Honourable Speaker of the Parliament, Mr. Basha,<\/p>\n
Honourable Prime Minister of the Republic, Mr. Kurti,<\/p>\n
Honourable Mayor, Mr. Aliu,<\/p>\n
Honourable Ambassador Walker and Mrs. Walker,<\/p>\n
Honourable Ministers, Members of Parliament, Representatives of Security Institutions,<\/p>\n
Honourable Ambassadors,<\/p>\n
Dear Families of the Victims of the Re\u00e7ak Massacre,<\/p>\n
Representatives of Institutions, Associations Emerging from the War,<\/p>\n
Honourable Guests<\/p>\n
There are places that remain forever as evidence. There are places that never fall silent, where the trace of pain is as fresh as it was 27 years ago. There are places that became the awakening of the conscience of the democratic world. Re\u00e7ak is one of them. Recak is not just a name in the history of our Republic, but a turning point. A turning point that clarified to the world the bitter reality of the Serbian genocidal regime against innocent civilians in Kosovo.<\/p>\n
On January 15, 1999, Recak became a symbol of the suffering of a people seeking freedom, but also a symbol of courage. Of the courage to call crime by its true name. This courage was demonstrated by the one who remains the symbol of truth today, Ambassador William Walker. <\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what I personally saw, I do not hesitate to describe the event as a massacre, obviously a crime very much against humanity.\u201d
\nThese were the words of Ambassador William Walker, spoken on January 16, 1999, in Re\u00e7ak. But they were not just words, they were a turning point in our history that shocked the world and, above all, unmasked the lie of the genocidal regime of Serbia.<\/p>\n
In this place, where the land still bears the weight of pain, 27 years ago, 45 civilians, men, women and elderly people from this village were brutally massacred, most of them on Bebushi Hill.<\/p>\n
They were killed simply because they were Albanians. People who wanted to live freely in their land.
\nAmong the 45 martyrs were Benjamin Mehmeti’s father and sister. On that cold January day, the fate of the two twin brothers was divided by an innocent decision to return home. Benjamin decided to stay one more night with his uncles in the village of Godanc, while Elhami decided to return home to Re\u00e7ak.<\/p>\n
But returning home was as much a desire as it was anxiety, uncertainty and danger, above all. On the terrible day of January 15, 1999, Elhami\u2019s path was cut short by the bullets of the genocidal regime of Serbia, which wounded him, and killed his sister Hanumshahe as she was trying to come to her brother’s aid, as every sister does for her brother. The nightmare for the family did not end there. Benjamin also lost his father that same day.<\/p>\n
Benjamin Mehmeti’s pain is not individual, it is the pain of all of Kosovo, it is the pain shared by everyone in Re\u00e7ak. Because, those who lost their loved ones were many, are many, are among us every day.<\/p>\n
In Kosovo, everyone has given something for freedom: some have given blood, some rifle, some sweat and some tears, which do not stop even today.<\/p>\n
And it is precisely this sacrifice that made freedom possible. It also made our independent state possible, which is dedicated to everyone who worked hard and made sacrifices in their own way so that we can live freely in the Republic of Kosovo today.<\/p>\n
Dear attendees,<\/p>\n
The Re\u00e7ak massacre was a historical turning point, because the images of that day shocked the international conscience and mobilized world diplomacy. This happened because one man, Ambassador William Walker, who, like every anniversary, is here with us today, had the courage to call the crime by its true name. He did not bow to Milosevic’s propaganda. He gave voice to the truth, for which the people of Kosovo will be eternally grateful. Thank you, Ambassador Walker, for the truth, because thanks to it, the world recognized the crime that Serbia had committed against innocent victims in the Republic of Kosovo. This was clear then, and this is clear today, and it will always remain so, despite Serbia’s claims to rewrite history. You immortalized the story of the horror of January 15, 1999, in your authorial book “Re\u00e7ak: A Story of a War Crime”. The testimony of that time and of today seals the truth of Recak for us and for the generations that will come after us.<\/p>\n
Your words paved the way for NATO’s intervention, which, along with the just struggle of the girls and boys of the Kosovo Liberation Army, made possible the fulfilment of our centuries-old dream for freedom.<\/p>\n
The girls and boys of the KLA were the worthiest representatives of a generation that never knelt in the face of Serbian terror. They defended their homes, protected the innocent population, defended dignity and restored hope, so we are eternally grateful to each of the 3,000 martyrs of the Kosovo Liberation Army, including those who gave their lives in Re\u00e7ak.<\/p>\n
We are also grateful to all the veterans and invalids of the war, who still bear the burden of defending the just war of the Kosovo Liberation Army.<\/p>\n
Today, while Re\u00e7ak still seeks justice, we are faced with denial, with the relativization of the crime and with the continuation of a mentality that produced genocide. But the truth cannot be changed. Re\u00e7ak is evidence, Re\u00e7ak is a historical fact. Here in this land, where January turned into a grave, and where the cries of pain never died down, here is the eternal testimony.<\/p>\n
Therefore, we have an obligation to never stay silent. To speak every day, in every forum, here and everywhere in the world. To prove that in the 1990s, the people of Kosovo defended their doorstep from a genocidal regime.<\/p>\n
Dear attendees,<\/p>\n
Re\u00e7ak still speaks powerfully through the call for justice. Because Re\u00e7ak was a planned crime, committed with the intention of extermination, so as for any other crime, we still call and work for justice.<\/p>\n
Today, the pain we feel comes not only from what happened that day, but also from what did not happen afterwards. From the lack of justice and from the efforts to relativize, deny or distort the truth, these efforts that continue in Serbia.<\/p>\n
Justice for Re\u00e7ak still remains denied, so we will not stop seeking it, with the conviction that without justice there is no lasting peace. Without justice there is no true reconciliation and without justice, history always risks repeating itself.<\/p>\n
Therefore, we are here today and always will be to prevent the victims from being killed a second time by oblivion or denial.<\/p>\n
We will never forget and the memory of the fallen will be our roadmap in every step in strengthening our free, sovereign and independent Republic.<\/p>\n
May the memory of the martyrs of Re\u00e7ak be eternal!<\/p>\n
Glory to all the martyrs of the KLA!<\/p>\n
May God bless Re\u00e7ak, Kosovo and all our people!<\/p>\n