Acting President Haxhiu decreed Mr. Zejnulla Gashi to the position of Chief State Prosecutor
The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, received today Mr. Zejnulla Gashi, to whom she handed over the decree on the appointment to the position of Chief State Prosecutor. “After receiving the proposal and documentation from the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, a careful and comprehensive review of the submitted materials was carried out, including that of relevant information provided by the competent security institutions and reports of organizations that monitored the selection process. Considering the importance of this function and the need for the full functioning of the justice institutions, I have acted in compliance with my constitutional and legal responsibilities”, said Acting President Haxhiu. She wished Mr. Gashi success in exercising this high state responsibility. According to the Acting President President Haxhiu, the function of the Chief State Prosecutor is one of the main pillars of the rule of law and the protection of constitutional order. She further said that the fight against organized crime, corruption, the prosecution of war criminals, rapists and crime of any form must receive a firm response from the prosecution body. “I expect Chief Prosecutor Gashi to exercise this duty with high professional and moral integrity, impartiality and courage, always with high commitment to the state and citizens, in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of our Republic”, emphasized Acting President Haxhiu.
Acting President Haxhiu attended the farewell reception held on the occasion of the conclusion of the mission of the Swiss Ambassador to Kosovo, Mr. Jürg Sprecher
The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, attended today the farewell reception held on the occasion of the conclusion of the mission of the Swiss Ambassador to Kosovo, Mr. Jürg Sprecher. Acting President Haxhiu expressed her appreciation for his work, dedication and valuable contribution to the strengthening of relations and cooperation between the Republic of Kosovo and Switzerland. Acting President Haxhiu wished further success to Ambassador Sprecher in his new engagements, with the conviction that the friendship and excellent partnership between our two countries will continue to strengthen in the future.
Acting President Haxhiu received the Belgian Ambassador to Kosovo, Grégoire Cuvelier, in a farewell meeting
The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, received today in a farewell meeting the Ambassador of Belgium to Kosovo, Grégoire Cuvelier, on the occasion of the conclusion of his mandate. Acting President Haxhiu thanked Ambassador Cuvelier for his work in strengthening relations between the two countries, for the open dialogue with our institutions, and for Belgium’s support provided to Kosovo. While informing Ambassador Cuvelier that he will always be welcome in Kosovo , Acting President Haxhiu wished his Excellency lots of success in his future engagements.
Acting President Haxhiu hosted participants of the NEWBORN Kosova international festival
The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, hosted today the participants of the NEWBORN Kosova international festival. On this occasion, Acting President Haxhiu expressed her pleasure to welcome delegations from Hungary, France, Turkey, Mexico, Bulgaria, Greece, the Netherlands and Costa Rica, and to see each of them bring here, to Prishtina, a part of their country’s cultural tradition. “The festival is now marking its fifth edition. Within a relatively short time, it has brought to Kosovo folklore ensembles from different countries of the world, introduced our public to different musical and choreographic traditions, and created a space where artists can meet and communicate through their work. Traditional dance is taught with discipline and is passed down through close ties between generations. The steps may be ancient, but each performance belongs to the people who dance them today,” said Acting President Haxhiu. She said that Kosovo is well aware of the importance of this heritage, adding that our songs and dances have long been part of family life, celebrations, and community gatherings. “The name NEWBORN has a special meaning for us. It is closely linked to the declaration of independence and the beginning of our life as a state. Through this festival, this name has also been linked to cultural exchange and to the increasingly visible presence of Pristina on the international festival map”, emphasized Acting President Haxhiu. According to her, the listing of NEWBORN by the International Federation of Dance Festivals among the four main festivals in the world for 2024 is an important achievement, adding further that it testifies to the work of the organizers, the quality of the program and the trust created with the participating ensembles over these five years. “This achievement also shows that cultural initiatives from Kosovo can gain international recognition when built with seriousness, continuity and clear standards. Today, each delegation has only two minutes to present its country. Choosing a dance, a piece of music or a costume that should represent a much broader tradition has certainly not been easy. However, even within these few minutes, each country manages to convey to us something from the uniqueness of its tradition”, said Acting President Haxhiu. Acting President Haxhiu further added that such meetings take on a special meaning when they take place in an official environment like this. “Diplomacy usually takes place through meetings, documents and formal talks, while culture gives us another way to get to know each other. Through it, we can see how a community celebrates, how it preserves its memory and how it expresses itself through movement, music and clothing”, affirmed Acting President Haxhiu. At the end, Acting President Haxhiu thanked the artists for the time, discipline and preparation they invested in coming to Prishtina. “I hope that during your stay you will have the opportunity to get to know Kosovo, its people and our cultural traditions better. I thank the organizers of the NEWBORN Kosovo Festival, FIDAF Kosovo, the jury members, the volunteers and all those who worked to make this edition happen”, emphasized Acting President Haxhiu.
