The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, today attended the Commemorative Meeting for Adem Beqiri, Idriz Rrecaj and Salih Mëziu.
In her address, Acting President Haxhiu said that, after 27 years of searching, their families had finally received answers about the fate of their loved ones, who would now be able to rest in peace.
“On 19 April 1999, Serbian forces abducted 23 Albanian civilians from Skenderaj and Mitrovica, known as the “Group of Intellectuals”. They were detained in Melajë, in Kalludër i Vogël, mistreated and executed, and their bodies were concealed to cover up the crime”, said Acting President Haxhiu.
She further said that excavations in Kalludër and Jabukë, together with DNA analyses, had confirmed the identities of Idriz Rrecaj, Adem Beqiri and Salih Mëziu.
“They were found in unmarked graves, but now they will rest under their own names, and their families will have a place where they can remember and honour them. My gratitude goes to everyone who worked with dedication to find and identify them. The search must continue for the other 20 members of the group and for every person who has been forcibly disappeared. Families deserve the truth, and war crimes must be met with justice”, Acting President Haxhiu stressed.
Acting President Haxhiu extended her deepest condolences to the Beqiri, Rrecaj and Mëziu families.
“May the memory of Adem Beqiri, Idriz Rrecaj and Salih Mëziu, as well as of all those who fell and were killed for the freedom of Kosovo, live on forever!” said Acting President Haxhiu.
