Muhamet Bilalli finds it difficult to describe the scenes he saw on January 16, 1999, in the village of Reçak, Shtime. The former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army is one of the few living witnesses to the crimes committed by Serbian forces on January 15 of that year, when they killed 45 civilians in the village.
In a statement for "60 Minutes" on KTV, on the 27th anniversary of the massacre, Bilalli said that Recak is not asking for alms, but that he has always only asked for justice. And he said that Kosovo institutions must work urgently to achieve this. Bilalli warned that witnesses are aging and dying.
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Letter to the Reader — Why We're Asking for Your Support Contribute"Even though we are 27 years behind, the memories are very fresh for us. I can say that I remember it as if I were there that night. They were very difficult," he said initially, indicating that on January 15 they did not know that massacres had been committed, but that they thought it was just fighting.
Bilalli managed to enter the village only the next day. He said that on the evening of January 15, he saw soldiers killed and wounded. But until then, there was only information that there were others killed and that the survivors had been sent to prison. But he said that he first understood the message of what had actually happened upon entering the village.
"I met a cousin who told me and I immediately started climbing the hill. The first person I saw was a headless person... Bacin Banush... and in that valley up there, all the media know what they did there," he said as he continued his story with emotion. "The first time I started to go to the gorge, but I couldn't resist climbing that horror. I turned around and after an hour God gave me strength and I went from start to finish. I couldn't believe it even today after 27 years... I still think so... I don't know how that massacre could have happened... How could they have done it. To cut off the head, to take out the organs..."
Bilalli said that he still has fresh images of the massacred people, from the age of 12-13 to the oldest, those over 80. According to him, identification was easy even though there were destroyed bodies. Bilalli further said that just two days before the massacre, the villagers had eaten dinner together. "When I remember today... it seems surprising... everyone was smiling and in a good mood even though they knew what danger they were in," he said.
According to him, there was great resistance in this village and this was one of the reasons why Serbia took such action. He called the soldiers who fought in this area sacred.
Bilalli said that the unit commander, Commander Qopa, had prepared all the evidence, from who led the operation to how the Serbian forces entered. Bilalli said that this commander had been a witness in The Hague against Milosevic, but that he had not been invited again.
Bilalli has expressed his outrage at the justice institutions.
"I can tell you now, after 27 years, that as a witness I have seen it all... this is very difficult. Because nothing has been done for them. Because justice has not been done. No one has been arrested. Never... neither as a member of the KLA, nor as an individual or citizen of Kosovo, have I believed that the state, the institutions, will be formed, and that there will be a sector that deals with war crimes and that the perpetrators of these crimes will be brought to justice. The village of Recak does not ask for alms... every time it has only asked for justice, especially when the perpetrators of the crimes are known. Nothing has happened secretly, but in the eyes of the world," he said.
Although delayed, Bilalli praised the filing of the indictment in absentia against 21 people for the Racak massacre. However, he appealed for the investigation to go to Racak as soon as possible to collect evidence. According to him, there are more than 15 witnesses who still have the opportunity to give their testimonies.
"When we come to the indictment, some of our witnesses have died. There are fewer and fewer of us left. Even my father, who was wounded, is no more. Even those who are left are dying," he said.
Bilalli expressed doubts about justice, but said that this can be achieved if urgent action is taken now. He said that there are witnesses who are even hesitant to give their testimonies because for 27 years they have fallen on deaf ears.
Bilal is skeptical that he can wait for justice himself.
"I don't think I'll wait. The reports we have are known, even if everyone is punished. We thought that the international community could bring us a little closer. The state should deal with them so that they are obliged to solve war crimes. It's not too late to hand over the perpetrators. Everything is called a crime. For me, it was genocide," Bilalli declared.
Bilalli said that Kosovo has sufficient evidence to accuse Serbia.
"The Butcher of the Balkans had 82 witnesses and the President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, had 350 in The Hague. I don't know where we are going, when we have evidence and proof to accuse the occupier. They massacred us, they robbed us, they robbed us in our homes. I feel sorry for that population because they were aware of the dangers and no one was afraid. No one wants to die, but with the dangers they saw, no one fled the village. I had many conversations with them. On January 13, 1999, they told me 'we have nowhere to go, let them kill and massacre us'", he emphasized.