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Below is the full statement of Minister Maqedonci:
“On 24 March 1998, the Serbian occupying forces surrounded Gllogjan with the aim of extinguishing the armed resistance. However, the fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army demonstrated that no siege, no force, and no occupier can stop a people determined for freedom.
The Battle of Gllogjan clearly demonstrated that the KLA was no longer a limited center of resistance, but an army born from the people and extended throughout all of Kosovo.
The Battle of Gllogjan followed the battle at Gjashtë Lisat in Likoshan on 28 February, as well as the heroic and glorious resistance of the Jashari family in Prekaz on 5, 6, and 7 March 1998.
This was our only path to put an end to the centuries-long rule and oppression of fascist Serbia. It was a just, pure, and sacred war for freedom. Facing us was a genocidal machine; facing them stood a people fighting to live free.
The justice of our cause also brought international support. Precisely on 24 March 1999, one year after the Battle of Gllogjan, NATO intervention against Serbian targets began — a historic moment that united our sacrifice with the conscience of the democratic world.
The martyrs and all those who fell for freedom are the foundation of our Republic. Remembering them is not only a tribute, but a perpetual obligation to preserve our freedom, state, and national dignity.
Today, upon this history of sacrifice and resistance, the Republic of Kosovo has built and strengthened its army — a modern, professional, and ready army, a guarantee for the defense of the territory, for peace and stability, and a guarantee that the genocide of 1998–1999 will never happen again.
The highest honors to the Epopee of Dukagjin.
Eternal glory to the martyrs and all those who fell for freedom!”
