The President of the Republic of Kosovo Dr. Vjosa Osmani, paid homage today to the fallen of the villages of Shtutica and Vërboc and visited the tower of the Hero Ilaz Kodra on the 22nd anniversary of his passing.
President Osmani stated that Hero Ilaz Kodra and his KLA comrades had become the shield of the civilian population in Vrboc and Shtutica, when Serbian forces attacked these villages with their full military might.
The following is President Osmani’s post in its entirety:
April 30th, 1999 is one of the most dreadful days in Kosovo’s recent history. On this day, the military, the police and paramilitary forces of the Serbian regime laid siege to Shtutica, Vrboc and the surrounding villages, brutally killing close to 300 Albanian civilians.
The hero Ilaz Kodra with his KLA comrades became a shield of the civilian population in Vërboc and Shtutica, when the Serbian forces attacked them with their combat machinery.
Today, on the 22nd anniversary of his fall, we remembered the heroic deeds of the commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Ilaz Kodra and the martyrs and all others who fell in this area.
Ilazi was an early freedom fighter, a participant in many battles in Drenica and an associate of Commander Adem Jashari. He gave his life defending the lives of others, defenseless people, who had become a constant target of Serbian forces.
By placing flowers next to his statue, we honour his patriotism, heroism and commitment to freedom, as well as his sacrifice for the protection of the vulnerable population.
In his tower, which preserves the evidence of the resistance of generations of the Kodra family, we remember our historic resistance.
At the Memorial Complex in Marinë, where Commander Ilazi rests along with many other heroes, we bowed in honour of his acts, as well as those of all the martyrs, without whom freedom would have remained only an aspiration.
Eternal memory to the fallen heroes!