The Great Krusha is not only a symbol of pain but also of resilience. The sacrifice of those who fell in Krusha serves as a guide on how to move forward without stopping.
This was said during the commemorative gathering marking the 26th anniversary of the massacre in Great and Small Krusha.
The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, stated that the sacrifice of Krusha will never be forgotten.
She recalled this massacre where men, women, and children were killed, and many of them are still missing. Osmani mentioned that their families live every day with the longing of a wait that will never end, also referring to the activist Ukshin Hoti, about whom she said nothing is known. According to KosovaPress, the country’s president said that we should not remain silent nor should we allow justice to be delayed endlessly for those who gave their lives for freedom.
She emphasized that Great Krusha is not just a symbol of pain but also of resilience.
“The Great Krusha massacre is not just a horrific crime from 26 years ago, it is our daily life, it is our present because the pain continues even today, just as it did 26 years ago. It is an open battle for justice, so we cannot allow the blood of those who were innocent to remain voiceless and their sacrifice to be forgotten. We should not remain silent, we should not stop, we should not allow justice to be delayed endlessly because justice for Great Krusha is justice for all those who gave their lives for our freedom, for the heroes of the KLA and the martyrs of freedom. Great Krusha is not just a symbol of pain but also of resilience,” said Osmani.
Meanwhile, the acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said that Serbian forces forcibly disappeared 64 people from Krusha and burned over 700 homes along with religious and cultural institutions. He added that Serbia’s greatest concern was the burning of bodies and the disappearance of traces of the crime.
Kurti emphasized that their fall and sacrifice is a guide on how to move forward without stopping. He stressed that we are side by side, persistent on the road to justice.
“The massacre in Great Krusha was part of the indictment for war crimes against the butcher of the Balkans, Slobodan Milosevic. Despite this, justice has still not acted, and the perpetrators have not been punished. It is evident that Serbian soldiers and police had great hatred and a clear plan to commit crimes, with their greatest concern being the disappearance of bodies. So, the disappearance of traces of the crime. Forced disappearances, abductions, burnings, and throwing bodies in rivers and other inhumane ways of damaging and hiding bodies are clear evidence of this genocidal project,” added Kurti.
In his speech, the mayor of Rahovec, Smajl Latifi, said that the war was necessary and that the people of Krusha did what they had to do by sacrificing for the freedom of the country.
He said that the massacre of Great and Small Krusha, as well as other places, is proof of Serbia’s criminal actions.
The crimes committed in the villages of Kosovo deserve proper legal treatment, and he added that the investigation and trial of these crimes serve history so that the truth can be revealed, as well as the fate of the missing.
“Mass murders, burning of bodies, and disappearance of the bodies of the killed are evidence of an organized act carefully implemented by criminal Serbia by burning and destroying traces of this horrific crime,” said Latifi.
Meanwhile, a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army Veterans Organization, Qemajl Krasniqi said that the mobilization was the right thing to do to change the status of the Albanian people in the Balkans.
“To break this cycle of violence and bloodshed, a general mobilization was necessary, and the inhabitants of this area responded as they should,” he added.
On the 25th, 26th, and 27th of March 1999, 243 people were massacred in the village of Krusha in Rahovec, and 893 private and communal houses were destroyed by fire.
The Great Krusha massacre is one of the most painful and horrific events carried out against the Albanian population by the Serbian army.
