It requires no degradation of the park at the tomb of martyrs

Residents of neighbourhoods around the park at Witnesses' Graveyards in Pristina's Velani have protested today against the degradation of this park and have demanded that this space not be converted into a cemetery.

In the case of Earth Day, neighborhood children around Park at Witness Graveyards in protest have planted a fern and have demanded that the park not be filled with cemeteries, but it be a space devoted entirely to them.

Leon Bicak, one of the children out looking for the park not to be degraded, says sports fields should be built and green spaces created in this space.

We are gathered here today to celebrate Earth Day and to show our care and love for it. Today for Earth Day we've come up with our strongest arms, our childhood sincerity and our innocence to show the ability to go against any injustice done to our park. We do not want the next year, but on this very day, when we go out on Earth Day to be in a park next to the cemetery, but we want to have different spaces for creativity to develop our unbound child imagination”, he said.

Leon has said that despite being dissatisfied with the state of the park, they continue to exploit it because it is the only green space near their settlement.

“We are not satisfied with the state of the park, we are not satisfied with the situation that has already engulfed our park, but we are still out to use this little green space that we have left undegraded, without graves”, he said.

In the meantime, Liridon Llapashtica, in the name of the residents, has said that they have planted a seedlings hoping to halt the park's degradation.

This is the third time the neighborhood residents have gathered and expressed their dissatisfaction over the park's degradation. We believe many and hope that both municipal and government institutions have necessary human resources and will take measures against the park. We've made petitions in large numbers of residents, who are then introduced to institutions. We have information that within the Communist institutions just started moving things around and soon a new parcel for the city cemetery will be assigned and then we start with other procedures where exhumation will take place and then we'll start other projects here at the city park. We are for the 4.4 hectares of the park to turn into green and space for recreation for children on this side”, he said.

On the other hand, resident Fadil Calcolly has shown that his two sons are afraid to go out to play, saying that the cemetery does not belong in the park where children play.

I have two kids here with me, but when you put them out to play, Dad tells me to come with us, I ask them why and they tell me that there's a grave here. Now we as a local community have to make a petition and we have to ask the mayor whose permission these people came here. We are not against the martyrs of the nation, I myself am a KLA warrior, glory to everyone who died for this land, but we will ask the mayor of Pristina whose permission these people are coming here. Tomorrow, my nephew, where he played here, is there any way he can get on the graves?

Otherwise, residents of neighbourhoods around the park at Witnesses' Graveyards in Pristina's Velaani have held protests earlier demanding that the park not be degraded and converted into a cemetery.