The Municipal Assembly of Rahovec unanimously adopted a declaration today condemning the inflammatory language used by Igor Popović, Assistant Director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia. Popović’s remarks, made last week in the village of Hoçë e Madhe, Rahovec, against the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), led to him being declared “persona non grata” by the municipality.
Defending KLA Values and Condemning Divisive Language
Rahovec Mayor Smajl Latifi presented the declaration to the assembly members, emphasizing its importance in defending the values of the liberation struggle.
“On behalf of the citizens of Rahovec Municipality, we, the representatives of the Municipal Assembly, express concern over the offensive and tendentious statements made by Igor Popović during his visit to the village of Hoçë e Madhe in Rahovec. These statements constitute a direct attack on our history. They attempt to tarnish the just and glorious war of the KLA,” the declaration states.
It further emphasizes, “In a democratic and sovereign state, which has worked hard for the general peace of its citizens without ethnic, color, or religious distinctions, a person with hate speech and divisive language is undesirable; for our municipality, he is a ‘persona non grata.’ We encourage our fellow citizens of Hoçë e Madhe and the representatives of this village to distance themselves from this unacceptable language.”
The declaration highlights that such language is a direct assault on their history and an attempt to discredit the KLA’s struggle.
