Pastasel, Rahovec, 31 March 2026
Honourable Mr. Smajl Latifi, Mayor of the Municipality of Rahovec,
Honourable Mr. Afrim Krasniqi, Head of the village of Pastasel,
Honourable Minister of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Andin Hoti,
Honourable Members of Parliament and former Prime Ministers, Ramush Haradinaj and Avdullah Hoti,
Honourable family members of those killed in Pastasel,
Honourable representatives of central and municipal institutions,
Honourable residents of Pastasel, surrounding villages, and Rahovec in general,
Honourable imams and religious clergy,
Dear families of the nation’s martyrs,
Honourable invalids and veterans of the Kosovo Liberation Army,
Honourable attendees,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Sisters and brothers,
In this place of remembrance, we return to Pastasel so as never to forget 31 March 1999, the day when 106 civilians—unarmed men and boys—were killed simply because they were Albanians.
After separating them from their families, Serbian armed forces lined them up in four groups and executed them in cold blood. This was a premeditated crime, a crime against humanity.
Among them were also children, boys aged 13 to 17, who, after being beaten and tortured, were lined up before death and killed mercilessly, extinguishing the dreams of a new generation. There were also elderly men, with white plis on their heads—a symbol of wisdom and our national tradition. On that day, along with them, our roots and heritage were attacked; children and elders alike, the beginning and the continuity.
This day and this place speak to us of the pain of Pastasel, of Senoc, Sferkë, Kaznik, Gremnik, Klinë, Polluzhë, Mleqan, Çifllak, Kramovik, Guri i Kuq, Zatriq, Jashanicë, and other places that today commemorate the men and boys executed here. It speaks of the survivors who kept alive the testimony of that day. But memory alone is not enough—it must also become justice.
Last December, a criminal complaint was filed regarding this massacre, a necessary step toward justice. It is the duty of justice institutions to turn these into indictments against both the perpetrators and those who ordered the crimes. Delayed justice is incomplete justice. But we will never stop seeking it, because the crime did not end with the killings. Three weeks later, there was an attempt to erase the truth by exhuming and disappearing the bodies, but the truth cannot be erased.
Dear families,
Your pain is part of our state and our people. The memory of your loved ones is a societal moral obligation and a foundation of our statehood.
Serbia committed genocide in Kosovo. Those who killed us thought they would eliminate us, but they left, while we remained here unbroken. They placed themselves on the dark pages of human history, while we stand in the light, on our land, in freedom.
The sacrifice of the martyrs and the fallen became a guiding path for our people and our state, which neither surrendered nor submitted. Their names are renewed through the new generations growing alongside new life.
Our Republic is developing and progressing every day, with one of the highest economic growth rates not only in the region, with a strong and equipped army, a functioning democracy, respect for human rights, and institutional transparency that ranks us among the leading countries. From the ashes of war, together we have built a dignified republic—and this is our greatest victory: that we live, progress, and do not forget.
Dear young people present here today,
Memory is not only about the past—it is the protection of the future. A people that remembers does not allow repetition. Documentation is an act of respect for every life that was killed, disappeared, or tortured during the war.
The Institute for Crimes Committed during the War in Kosovo has significantly strengthened its documentation and archival capacities. In this spirit, we have also submitted an official request regarding the archives of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
The Government of the Republic of Kosovo has requested equal and dignified access for our victims and institutions. The Institute, as a state mechanism for documenting war crimes, is ready to cooperate with the International Residual Mechanism to establish an information and documentation center in Kosovo. This is a natural link between international justice of Western democracies and our national and state responsibility to preserve the truth.
Honourable attendees,
The Republic of Kosovo is built on the aspiration for freedom and equality. We will continue to document the truth and seek justice in a Kosovo where crimes are neither forgotten nor relativized—a republic of sustainable peace based on truth and justice.
Glory to the martyrs killed in the Pastasel massacre!
Glory to all martyrs and the fallen of the Albanian nation!
