Prekaz remains the central site where citizens and former fighters pay tribute to the family of the legendary commander Adem Jashari at the Memorial Complex, including on this anniversary of Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
Today, among those honoring the site was Xhavit Jashari, head of the Association of Families of UÇK Martyrs. He said that former fighters carry the lesson that freedom is sustainable when it is won through struggle and the blood of martyrs.
From historic Prekaz, Jashari extended Independence Day greetings to the former UÇK leaders currently detained in The Hague. He expressed hope that the four defendants would be acquitted of the charges brought by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, which he claimed were politically motivated.
“They left us a lesson that freedom endures when it is earned through struggle and sacrifice. From this place, I congratulate the UÇK leaders who are being unjustly held by a political and entirely one-sided court. We hope and believe that the final verdict will not be political and that the court will release the UÇK leaders from what we consider a fabricated indictment processed in Belgrade. The request of the Specialist Prosecutor raises doubts, and such actions appear to have originated in Belgrade and then been translated to the Specialist Court in The Hague… The glorious war of the UÇK did not and does not belong to any political party; it is a value of the people and must be preserved and respected as such,” he said.
From Dukat in Vlora, Pëllumb Skendaj also traveled to Prekaz. He said he would take part in the march titled “Justice, not politics” in Pristina, organized in support of the former UÇK leaders detained in The Hague.
Skendaj stated that the blood of the Jashari family represents a river of freedom for Albanians.
“Their blood is a river for freedom and for Albanian identity, and we will never forget it. Baca, together with the older generation of Ismail Qemali and Isa Boletini, is an eternal monument of Albanianism… By honoring their sacrifice and working hard for Albania, Kosovo, and the Albanian people, may we move forward, flourish, and achieve greater prosperity,” he said.
Kosovo’s declaration of independence was made on February 17, 2008, at 15:39, in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo in Pristina. In an extraordinary session attended by 109 of 120 deputies, the Assembly unanimously declared Kosovo an independent, sovereign, and democratic state.
