Honourable Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Kurti,
Honourable Mayor,
Honourable Ambassador Walker and Mrs. Walker,
Honourable families of the victims of the Reçak massacre,
Honourable survivors of this massacre,
Honourable Excellencies, Ambassadors, MPs, Ministers, representatives of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo,
Honourable participants
As on every anniversary, today we are in Reçak, in the small village with a great history – where 26 years ago, humanity and cruelty had the most macabre encounter in this part of Europe.
On a gloomy day in January 1999, 45 residents of Reçak, including men, women, and the elderly, were massacred by the genocidal regime of Serbia, thus revealing the brutal face of genocide and oppression.
Reçak is not only a tragedy related to this village and its inhabitants, but a testimony to the long suffering of our people, who sought and fought for freedom and the right to exist. The images of that massacre shocked the world and touched the international conscience and mobilized diplomacy. All this thanks to our great friend, Ambassador William Walker, who, with courage and dedication, gave voice to the undeniable truth of the suffering of our people.
He testified before the world what he saw with his own eyes: the unimaginable atrocities that the Serbian genocidal regime committed against the defenceless Albanian population here in Reçak and everywhere in Kosovo. What I saw here is a crime against humanity. It is a massacre and there are no other words to describe it, were the words of Ambassador Walker at the time. Today, Ambassador Walker, who is among us, remains a symbol of human conscience and international justice. For this, I had the honour to award him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in October of last year on behalf of the people of our Republic!
The words spoken with determination by Ambassador Walker shocked international public opinion and were a call for immediate action. And this also paved the way for NATO intervention, which, together with the liberation war of the sons and daughters of Kosovo, the girls and boys of our Liberation Army, finally made Kosovo free. They fought bravely for freedom, to defend our right to live freely in our land. The KLA girls and boys were worthy representatives of a generation that never knelt in the face of the oppression and terror of genocidal Serbia.
Today we bow with deep respect to their sacrifice and the memory of all those who gave their lives for our freedom. The Reçak massacre remains a permanent reference to the suffering and our fight for freedom. It reminds us not only of the pain of that time, a pain that is still present among the families, survivors and every citizen of our Republic, but it also reminds us of the strength and resilience of our people to rise again and triumph. We will never forget Reçak and the truth it represents. It is part of our national identity and a constant goal to protect our independent, sovereign, free and democratic state.
We must never stop telling this truth, every day, in every forum, everywhere around the world we must demonstrate that during the years ’98-’99 the people of Kosovo defended their homes from the Serbian genocidal regime. At a time when Reçak and all of Kosovo are still seeking justice for the innocent victims of the war and what we see now in Serbia is the continuation of the mentality of the 1990s. This mentality caused over 100,000 civilians to be killed in this part of Europe.
When the people of Reçak were massacred, the propaganda to justify such massacres in Serbia was carried out by the Minister of Information, by the name of Aleksandar Vuciq. Today, the same one, under the guise of the President of Serbia, continues to deny the Reçak massacre, denies what the world saw with its own eyes, calls Milosevic a great man with good intentions and, as the propagandist that he is, on the one hand he talks about peace, and on the other hand he sends his paramilitary terrorist forces to attack Kosovo. But, just like in the 90s, today Kosovo has sons and daughters who serve their homeland and protect every inch of it.
Hence, today we are all gathered together to once again bow down to the sacrifice of the 45 martyrs of Reçak and the martyrs who fell in their defense. The victims of Reçak were victims of a regime that did not spare the elderly, women, or children, just like the victims all over Kosovo.
They are and will continue to be our heroes, because with their sacrifice they showed us how precious freedom is and how high the price our people paid. We will never forget them! Their memory will be a permanent reference for everything we do. May the memory of the 45 martyrs and the fallen of Reçak be eternal! May the memory of all those who gave their lives for the freedom of Kosovo be eternal!
Glory to the martyrs!
May God bless Reçak, Kosovo and its people.
Thank you.