The Government of Kosovo has paved the way for the establishment of a museum documenting war crimes, but the initiative has not been fully supported by the Minister for Communities and Return, Nenad Rašić.
Rašić abstained from voting on the creation of the Museum of Genocide and Struggles for Freedom during a government meeting on Wednesday. He expressed concerns over the name of the museum, arguing that crimes should not be generalized.
“I believe that every crime has a name and surname, and crimes should not be generalized in this way. This means that the name of the museum, ‘Genocide of Serbia and Yugoslavia,’ is not adequate,” Rašić stated when asked by KOHA.
He emphasized that the entire Serbian state should not be labeled as genocidal. Rashiq suggested alternative names for the museum, such as “War Genocide,” “Genocide by War Criminals,” or “Crimes by Paramilitary Groups,” stressing that the focus should be on the perpetrators rather than generalizing the actions of an entire state.
During the government meeting, the Minister of Culture, Hajrulla Çeku, explained that the museum will initially be established as a special unit within the National Museum of Kosovo. Once the Museum Law comes into effect, it will be treated as an independent institution.
“The museum aims to document and present the crimes committed by the former Yugoslavia and Serbia against the Albanians and others,” Çeku said in a media conference.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti also stated that evidence and testimonies of the crimes committed during the war are being collected and sent to Kosovo’s institutions for the preservation and maintenance of collective memory.
