In honor of the martyrs who fell in the last war in Kosovo, the Municipality of Decan organized a series of activities today, May 5, to mark Martyrs’ Day. The mayor of this municipality, Bashkim Ramosaj, said that the martyrs belong to the nation, calling for unity in honoring their lives.
Together with AAK MPs Daut Haradinaj and Time Kadrijaj, he began the tributes at the memorials in the municipal courtyard, continuing afterward at the “Martyrs of the Nation” Memorial Complex in Gllogjan, as well as in the villages of Isniq, Prilep, Lower Carrabreg, and Upper Llukë.
Also present at the commemorations were war veterans’ organizations, students from various schools in Decan, and family members of the martyrs, who laid flowers at the memorials and honored the fallen with a minute of silence.
During his speech at the “Martyrs of the Nation” Memorial Complex, Ramosaj emphasized that the martyrs are a shared national value and do not belong to any particular political entity or family.
“They are martyrs of the nation; they do not even belong to their own families. They do not belong to the Haradinaj family or any other family. They are martyrs of the nation, and while they are part of our families, they are a value for all of us. And I want to give one final message to all of you here: for the sake of all the efforts of our people for freedom, for the sake of the Kosovo Liberation Army’s war, for the sake of the martyrs of the homeland, restrain yourselves from insults, from offensive language, from divisions, because we go nowhere like this. We make it an unsuitable place, we make Kosovo an unsuitable country, a place that no one trusts,” he said.
He praised the commitment of the younger generation to preserving historical memory and called for unity and restraint from divisions in society.
Meanwhile, AAK MP Daut Haradinaj described this day as a moment of reflection on intergenerational sacrifice, recalling that today’s freedom is the result of a long history of resistance and efforts.
“This is the national day of the martyrs of the nation. Not only in Gllogjan, but also in Vlora, Shkodra, Prekaz, and Gllogjan, it marks the anniversary of honoring the martyrs of the nation. Today, you should know—many of your teachers here—that it is also the anniversary of Ismajl Haradinaj, one of the people who in the 1980s published a diary and in a way mobilized society at the time to remove Yugoslavia from here. Many from that generation are no longer among us, and many teachers had them as colleagues, but their suffering prepared us to be ready in 1998–99 to take up arms and fight,” he said.
Addressing students of the “Vëllezërit Frashëri” Gymnasium who were present, he told them that many of the fallen young men in Decan were their age, emphasizing that there is no greater sacrifice than being ready to give one’s life for freedom.
“There is no generation that hasn’t fought before us, but they did not achieve freedom. This generation, this sacrifice, has given us the state today. We are free; we have the right to think differently, of course, but we must not forget what we went through to reach freedom. Other peoples die for their flag. We should not feel ashamed when we have our national symbol. Those who should feel ashamed are those we expelled from here—the Serbs—and I have no hesitation saying it. And when they want to know where Kosovo is, they should look at this generation—there is no going back,” he said.
The marking of this day continued with a program organized by students of the “Vëllezërit Frashëri” Gymnasium in cooperation with the Municipality of Decan.
The head of the Youth Council, Adem Hulaj, emphasized in his speech that the youth will remain guardians of the values of the liberation war, engaging in preserving historical memory and building the future.
The program began with a video produced by the students, reflecting the history of fighters from the Municipality of Decan who fell during the last war in Kosovo, followed by artistic performances and an exhibition prepared by the students.
