Speaker of the Assembly,
Prime Minister,
Representatives of institutions,
Ambassadors of amicable countries,
We are here today together at the Exhibition “Truth, Memory, Justice”, not only as institutions but also together with many human rights activists, with many representatives of organizations, families who went through the darkest times of our history, together with many strong mothers who have become iconic symbols of our unceasing fight for justice, and together with the allies who stood by us in the most difficult days for our people.
We are here to mark International Human Rights Day, a date that symbolizes universal dignity, freedom and equality. Because, when in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10th and gave legal and moral form to the principle that every human life has value and deserves protection, at that time, the slogan “Never again” was also heard every day. Unfortunately, it remained just a slogan, because the suffering that humanity saw during the Second World War was unfortunately repeated to some extent in our region in the 1990s.
Even today, after 75 years, the world is still faced with injustice, violence, and violations of fundamental rights. And as always, as in any war, those who are most vulnerable are most affected: innocent civilians, women, the elderly and especially children.
The people of Kosovo know very well what this means. The war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by the Milosevic regime caused pain that will never be extinguished: thousands of people killed, including many children, thousands of women and men raped, thousands of people forcibly disappeared, who are still missing from their families and are missing from all of Kosovo. Their pain knows no time. It is an open wound, a living wound, a wound that drains every day and which still demands justice.
Let us pause for a moment at the stories that tell the indescribable pain and courage of our mothers. Among us is mother Ferdonije and many mothers from Gjakova, who always carried within their souls the pain of losing their children, their spouses, the loved ones of their families. Mother Ferdonije lost her sons and husband, then preserving their empty room, the table, but also the clothes left there as a memory of the lives that never returned.
Their stories are not just stories of pain; they are evidence of the resilience, the unbreakable and endless love of mothers and the memory that never fades.
Let us also dwell on the history of the women of Krusha.
In Krusha e Vogël, mother Hyrisha Shehu still remembers the day her life was turned upside down. Amid the smoke, noise and explosions that engulfed the village, she had her youngest son, only 13 years old, on her lap, hugging him as if protecting him with all her heart. He had clung to her neck, whispering: “Mother, don’t let me go…” — words that still echo in the mother’s mind today. When Serbian forces surrounded the entire village population in a courtyard, she tried to cover the little boy with her body, but the harsh hands tore him from her lap, leaving him collapsed in the mud, with his arms extended towards him. That day took her two sons and her husband, leaving mother Hyrisha with a heart wounded forever, but with a strength that was never broken. Today, her story is not only about pain. The story of mothers, fathers, children, and all citizens of Kosovo is also resilience, it is memory, and it is a voice that reminds the whole world that the crimes of that time will never be forgotten, and it also reminds us of the undying love of an Albanian mother.
As we know in many other places in Kosovo, the loved ones of about 1,600 forcibly disappeared are still waiting.
Through memory, truth, and justice, crimes must not only be punished, not only must we honor those we have lost and the pain of their families every day, but above all, the future itself must be built on respect for them.
26 years after the war, justice is still missing. The perpetrators have not been brought to justice, and the families of the victims still wait. The families of the missing live every day with uncertainty and the pain and anxiety of waiting. Some of the surviving witnesses are dying, taking with them important parts of the truth. Therefore, our institutional obligation is greater than ever: documentation, preserving memory, and the continued search for justice are a national urgency.
Today’s exhibition “Truth, Memory, Justice” is not simply a photo exhibition. These are just a few of the thousands and thousands of photographs that the Institute for War Crimes has collected. These photographs, therefore, are beyond appearance, they are a powerful statement that: we will not allow the truth to be distorted, that we will not allow memory to fade. Here we commemorate the children killed, the mothers and fathers who never returned, the families who lost everything, those who disappeared by force. For each of them, for the women who experienced the horror of wartime rape and every victim of war, each without distinction, for each of them we demand justice.
The survivors who live today with physical wounds, but above all spiritual wounds, are the personification of resistance and human dignity, they are the voice of truth that can never be silenced.
Kosovo will not give up. We will not allow the crimes to be forgotten. We will not allow the genocide to be denied. For every missing person, for every murdered child, for every victim of sexual violence — we will speak out loud here and in every country in the world. Justice will be sought without stopping. The truth must be heard and memory must not be extinguished. Today, we have built a state where the protection of the rights of all, without distinction, lies at the very foundations of our Constitutional system and among the strongest pillars of our state.
As a nation who has experienced discrimination, apartheid, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for centuries, we must ensure that the painful past is never repeated and that the peace built with so much effort and sacrifice is protected at all costs.
Glory to all those who sacrificed themselves for our freedom!
Eternal honor and gratitude to the survivors and families of the victims who keep the moral pillar of our state alive.
Until every family receives the answer they deserve, that is, justice, we will not stop demanding accountability.
Justice will be served for all those who suffered unjustly and memory, truth and justice will always be our most powerful guide to a brighter future.
Thank you!
