Kuci: I created the Institute for War Crimes. It shouldn't have closed.

The Pardje has been held the first meeting of the Workers Team, which was founded by Justice Minister Albulen Haxhiu, for preparing analysis for the establishment of the institute that will investigate crimes committed during the war in Kosovo. At this meeting, Kosovo's acting prime minister, Albin Kurti, was also present until one of the first proposals was to establish the institute by special law.

A war crimes research institute was established in 2011, however, the same one was closed in 2018, continuing to work so far only under the Justice Ministry, in the Transitional Justice Division.

The institute was created by the Government, twelve years after the end of the war, with the initiative that Hajredin Kuci, who at the time led the Ministry of Justice.

Hajredin Kuchi in a conversation about Journal Express has said that the institute, which was established years ago, worked on the most dominant people in Kosovo, and that the same one did not have to be closed or converted into a department.

The “Institute has been established, was also functional and worked on it the most dominant people of Kosovo in that direction, did not need to close down to say it very correctly, or to be converted into a department. The institute has done good work, has enough work to increase capacity in the future. The institute that I created is one of the first decisions Zejnullah Gruda, Ismet Salihu attended.. Among Kosovo's most dominant” people, he says.

According to the PDK deputy, work for the institute has been done for years, however, adds that the work that has been done in this respect should be respected.

I don't think history should be changed, and there's a need to change I think good jobs should be valued, over it has been worked on, and there's been a respected job, while, there's work for the institute twenty years and twenty-x1>, he adds.

Kuci has expressed himself willing to help if asked at the new institute. However, he adds, the idea for founding the institute has been his.

“Absolut is in a legal sense with my experience, whenever it needs help. But the idea of founding is my personal idea. I don't know the institute had previously operated independently, the director was Zejnullah Gruda, all have been known names, good scholars, respected people of Kosovo, for support and foundation has been my idea and the full support of the government we have had”, he adds, as he says ministers before him, and current ones should continue the work done so far.

“On issues of justice, both the prime ministers and the current ministers must continue architecture and standards raised until it must be worked for confidence in justice”, he says.

The Institute for Investigation of War Crimes created in 2011 had disappeared seven years later, when Ramush Haradinaj was in charge of the Government. That, on charges, officials who worked at this institution had no results, even though the same had complained about lack of staff and funds.

Instead, a Department of Transitional Justice has been established within the Ministry of Justice.

That the first established institute has worked without the right conditions and the former director of this institution says.

Ismet Salihu, professor of Criminal Law, has said about Expres Journalis that the new institute should open on better terms, and that for three years it should be registered and published any crime committed by the Serbian state.

“Must have reopened an institute since it was, but under completely good conditions, not what it was about that yesterday we had the meeting that main Albin Kurti and I discussed it should be in the most serious way more competent to open the institute that has become a great injustice to engage professionals, experts, magistrates, sciences doctors, field researchers, to ensure maximum conditions and to set a calendar three years for every crime that has been committed in Kosovo to be identified and published <18x> he said.

Salihu, who has been part of the meeting held in the Government of Kosovo, says that at the previous institute that had operated for a little over six years had worked in poor good conditions.

We've been working in a house with five offices six years. We've done nine publications for murder, cultural heritage, the destruction of archives, they've been published in Albanian and English. Recak's massacre, I cannot now be completely counted, ten exhibitions are organised -- two in Albania, Tirana, Korca, Austria, Turkey, etc. We have worked hard on what we could to work on, but, on the pretext that a reformation in the Ministry of Justice is required is closed to the institute and is the step instead of the Department of Transitional Justice”, says the professor, as it explains that the same has been closed to function until today only as a department within the Ministry of Justice, by irresponsible people.

The “is closed by irresponsible people not to me, in Bosnia it is that the institute, in Germany, has established in 70 years, Serbia has established in 93 a research department, the collection of crime data in the former Yugoslavia”, he says.

The same has made it known that his role will only be the giving council, and that he says there must be a good team working at this institute to have good results.

“If it has a good approach, it is supported that a good team is created, it must then be effective.

I proposed that a special decision or decree be established, and then the selection of the staff, the object, become the programme that for three years or five years each crime should be identified to be published in the Albanian language”, he said.

Professor Salihu says that because of the political situation, for this process not to be returned to zero, the law on its establishment must be prepared without delay to be processed for vote in government as well.

I immediately proposed to establish the decision, and then prepare the law for the institute because it needs to be founded by law and to proceed with law in government to immediately start work”, he told the paper.

The Justice Ministry at the helm with Albulen Haxhiu to establish a report on how this institution should function has commissioned a team consisting of 15 people, including state officials, representatives from civil society and university professors.