of this category being treated, according to them, more dignified.

The veterans have twice protested before the government and the Kosovo Assembly to reject their failure to include in the draft law on changing and completing laws defining the minimum wage.

Jashari says the same action will be taken on the day when this bill will go out for a second reading vote.

“We will protest, we will protest, we will consult even with our governing bodies, the Veterans' Organization and the associations, in this case the Invalids and the Family of Witnesses, and the first form will be protests and we will not guarantee whether the situation is over because it is the government and the prime minister in this country that is taking action to get here and I think that responsibilities lie on what causes the problems and not those who seek their rights, says Jashar.

According to him, they will not allow the sacrifice and value of KLA veterans to be degraded, and adds that this category continues to be incompatible.

The prime minister, the government, and the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, should understand why this is not increasing a occupation and insisting that the veterans of war be denied their right in their business, is the minimum wage in Kosovo, but will not allow the glorious KLA war that is of value to each, and in this case I want to appeal to the citizens and the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo to be careful at this point because the war of the KLA that all enjoy today and that is the value of each one of them as well as the other has to be preserved, he says.

Following the second protest of veterans held in June, representatives of organisations were expected at the meeting by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who had proposed drafting a new veterans' law and launching the process of assessment and verification of war participants.

Jashar says no verification can be made without the end of the veterans' court process, turned into retrial by Apel.

We don't fear verification, nor the commanders of the zones, nor the representatives of war-free organisations, even though our power hasn't been to sign to give someone the right or deny the right they have contributed to the war of the KLA, but every time it comes back it's the same body, the same institution, which will do the assessment and reversion, and I think if someone has signed someone who doesn't deserve it, it should respond to the justice organs, or if someone has to be back, it must be answered... No re-evaluation and no verification can be made without completion of the judicial process that has been turned into retrial by the Court of Appeals”, Jashar adds.

The chairman of the Association of Witness Families calls on the country's prime minister to carefully handle issues related to veterans, since, according to him, this category should receive dignified treatment.

He says Kurti should not hold ministers like Iron Murati and Donika Grovalla, who, according to him, are declared against the values of war.

And we're going to insist that irresponsible and irresponsible people who have no value, then they insult these values, as we have the case of Iron Murat and Donika Scharz, that they are not part of the government, we insist that they be civilized and raise a culture of national size that people who insult the value they've come to, and today enjoy these positions in which institutions they want to be no part of these institutions because our travel will be difficult with such irresponsible people... I think to be corrected on the contrary is the duty of Kosovo's prime minister that within the government there are no such people who lead very important dictatorships to solve the problems of the government”, Jashar concludes.

On June 14, 2022 The Kosovo Assembly has adopted in principle the bill, which envisions the growth of the minimum wage to 250 euros net from 130-170 as it currently is. This bill rules out increasing the pension of veterans at the rate of minimum wage, and in the event of second reading approval, veterans will continue to receive a pension worth 170 euros.