Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, and at the same time the Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, accompanied by the Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Ms. Vasfije Krasniqi Goodman, Mr. Ramadan Nishori and Ms. Feride Rushiti, as well as ministers, members of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo and representatives of civil society organizations, paid tribute at the “Heroinat” Memorial, in honour of April 14th, the Day of Survivors of Sexual Violence in the last war in Kosovo.
Acting President Haxhiu said that together with Prime Minister Kurti, Vasfije, Feride, Dani, ministers, members of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, representatives of institutions in the Republic of Kosovo and representatives of civil society organizations, we commenced our day at the “Heroinat” Memorial to honour the sacrifice and dignity of survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo.
“These are deep stories of pain, but also of extraordinary resilience and strength,” said Acting President Haxhiu.
She further emphasized that the girls and women, as well as the boys and men, who survived this violence show us that we still have a lot of work to do to address our responsibilities as institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, especially in addressing justice.
“On this point, let me inform you that 12 indictments have recently been filed for sexual violence during the last war in Kosovo. We also have three court decisions, sentencing decisions for cases of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo, with two of them being at the Basic Court, while one has received a decision, that is, a final one. As institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, during these days and during this period, we have addressed our responsibilities in relation to addressing war crimes in general”, emphasized Acting President Haxhiu.
She said that we will commit to addressing all the needs of survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo according to the responsibilities we have.
“Here I am with Feride, I am with Dani and Vasfije. I thank the civil society organizations, which for more than two decades since the end of the war have kept the morale high, and have also addressed the damages and crimes that Serbia has committed in the Republic of Kosovo, including cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, but also genocide, and this includes sexual violence. Vasfije and Dani, as well as Shyretje and Marte Tunaj, have spoken on these crimes and this proves that they are not guilty, the criminals who committed these crimes are guilty”, said Acting President Haxhiu.
Acting President Haxhiu has called once again on our international partners to put pressure on Serbia to hand over the criminals to the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo.
“Therefore, I call once again today on our international partners to put pressure on Serbia to hand over the criminals to the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, because as you know, Serbia has become a haven for war criminals, but also for those terrorists who commit crimes during peacetime”.
According to Acting President Haxhiu, it is important that the justice institutions implement trials in absentia, because as a result of what I mentioned before, the fact Serbia does not hand over the war criminals, we are obliged to conduct the trials in absentia, in order to at least alleviate the pain of the families, but also of the survivors.
Mrs. Vasfije Krasniqi Goodman, said that for her today it is very difficult, because “27 years ago when I was only 16 years old, I was in the hands of the enemy, but today I am here to talk about justice”.
She further stated that today I have the entire Albanian people behind me, because for many years I had only my family.
“I want to thank the institutions, organizations, society, family for their support, for their backing I call on the victims to join us as much as possible, to come out and speak publicly, but the main thing is to seek justice, because it is something that Serbia cannot be forgiven for the crimes it committed in Kosovo. When I knew how to seek justice when I was only 17 years old, why shouldn’t everyone seek justice today?” said Mrs. Vasfije Krasniqi Goodman.
Mr.Ramadan Nishori also called on every survivor to come to organizations as much as possible to seek help, but also to file a lawsuit against the Serbian state.
“Today marks one year since I came out to speak publicly. From this place, I call on every survivor to come to as many organizations as possible, to seek help, but also to file a lawsuit against the Serbian state,” said Nishori.
For Ms. Ferdie Rushiti, for the entire Kosovar society, but above all for the survivors, for their families, for the history of Kosovo, this date marks the collective memory of Kosovo.
“We are glad that, beyond us as an organization, we also have the institutions of Kosovo, which with various launched activities are raising their voices for survivors of sexual violence. I want to say that this day coincides with the date of Vasfije Krasniqi, at the moment when she, as a young woman, was subjected to massive torture at the place where the crime occurred, and from that place years ago, Vasfije requested that this day be an institutional day, a memorial day for survivors of sexual violence of the war”, said Ms. Rushiti.
She further added that today we respect and honour the voice of Vasfije the voice of Dani, the voice of Shyrete, but also the voices of hundreds and thousands of survivors, who still do not dare to speak and are afraid of stigma and prejudice to share their stories in public.
“Today, I also want to tell you that we have a major regional conference, which is related precisely to the justice process and compensation. For the fact that for the first time we are opening a topic that has to do with compensation during criminal proceedings. We think that the incomplete justice for survivors of sexual violence is halved, so we are in the process of raising this debate in order that the cases that have received justice, but also the indictments that are pending and over 100 cases that are under investigation, can see justice being done in Kosovo”, emphasized Ms. Rushiti
