Odalovic: Declaration on Missing Persons will unblock the process and enable search of locations

The President of the Commission for Missing Persons of the Government of Serbia, Veljko Odalovic, stated today that the adoption of the Declaration on Missing Persons was a significant step forward, as it would allow the continuation of the process and the start of fieldwork, including the search of locations where checks would be carried out.

Odalovic emphasized in an interview with RTS that the adoption of the Declaration marks a major breakthrough in the area, as it unblocks the process. 

He stated that the process had previously been blocked by Albin Kurti.

"If the Pristina side is ready to implement what they have signed, we can quickly move forward with the process and start working in the field to search the locations where checks will be carried out, according to the information mentioned by Pristina," Odalovic explained.

He emphasized that it is the worst thing to have information about a possible mass grave location and not to search it. As he said, it is an important part of the whole process.

Odalovic considered the decision to establish a joint commission headed by the EU, with representatives from Belgrade, Pristina, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which already chairs the working group on missing persons, as positive.

"That should be additional support for us because we need all the help we can get, given the enormous number of archives that international representatives who were on various missions have taken out, so that in their searches we can see if we have information about potential locations," he added.

He also stressed the significant role of families in the process.

He reminded that Aleksandar Vucic had said in Brussels that it would take only 24 hours from reporting the location of a grave to Serbia being present there and inviting Pristina to search together transparently, but also that the same was required from Pristina.

When asked about Pristina's resistance to the Special Court, he said that it did not surprise him, as the biggest problem for Kosovo is the Hague trials and the opening of graves, as it undermines the myths about the Kosovo Liberation Army.

"What is happening in The Hague will clearly show the image of what the KLA was. They are not trying a killer, a criminal, or a psychopath who killed the Sutakovic family, but the leaders of the KLA. That myth is being shattered. Their resistance to everything that is coming will only grow," Odalovic explained.

He said he was concerned about the witnesses and expressed hope that the Court would behave more responsibly and offer adequate protection to the witnesses.

He pointed out that Ramush Haradinaj had not been found guilty of witness disappearance and that the same scenario will exist now.

Odalovic emphasized the importance of continuing the process and raising new indictments, reminding that out of 145 illegal camps, only 44 were included.

"For us, this is important because many missing persons were detained precisely in those camps," he explained.

He reported that a high official from Pristina once said, "What do you expect from us, to open the graves, and what does that say about us?"

Regarding the CSM, he stressed that Kurti's policy of refusing to establish it has been promoted since he returned to the public scene.

"He was the first to be very vocal against Ahtisaari's plan, which already outlined the CSM by predicting the formation of municipalities with a Serbian majority that have special rights and powers. This is what Kurti does not want, but he will have to do it. What is happening now is a new avoidance of this topic," he underscored.

He reminded that the international community and the EU are the guarantors of all that and that Kurti's avoidance of the obligation speaks only of his attitude towards Serbs and their integration.