Albin Kurti, the Prime Minister of the country, has stated that Serbia’s decision to declare secret state documents about the activities of the 37th Motorized Brigade of the Yugoslav Army in Kosovo hinders the revelation of the murder and disappearance of Albanian civilians.
Kurti said that during the 1998-99 war in Kosovo, the strategy of the Serbian state was to conceal the crime by hiding the bodies, which is still active.
According to him, Milosevic’s heirs in Belgrade, once collaborators and today politicians at the head of the Serbian state, refuse to open the archives to reveal the locations of mass graves.
“Ten years ago, the Ministry of Defense of Serbia declared state secret the documents on the activities of the 37th Motorized Brigade of the Yugoslav Army in Kosovo. This decision taken on July 31, 2014, hinders the revelation of the painful truth about the killings of Albanian civilians and the hiding of their bodies in mass graves in Serbia.
Based on the agreement reached on May 2 last year in Brussels, we reiterate the request for the opening of archives in Serbia. We have already sent several requests regarding the opening of the archive of the 37th Motorized Brigade of the Yugoslav Army, responsible for many massacres in the Drenica region.
The decision of the Serbian state to classify these documents as secret for 30 years is an attempt to hide the crimes committed. It is also a clear indication that Serbia, as long as it stands on the graves of murdered Albanian civilians, has shown no signs of remorse for the atrocities committed in Kosovo.
This act constitutes a violation of human rights, the right of families to know the truth, and hinders efforts to bring justice. By keeping these documents secret, Serbia is not distancing itself.
