President Begaj grants the “Knight of the Order of the Flag” award to Ambassador William G. Walker

The President of the Republic of Albania, H.E. Mr. Bajram Begaj granted one of the highest awards of the Republic of Albania, that of “Knight of the Order of the Flag” to Ambassador William G. Walker, with the following motivation: “With gratitude and high appreciation, in recognition of the extraordinary contribution to peace, democracy and freedom for the people of Kosova, and of the denouncement of the Serbian genocide in Reçak”. Praising Ambassador Walker in his speech, President Begaj noted that the Ambassador is a friend of Albanians and the man who changed the course of history for Kosova, our region and NATO. President Begaj appraised Ambassador William Walker as an international personality, diplomat and humanist, whose work and contribution has forged an inseparable bond with the Albanian people and all citizens of Kosova. Next in his speech, the Head of State underlined that: “Twenty-four years have passed from the day Ambassador Walker, then Head of the OSCE Monitoring Mission in Kosova, witnessed one of the worst massacres committed in Reçak, on January 15, 1999”. Forty-five innocent citizens of Reçak were brutally massacred by the military and paramilitary troops of the Milosevic regime. Ambassador Walker, was the first to expose this cruelty to the entire world and publicly denounce the massacre “a crime against humanity”. “Presently”, the President underscored “the people of Kosova prosper on the path of democracy and freedom, yet the shadows of those gloomy times still hover in our region, along with the era of another new and bloody war in Europe. Precisely because we should not forget those crimes, and because we wish to preserve peace and leave a peaceful world to our children, we honor such personalities like Ambassador Walker, today, who through their work and dedication have become an example to be followed and have gone down in history as guardians and protectors of peace, life, freedom and prosperity for the citizens of Kosova, the region and our nation”. The ceremony was attended by Members of Parliament, media personalities, with relevant contributions in supporting the Kosova issue.