Meja, Korenica, 27 April 2026
On the 27th anniversary of the Meja massacre, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, paid homage and laid flowers at the graves of 376 civilians killed in Meja. The Prime Minister also paid homage at the memorial plaque of the fallen in Korenica.
Recalling 27 April 1999, Prime Minister Kurti stated that the Meja and Korenica massacre is the largest of the last war and constitutes evidence of Serbia’s genocide in Kosovo.
“On 27 April, 27 years have passed since this massacre, and we ensure that we never forget and always commemorate the blood shed for freedom by the martyrs and heroes of the nation. At the same time, we are fully committed to ensuring that justice and security institutions bring to trial and punish those who were the masterminds and perpetrators,” said Prime Minister Kurti, adding that particular efforts are being made to clarify the fate of the missing, those forcibly disappeared, numbering 1,565 in total.
From Meja, he called on international actors to exert pressure on official Belgrade, emphasizing that both responsibility and information regarding the truth about forcibly disappeared Albanians lie there.
Full Speech of Prime Minister Kurti:
The Meja and Korenica massacre is the largest massacre of the last war in Kosovo. On 27 April 1999, men—young and old—were gathered together and none were allowed to leave alive. Thus, from the largest massacre, in reality, we have no witnesses, because all of them were killed.
The Meja massacre is evidence of Serbia’s genocide in Kosovo, which aimed at the extermination of the Albanian people.
On 27 April, 27 years have passed since this massacre, and we ensure that we never forget and always commemorate the blood shed for freedom by the martyrs and heroes of the nation. At the same time, we are fully committed to ensuring that justice and security institutions bring to trial and punish those who were the masterminds and perpetrators.
For several years now, trials in absentia have been possible, and the number of Serbian criminals being convicted in absentia has increased.
In particular, we are committed to clarifying the fate of the missing, those forcibly disappeared, who number 1,565 in total. The most recent to be buried was Sinan Dauti, a 9-year-old boy from Prekaz, who had been missing since the spring of 1999, when, after being wounded, he ended up in the hospital in Mitrovica—and imagine, in the place where one should find healing, he disappeared. We have Albanian children who disappeared in hospitals during the spring of 1999. His mother, Lumnija from Prekaz, carried him to Lower Klina, and a heroic mother, herself wounded, cared for her son until the moment Serbian doctors took him and made him disappear.
Now Sinan Dauti, aged 9, rests peacefully in his hometown, and we want the truth to be revealed for all the missing, whose National Day is precisely 27 April, as it is linked to the largest massacre—the Meja massacre.
I am grateful to the families who are so strong and continue to live with the anguish of not knowing the fate of their loved ones, and at the same time I call on international actors to exert pressure on official Belgrade, because both responsibility and information about the truth of the forcibly disappeared Albanians lie there.
Glory to all the martyrs and heroes of the Albanian nation!
