New York, 28 September, 2024
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gërvalla Schwarz, paid tribute near the cemetery of the brothers Bytyqi, Ylli, Agron and Mehmet Bytyqi, killed by the Serbian state, 25 years ago.
On June 23, 1999, a few days after the liberation of Kosovo, three Albanian brothers undertook a very humane initiative: escorting a Roma family from Prizren to the border with Serbia, which was heading towards Kraleva. During this trip, the three of them unintentionally crossed the border, for which they were arrested by the Serbian police and sentenced by the Misdemeanor Court in Prokuple to 15 days in prison. When they were serving their sentences, the three Bytyqi brothers were sent to a Serbian police training base, where they were shot in the head and their tracks disappeared. Their bodies were found in 2001, in a mass cemetery in Petrovo Sello, near the town of Kladovo, together with other Albanians killed by Serbian forces during the war in Kosovo.
In October 2019 and July 2022, the House of Representatives of the American Congress approved two resolutions, through which the USA requested concrete actions from Serbia and cooperation with international justice, to bring to justice the persons involved in this crime.
Returning to the cemeteries of the martyrs, remembering them, their sacrifice and sacrifice, we maintain the values of the war that we need more than the martyrs, and knowing where they come from, we also know where we are going, said Prime Minister Kurti after the tributes. The ideals of the martyrs must be transformed into political and governmental programs, development projects, work plans and actions of both institutions and society, he added.
The Bytyqi brothers were fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army, members of the “Atlantiku” volunteer unit.
Together with the Prime Minister, Ambassador Blerim Reka and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Liza Gashi, were also present at the tribute.
Last modified: September 30, 2024