Prishtina, April 01, 2019 – The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, participated today at the ceremony of the marking of the 20th anniversary of the Lybeniq massacre, where 80 persons were massacred, including elderly, women and children.
In his speech, President Thaçi said that March of 1998, 1999 was the month of heroism of the Jasharaj war, the heroism of the Battle of Gllogjan, and also the beginning of the NATO bombings against the Serbian army and police.
But, according to him, many massacres throughout the Republic of Kosovo have occurred in this period by the state of Serbia
“Every day we are throughout Kosovo to commemorate the fallen for freedom and the martyrs. We were together with the Prime Minister in Krusha e Vogël, and in Krusha e Madhe, we also commemorated the martyrs in Celina, Fortesa and other settlements throughout the Republic of Kosovo, and in the days ahead we will commemorate them as we are commemorating today the martyrs of Lybeniq with its surrounding area”, he said.
President Thaçi has emphasized that these are not just names of settlements in the geographical sense, but have become a symbol of the crimes committed by the Serbian state in Kosovo against the civilian population at the time when it forcefully removed about 800 thousand Albanians from Kosovo and killed over 13 thousand Albanian civilians.
According to him, they were killed for only one reason, only because they were Albanians, only because they wanted freedom and wanted what they deserved as all civilized peoples.
“In Lybeniq your loved ones, your family members, your relatives, were killed. Very young children were killed, children up to 18 months, 7 years old, pregnant women, but one thing was ascertained that Serbia could kill civilians but could never kill the ideal for freedom and independence of Kosovo”, he emphasized.
In front of the families of the martyrs, institutional representatives, President Thaçi said that he understands and feels the pain of the families they have every day. “I understand and feel your tears for your loved ones, but as this massacre is one of the most terrible ones committed by the Serbian state in Lybeniq, at the same time we must remain dignified with integrity and proud of our glorious past”, he added.
At the end, President Thaçi has said that the state of Serbia has committed systematic violence in Kosovo, it has committed genocide in Kosovo. But according to him, what is important is that we won the battle, won the freedom, the country was liberated, the country is independent.