Studenica, Istog, 13 April, 2024
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, accompanied by Vasfije Krasniqi, paid tribute today in commemoration of the massacre in Studenica, Municipality of Istog.
25 years ago, in this village, Serbian forces killed four mothers and four minor girls, aged between 12 and 15, as well as the village chief.
After paying homage and placing fresh flowers on the graves of those killed, Prime Minister Kurti said that I am here to pay tribute to these martyrs, who were brutally killed 25 years ago.
“Neither their names are ever forgotten, nor their blood is atoned for, because we have our history there for us and future generations, but also the roots of the state we have and the freedom we enjoy”, said Prime Minister Kurti, adding that after the cruel murder, the Serbian forces threw the corpses into the well, because the Albanians prevented them both alive and dead.
He further said that even the dead bodies of Albanians seemed to the criminals from Serbia to be alive, and their main preoccupation was not the dilemma of whether to commit murder or not, but what to do with the bodies.
Honoring the victims of the massacre in Studenica, Prime Minister Kurti said that the fact that we are here, the fact that you are here and build your life, we develop together, society and the state, the government and other institutions, shows that the Albanian people and the Republic of Kosovo has triumphed and we must continue to strengthen this, because this is our contribution to historical justice on what happened to us.
Meanwhile, regarding judicial justice, Prime Minister Kurti said that the relevant bodies, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Special Prosecutor’s Office in particular and the judiciary should engage with everything they can as soon as possible, because the witnesses are getting older and older, and even many cases when they are passing away, we have the material facts, we have the testimony of the statements, but not the people as survivors.
Pronunciation of Prime Minister Kurti:
Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for this hospitality. I am here with Vasfije Krasniqi, who is a survivor of sexual violence during the last war in Kosovo.
For every day we are marking 25 years of the terrible massacres of unimaginable crimes, which were committed by the forces of Serbia on our civilian and defenseless population, in the framework of Serbia’s genocidal project to exterminate the Albanians.
We are here today with you to pay tribute to these martyrs, who were cruelly killed 25 years ago, but neither their names are ever forgotten, nor their blood is atoned for, because we also have our history there for us and future generations, but also the roots of the state we have and the freedom we enjoy.
25 years is a time which does not erase our memory, on the contrary, it raises our voice even more for justice, because before 25 years, four mothers and four minor girls, aged between 12 and 15, were killed here. Four minor girls and four mothers and the village chief.
So, after this cruel murder, they threw the corpses into the well, because the Albanians have prevented you both alive and dead.
To the criminals from Serbia, even the dead bodies of Albanians seemed to be alive, and their main preoccupation was not the dilemma of whether to commit murder or not, but what to do with the bodies. Sometimes they exhumed them to send them to mass cemeteries in Serbia, somewhere else they burned them and sometimes they even threw them into a well, as was the case here in Studenica, Istog.
But the fact that we are here, the fact that you are here and build your life, we develop together society and the state, the government and other institutions, shows that the Albanian people and the Republic of Kosovo have triumphed and we must continue to strengthen this because this is our contribution to historical justice on what happened to us. Meanwhile, for judicial justice, the relevant bodies, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Special Prosecutor’s Office in particular, and the judiciary must engage with everything they can as soon as possible, because the witnesses are getting older and older, and there are many more cases when they are passing away, we have the material facts, we have the testimony of the statements, but not the people as survivors.
This is also a reason why I am with Vasfije, who has publicly testified in our institutions about what happened.
We dare not forget, and if we don’t then our victory will not only be for us, but also for the generations that come after us, so that nothing like this, ever, ever happens to anyone again.
Glory to all martyrs and martyrs!
Last modified: April 16, 2024