Dear families of the freedom martyrs,
Dear families of our nation’s fallen heroes,
Honourable Mayor of Prishtina,
Esteemed Members of the Assembly,
Representatives of central and local institutions,
Surviving witnesses and dear citizens,
Today, we all stand together in this sacred place to remember a deep wound in our painful yet glorious history. We are gathered here to honour the memory of those who were mercilessly massacred in Makoc during the dark days of April 1999, one of the most brutal phases of the genocidal campaign perpetrated by the Serbian machinery of death against our people.
In this place, still marked by the pain of April 1999, 115 lives were taken unjustly, just as thousands of others were across Kosovo, dreams extinguished before they could ever be realized. The fallen here in Makoc were only a part of the hundreds killed in the Gollak region over a span of just four days.
Therefore, this site stands as a testament, a solemn legacy left by those murdered by the Serbian hand without mercy, simply for being Albanian, for loving freedom, and for seeking to live freely on their own land. This site also serves as evidence of a crime that remains unpunished, yet it will never go unheard, for Kosovo will never remain silent in the pursuit of its truth.
Today, at this sacred place where the bodies of martyrs and fallen heroes rest, we have come not only to remember the horrific crime but also to honour the resistance of our people. We have come to remember the immense pain of the families. We have come to bow before the sacrifice of those who fell, and above all, to continue our powerful call for justice.
In Makoc and the surrounding villages, over the span of just a few days, no one was spared, neither Fortesa, a 7-year-old girl, nor Hamidja, aged 98. This was the barbarity of the crime, a cruelty aimed at eradicating our very existence in all its forms. Yet what the Serbian genocidal regime could never extinguish is the indomitable spirit of our freedom-loving people.
Makoc, like all of Kosovo, stands as a testament to an extraordinary sacrifice, a sacrifice born not by chance, but through the unwavering resolve of our people, a resolve that has endured across centuries: a resolve never to submit and to live freely on the land of our forebears.
Our journey continues, yet our foundations remain strong, built upon the blood of our martyrs and heroes through countless generations.
Today, Kosovo is free, sovereign, and equipped with functioning state institutions. Today, Kosovo serves as a pillar of peace and stability in the region. Today, Kosovo is a valued ally of democratic nations. This represents the greatest achievement of a people who once sought freedom at any cost and who today defend it at every cost, with honour and dignity.
Even on this anniversary marked by both sorrow and pride, all responsible state institutions must recall that safeguarding the values of the sacrifice for freedom and preserving this heritage is a duty we bear, a perpetual obligation, for upon these values rests the very foundation of our state. Without honouring the memory and showing profound respect for those who fell, we can never secure a luminous future.
Makoc will endure as an eternal memory, a solemn legacy, and above all, a solemn pledge toward the future. A pledge that we will never forget the martyrs and fallen heroes. A pledge that we will never forget those forcibly gone missing during the last war in Kosovo. A pledge that we will never abandon the pursuit of justice. A pledge that we will educate future generations with the truth of our glorious history and protect freedom as our most precious treasure.
May the glory to all martyrs of the Makoc Massacre be eternal!
Glory to all the nation’s fallen heroes!
Justice for the victims, everlasting peace for their souls, and eternal honour for their sacred sacrifice!
Thank you!
