President Osmani: Reçak was the starting point where our freedom began to take shape
The President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani – Sadriu participated at the opening of the exhibition laid on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the Reçak Massacre.
President Vjosa Osmani’s speech on the 23rd anniversary of the Reçak Massacre
Honourable Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Konjufca Honourable Prime Minister, Mr. Kurti Distinguished representatives of the Government of Kosovo, Former Presidents, Honourable Ambassador Hovenier and Ambassador Szunyog, Honourable chairman Aliu Dear families of the victims of the Reçak massacre Distinguished participants Twenty-three years ago, not far from the place where today everyone is paying their respects, the world was horrified and finally understood from the macabre images of the Reçak massacre the crime that happened to the innocent Albanian civilian population. The civilians were brutally killed by the forces of Milosevic's genocidal regime on the morning of the fateful day. That day, Bebushi Hill, as it is known by the locals, was a reflection of the crime against humanity, a reflection of the crime against the Albanians, a reflection of the extermination and genocidal intent of the Milosevic regime, a reflection of the massacres of people in their homes who faced the brutality of the Serbian police and military forces. During the ten hours of the attack, there were killings in other parts of the village as well, and rightly so did the then head of the OSCE verification mission, Mr. William Walker, from what he saw at the scene, as he himself had stated at the time described without any hesitation the act as a horrific massacre and a grave crime against humanity. Representatives of the international community present at the scene were the hallmark of the testimony of this macabre act and once the most authentic witnesses along with the survivors of the crime, witnesses of the barbarism of Milosevic's power which aimed to exterminate the Albanians, and did so before eyes of the whole world. The tendency to deny the Reçak massacre is a clear attempt to rehabilitate those who committed the crime. But propaganda can never change historical facts. And especially not the truth that has happened in front of the eyes of the whole world. There was a crime against humanity in Reçak, but also the manifestation of the intention of Serbia at that time to exterminate the Albanians from the face of the earth, and Reçak is one of the many horrible massacres where this intention was proven. Denying the facts of war through the rehabilitation of war criminals is a repetition of the crime. But the truth about Reçak is far more powerful than any propaganda by the close associates of the Milosevic regime. Documented history cannot be changed nor is it subject to interpretation. For a crime such as the Reçak massacre, propagandists should feel sorrow and at the same time apologize and bring perpetrators to justice! In the memorial grave complex we visited today, only one grave is still empty, as the clearest evidence of the crime of February 15, 1999. The saga is not over yet for the Metushi family. The fate of their mother Sahide hangs over their freedom, but also our freedom. They did not stop searching for her from the very day but have received no news as yet. Not even a word about the over 1600 other forcibly missing from the last war, who are our daily duty and without whom our freedom will always remain unfulfilled. Distinguished guests, Dear family, Honourable ambassadors, dear participants, Representatives of institutions, Each of these tombs has a horror story. Each grave testifies to everything. All these graves together constitute an argumented, uncontested and documented evidence. “It was a deliberate and non-selective act of murder, done to create fear among the people of Kosovo,” said the then US President Bill Clinton. This massacre marked the most important turning point of the war period in Kosovo, as world diplomacy intensified its efforts to stop the barbarism against the Albanian people of Kosovo. At the same time, it intensified the efforts of KLA girls and boys for the freedom of our country. The images from Reçak touched not only the conscience of ordinary people everywhere around the globe but also that of world diplomacy. Nearly two months later, NATO launched a campaign of airstrikes on Serbia's military targets, forcing it to leave Kosovo once and for all on March 24, 1999. Today, Reçak and Kosovo are free thanks to the engagements and the sacrifice of the people of Kosovo, as well as thanks to the help of our allies of the democratic world. By commemorating every year the victims of the Reçak Massacre, as well as all the victims of the massacres throughout Kosovo, we remember and repeat the truth, and nothing but the truth, which we must tell here and everywhere around the world. Reçak is our constant pain and is the need to maintain peace and human dignity. This place represents the beginning of the end of the Serbian regime's efforts to exterminate the Albanians. Reçak is one of the places where our freedom began to take shape. Therefore today, from this very spot, we bow before all civilian victims, honour their memory, all the heroes and all the martyrs, we share with the families and loudly reiterate the only truth, that the people of Kosovo were victims of a regime genocide that is still awaiting justice! Today, together with the leaders of the institutions, we visited the scene of the crime at Bebushi Hill. The place where all these civilians were massacred, where we heard the horror stories of those few survivors. From none of them can you ever hear a request for revenge, only a request for justice. Justice is the only thing we will always seek. May the memory of all those who fell in Reçak be eternal!
