The President’s office said that the Albanian head of state awarded the medal to the former Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo in a gesture of gratitude for his role in informing the world about the massacre in the village of Reçak on January 15, 1999, during the Kosovo War, when 45 innocent civilians were brutally killed by the army and paramilitary troops of Slobodan Milosevic’s regime.

“The U.S. Ambassador William Walker, who is a friend of Albanians, is the man who changed the course of history of Kosovo, history of our region and the NATO itself. Ambassador William Walker is an international personality, diplomat and humanist, who through his work and contribution developed a lasting bond with the Albanian nation and with all the Kosovo citizens. Twenty-four years have passed since the day when Ambassador Walker, head of the OSCE Observation Mission in Kosovo, witnessed one of the worst massacres committed in Reçak, on January 15, 1999,” the President said in his remarks.

According to President Begaj, Ambassador Walker was the first to reveal to the world the true horror of this massacre, publicly declaring it as a massacre by Serb security forces and describing it a crime against humanity.

On January 15, 1999, during the Kosovo War, 45 people were murdered in the massacre when Serbian forces surrounded the village of Reçak attacked it, and raided houses.

The Massacre garnered attention of the civilized Western world and paved the way for the US-led NATO bombing campaign in Kosovo to drive out Slobodan Milosevic’s forces out of the country.

/u.sh/