Nabërgjan, Peja, 1 May, 2024
In marking the 25th anniversary of the massacre in Nabërgjan, Peja Municipality, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, paid tribute and placed fresh flowers, in honor and memory of those killed by Serbian enemy forces.
“Serbian criminals killed many Albanians, but they did not manage to exterminate our people, their genocide failed because we are here and they fled”, declared Prime Minister Kurti.
In honor of the 17 killed in the May 1 massacre in Nabërgjan, Prime Minister Kurti emphasized that from May 1 to 18, 31 Albanians were killed, not sparing children aged 13 to the elderly aged 95 years old. These unarmed and defenseless civilians were in front of a military police machine which was marching with the genocidal project devised, planned in Belgrade by the Milosevic regime, for the extermination of the Albanian people, said the Prime Minister.
“They were killed because they were Albanians and wanted to live freely in their land,” said Prime Minister Kurti.
During the tributes, he also appreciated the achievements of the state of Kosovo, since Kosovo was liberated, became independent, Kosovo is developing and progressing. “The smile of the children today, the development of Kosovo, its progress both internally and in the international arena, is for every day a confirmation of the freedom of Kosovo, the independence of the Republic, and our victory 25 years ago”, said Prime Minister Kurti.
Furthermore, he also mentioned the fact that we need justice because for the 31 killed in Nabërgjan, from May 1 to 18, 1999, to this day, not only is there no one convicted, no one tried, but no one accused and for this fact, as the Prime Minister said, we need justice to be calm, to be at peace and to close the wounds.
“For this special injustice that was done to our people, after 25 years we call on the State Prosecutor’s Office, and in particular the Special Prosecutor’s Office, to charge the criminals for whom there is both material evidence and living witnesses, and evidence from the interviews of those who they were witnesses, but after 25 years they are no longer among us,” said the Prime Minister.
In conclusion, as he expressed his condolences to the families of those who were cruelly killed 25 years ago, the Prime Minister said that the martyrs and martyrs are not only of their families, but of our national history, of our people.
In these tributes, Prime Minister Kurti was accompanied by the Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, the Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, members of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, Fatmire Mulhaxha Kollçaku and Gramoz Agusholli, as well as the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Taulant Kelmendi.
Prime Minister Kurti’s complete speech:
Dear families of martyrs and martyrs of the nation,
Dear veterans and invalids of the Kosovo Liberation Army,
Dear Ministers, Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, and Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi,
The honorable mayor of Peja Municipality, Gazmend Muhaxheri,
Dear members of the Assembly of the Republic, Fatmire Mulhaxha Kollaçku, and Gramoz Agusholli,
The Honorable Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Taulant Kelmendi,
Ladies and gentleman,
Dear attendees,
Sisters and brothers,
As much as we have pain and sorrow for those who are no longer among us, we also have a lot of pride and boasting that we had them, that they stayed and that they won.
Here in Nabërgjan i Peja, on May 1, 1999, exactly 25 years ago, 17 unarmed, defenseless civilians were killed. From May 1 to May 18, a total of 31 civilians, of all ages, of both sexes, from 13 to 95 years old, were killed. They were killed because they were Albanians and wanted to live freely in their land. Meanwhile, in front of them was a military police machine which was marching with the genocidal project devised, planned in Belgrade, by the Milosevic regime for the extermination of the Albanians.
Serbian criminals killed many Albanians, but they failed to exterminate our people, their genocide failed because we are here and they fled. Kosovo was liberated, Kosovo became independent, Kosovo is developing and progressing, while the criminals hide in Serbia, hoping that the regime there will never change, because it is clearly sheltering and protecting them.
Kosovo with its western allies NATO, the United States of America, the countries of the European Union, with the democracies of the globe won the war, but to fully win the peace, in addition to development and progress, we need justice, we need justice to be calm down, so that we can be at peace, so that the wounds can be closed. For the 31 civilians killed in Nabërgjan, from May 1 to 18, 1999, to this day, not only has no one been convicted, not only has no one been tried, but no one has been accused.
The Government of the Republic of Kosovo, by raising the capacity of the investigation and the conditions and income of the prosecutors, has created all the possibilities for the criminals, whether present or absent, to be accused, judged and punished. Therefore, once again, for this special injustice done to our people, after 25 years we call on the state prosecution, and in particular the Special Prosecution, to charge the criminals for whom there is material evidence, living witnesses, and also testimony of the interviews of those who were witnesses but who, after 25 years, are unfortunately no longer among us. The truth is on our side, we need justice.
The smile of the children today, the development of Kosovo, its progress both internally and in the international arena, is for every day a confirmation of the freedom of Kosovo, the independence of the Republic, and our victory 25 years ago. Since it is the 1st of May, allow me to wish everyone a happy Labor Day, but since yesterday we were physically separated from Ali Lajci, who passed away after a long and serious illness, allow me to wish everyone, each and every one to express my heartfelt condolences for Ali’s mother, for this indomitable activist who spared nothing for the good of the people and our state, who in every function he had, whether in prison or in freedom, whether in the institutions central or here in Pejë, gave the maximum in terms of knowledge and opportunities, and left us the lessons of how the homeland and the Albanian nation should be.
Condolences to all family members who today no longer have your loved ones among you who were brutally killed 25 years ago. But at the same time, glory to all your martyrs and martyrs of our nation because maybe your families are smaller now, but don’t forget that you have even bigger ones. Because the martyrs and martyrs are not only of your families, but they are of our national history, they are of our people, and that all of us who are not in your families, in fact, are new renewed members of whom you will always have us here in so that the past does not repeat itself but at the same time we make sure that this is achieved through justice which neither forgives nor forgets.
Thank you.
Last modified: May 2, 2024