Honourable citizens of Re\u00e7ak and Shtime,
\nHonourable Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Konjufca
\nHonourable Prime Minister Kurti
\nHonourable Ambassador Walker
\nHonourable Mayor Aliu
\nDeputy Prime Ministers, Ministers, Members of Parliament, Former Presidents,
\nDear distinguished ambassadors here with us today
\nDear families of the victims of the Re\u00e7ak massacre
\nDear families of heroes and martyrs
\nDear survivors who are among us again today
\nDear participants,<\/p>\n
We have gathered here today to once again commemorate the monstrous crimes of January 15th, 1999 in Re\u00e7ak, which served as a historic turning point, not only because the cruelty of the Milosevic regime towards Albanian civilians took its most inhuman form, but also because it marked a moment in which international consciousness was finally awakened.
\nThe Re\u00e7ak massacre caused the democratic decision-making centers to mobilize to protect a nation that was suffering under the clutches of a genocidal regime but also to prove that Western civilization could not give in to hegemonies and that Kosovo had to be helped and protected.
\nRe\u00e7ak testified that Kosovo was also the challenge of confronting the democratic world with this dilemma: would an entire civilization surrender to barbarism, or would it act in defense of its own values, protecting an oppressed nation that was in danger of being exterminated by a regime that had purely genocidal intentions.
\nThis turning point was also connected to a name and a man, who had undertaken to lead the observation mission in Kosovo: Ambassador William Walker, who today, just like in 1999 and every year after that, is here together with the residents of Re\u00e7ak, together with his family and together with all of Kosovo.
\nThe crimes committed here in Re\u00e7ak, twenty-four years ago, when Albanian civilians were savagely killed by the forces of the Serbian genocidal regime, proved to the world the tragedy that Albanians were experiencing, making inevitable the intervention of the democratic world to stop this killing machine.
\nKodra e Bebushit, as it is known by local residents and by the whole of Re\u00e7ak, became the place where crimes against humanity could no longer be hidden by the Milosevic machinery. But the massacred would probably be killed for the second time, by the propaganda of the informational lie machine, which at the time was led by the current President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, if the head of the OSCE verifiers Ambassador Walker, who came to the scene, would not have made known to the entire world without a single hesitation, rightly describing this event as a grave crime against humanity.
\n“What I saw, I do not hesitate to describe it as a massacre and a crime against humanity. This is the saddest event of my life,” said Ambassador Walker at the time.
\nThis phrase of his remained forever in the memory of Albanians, but it also turned into an echo that the democratic world heard resounding everywhere. Describing the Re\u00e7ak massacre as a crime against humanity and demanding justice for the victims, Ambassador Walker became the voice of the victims and the voice of all of Kosovo in the most difficult times in our history. The call issued by him proved to the world not only the right of the Albanian people to live freely but also the cruelty of Milosevic’s regime, which had to be stopped by all those who believed in the values of freedom and democracy.<\/p>\n
Dear participants,
\nDear Family members and Survivors,
\nToday, when we painfully remember our loved ones, whose lives were taken by the machinery of violence just because they were Albanians and because they wanted to live free, the obligation to ensure justice for them and for all the victims throughout Kosovo becomes our most important goal. Because the history of each one of them is the history of Kosovo itself, the country that rose above the pain, the sadness for the loss of our people who rest in the Re\u00e7ak cemetery and in many, many other cemeteries all over Kosovo. They call for justice today and always. They knock every day on the conscience of each one of us, asking us to do even more for them, but also to find more than 1,600 of our loved ones who forcibly disappeared, who Serbia of the then Minister of Information- of the present president still holds hostage, proving that neither his mentality nor his purpose has ever changed. Therefore, let us never forget that every grave in Re\u00e7ak has a horror story to tell. Each of them testifies to the general horror experienced by Albanians due to the hegemony of a murderous and dictatorial regime. These horrors are the evidence for the past path, but also the guiding light for us for the path that must be followed ahead, which is the path of the development and strengthening of our state and its integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures together with the democratic countries that stood by us during the most difficult of times so that we can all work together in order for such horror stories to never happen again in any country in the world.
\nDespite the fact that someone may not fully understand when we loudly raise our voices for the victims of the last war in Kosovo, we must continue to do so, because we must remember and constantly testify to the truth, we must say it out loud, here and anywhere else in the world. Especially when we are faced with so many tendencies to change and falsify history.<\/p>\n
Therefore, as people who sacrificed everything for our freedom, we must fight today for memory and against oblivion, always looking towards the future. Let’s go back to Re\u00e7ak and every other place where Serbian barbarism left traces of horror and genocide, say out loud that crimes against humanity happened here, as Ambassador Walker said in ’99, witness the truth of Re\u00e7ak and all of Kosovo, because only the truth helps in building a future based on stable and long-term peace. To preserve our commitment to freedom, which the daughters and sons of the UCK proved, to nurture this feeling of freedom, to do everything so that peace reigns in the country and in our entire region, but always based on the truth and fighting the fraud. Being all witnesses and victims of a genocidal regime, the people of Kosovo understand more deeply than anyone else the value of memory. Therefore, we will raise our voices against genocide all over the world as we are doing today. Re\u00e7ak is our eternal pain but also the need to preserve peace and human dignity. This is where our freedom began to take shape.
