The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, accompanied by the Deputy Local Government Administration Minister Arton Konushevci and other representatives, paid homage today in Poklek, Çikatovë e Vjetër and Krajkovë.
Acting President Haxhiu said that the Poklek Massacre is evidence of Serbia’s genocide in Kosovo.
“27 years ago, on April 17th 1999, the Muqolli, Elshani, Caraku and Hoxha families were stopped by Serbian forces, forced to return forcibly to their homes and then attacked with hand grenades and automatic weapons. But this was not enough for Serbia, it was not enough for the Serbian criminals, their bodies were burned several times, in order to hide the traces of their genocide. The Elshani family house today contains evidence of this genocide and this massacre. For this very reason, this massacre will never be forgotten by any generation and will always remain in our collective memory.”
From Poklek, Acting President Haxhiu called on the justice institutions to address the crimes that Serbia has committed in Kosovo without delay.
“We have asked the justice institutions to deal with war crimes cases. From here as well, I call on the justice institutions to address, without delay, the crimes that Serbia has committed in Kosovo, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the Serbian genocide in Kosovo. Now we also have the trial in absentia, for, as you know, Serbia does not hand over war criminals. Therefore, from this place, from here where 53 unarmed, innocent civilians were killed, of whom 23 were children of 6 months to 14 years old, I call on all institutions, in this case the police and the prosecution, to act without delay. We have said that any request that the justice institutions have in relation to the executive, the Parliament or any other institution, we will address without delay”, emphasized Madam Acting President.
Acting President Haxhiu, today also paid homage in Çikatovë e Vjetër.
“In Çikatovë e Vjetër, 24 unarmed civilians were killed. After they were killed, their bodies were sent to Rashkë in Serbia, in order to hide the crime committed in the Çikatovë e Vjetër massacre. It is very important for justice institutions to address, without delay, the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide that Serbia has committed in Kosovo,” said Acting President Haxhiu.
Speaking in relation to the increase of capacities of both the Police of the Republic of Kosovo and the Special Prosecution, Acting President Haxhiu said that we have established the Institute for Documentation of War Crimes, in order to document all massacres, all murders, all rapes, all burned houses, citizens who have been expelled from their properties, but also all other crimes that Serbia has committed in Kosovo.
“The Institute is already working in this direction, in accordance with its responsibilities. But, even considering that Serbia has become a haven for war criminals and terrorists who carry out terrorist attacks in peacetime, we have enabled changes to the Criminal Code, the Procedural Code, to enable trials in absentia, in order for criminals to be punished and, wherever they are caught, to come and serve their sentences in the Republic of Kosovo. We are committed to addressing all our responsibilities and of course we are close to the families in these difficult moments, because despite the fact that 27 years have passed since the massacres in Kosovo, the pain remains great”, said Acting President Haxhiu.
Later, Acting President Haxhiu also paid homage in Krajkovë, at the grave of the martyr Sokol Elshani.
“Martyr Sokol Elshani comes from a patriotic family hat has always contributed to the national cause and to the Republic of Kosovo. He started his engagements very early in life. In fact, during the demonstrations of 1990, he was severely attacked and seriously injured by Serbian forces. Today we honor his life and work. The Republic of Kosovo, our generations, our youth, as well as everyone else, are lucky to have martyrs who have contributed so much to our country, and who are an example of how the homeland should be honored,” emphasized Acting President.
According to Acting President Haxhiu, the most difficult thing, wherever we go to commemorate the anniversary of the massacres, is the demand for justice, which comes precisely from the family members, and upon this we also join the call for justice.
“We are with the families during these difficult moments, as, despite the fact that 27 years have passed since these massacres were committed, the pain is great and of course, as institutions we have an obligation to work incessantly in this direction,” said Acting President Haxhiu.
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