I feel deeply saddened while I am standing here in front of you in remembrance of the victims of the Reçak massacre, a macabre crime which left your families, as well as many other families in Kosovo in eternal pain and with broken hearts.
Honourable families of the martyrs and heroes,
Honourable representatives of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo;
I feel deeply saddened while I am standing here in front of you in remembrance of the victims of the Reçak massacre, a macabre crime which left your families, as well as many other families in Kosovo in eternal pain and with broken hearts.
Today, with great pain, we commemorate the 15th anniversary of this inhuman crime committed by Serbian forces, this crime against humanity, the execution of your innocent family members on that ominous and cold day in January, aware that years gone by have not ameliorated your pain or healed your wounds, aware that our condolences will not compensate for your lost family members.
We can in no manner fill the void left behind by the 45 residents of Reçak who never lived long enough to feel happiness for the graduation of their children. We cannot compensate their absence, and I know that you, dear family members, as you see them each day as they lie in eternal peace in their tombs at the slope of the hill, you shall miss them eternally.
But we must find the strength to move ahead, as their martyrdom gave Kosovo, gave to all of us, an opportunity to create a country rather different, in which people live in dignity, free and empowered to determine their own fate. A country where crimes such as this one, shall never occur again. The price was too high for all of us, especially for you. But, as we are demonstrating each and every day upon this collective sacrifice, we are building a state which is a realization of the dream to live as equals, in freedom.
Honourable participants,
Reçak massacre, as equally as all the other tragedies of the last war in Kosovo, will be remembered by many a generations, they will become part of our collective national memory. But they by all means require justice, which will pacify the souls of all of you family members here in Reçak and all around Kosovo. Justice which will help each and every one of you hold on to the memories of your dearly beloved, as you have held them in greatest love so far but without the pain of injustice. And this will also help our country move ahead, in its unstoppable path of progress and development.
Their martyrdom must serve to us as a motive to make true the final words of all the heroes and martyrs of our nation, to build strong and democratic institutions, a state where law and order prevail.
Now and forever we shall remain together and by your side in sharing of your pain.
Thank you.