President Vjosa Osmani’s speech on the 23rd anniversary of the Reçak Massacre
Honourable Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Konjufca Honourable Prime Minister, Mr. Kurti Distinguished representatives of the Government of Kosovo, Former Presidents, Honourable Ambassador Hovenier and Ambassador Szunyog, Honourable chairman Aliu Dear families of the victims of the Reçak massacre Distinguished participants Twenty-three years ago, not far from the place where today everyone is paying their respects, the world was horrified and finally understood from the macabre images of the Reçak massacre the crime that happened to the innocent Albanian civilian population. The civilians were brutally killed by the forces of Milosevic's genocidal regime on the morning of the fateful day. That day, Bebushi Hill, as it is known by the locals, was a reflection of the crime against humanity, a reflection of the crime against the Albanians, a reflection of the extermination and genocidal intent of the Milosevic regime, a reflection of the massacres of people in their homes who faced the brutality of the Serbian police and military forces. During the ten hours of the attack, there were killings in other parts of the village as well, and rightly so did the then head of the OSCE verification mission, Mr. William Walker, from what he saw at the scene, as he himself had stated at the time described without any hesitation the act as a horrific massacre and a grave crime against humanity. Representatives of the international community present at the scene were the hallmark of the testimony of this macabre act and once the most authentic witnesses along with the survivors of the crime, witnesses of the barbarism of Milosevic's power which aimed to exterminate the Albanians, and did so before eyes of the whole world. The tendency to deny the Reçak massacre is a clear attempt to rehabilitate those who committed the crime. But propaganda can never change historical facts. And especially not the truth that has happened in front of the eyes of the whole world. There was a crime against humanity in Reçak, but also the manifestation of the intention of Serbia at that time to exterminate the Albanians from the face of the earth, and Reçak is one of the many horrible massacres where this intention was proven. Denying the facts of war through the rehabilitation of war criminals is a repetition of the crime. But the truth about Reçak is far more powerful than any propaganda by the close associates of the Milosevic regime. Documented history cannot be changed nor is it subject to interpretation. For a crime such as the Reçak massacre, propagandists should feel sorrow and at the same time apologize and bring perpetrators to justice! In the memorial grave complex we visited today, only one grave is still empty, as the clearest evidence of the crime of February 15, 1999. The saga is not over yet for the Metushi family. The fate of their mother Sahide hangs over their freedom, but also our freedom. They did not stop searching for her from the very day but have received no news as yet. Not even a word about the over 1600 other forcibly missing from the last war, who are our daily duty and without whom our freedom will always remain unfulfilled. Distinguished guests, Dear family, Honourable ambassadors, dear participants, Representatives of institutions, Each of these tombs has a horror story. Each grave testifies to everything. All these graves together constitute an argumented, uncontested and documented evidence. “It was a deliberate and non-selective act of murder, done to create fear among the people of Kosovo,” said the then US President Bill Clinton. This massacre marked the most important turning point of the war period in Kosovo, as world diplomacy intensified its efforts to stop the barbarism against the Albanian people of Kosovo. At the same time, it intensified the efforts of KLA girls and boys for the freedom of our country. The images from Reçak touched not only the conscience of ordinary people everywhere around the globe but also that of world diplomacy. Nearly two months later, NATO launched a campaign of airstrikes on Serbia's military targets, forcing it to leave Kosovo once and for all on March 24, 1999. Today, Reçak and Kosovo are free thanks to the engagements and the sacrifice of the people of Kosovo, as well as thanks to the help of our allies of the democratic world. By commemorating every year the victims of the Reçak Massacre, as well as all the victims of the massacres throughout Kosovo, we remember and repeat the truth, and nothing but the truth, which we must tell here and everywhere around the world. Reçak is our constant pain and is the need to maintain peace and human dignity. This place represents the beginning of the end of the Serbian regime's efforts to exterminate the Albanians. Reçak is one of the places where our freedom began to take shape. Therefore today, from this very spot, we bow before all civilian victims, honour their memory, all the heroes and all the martyrs, we share with the families and loudly reiterate the only truth, that the people of Kosovo were victims of a regime genocide that is still awaiting justice! Today, together with the leaders of the institutions, we visited the scene of the crime at Bebushi Hill. The place where all these civilians were massacred, where we heard the horror stories of those few survivors. From none of them can you ever hear a request for revenge, only a request for justice. Justice is the only thing we will always seek. May the memory of all those who fell in Reçak be eternal!
