Pristina marks 27th anniversary of liberation with messages of freedom and state-building

To mark the 27th anniversary of the Liberation of Pristina, the Municipal Assembly of the capital held a solemn session on Thursday dedicated to those who gave their lives for freedom and to Kosovo's journey towards statehood. The session opened with a minute of silence in honour of those who fell for freedom. Those present included assembly members, members of the Assembly, and former war commanders, among them Rrustem Mustafa – Remi, Latif Gashi and Fatmir Sopi. The Speaker of the Municipal Assembly of Pristina, Fehmi Kupina, said this is a day of pride, as freedom was won through great sacrifice, suffering and at the highest human cost. "This is a day of pride, remembrance and gratitude for all those who contributed to the difficult road towards Kosovo's freedom. Today, 27 years after liberation, Pristina stands proud as the capital of the Republic of Kosovo and a symbol of freedom, democracy and statehood. This freedom was won through great sacrifice, through suffering and at the highest human cost. On this day, we bow with deep respect before the nation's fallen heroes, its martyrs, its war invalids — all those men and women who sacrificed everything for the ideal of freedom. Their glory is eternal, and the memory of them will always remain part of our national conscience," he said. Meanwhile, the Mayor of Pristina, Përparim Rama, said that at this symbolic session, history meets the future. "We are here at this symbolic session where history meets the future. On one side we have the veterans of the Kosovo Liberation Army, who through courage, sacrifice and conviction brought us freedom; and on the other we have the institutions of our pride — the Kosovo Security Force, the Kosovo Police, the firefighters and all the workers who serve the capital and its citizens every day. This scene is the most vivid testament to our journey from resistance to state-building, from the struggle for freedom to the responsibility of protecting and strengthening it. All of this unfolds in the continued presence and support of KFOR and our international partners, who for 27 years have been the guarantors of our country's security, stability and sovereignty. Our gratitude to them is eternal — thank you. But Liberation Day is not only a day of celebration; it is a day of responsibility. Our responsibility today is not to win freedom — that was won by those who sacrificed everything. Our responsibility is to build a state, a capital worthy of that sacrifice," Rama said. Former KLA commander Rrustem Mustafa – Remi recalled the day of liberation, saying that the Kosovo Liberation Army was poorly armed but possessed great heart. He said that on 11 June 1999, the struggle for freedom was being crowned by the entry of Kosovo Liberation Army forces and the beginning of NATO troop deployments in Kosovo — it was the day freedom in Kosovo was becoming tangible. "The liberation of the capital and all of Kosovo through the liberation war and NATO's deployment in Kosovo is not merely a tale of our glorious past, but also a guide for the future and the strategic direction Kosovo must follow. The Kosovo Liberation Army was a small army, poorly armed, but it had great heart and a vision that became reality on 11 June. The Kosovo Liberation Army succeeded in forging an alliance with the most powerful democratic states and in bringing freedom to the people of Kosovo. This is a lesson for the future and proof that Kosovo has always moved forward and aligned itself with the democratic world. Liberation was not merely the departure of occupying forces; liberation was the restoration of human dignity — it was the right to think freely, to speak freely, and to live without fear of persecution," Mustafa said. Today marks 27 years since the withdrawal of Serbian military and paramilitary criminal forces from Kosovo, signalling the end of the Serbian occupation. The Serbian army was defeated by the Kosovo Liberation Army's ground campaign and NATO's bombing, which forced it to sign the capitulation agreement on 9 June 1999 in Kumanovo.