Acting President Haxhiu: Denial of genocide undoes the work of justice and perpetuates the mindset that preceded the crime
The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, participated tonight at the commemorative event on the 31st anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica. In her address to the participants, Acting President Haxhiu said that “Never Again” was the commitment made by Europe and the international community after the Holocaust, a crime that showed how far a state can go when it turns hatred into ideology and extermination into politics. According to her, fifty years later, that commitment was put to the test and failed in Srebrenica. “Today, on the 31st anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, the Republic of Kosovo humbly honors the victims of Srebrenica and stands with the families who have been seeking justice, truth and peace for more than three decades. We, in Kosovo, know what it means to be driven from our homes, to lose our loved ones, to wait for news from mass graves and to live without knowing where our loved ones are. We also know the weight of the timely intervention of the international community to stop the campaign of ethnic cleansing, genocide and murder,” said Acting President Haxhiu. For this reason, according to Acting President Haxhiu, Srebrenica remains one of the most serious failures of international protection. She said that every guarantee that could make a person believe that they were protected was violated there, from the presence of the United Nations to the word given. “Srebrenica had been declared a UN-protected area, with the promise that civilians would be safe and that the international presence would protect them from attack. In Potocari, thousands of them sought refuge near the UN peacekeeping base. But the promised protection failed precisely when it was needed most. After occupying the posts of the Dutch UN battalion, Serbian forces took, in some cases at gunpoint, the peacekeepers’ uniforms, equipment and vehicles, which they then used to create the false impression that the surrender was secure. In July 1995, the place where people had sought refuge became the scene of one of the worst crimes in Europe since the Second World War,” said Acting President Haxhiu. According to her, the crime in Srebrenica was based on the destruction of any moral orientation that a person has to distinguish safety from danger. “The perpetrators of the genocide were not satisfied with capturing and killing thousands of Bosnian men and boys, but they turned even the closest human bond, the trust of a son in his father, into a death trap. Thousands of men and boys were trying to reach Tuzla through the forests, in the hope that it was the only way to salvation. Serbian forces forced the captured men to call their sons, fathers and relatives out of the forest, telling them that they would be safe. Some of those who surrendered were killed immediately, while thousands of others were held captive, taken to places prepared for execution and systematically killed,” said Acting President Haxhiu. She further added that after the killings, Bosnian Serb military and police structures moved the bodies from primary graves to secondary graves, in an attempt to hide the traces of the crime. According to Acting President Haxhiu, the attempt to hide the truth then continued through the denial of genocide and the relativization of the responsibility of the perpetrators, adding that the same thing had been perpetrated in Kosovo during the war, by the same country, Serbia. “The denial of genocide and the elevation of convicted war criminals to a pedestal not only violates the memory of the victims. It undoes the work of justice and keeps present the mentality that preceded the crime. Ratko Mladić and Radovan Karadžić were sentenced to life imprisonment by international justice. But when the facts proven by international courts are presented as a matter of opinion, the way is opened for the criminals to become examples for the younger generations. Kosovo knows this danger well. We know what propaganda brings when it becomes part of state policy”, emphasized Acting President Haxhiu. Acting President Haxhiu further said that the Republic of Kosovo stands with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the survivors and the families of the victims, we support their right to justice, to memory and to a future in which the victims and their families are not forced to endlessly testify to the crime, loss and truth that the courts have already proven. “Without the truth that the Mothers of Srebrenica have defended for more than three decades, there can be neither justice nor peace. International justice has convicted eighteen people for the crimes committed in Srebrenica. What remains to be judged today is the willingness of societies and institutions to break away from the legacy of crime. When convicted criminals are presented as heroes, not only is the past distorted. The message is sent to the new generations that crime can be justified, that the victim can be forgotten and that responsibility can be turned into pride. This is unacceptable for any society that aims for peace and democracy,” said Acting President Haxhiu.
Acting President Haxhiu bestowed upon Colonel AJ the Presidential Military Medal
The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, bestowed today the Presidential Military Medal upon Colonel AJ Berg, in appreciation for his extraordinary contribution to the strengthening of the strategic partnership and military cooperation between the Republic of Kosovo and the United States of America. “At the end of his mandate as US Defense Attaché in Kosovo, I thanked him for his unwavering engagement in supporting the development and modernization of the KSF, advancing inter-institutional cooperation, and expanding defense relations between our two countries,” emphasized Acting President Haxhiu.
