Walker is widely known in Kosovo for his role as the head of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission in 1998–1999.

He described the conviction of the four former KLA leaders as a dark and unjust day for Kosovo.

“Where was the EU when Kosovars were being cruelly mistreating before the war? It took NATO, Albright, and Clark to actually stop the violence while others just issued statements. Now, KLA leaders are facing trials run by foreign judges who don’t know anything about Kosovo. Today is a dark, heavy day, and this decision is deeply upsetting,” Walker told Klan Kosova.

He warned that this decision would permanently damage Kosovo’s standing with the global community.

/p.s./

At this meeting, Kurti expressed his gratitude for Ambassador Walker’s commitment to support truth and justice, as well as for his contribution to the care and promotion of international assistance during the war in Kosovo.

“He emphasized the significant and proactive role of the Government of Kosovo in the efforts to make possible the publication of Ambassador Walker’s memoirs, a book which documents the tragic events of the Reҁak massacre. Prime Minister Kurti added that this book and these testimonies of Ambassador Walker will serve as a tool for promoting the truth about Kosovo and for strengthening the international narrative that our country has experienced Serbia’s genocide. The works like this book help us preserve the memory of terrible events like the Reҁak massacre,” the premier’s office said in a statement.

During this meeting, there was appreciated the government’s commitment to the realization of this project, while on January 11, 2023, the government approved the decision to finance the research, writing, editing, translation, printing and promotion of Ambassador Walker’s book, with a financial support of 70,000 euros for this initiative.

“This funding will ensure that this book reaches the widest audience and contributes to the education of younger generations about the history of Kosovo and its struggle for freedom”, is read in the statement of the premier’s office.

This book reflects the perspective of Ambassador Walker as head of the OSCE Verification Mission and is a true and irreplaceable reflection of the events that took place on January 15, 1999 in the village of Reҁak. It is an important act that contributes to the documentation and dissemination of authentic evidence of the crimes committed by the Serbian regime in Kosovo, advancing the international recognition of the genocide that occurred in our country during the war period”, the statement reads further.

“Despite the fact that 26 years have passed, the government of Kosovo and our people remain committed to ensuring that the truth is never forgotten and that those responsible for the genocide face justice”, the statement concluded. /Kosovapress/p.s./

Kurti also shared a photo from this meeting on which he wrote that, “The diplomats on the truth about the crimes committed during the war are friends of the people and enemies of the dictators.”

He added that I looked the same as I did when I was 25 years old, when I met the former ambassador Walker for the first time in Pristina.

“It looks almost the same as 25 years ago when we met for the first time in Pristina. It seems that his time has stopped for this witness of our time. It was a pleasure to meet Ambassador William Walker in Washington DC, to share memories, to discuss the present, to share hopes and concerns for the future. The diplomats of the truth about the crimes committed during the war are friends of the people and enemies of the dictators”, wrote Kurti in a post on social media.

Kurti also rejected reports that William Walker was disappointed by the treatment he had received since Prime Minister Albin Kurti came to the head of the Government and Vjosa Osmani took over the presidency./p.s./