Minister Tahiri: Turkey committed to denying and hiding Milosevic's crimes

Justice Minister Abelard Tahiri has once again asked the state of Serbia to open its archives and tell of the fate of the missing from the recent war in Kosovo.

Minister Tahiri's full statement:

For twenty years, our citizens and the families of the unknown in the Republic of Kosovo live in anxiety and despair, hoping to understand what happened to their families.

Serbia has been and is the only address that will require responsibility and accountability for missing persons in Kosovo.

Unfortunately, the same thought and nomenclature that has committed crimes in Kosovo today is running Serbia's political system and ignoring this demand above all human.

Despite the tendency to appear moderate by Aleksandar Vuciqi, Serbia's current political cast led by him, is committed to denying and hiding the crimes that Milosevic's oppressive and dictatorial regime has committed.

The lack of full will to share information, whose origin is in the maps of the Serbian army and police, is a clear indication of this trend, which in the face of the most subtle and human demand, continues to isolate any attempts to whiteen the fate of war-finding persons in Kosovo.

For this Serbian political cast, the association with crime, the genocide of anti-humanism continues to be the leading motive, instead of being distanced from them and taking on state responsibility for crimes committed.

It is unacceptable that two decades after the war, Serbia has not yet taken any step towards whitewashing the fate of the found, has not prosecuted in courts allegations of burning Albanian troops, and shows no willingness to end the long wait of family members to help family close this painful chapter of their lives.

This is a deliberate crime. His secret made him even more cruel. It is the same mind that has committed this crime that continues to deny it and not take responsibility for it.

Last year, I have sought support from my counterparts of the European Union member states through a public letter, asking Serbia for answers to this crime.

Despite the encouragement I have received, I believe pressure from the EU must be continuous.

It cannot be considered a state willing to start EU integration -- a country that has neither the slightest willingness to show humanity and end the expectations of family members who still do not know about their loved ones.

Despite the Serbian state's neglect to work on lighting up the fate of the missing, we will never stop until we find the truth about our 1647 citizens, of whom over 100 are children. We won't line up until we have answers for their families, for society, to give an epilogue to this tragedy.