Beginning of excavations at several locations in Serbia suspected of mass cemetery

Gara, leader of the unit under the Government Commission for Undiscovered Persons, in a proposal for Online Economy, has said it is their request, but also the associations of missing persons to start digging in Serbia's locations, in the region of Raska and Novi Pazar.

He has said they are in co-ordination and with internationals for this.

The “is our constant request even through the delegation, but also within the framework of missing persons so as to start digging even at a series of locations marked on Serbia's territory, at the location in Raska region and the Novi Pazar region. It's very important that as soon as we have dates for sites marked in Serbia's territory and we are in co-ordination with international partners, since the current experience of opening up four locations that only a larger host of the international community can create an opportunity for us to address this issue further”.

He has added that he is working to have excavations in several locations within Kosovo, adding that during this year in two locations where the dig has been made, the bodies of Albanians killed by Serb forces have been found.

There is a number of locations within the Republic of Kosovo that we are focused on addressing further in the sense of value digging over these days, with particular emphasis, will be the location at the cemetery of Muslim believers in northern Mitrovica since it has been constantly working on this” location.

The “has been worked on during August and September, and really in two excavations that occurred this year have been encountered in the morto remains of war victims who have been exhumed and are on further examination and after this procedure is completed then we will know exactly the number of victims who have been exhumed and then the family will be informed of the date or time and place of the burial”.

According to him, more than 72 per cent of missing persons' cases have been resolved so far, while 1640 people are estimated to be missing in Kosovo.

The process of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is seen as an opportunity for the issue to be resolved during these negotiations, but so far there was no result.

But, the Gara Objection says the fate of the missing is important to be part of the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.

The “has also been introduced by Kosovo's prime minister, who is very important that the issue of undiscovered persons has also been addressed at the level of dialogue in Brussels at the highest political level between the Republic of Kosovo and Serbia, and has been suggested that this topic will be part of the final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. Now what the outcome of the agreement will certainly not be for me to comment, but for us as a government commission it is very important that the issue of the missing persons continues to be addressed at the level of the Brussels dialogue and the question of the missing persons will still be part of the” agreement.

Among other things, he added, there is a number of organisations which are constantly dealing with the collection of data and evidence of crimes that have occurred in the Kosovo war.

While the chairman of the Burimore Centre for Missing Persons, Bajram Qerkeyni, told Online Economy that expectations have not yet been lost for the unemployed,

Yet, he is disappointed with the work done so far for the dead.

The hopes have not been lost, but, what we and family members expect like these 21 years, these have always found the causes of Serbia's politicians to postpone dialogue and negotiations, and they've always said there will always be a key point for the dead and never came to the agenda the most honest words on my fingernails that they said would be a number, and until there's no reconciliation or other agreement. As we believe, we do not have much hope that will end for the found. There has been nothing that has been done for 21 years to know the missing in Kosovo”.

He said that as family members have asked to be observers, they have not yet received any concrete answers.

Mayor Qerkini stressed that there are no family members who have found out who no longer provided at least ten interviews, documents and facts.

We family members have demanded that we be at least observant and face people who speak and are able to make decisions that one parent, unlike a politician, speaks. We've requested yes yes we haven't got”.

He added that any mass grave has remained in half as in Mitrovica, Zubin Potok in Rudnica and Batanica. According to him, neither the internationals have put enough pressure on Serbia, for the fate of the found.

Any mass grave left in half, as in Mitrovica, Zubin Potok in Rudnica and Batanic, all these are to be estimated to have left people still without finding. I was one of the family members in Batanica. The Serb will never prove that these truths are mass graveyards. They say there's 250 cemeteries we have documents that are 450 to us and only 52 people have been given it<x1.

When the satellite image came and told you where they were after ten years we fell on bodies that were beneath the foundation of the house. New arguments exist, but internationals have not pressured us to do so because internationals have saved us from being free”, he said.

Even 21 years after the war in Kosovo, 1640 missing persons are still not known. Serbia still maintains the fate of missing persons in Kosovo.