Honourable Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Konjufca,
Honourable Prime Minister Kurti,
The distinguished friend of Kosovo, Ambassador Walker,
Honourable Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers,
Representatives of the institutions of our Republic,
Honourable ambassadors and diplomats,
Honourable Mayor Aliu,
Honourable families of the victims of the Reçak Massacre,
Honourable survivors of this Massacre,
Distinguished guests,
On the 25th anniversary of the Reçak Massacre, we gather here again to commemorate and honour all those civilians whose lives were savagely taken by the Serbian regime on January 15th 1999.
We are here because the Reçak Massacre is our permanent reminder of the brutality against children, women and men, who suffered just because of their affiliation, just because they were Albanians.
But today, we are not here just to commemorate the victims and to express our pain for them, we are here above all to demand justice.
January 15th 1999 shook the foundations of human consciousness everywhere in the democratic world, as the world experienced one of the most terrible massacres which took place in Europe, at the end of the 20th century.
This Massacre has living witnesses who experienced the viciousness of that day.
In addition to the surviving residents, whose testimonies are essential not only for our historical memory but also for the identification of the perpetrators of the crime, this Massacre also had a chief witness, who is with on this anniversary, Ambassador William Walker.
The saddest event in his life, Ambassador Walker, unequivocally and based on what he saw at Kodra e Bebushit, called it a massacre and a crime against humanity.
This powerful testimony gave a turn to our entire struggle for freedom against the genocidal Milosevic regime.
This massacre energized world diplomacy, which intensified the efforts to stop the barbarism against the Albanian people of Kosovo and at the same time strengthened the efforts of the girls and boys of the KLA for the freedom of the country.
Just like on the day when the crime in Reçak was described as a crime against humanity, today we need to say it repeatedly and everywhere that in this small village with a great history, defenceless and unarmed civilians were killed, and the call for justice for them is in function of protection of the human dignity of the victims and of their families.
Seeking justice is not just a request, it is a sacred duty that transcends borders, transcends ethnicities and political affiliations.
The families of those massacred in Reçak, who continue to bear the burden of the loss and pain of their members, deserve that the perpetrators of this crime against humanity be brought to justice. They and our country are on the side of truth. And this truth is best summed up in Ambassador Walker’s sentence: A crime against humanity has occurred in Reçak!
In Reçak, once again, as in every massacre against civilians in our country, the intention of the then Serbian regime to exterminate the Albanian people in Kosovo was fully revealed.
The call for justice reaffirms our belief in the triumph of truth over cruelty, responsibility over impunity and humanity over hatred.
Honourable participants,
The Reçak Massacre, which is filled with indescribable pain of the families of the victims and for all our people, reminds us that freedom and peace have come at an extremely high price.
Today, we are here to tell all the families who have lost their loved ones, the massacred people of Reçak are also our family, they are our mutual pain, they are our constant pain.
The families and survivors show dignity and courage in facing this tragedy, showing an example of human courage and resilience, by always seeking only justice.
Facts are more powerful than continuous Serbian propaganda, truth is always more powerful than lies, so for Reçak there is only one truth. In 1999, civilians were brutally killed by a genocidal regime, the Milosevic regime.
This was the truth then, this is truth today and will always remain so in the annals of history.
No matter how much the regime tries to deny the continuity of Milosevic, that of Vucic, who today imprisons and tortures even those Serbs who accept this truth and place flowers on the graves of children killed during the war.
For this reason, Reçak needs justice, because justice is a guarantee that macabre crimes like this never happen again!
Only justice gives meaning to peace and freedom.
May the memory of those who fell in Reçak be eternal!
