On the 23rd anniversary of the Poklek and Old Çikatovë massacres, the heads of state institutions, President Vjosa Osmani and Parliament Speaker Glauk Konjufca, paid tribute to the memorial complex in Poklek and Old Çikatovë.
During these homages, Osmani said that this massacre carried out by Serbian forces clearly shows the intention of the Serbian regime to exterminate the Albanian people.
She added that Kosovo will never stop seeking justice.
“On this sad day for all of Kosovo, we are commemorating one of the most horrific massacres of the civilian population. In this cemetery you see rest 54 civilians, mostly women and children. This massacre carried out by Serbian forces clearly shows the intention of the Serbian regime to exterminate the Albanian people. Each of us must tell the truth of Poklek everywhere, not only in Kosovo but in every country in the world, so that the world can hear and see the evidence that the Milosevic regime had to eradicate Albanians from Kosovo. “The memory of them will be permanent, while we will never stop seeking justice”, said Osmani.
The Speaker of the Parliament, Glauk Konjufca, emphasized that this massacre is one of the most barbaric that Serbia has done to the people of Kosovo.
According to him, even after 23 years since this massacre took place, justice has not been done, while criminals are roaming free in Serbia.
“This is one of the most barbaric massacres that Serbia has committed in Kosovo against our defenseless people. Let us not forget that most of the massacred are children and women, which shows that it is one of the clearest evidences of the genocide that Serbia has committed against our people. There has been no justice for this massacre, no serious trial has taken place so far for these children and these women and men who were massacred by Serbian paramilitaries. “The responsibility is very clear, but criminals roam free,” he said.
Sunday marks 23 years since the massacre in the villages of Old Poklek and Old Çikatovë, Drenas municipality, where the Serbian army massacred and killed, then burned the bodies of 77 unarmed Albanian civilians, ranging from six-month-old babies to to 75-year-olds.
There suffered children, young and old, men and old men who were killed, massacred and some of them burned. Even after two decades, none of the perpetrators and executors were punished by justice.
