Thousands in Kosovo march against war crimes trials on 18th anniversary of independence declaration

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — An air of defiance marked Kosovo's independence celebrations on Tuesday as thousands of people joined a march in support of former fighters who are facing trial at a Netherlands-based court for alleged war crimes during a 1998-1999 separatist war from Serbia.

Protesters, many wrapped in red and black Albanian flags, braved cold and snowy weather in the capital, Pristina, to voice their opposition to the proceedings in The Hague against former president and rebel leader Hashim Thaci and three others accused of atrocities during and after the conflict that killed some 13,000 people.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kosovo's security forces paraded in Pristina as part of the independence ceremonies, and Parliament held a special session.

The war started in 1998 when the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army launched its struggle for independence and Serbia responded with a brutal crackdown. The war ended after NATO bombed Serbia for 78 days in 1999, eventually forcing it to pull out its troops from the territory.

Serbia still does not recognize the 2008 declaration of independence of Kosovo and this has been a source of persistent tension in the volatile Balkan region. As both Kosovo and Serbia seek European Union membership, they have been told they must normalize ties before joining.

Prosecutors at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague — which formally is part of Kosovo's judicial system although seated abroad — have asked for a maximum 45-year prison sentence for Thaci and the other defendants. Thaci also faces a separate trial on charges of intimidating witnesses that will begin later this month.

Officials and protesters in Kosovo have criticized the proceedings as political and designed to strike a false balance with Serbia whose political and military leaders previously had been tried and convicted of war crimes in Kosovo by a separate U.N. court.

Protesters at Tuesday's march held banners reading “History cannot be rewritten” and “Freedom for the liberators.” They arranged metal fences around a landmark independence monument and placed a sign reading ”Kosovo in Prison" on top of it.

President Vjosa Osmani said in a statement that “truth cannot be changed by attempts to rewrite history or to tarnish and devalue the struggle of Kosovo's people for freedom.”

Prime Minister Albin Kurti added that “the KLA-led war was pure, liberation (struggle) and an anti-colonial war ... a just struggle of an occupied and oppressed people under apartheid."

In Belgrade, a Serbian government liaison office for Kosovo described the independence declaration 18 years ago as a “flagrant violation of international law.” The statement alleged “systematic terror” and persecution against minority Serbs in Kosovo.

The United States and most EU countries are among more than 100 nations that have recognized Kosovo's independence while Russia and China have backed Serbia's claim on the territory.

Thaci resigned from office in 2020 to defend himself against the 10 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The court and an associated prosecutor’s office were created after a 2011 report by the Council of Europe, a human rights body, following allegations that KLA fighters trafficked human organs taken from prisoners and killed Serbs and fellow ethnic Albanians. The organ harvesting allegations haven’t been included in indictments issued by the court.

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AP Writer Jovana Gec contributed from Belgrade, Serbia.

Thousands of people attend a huge protest in support of ex-leaders facing a trial for alleged war crimes during a 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia, in Pristina, Kosovo, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Laura Hasani)

Kosovo Security Force members march during celebrations to mark the 18th anniversary of independence, in Pristina, Kosovo, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Laura Hasani)

Kosovo Security Forces parade during celebrations to mark the 18th anniversary of independence, in Pristina, Kosovo, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Laura Hasani)

FILE - Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci, left, appears before the Kosovo Tribunal in the Hague, on April 3, 2023. (Koen van Weel/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Kosovo Security Force members march during celebrations to mark the 18th anniversary of independence, in Pristina, Kosovo, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Laura Hasani)

Hotel magnate Thomas Pritzker will step down as the executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels after details of his affiliation with Jeffrey Epstein were revealed in documents related to the burgeoning investigation of ties between the notorious sex trafficker and the elite and powerful.

Pritzker, in a prepared statement, said he deeply regrets his association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, a long time associate of Epstein who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.

“I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner,” Pritzker said in a statement. "I condemn the actions and the harm caused by Epstein and Maxwell and I feel deep sorrow for the pain they inflicted on their victims.”

There are numerous emails between Pritzker and Epstein included in a cache of Epstein-related documents recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice, with several detailing attempts for dinner meet ups and invitations to various functions.

Interactions between the two continued even after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. Emails made public late last year show the crime did little to diminish the desire of that network to stay connected to the financier.

Epstein died by suicide while incarcerated in 2019.

Pritzker, 75, who is the cousin of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, was the executive chairman at Hyatt for more than 20 years. His retirement is effective immediately. Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian will succeed Pritzker as chairman.

Hyatt has more than 1,500 hotels and all-inclusive resorts in more than 83 countries.

Revelations of ties to Epstein have led to the departure or ousting of multiple high-profile individuals in recent days.

Dubai announced last week that it was replacing the chairman of one of the world’s largest logistics companies, DP World, because of his ties to Epstein.

Also last week, Kathy Ruemmler, the top lawyer at storied investment bank Goldman Sachs and former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, announced her resignation after emails between her and Jeffrey Epstein showed a close relationship where she described him as an “older brother” and downplayed his sex crimes.

Brad Karp resigned as chairman of one of the most prestigious U.S. law firms earlier this month, saying news coverage of his exchanges with Epstein had “created a distraction.”

Karp had served as chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison since 2008. The New York firm has advanced the cause of civil rights, handled the legal affairs of corporate power brokers and grown into a multibillion-dollar global enterprise.

Late last year, King Charles III striped his brother, formerly Prince Andrew, of all his titles and honors, for his relationship with Epstein. This month, King Charles said that he is ready to “ support ’’ UK police examining claims that his brother gave confidential information to Epstein.

A document that was included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, photographed Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, shows a photo of Epstein on a inmate report from the Federal Bureau of Prisons . (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

FILE - President of Hyatt foundation Thomas Pritzker is photographed in Buenos Aires, Friday, May 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)