Denying war crimes is seen as insulting to victims

The Western Balkans, the region that has experienced the bloodiest wars in Europe since the end of World War II, are known as the region where leaders of states that have committed crimes deny them.

Adem Ramadani, wounded on the day Recak's massacre took place in January 1999, says he feels insulted by the recent statements by a former Kosovo minister from the Serbian community that the event in Recak has been invented.

He has criticised Kosovo institutions leaders who have not dealt with the massacre that took place in his village, where more than 40 people lost their lives.

According to him, even Kosovo courts have so far charged no person with crimes committed.

Recak's subx0... Massacre is known... I believe all over the world. We feel insulted. How do we not feel offended when people have lost three members of our home in Recak and other countries even more? But one more fact fades from our government, since it has never accused Serbs of Recak and all other massacres. In fact, the door is opening to Belgrade to counter us with these charges even to say there are no massacres, as we ourselves are not doing this”, Ramandani said.

The Kosovo Ministry of Justice has started with preparations for drafting a law that will punish any person who denies the crimes and massacres that were committed during the 1998-99 war.

Such an initiative came after a former minister and a former deputy Kosovo government minister, from the Serb community, were dismissed by Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, after saying that many crimes committed during the war in Kosovo by Serbian forces had actually never occurred.

The Western Balkans, the region that has experienced the bloodiest wars in Europe since the end of World War II, are known as the region where leaders of states that have committed crimes deny them.

Bosnian Serb leader and Bosnia and Herzegovina Chief Chairman Milorad Dodik has said last week that an extremely serious disaster has occurred in Srebrenica during the war, but according to him “bosks are trying to build the myth about Srebrenica. This is a fake myth, that myth doesn't exist”.

Kosovo justice system recognisers view with scepticism the Kosovo Government's initiative in drafting a law sanctioning denial of crimes that have occurred in Kosovo.

The Kosovo government has authorised the Ministry of Justice to draft the law based on best international practices.

International Criminal Law Professor Ismet Salihu, speaking of Radio Free Europe, says this law is welcome, but has been able to be released in some articles in the Kosovo Criminal Code.

This initiative is good. It would be nice if this were within the Penal Code. Germany, Poland, Chekhia, and several other countries are seen as criminal acts. These have been seen in cases where the Court has ascertained that crime was committed, and if any other person says there was no such crime and denies it, he should be punished”, Salihu said.

Professor Salihu, who recently worked on completing the change of Kosovo's Penal Code, had proposed that with changes made to the Penal Code, some articles should be introduced to the issue. He said his proposals were not accepted due to a lack of understanding.

The more practical “was if it was within the Penal Code, but now it can become a provision and that provision experts must compile because it is very important and very sensitive. With this one, it would have to be shown to all that if it claims to be fiction, fiction or fiction that it is not the crime that the court has ascertained it must respond and the sentence from 1 to 5 years” has explained Salihu.

Amer Alija, legal analyst and monitor of war crimes trials at the Humanitarian Law Fund, told Radio Free Europe that the Fund for Humanitarian Law thinks there should be a report of all crimes that have occurred during and shortly after the war in Kosovo.

According to him, the report before all needs to be based on accurate data and be accepted by parties in the conflict and say those people were killed as a cause of war.

Alija says that drafting the law, which sanctions denial of crimes that have occurred in Kosovo, thinks there will be difficulties in rationalising that law.

“S first must have a legal basis and a judicial fact and then, by law, treat denial of that judicial fact which has been confirmed in courts. Normal in the law exists inciting hatred and similar criminal acts. A regulation can be issued, but not a special law on denial of all crimes”.

“We know that some of the facts of war crimes have been confirmed by The Hague Tribunal and local courts, but not all crimes have received a judicial epilogue. Therefore, it is good for both sides to be restrained when using these strong statements because their statements only weigh the families of the victims of war. No one denies them being called to proven court evidence”, he said.

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has fired Minister of Local Power Administration Ivan Teodosievic, who comes from the ranks of the Serbian List party last week. Haradinaj said that to this decision came after some comments made by Teodosievic, concerning the Recak massacre.

In Zvecan, during a organisation to mark the 20th anniversary of NATO's intervention in Kosovo, Serbian List representative Ivan Teodosijevic has said that the reason for NATO's “grition has been the so-called humanitarian disaster in Kosovo and the fabricated massacre of Recak”.

In March, Prime Minister Haradinaj has also fired Deputy Justice Minister Vesna Mikic after she had declared that NATO bombings on the former Yugoslavia's limits were genocide against the state and the Serbian people.

The American Embassy in Pristina has said commitment to the truth about the past of war is vital to a peaceful future.

The denial of atrocities offends memories of victims, traumatifies families even more, and undermines progress in building a democratic and multiethnic state”, the US Embassy's statement issued Monday afternoon said.

More than 13 thousand and 500 are estimated to be the number of persons killed and missing during the 1998-99 conflict in Kosovo. These figures were published by the Humanitarian Law Fund, which has usually been exploited by institutions and other relevant instances.

Of these victims, 76 percent are believed to be civilians. Meanwhile, in ethnic terms, 10,000 and 794 are Albanians, two thousand and 197 Serbs, while others belong to other ethnic affiliations.

Another plague of war is also about 1,000 and 600 people found, mostly Albanians.