7 minutes agoMartinsen: U n NMIK and Kosovo government broke “with women raped during the war
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)Kosovo's violator during the war considers the state's readiness for justice mysterious. Norwegian expert Joseph Martinsen claims it was broken “besma”, when justice was promised to 423 women sexually raped by Serbian forces. All these had made arrangements with UNMIK and the government back then, but not [...]
Coordinator of U n The NHCR during the years, "98-99, in the interview for Kosova Prees, speaks of justice denied for about 20 thousand sexually violated women and men during the war. It shows how the agreement, signed by 423 women with UNMIK and the then government, was not implemented.
“In Albanian has a word called “Besa”, when you promise, you keep it, but this government or all governments since 99, initially U n NMIC, and then governments, couldn't finish this case, and many times I wonder; The reason? Is there a hidden agenda? Yeah, other things the government knows, or UNMIK knows, but we don't. Could that be why they did not convey this case? So it's very weird, all of this. So in 2015, when Liridona and I personally started writing to the government, we wrote to everyone there, we had contacts and letters we published in the paper, but that didn't bother anyone. Can you imagine? People in Kosovo have applied to the Government, publicly with letters, but the government didn't get upset, it doesn't seem that they didn't even try to answer, and for me that's a mystery. Why didn't they answer? So the years have passed”, Martinsen declares.
Justice was not only about 423 women but also about thousands more. Martín expresses surprise that after nearly two decades, the state was barely able to form a commission for recognition of the status of survivors.
Besides these 423 women, there is a kind of general case for raped women. They have a pension because there are many of them and they have had to have retirement from the postwar, but time passed and nothing was done for them. At the time, we really didn't know who had been raped, because they never said it, the women didn't talk, only those 423 women, they showed the case, and they've been badly hurt ever since. Others kept silent, didn't talk until the commission was established in 2018 or something like that, 20 years later, can you imagine, 20 years later they learned that maybe we should establish a commission for these people”, Martinsen adds.
The Norwegian expert, who participated in the removal of troops killed by bunkers for eight months, says he cannot understand why justice was not achieved. He casts doubts that behind this is a hidden agenda.
It also shows that there has recently been a meeting with Deputy Justice Minister Blerim Saifu in connection with the case of 423 raped women.
“What can be concealed behind this? Why didn't they answer? But I never found out. I asked many people what the reason could be, but no one could give me a good answer. Why didn't they follow the question publicly asked in the paper? So that's why I'm wondering if there are any hidden agendas. Things they know, we don't know. So it's been a long time and I hope; We had a meeting with the government a few days ago, by chance. We met with a deputy justice minister, it was a good meeting, and he promised to investigate the case and inform his government. A strange thing is here, he's never heard of this case, can you imagine? Yes, a high-ranking politician, he told me he had never heard of those 423 women and the agreement government and UNMIK made in 1999. I feel sorry for him. He did not pursue that purpose. What they found out there. Horrible”, he adds to KosovaPress.
It is also criticising the way the Government Commission is functioning in recognising the status of victims of sexual violence.
“Sic I heard, the commission, mainly consisting of four, five, six or seven men. I don't know how many of them are doctors or whatever they might be dealing with with mental problems, medical problems. So you can imagine, see a woman talking in a room, there are five-six men sitting there in maybe dark suits and asking terrible questions about what happened. No woman has decided to tell about the private things that happened during a rape. Anything can happen during rape; you can't start looking for details about it. I think this is the wrong way to do this. They must establish a commission of doctors and people who have knowledge to treat those who are exposed to violence, especially sexual violence”, he declares.
Joseph Martinsen expects that after more than two decades there will be an answer from institutions and justice established in the case of 423 women raped by Serbian forces.
