Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced on Thursday that preparations have begun for excavations at the Kozhle site in Serbia, searching for individuals who went missing during the recent conflict in Kosovo.
He made these statements during a debate dedicated to forcibly disappeared persons during the 1998/99 war in Kosovo.
Discussing the preparations for the excavation in Kozhle, Kurti expressed hope that this is “not a new attempt by the Serbian state to evade from the agenda of excavations at other marked locations in Serbia.”
“There is no body, there is no crime; it was Serbia’s strategy to hide the crimes committed against Albanians in Kosovo. This strategy continues to be implemented today by the political heirs of [former Serbian leader Slobodan] Milosevic in Belgrade,” Kurti said.
He also reiterated the call for Serbia to open state archives.
Kurti stated that Kosovo has made official requests for the opening of the archives of the 37th Motorized Brigade of the Yugoslav Army, “responsible for many massacres in Kosovo, especially in Drenica.”
He noted that Serbia is obligated to open the archives according to an agreement reached on this issue on May 2 of the previous year in Brussels.
The commitments made between Kosovo and Serbia in the Joint Declaration on missing persons include: full access to reliable information, including classified information; making available all documents relevant to determining the fate of missing persons; and joint work through a commission chaired by the European Union.
So far, everything remains on paper.
Kurti emphasized that the government is dedicated to addressing each piece of information that contributes to solving cases of missing persons.
According to him, 13 locations within Kosovo’s territory have already been addressed “in terms of evaluative excavation.”
“The families of the missing are among the highest priorities and are cared for by the Government,” Kurti said.
During the recent war in Kosovo in 1998-99, more than 13,000 civilians were killed and thousands more went missing.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, 1,612 people remain missing in Kosovo, most of whom are Albanian.
The Day of the Missing in Kosovo is observed on April 27, while August 30 is recognized as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
