Reçak massacre, Kurti: Wounds still open, criminals should be punished even in absentia

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, during his speech at the academy commemorating the Recak Massacre, sent a message to Serbia that the war for liberation is over, but not the battle for justice.

In his speech, Kurti said that the criminals who committed the Recak massacre continue to remain unpunished. As the chief executive said, they must be punished, even in absentia.

"Graves in the ground, scars in the body and soul, murderers at large in Serbia. Open graves in the ground, open wounds in the soul, open scars in the body, closed archives in Belgrade. The crimes committed during the war were not meant to happen, they were not meant to happen. What should happen as a result is justice. The trial and punishment of criminals, even in absentia," Kurti said.

Meanwhile, the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, declared that Recak is not only a tragedy related to the village and its inhabitants, but represents a testament to the long suffering of the entire people of Kosovo.

"We will never forget Reçak and the truth it represents. It is part of our national identity and the constant goal of protecting our independent, free, sovereign and democratic state. We must never stop telling this truth. Every day, in every forum, everywhere in the world, we must prove that in 1998-99 the people of Kosovo defended their doorstep from the genocidal regime of Serbia," said Osmani.

Osmani mentioned the Minister of Information and Propaganda at the time, Aleksandar Vučić, who tried to justify the massacres as part of a genocidal policy.

"At a time when Recak and all of Kosovo are still seeking justice for the innocent victims of the war, what we see in Serbia is a continuation of the mentality of the 1990s, a mentality that caused over 100,000 civilians to be killed in this part of Europe. When the people of Recak were being massacred, in Serbia the propaganda to justify such massacres was carried out by the Minister of Information named Aleksandar Vučić," declared the President of Kosovo. (A2 Televizion)