While the 25th anniversary of the end of the war in Kosovo is being marked in various cities of Kosovo, the Albanian citizens of the north, but also of Mitrovica in general, do not feel the full smell of freedom, because as they say, their city has never been fully liberated and continues to remain occupied.
Emir Azemi, a citizen from the north of Mitrovica, told KosovaPress that the post-war was a bigger war than the war itself for the residents of the north.
According to him, the life of Albanians in that part of the country continues to be difficult for 25 years.
He said that the smell of freedom felt in Prizren is not the same in Northern Mitrovica.
Even Maliq Sylejmani, another resident from the north of this city, emphasized that he misses the feeling of the celebration of the liberation of Kosovo, due to the circumstances that exist in the city of Mitrovica.
On the other hand, Halit Barani, head of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (KMDLNJ) in Mitrovica, emphasized that the people of Mitrovica have no reason to rejoice at the liberation, because their city has not been liberated yet.
According to him, the occupied part of Mitrovica cannot be liberated by the police, but a political solution and international support is needed.
While for the latter he said that they continue to hold the opening of the main bridge of the Ibri hostage, he blamed all the previous governments for not working properly in this direction, but only for their personal interests.
On June 12, 1999, the first NATO infantry troops landed in Kosovo and the departure of the Serbian forces began, while the citizens were celebrating freedom in the streets, even though the war officially ended two days earlier, on the day the UN Security Council approved the resolution 1244.