Acting President Haxhiu participates at the Reopening of the National Gallery of Kosovo
The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, participated tonight at the reopening of the National Gallery of Kosovo. In her addres to the participants, Acting President Haxhiu said that the National Gallery of Kosovo was founded in 1979, at a time when the establishment of cultural institutions was part of Kosovo’s effort for education and affirmation. She further added that during the years that followed, the artists of that time gave Kosovo’s art its own physiognomy, shaped by the experience of our country and the political pressure within which they had to create. “During the 1990s, the Serbian government removed Albanian artists from the institutions where they had worked and exhibited until then. Artistic life moved to unusual spaces for the development of artistic and intellectual life, mainly in cafes. One of them was the Hani i Dy Robertëve, where exhibitions, book promotions and discussions were organized,” said Acting President Haxhiu. According to her, these years show how persistent artistic life was even under repression, adding further that it proves that, even when the Serbian regime closed the doors of institutions, artists continued to create and present their work to the public. “During the war, many studios were burned and a large number of works of art were destroyed. With them, sketches, manuscripts, testimonies and parts of the history of our visual art were also lost, which cannot be restored. Such losses make it even clearer why preserving the collection is so important. Therefore, the expansion of the Gallery with four hundred new square meters creates for the first time the necessary space for the preservation and conservation of the collection, as well as for its proper study”, emphasized Acting President Haxhiu. She said that works of art are preserved here for today’s citizens and for future generations. “Archiving works gives citizens the opportunity to know the past without being forced to invent it from scratch, while conservation preserves the work even beyond time. Hana Halilaj has collected works that come from different periods. Some were created during the 70s, others in subsequent periods. Between the first works and those of today, Kosovo has gone through discrimination, war, ethnic cleansing and a change in the political order”, said Acting President Haxhiu. She stated that the title of the exhibition we are opening today “Not all people exist in the same Present” is directly related to our experience, one generation is building its life in freedom, while another is still waiting for answers to the shortcomings left by the war. “The reopening of the National Gallery brings us together precisely to see these layers, to look at our country through the different periods, memories and eyes that have passed through it”, affirmed Acting President Haxhiu. According to Acting President Haxhiu, art helps a society see itself more clearly, so she added, our Republic is providing conditions that protect the freedom of art. Acting President Haxhiu further said that the way the state or institutions treat the artist shows how willing it is to endure the truth. “I want to remember tonight with great respect and humility, Shyqri Nimani, the first director of the National Gallery of Kosovo. Speaking about the establishment of the theater, Kosovafilm and the Gallery, he said that Kosovo is starting to take the form of a state. Today, after almost five decades, that sentence still rings true. The Gallery was part of that form and remains part of it today,” emphasized Acting President Haxhiu. In the end, Acting President President Haxhiu wished that the Gallery would not remain just an exhibition space but would become a place where children encounter art for the first time, where students study, where young artists try to find their voice, and where the public has a reason to stay a little longer.
Acting President Haxhiu visited the Innovation and Training Park (ITP) in Prizren
The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, visited the Innovation and Training Park (ITP) in Prizren, a key center of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship in Kosovo. She stated that ITP has transformed a 40-hectare space that connects business, institutions and academia, creating opportunities for economic development, innovation and employment. “With 50 buildings, 65 active businesses and around 1,000 students, professionals and visitors every day, ITP has become an engine of development. Within this space, the Makerspace Innovation Center Prizren (MICP) also operates, contributing to the development of professional skills, supporting entrepreneurship and innovation through training, skills programs and modern infrastructure for technology and production”, emphasized Acting President Haxhiu. According to her, the successes of ITP and MICP are evidence of the potential that Kosovo has to build an economy based on knowledge, technology and entrepreneurship.
Acting President Haxhiu visited the National Audit Office
The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, visited the National Audit Office today, where she met with the Auditor General, Ms. Vlora Spanca, and with the staff members of this institution. According to Acting President Haxhiu, independent auditing is one of the main pillars of good governance and institutional accountability. She highly praised the professional work carried out by the NAO and its role in strengthening transparency of the public institutions. The international recognition of the NAO, cooperation with the Prosecutor’s Office in handling audit findings, as well as legal changes aimed at strengthening institutional independence were also discussed during the meeting. Acting President Haxhiu stated that she will continue to support every effort that strengthens integrity, transparency, and responsible management of public funds.
Acting President Haxhiu and Prime Minister Kurti signed the decision on the reappointment of Mr. Agon Bytyqi for another five years in the position of Deputy Director of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency
The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, together with Prime Minister Albin Kurti, today signed the decision on the reappointment of Mr. Agon Bytyqi for another five years in the position of Deputy Director of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency. Acting President Haxhiu said that his experience, knowledge of the institution and the responsibility demonstrated during his first mandate are important for the continuity and professional work of the KIA in protection of the security of the country. Acting President Haxhiu and Prime Minister Kurti thanked Mr. Bytyqi for his engagements so far and wished him success in his new mandate.