Green light for resolution on Bytyqi brothers

Almost two decades have passed since the killing of the Star brothers, Agron and Mehmet Bytyqi in Serbia, and no one has been charged with criminal charges, despite Serbian government promises to bring the executions of crime to justice.

On Thursday, the Bytyqi brothers' family was at the American Congress, where they experienced an event that makes them optimistic that justice will be served.

As the Voice of America reports, the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Commission gave the green light to a resolution, which urges the United States to continue pressure on the Serbian government on punishing the guilty.

Republican Congressman from New York, Lee Zeldin, is the main sponsor of the resolution for the Bytyqi brothers, which was proposed a year ago.

It took a lot of effort to reach the vote on the Foreign Affairs Commission, which means there is more awareness of what happened. The resolution has support from both parties. For relations between countries to improve, this is precisely the proof of goodwill: to have justice, to seek accountability and transparency for what happened, the Congressman told the Bytyqi family.

At the Commission for Foreign Affairs, his chairman Ed Royce expressed deep condolences to parents and the two remaining sons of the Bytyqi family sitting in the hall.

The United States has long urged the Serbian government to bring to justice those who executed the three Bytyqi brothers, who were arrested in July 1999 after the Kosovo war ended, when they were misstepping the border in Serbia. What is known is that despite a judge's decision to release them, they were taken from a Serbian Special Operations Unit, executed, and left over a mass grave.

Serbian authorities have filed no charges against persons who have been part of the chain of command in the interior ministry and who have been linked to this crime.

The resolution for the Bytyqi brothers will now pass for approval the entire House of Representatives.

The fact that the resolution was included in the agenda indicates that it is not simply in the hands of several individuals and that Congress and the United States as a whole require action to be undertaken, says Bob Hand, political adviser to the American Helsinki Commission, who has been working with the Bytyqi family for three brothers.

He said to the Voice of America:

“Justice should be put in place, and I hope that this session, as well as the passage of the resolution for approval at the plenary session in the House of Representatives, sends Belgrade the right message that regardless of other issues that we talk about in our relations, we seek to see concrete action on their part, and if this does not happen, then there will be consequences in our relations in general. ”

Congressman Eliot Engel, number two of the Commission and one of those who sponsored the resolution, says Serbia must fulfil the promises:

We want justice and will not stop fighting for justice. Serbian officials can no longer postpone the issue. They must fulfill the promises that have made me and many other people, to go to the end, not only the murder of the Bytyqi brothers, but hundreds of thousands of other Kosovars killed by bandits. ”

Republican Ted Poe of Texas expressed concern that such a resolution could harm relations with Serbia.

“Criminals must be prosecuted, regardless of where crime occurred,” he said. However, these problems can be solved by maintaining relations with these countries and not by breaking them”.

Commission head Royce said this is not something that should cause concern, but the fact is that it has been so long and nothing has been done. Even Deputy Chairman Engel said he understands his colleague's concern, but added that the prime minister and then Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic has failed to keep his promise to prosecute perpetrators.

Ilir Bytyqi is star's brother, Agron and Mehmet:

“It is a disgrace for the Serbian government to take defense of war criminals,”, he says.

He remembers his last meeting with the three brothers before they left for Kosovo:

We talked about the family we still had in Kosovo. At that time, my mother, my sister, and my brother Fatos were there, and we could not contact them. My brothers were honest, loyal, and helpful. That is what they did when they went to Kosovo. ”

Bytyqi family lawyer is Praveen Grandirayu:

We will continue to pressure, as will Congress and State Department. The American government is now speaking in a single voice, saying Serbia cannot continue to protect war criminals. ”

For the parents of the Bytyqi brothers, Ahmet and Bahrije, suffering has not been easy.

It's been 20 years, and it's been hard on us, and all those who are parents understand that. But things are being put in order, and we thank all those who have worked hard, those who have respect for their subjects who choose a right path, those who are lyrical to the people,” says Ahmet Bytyqi.

If justice is served, it remains to be seen. The difference is that now pressure on Belgrade will come not just from some diplomats, but will have the weight of the entire Congress.