Prishtina, 15 August 2022
On the 144th anniversary of the deportation of Albanians from Sanjak of Nis, the Albanian National Association of Muhajirs, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, has opened the photo exhibition “Serbian Genocide against Albanians”.
The welcoming speech of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, read at the opening of the exhibition:
Dear President of the Albanian National Association of Muhajirs, Asllan Qyqalla,
Dear Vice President, Esma Bunjaku,
Dear Professor Hakif Bajrami,
Dear participants,|
Ladies and gentleman,
I apologize in advance for not being able to be with you and thank you in advance for your invitation to this very important day of remembrance. I have always said and continue to say how crucial the memory of the past is. Assessment of what happened. Dealing with it.
In cases like these today, when the key word of what we are facing is GENOCIDE – the feeling that unites us becomes even deeper. The contribution to be made is even greater. The need to remember even more obvious.
I do not want today to take the attention of the details of what we will see today through these 144 photographs exhibited on the 144th anniversary of the expulsion of the Muhajirs. But I would like to go one step further and open this exhibition by touching on the roots of the term GENOCIDE.
When Lemkin in his book “Axis Rule in Occupied Europe” used the term GENOCIDE for the first time, I am convinced that he did not consider the possibility of discrepancy between the theoretical and practical aspects of the term.
I doubt very much that when Lemkin spoke about genocide, he thought that someone in the 21st century would manage to build an entire narrative of discussion based on genocide denial.
Genocide as a word has not been discovered to be denied. But to emphasize the brutality and inhumanity of crimes that go beyond what the terms war crimes and crimes against humanity include.
Even today, genocide means taking actions aimed at the destruction (in whole or in part) of national, ethnic, racial or religious groups.
And what happened in Sanjak of Nis is nothing less than genocide. Nothing less than the deliberate targeting of victims for their existence.
The damage caused by genocide cannot be repaired. But he can be known by being accepted. And in the time when we live, salt is put in the wounds of the victims every day when the genocide of Sanjak of Nish is not properly remembered.
When the role of that terrible aggression is minimized to infinity.
Documenting what happened is the best step one can take to remember. In Kosovo, we have certain academics who are involved in documenting and writing memoirs.
However, especially now in the wake of the processes we are going through as a country – to document the past, we need to focus even more on the past in order to better illuminate the future.
In times like these, we must remember that the first step in repeating genocide is denial. And with it oblivion. So we must be attentive and vocal in our commemoration and our demands for recognition and humility towards one of the most macabre genocides ever.
Last modified: August 15, 2022