Hoti: Kosovo, Serbia not close to signing declaration of found

A statement that would impose the Serbian side to open the secret and non-secret archives of the recent war and would include more European Unions in the issue of the found are not expected to be signed in Brussels soon.

Serbia is refusing to allow the found ones to be called forcibly missing persons.

The son of the missing event, Uksin Hoti, says Kosovo does not agree that this term will generally depart from the declaration, adding that the same is an indication of the reality of what happened in Kosovo.

This, according to him, is about dignified treatment of missing persons, and the term “forcibly disappeared” is based on international conventions of the United Nations while adding that others who were proposed there have no legal basis for either side.

And we continue to insist and I don't intend to change that attitude because that term should be in the declaration for many reasons, and it's not political reason, because I am convinced that the term strongly missing has to force both sides, I honestly say, even Kosovo and Serbia, to provide information, to offer our work to find missing persons. And if we go and make claims without waiting for a concrete outcome in Brussels then it's painful for family members, and I don't want family members to create wishful thinking because we're 22 years behind. So no, we're not close. As far as I'm concerned, as part of that delegation, no, we're not close and it's not just this term, there are two other things not mentioned in public, but that are very important”, says Hoti.

Other issues under discussion within this statement, according to Hoti, relate to the European Union's role in the process.

The other <x0Pes that I'm saying are about the most important role of the European Union in the process of missing persons because we've tried it so far and we continue to try these Kosovo-Serbia relations for the fate of missing persons, we know how Serbia plays political game with this issue, so we have seen the issue go through in Brussels, for the EU to play a little more important role, a little bit more decision-makers in missing persons cases. And I've been looking for this even there, and this is a problem that's being dealt with within this statement”, says Hoti.

Hoti says that if Serbia does not comply with the term “that has been abolished by force” then the declaration as a whole could be removed altogether. He adds that the Kosovo side is facing pressure on the issue.

There were several people missing by force at every point in the statement, we could understand, even though it was incomprehensible, and it drew to almost most of the points, and we left it at just one or two points. I don't have what else I do, this is what I think it is, and this is the end of the talk on missing persons in Brussels, as far as I'm concerned, that we can handle something else there. If Serbia continues to hesitate, then the European Union, or whoever else, let Serbia, not us... We are determined, dialogue is still going on, my attitude is this, this is what I've said in Brussels several times, but I don't sign (the file) I'm just part of the delegation, how it will flow to the end I don't know. Awesome pressure we have as a Kosovo side for this” job, says Hoti.

Weeks ago, the European Union's special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue Miroslav Lajcak has said there are “two words close or two words away from the agreement to find”. He has said that 99.5% of the text of the declaration has only agreed on political will is needed, adding that there will be consultations on it in the coming days.