Drenas, May 30, 2019 – The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, participated today at the inauguration of the statues of heroes Rasim Kiçina and Bedri Shala in Drenas.
President Thaçi has said that these two heroes represent two typical figures of fighters created by the Kosovo Liberation Army.
“They represent the figure of the generation of the patriotic youth within Kosovo who joined the liberation war with high conscience and without hesitation, on one side, and the one from abroad that returned to homeland right into the fronts of the war. So, both were united by the fair fight of the Kosovo Liberation Army”, stated President Thaçi.
The Head of State stressed that Bedri Shala left the welfare in the Western world and responded to the call to fight with a rifle on the shoulder.
“He fought for the ideals he was brought up and educated with in his family, who, generation after generation were aligned by the fate of the nation. Bedri didn’t spare anything in service of the war for freedom. Whether he was at the war front, whether he was on exhausting supplies for arms, whether in the training of young soldiers, in battles as well. Bedri fell in the protection of Junik on August 10, 1998, ending his life chapter with honor and heroism”, said President Thaçi.
While for Rasim Kiçina, President Thaçi stressed that he was one of the first members of the Kosovo Liberation Army units and is among the most distinguished figures the bright story of our war for freedom gave.
“The battle at the Sextuple Trees in Likoshan, the battles of Brigade 111 “Adem Jashari” and many other battles in 1998 and 1999 are closely related to Rasim Kiçina’s fighting spirit and courage. His fall 20 years ago was among the biggest losses of the Kosovo Liberation Army”, said President Thaçi.
He stressed that Rasim and Bedri were synonyms of the freedom fighter, the leader and the sacrificial spirit.
“Without the fair fight of the KLA, without the sacrifice of thousands of martyrs, without the support of the United States of America, the EU states and NATO, Kosovo would not be what it is today, a free and sovereign state. The Kosovo Liberation Army was the most serious political and military project of the Albanian nation”, said President Thaçi.
The Head of State added that as time passed, the greatness and purity of the Kosovo Liberation Army comes to the light even more.
“The war and sacrifice for freedom can not be stained by anyone”, he added.
President Thaçi emphasized that Kosovo will soon mark the 20th anniversary of liberation.
“Kosovo is entering the second decade of freedom, but still the wounds of war have not been healed. The state of Serbia exercised genocide, ethnic cleansing, murders and massacres throughout Kosovo. Yet no one of the commanders and executors of the crimes on the Kosovo civilian population did not appear before local or international justice. But crime and genocide never vanish”, he said
President Thaçi stressed that these two magnificent statues enrichen the “Fehmi Lladrovci” square even more.