Upper Abri, Drenas, 30 March 2024
On the 25th anniversary of the massacre by the Serbian armed forces on the Muliqi family, in Upper Abri of Drenas, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, paid tribute today in honor of their lives.
Prime Minister Kurti emphasized that they were there today to show the institutional, national, civic and human solidarity with the Muliqi family, with the uncle Asllan and with the Deliu family and all the families of the fallen and martyrs of our nation, who gave so much to Kosovo for freedom and for independence, liberation and unification.
While recalling the murder of 23 murdered by the Serb forces, in the same village, in the massacre on September 26, 1998, he stated that neither for this massacre, nor for the murders in Upper Abri on March 30, 1999, there is no one accused and not even convicted. The Prime Minister invited the State Prosecutor’s Office to work with everything they know, day and night, so that those murderers, for whom there are also living witnesses, can be prosecuted and punished.
Along with Prime Minister Kurti, the Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, as well as the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Blerim Gashani, attended the tribute.
Complete statement of Prime Minister Kurti:
After September 26, we must return to Upper Abri on March 30.
On September 26, 1998, 23 members of the Deliu family were murdered, from a six-month-old baby to a 94-year-old man. Among those murdered is Mihanja with her 2-year-old son, who is the sister of our Deputy Minister Blerim Gashani, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, who is here with us.
But today, March 30, we are here for the second massacre in the same village. The massacre of the Muliqi family, which has eight martyrs and one fallen and nine KLA fighters. Of these eight martyrs, four martyrs were students, that is, they were minors, Ganiu, Musa, Behrami and Abazi. Now Sejfullahu is the fallen of this family, fallen in the battle on August 19, 1998, before turning 17 years old. Before turning 17, he sold his cow in Qirez to buy a weapon and join the KLA, to fight the Serbian occupying forces.
Therefore, we are here today to show the institutional, national, civic and human solidarity with the Muliqi family, with uncle Asllan and with the Deliu family and with all the families of the fallen and martyrs of our nation, who gave so much to Kosovo for freedom and for independence, liberation and unification.
With regret, I have to state again that neither for the murders, the 23 killed in the massacre in Abri te Eperme on September 26, 1998, nor for the murders of the massacre again in Upper Abri, on March 30, 1999, there is no one accused nor convicted, although it has been many years since the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo with the amending and supplementing of the law and then the Ministry of Justice with all the relevant mechanisms and elements has made possible both the accusation, the trial, and the punishment in absentia.
So, for the eight martyrs of the Muliqi family and for the 23 martyrs of the Deliu family, to this day, no one has been charged and has not been punished.
Therefore, I once again ask the State Prosecutor’s Office that everything they know and can, to commit to the maximum, day and night, so that those murderers, for whom there are also living witnesses, are prosecuted, accused and punished. Because without justice, with only the truth, the wounds continue to remain open and fresh.
Glory to the fallen and martyrs of the nation, glory to the fallen and martyrs here in Abri te Eperme, of the Muliqi and Deliu family!
Last modified: April 2, 2024