Today marks 20 years since the Vejce Massacre – a terrorist attack in 2001 upon Macedonian armed forces, in which eight Macedonia soldiers were ambushed, tortured, and then burned alive by Albanian separatists. According to a 2001 article in the Guardian newspaper “the guerrillas had gone out of their way to disfigure the corpses.”
The perpetrators were never tried and instead were given amnesty and awarded with high-ranking positions in Macedonia’s government like Minister of Defense and Speaker of Parliament.
Justice was never delivered to give some sort of peace to the families of those killed.
We will never forget: Robert Petkovski (aged 27), Boban Trajkovski (28), Mile Janevski (30), Igor Kosteski (26), Marjan Bozinovski (27), Kire Kostadinovski (24), Bosko Najdovski (25), Ilce Stojanovski (24).
Вечна им слава, лесна им земја!
In 2017, the United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) strongly rejected the illegitimate appointment of Talat Xhaferi as speaker of the Macedonian parliament. Mr. Xhaferi – who used to go by the name Komandant Forina – is implicated as being directly responsible for the 2001 Vejce Massacre. An alleged war criminal has no place as in such a ranking position in the Republic of Macedonia. Mr. Xhaferi, who remains speaker, must be tried for the unconscionable criminal acts for which he has been accused, thereby providing some measure of justice for the innocent victims. Anything less is a grave injustice, and Macedonians worldwide overwhelmingly share this view.
