Xajë Mustafa, the protagonist of one of the most painful photos of the Kosovo war, recalled the deep emotions after the decision of the Special Court for the former leaders of the KLA, describing it as an injustice that tarnishes the liberation war and the sacrifices of the Albanian people.
In a direct link on the show “In Real Time” on RTSh 1 HD, Mustafa said that the court’s decision has burdened him spiritually, especially because of the wording “in the name of the people”.
“It is an unfair decision. Why was this decision given in my name? This decision tarnishes the KLA war, tarnishes NATO, our country. This decision is not in the name of the people, because the people have not condemned them,” he said with emotion.
He said that the decision of the Special Court is a new wound for all those who have experienced the war and its sacrifices.
“This decision is not in the name of the people. The people have not condemned them. The Parliament of Kosovo must react as one and work to get them out of there“, he said, calling for political and institutional unity.
Mustafa, who became a symbol of pain and hope during the war through the photograph taken by American photojournalist Peter Turnley in 1999, recalled his story filled with suffering and anguish.
He revealed that he had been released from a Serbian prison and forced to cross the border to Albania, where in the most dramatic moment he took out two photographs of his children, whom he thought had been killed.
“They asked me several times to throw them away, but I took them and said: I will not leave these pictures in your hands, they belong to my children. What do you get into work? – they told me, because we killed them in Kosovo,” he recalled.
His photo, where he appeared with the two images of the missing children, was published in the world media and turned into one of the most powerful symbols of the suffering of the people of Kosovo.
But after months of anguish, Mustafa was reunited with his family and learned that the children were alive.
“Hopes were very low that we would ever meet them, but thankfully the good happened. After six months we met again and it was a great emotion,” he said, recalling the moment when a neighbor from Mitrovica told him that his wife and children had taken refuge in Ulcinj.
