With the famous phrase "Freedom is more precious than life," Kosovo heroes Fehmi and Xhevë Lladrovci were remembered on September 22nd on the 28th anniversary of their fall.
Acting President Albulena Haxhiu said after the tributes that history always keeps Fehmi and Xhevë Lladrovci as figures close to each other because they also made their path of liberation such.
"In the lives of Fehmiu and Xheva, love for each other and love for Kosovo always walked side by side, until the day they both fell for its freedom," she wrote on Facebook.
Fehmi Lladrovci was part of the political organization of the 1980s and spent years in Yugoslav prisons for his beliefs and activities.
When he was arrested in September 1985, he and Xheva had just begun their life together. The long imprisonment did not break either the bond between them or the path they had chosen.
Xheva immediately joined the Lladrovci family, and despite the fact that Fehmiu was in prison, she continued her own political activity in the years when any connection with the illegal movement was a great danger.
After Fehmiu's release from prison, their lives continued far from Kosovo, but not far from its cause. They participated in the war in Croatia, continued their political activity in Munich, Germany, and became involved in the preparations that, over the years, would lead to the organization of the war of independence in Kosovo.
Fehmiu was placed in charge of Brigade 114 and participated in the organization, training, and leadership of KLA units. At that time, when the KLA was growing rapidly and had to create structures, positions, and military discipline, his experience had particular weight.
The experience she had gained in the Croatian war served her well in organizing and leading the KLA units in Drenica. Xheva, meanwhile, had her own direct role in the war. She participated in the organization and fighting, and during the summer of 1998 was on the front lines in some of the KLA battles.
Her presence there did not stem only from her shared life with Fehmi. Xheva had also come that way with her own history and beliefs. She was a professor of Albanian language and literature.
Fehmiu and Xheva fell after being hit by the offensive of Serbian forces in Gradina, Drenica.
Their fall was also remembered by former Prime Minister and former KLA commander, Ramush Haradinaj. He praised the courage of the first hours and the journey until the last breath, fighting as one body.
"Qafa e Mullari, May 6, 1997. Where the violent border was broken with weapons in hand, our line fell into a tight ambush of Serbian forces. In that confrontation where my brother, Luani, fell, and Rafet Rama was seriously wounded, next to us and at the head of the line were them, Fehmiu and Xheva.
In the midst of fire and bullets, their determination did not waver for a second. There, that bond of freedom sealed in blood was forged, which would never be broken. Today, after 28 years from their heroic fall, memory takes us back to precisely this courage of the first hours. Fehmiu and Xheva did not calculate anything, they continued unwaveringly the journey of the KLA until their last breath in Gradina in Drenica, fighting side by side as a single body.
"This anniversary obligates us to their legacy and that of the entire 114th Brigade. We remember with honor Fehmiu, Xheva, as well as our comrades Fatime Hetemi and Shefqet Zeka. Eternal glory to those who write history with blood!" - Haradinaj wrote on Facebook.
Fatime Hetemi, Shefqet Zeka, Behxhet Karaxha, Milazim Karaxha and Hamit Lladrovci also fell in this offensive.
The Mayor of Drenas, Ramiz Lladrovci, has said that the municipality will not organize any other events besides the tributes at the Memorial in Gllanasellë, due to the current circumstances in Kosovo following the sentencing by the Special Court to 81 years in prison of four leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army. /LAPSI.al