\nMay the memory of those who fell in Re\u00e7ak never be forgotten!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Honourable citizens of Re\u00e7ak and Shtime, Honourable Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Konjufca Honourable Prime Minister Kurti Honourable Ambassador Walker Honourable Mayor Aliu Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers, Members of Parliament, Former Presidents, Dear distinguished ambassadors here with us today Dear families of the victims of the Re\u00e7ak massacre Dear families of heroes and martyrs Dear survivors who are among us again today Dear participants, We have gathered here today to once again commemorate the monstrous crimes of January 15th, 1999 in Re\u00e7ak, which served as a historic turning point, not only because the cruelty of the Milosevic regime towards Albanian civilians took its most inhuman form, but also because it marked a moment in which international consciousness was finally awakened. The Re\u00e7ak massacre caused the democratic decision-making centers to mobilize to protect a nation that was suffering under the clutches of a genocidal regime but also to prove that Western civilization could not give in to hegemonies and that Kosovo had to be helped and protected. Re\u00e7ak testified that Kosovo was also the challenge of confronting the democratic world with this dilemma: would an entire civilization surrender to barbarism, or would it act in defense of its own values, protecting an oppressed nation that was in danger of being exterminated by a regime that had purely genocidal intentions. This turning point was also connected to a name and a man, who had undertaken to lead the observation mission in Kosovo: Ambassador William Walker, who today, just like in 1999 and every year after that, is here together with the residents of Re\u00e7ak, together with his family and together with all of Kosovo. The crimes committed here in Re\u00e7ak, twenty-four years ago, when Albanian civilians were savagely killed by the forces of the Serbian genocidal regime, proved to the world the tragedy that Albanians were experiencing, making inevitable the intervention of the democratic world to stop this killing machine. Kodra e Bebushit, as it is known by local residents and by the whole of Re\u00e7ak, became the place where crimes against humanity could no longer be hidden by the Milosevic machinery. But the massacred would probably be killed for the second time, by the propaganda of the informational lie machine, which at the time was led by the current President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, if the head of the OSCE verifiers Ambassador Walker, who came to the scene, would not have made known to the entire world without a single hesitation, rightly describing this event as a grave crime against humanity. “What I saw, I do not hesitate to describe it as a massacre and a crime against humanity. This is the saddest event of my life,” said Ambassador Walker at the time. This phrase of his remained forever in the memory of Albanians, but it also turned into an echo that the democratic world heard resounding everywhere. Describing the Re\u00e7ak massacre as a crime against humanity and demanding justice for the victims, Ambassador Walker became the voice of the victims and the voice of all of Kosovo in the most difficult times in our history. The call issued by him proved to the world not only the right of the Albanian people to live freely but also the cruelty of Milosevic’s regime, which had to be stopped by all those who believed in the values of freedom and democracy. Dear participants, Dear Family members and Survivors, Today, when we painfully remember our loved ones, whose lives were taken by the machinery of violence just because they were Albanians and because they wanted to live free, the obligation to ensure justice for them and for all the victims throughout Kosovo becomes our most important goal. Because the history of each one of them is the history of Kosovo itself, the country that rose above the pain, the sadness for the loss of our people who rest in the Re\u00e7ak cemetery and in many, many other cemeteries all over Kosovo. They call for justice today and always. They knock every day on the conscience of each one of us, asking us to do even more for them, but also to find more than 1,600 of our loved ones who forcibly disappeared, who Serbia of the then Minister of Information- of the present president still holds hostage, proving that neither his mentality nor his purpose has ever changed. Therefore, let us never forget that every grave in Re\u00e7ak has a horror story to tell. Each of them testifies to the general horror experienced by Albanians due to the hegemony of a murderous and dictatorial regime. These horrors are the evidence for the past path, but also the guiding light for us for the path that must be followed ahead, which is the path of the development and strengthening of our state and its integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures together with the democratic countries that stood by us during the most difficult of times so that we can all work together in order for such horror stories to never happen again in any country in the world. Despite the fact that someone may not fully understand when we loudly raise our voices for the victims of the last war in Kosovo, we must continue to do so, because we must remember and constantly testify to the truth, we must say it out loud, here and anywhere else in the world. Especially when we are faced with so many tendencies to change and falsify history. Therefore, as people who sacrificed everything for our freedom, we must fight today for memory and against oblivion, always looking towards the future. Let’s go back to Re\u00e7ak and every other place where Serbian barbarism left traces of horror and genocide, say out loud that crimes against humanity happened here, as Ambassador Walker said in ’99, witness the truth of Re\u00e7ak and all of Kosovo, because only the truth helps in building a future based on stable and long-term peace. To preserve our commitment to freedom, which the daughters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":8607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n