Joint Statement of the Institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, following the meeting with the ambassadors of QUINT countries and the EU representative
The institutions of the Republic of Kosovo at a joint meeting with the Ambassadors of the Quint countries and the EU representative, presented their coordinated and joint position regarding the holding of the Serbian referendum on the territory of the Republic of Kosovo. Apart from reiterating that Kosovo Serb citizens with dual citizenship will have the right to vote in accordance with international standards and practices, i.e. by mail and at the Liaison Office; the institutions made it clear that the opening of Serbian polling stations in the territory of Kosovo constitutes a clear violation of the Constitution and of the laws of Kosovo, as well as of international practices. Moreover, such an act is a violation of territorial integrity by Serbia in relation to the independent and sovereign state of Kosovo. The institutions have called on the international community to apply the same standards in relation to Kosovo as with any other country, as the independence of our country is not only recognized by most democratic countries around the world but also sealed by the ICJ. The Constitution of Kosovo, applicable laws in Kosovo as well as international law and international practice do not recognize the right of one state to hold a referendum in the sovereign territory of another state. Therefore, the practices applied so far since 2012 have been unconstitutional, and as a result do not oblige the current institutions of the Republic of Kosovo arising from the clear will of the citizens expressed on February 14th, 2021. Moreover these practices have only resulted in the strengthening of Serbia's illegal structures in Kosovo. Furthermore, Kosovo institutions have emphasized that the issue is not the role of the OSCE, but the role of Serbia and its parallel and illegal structures in Kosovo. Prior to OSCE collection of the votes, a completely illegal process of opening of polling stations and ballot boxes in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo for a referendum of another state, namely Serbia, would be held, and this process would be organized by Serbia's illegal structures in Kosovo. As evidenced by the letter sent to the OSCE by the Serbian authorities, the reason why Serbia insists on opening of polling stations in Kosovo is that it considers Kosovo a part of its territory. Therefore, it wants to use the referendum as a means of extending its sovereignty over Kosovo. Consequently, the position of Kosovo's institutions has nothing to do with the OSCE, but with the opposition to this constant tendency of Serbia which clearly demonstrates its Kosovo territorial claims. The institutions of Kosovo remain grateful to the Quint countries and all other democratic states that have recognized the independence of Kosovo and express gratitude that at today's meeting, their support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country was once again reconfirmed. As such, Kosovo institutions call on all democratic states to support Kosovo in its efforts to stop Serbia's ongoing actions that undermine Kosovo's sovereignty, territorial integrity and statehood. Moreover, this practice of Serbia, which is following the Russian model, has the full support of the Russian Federation, demonstrating their tendencies for rapid destabilization of our region and undoing the successes that Kosovo and the region have achieved in partnership with amicable democratic countries. The non-holding of the Serbian referendum in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Kosovo is a right step in our joint fight against autocracies and the advancement of democratic practices, a commitment that Kosovo has recently given at the Summit for Democracy organized by the United States of America.
The President: Enver Maloku was the voice of the truth
The President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani commemorated Enver Maloku on the 23rd anniversary of his assassination.
President Osmani: Sassoli, a supporter of Kosovo's European integration path
The President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani – Sadriu has written after the passing away of the President of the European Parliament Mr. David Sassoli.
President Osmani received the credentials from the US Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey M. Hovenier
The President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani – Sadriu received today the credentials of the Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Kosovo, Jeffrey M. Hovenier.
President Dr. Vjosa Osmani's message on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas
The President of the Republic of Kosovo Dr. Vjosa Osmani congratulated the citizens of the Orthodox faith on the occasion of the Christmas holiday.
President Osmani has consoled the family of the former Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, Kadri Veseli for the death of Ajshe Veseli
The President of the Republic of Kosovo Dr. Vjosa Osmani has consoled the Veseli family, on the occasion of the passing away of Ajshe Veseli, the mother of the former Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo Kadri Veseli.
President Osmani: Colonel Tahir Zemaj was the man who defended the country
The President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani commemorated hero Colonel Tahir Zemaj on the nineteenth anniversary of his assassination, of his son Enis and his cousin Hasan.