Families of missing Serbs and Albanians: Politics has blocked the process of finding our loved ones
More than a quarter-century after the conflicts in Kosovo ended, there are still 1,612 people on the consolidated list of missing persons. The families of the missing emphasize that the process of finding their loved ones has been blocked by political issues for nearly four years. They vow to continue their fight for truth, justice, and answers about the fate of their family members until their last breath.
During a roundtable discussion titled "The Missing: Nobody's Concern," the main problem identified was that the work of the Working Group, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and consisting of representatives from Belgrade and Pristina, has been blocked for the fourth year, primarily due to obstruction by Pristina's authorities.
They stress that the issue of the missing should be addressed solely as a humanitarian issue, leaving politics aside.
Natasha Scepanovic, the president of the Association of Families of Kosovo Victims, stated that today the families of missing Serbs and Albanians gathered in Belgrade in anticipation of and to mark the International Day of the Disappeared, observed on August 30th.
"For who knows how many times, we are together again, and together we want to draw the attention of domestic and international institutions and organizations to this problem of ours, which has lasted far too long. More than a quarter-century has passed since we began searching for our missing, the process has nearly come to a complete halt, it is somehow frozen, there are no new identifications or exhumations, and the statistics are disheartening. We will not give up despite all these facts," Scepanovic emphasizes.
Scepanovic points out that the number of missing persons still being searched for is overwhelmingly large, and she notes that the families will continue to exert pressure on the relevant authorities and agencies.
In this regard, Scepanovic announced that the same roundtable will be organized in Pristina on August 22nd.
"We are making every effort, and as long as we have even the last atom of strength, we will not give up this fight for truth and justice. We will use various means, and time will tell how successful we will be," she says.
Scepanovic identifies the lack of sufficient political will as the main reason the process has stalled.
"We, the families of the missing, think that all other issues are seen as more important than the issues of human lives and the fate of our missing. I believe that it is Pristina that is halting and obstructing this process. There is no parallel—everyone who has been found, identified, and buried so far, this has been done thanks to the Belgrade-Pristina Working Group under the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross. However, the work of that group has almost entirely ceased; if there are any joint meetings or information exchanges, we are not informed about them," she said.
Scepanovic emphasizes that the parties must sit down at the table and address the issue of the missing as purely a humanitarian and civilizational issue, with politics completely set aside.
Bajram Qerkinaj, the Executive Director of the Resource Center for Missing Persons in Pristina, stresses that the situation regarding the missing has been completely blocked for three full years.
"We have been in uncertainty for 25 years, as politics has completely blocked the work of the Working Group, while government commissions are dealing with trivial matters, which is why we, the families, have been dissatisfied for the fourth year now. We, the families, will not stop; it is necessary for politics to be removed from this issue as soon as possible so that it can be treated as a humanitarian issue, as was proposed four years ago," Qerkinaj said.
At the same time, as Qerkinaj emphasizes, it is necessary to put pressure on both Belgrade and Pristina to set politics aside and seriously address this painful issue, as there are still 1,612 missing persons to be found.
"Who should be working more than the government commissions proposed by Belgrade and Pristina, as well as the Working Group? However, everything is blocked. How can it be that three or four years have passed without the Working Group functioning? How can they not find a single piece of information to at least slightly ease the suffering of us, the families of the missing? My message to all those in power, to everyone who understands what it means to be human, is to meet us halfway," Qerkinaj stated.
The President of the Commission for Missing Persons of the Serbian Government, Veljko Odalovic, noted that Belgrade has fully supported the initiative to discuss this issue together.
"This is a difficult and sensitive topic, and unfortunately, it is currently at a standstill. We have supported the initiative to inform the families of the missing, who are the most concerned, about what we are currently doing, what activities are underway, and where the problems lie," Odalovic told reporters.
As he explains, the framework for work and cooperation so far has been the Working Group on Missing Persons, which has been blocked for the fourth year. This group includes representatives from Belgrade and Pristina and is chaired by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"This is something we had been working on for 15 years or more, with significant results, but due to an unreasonable decision, primarily by the Pristina side, specifically Albin Kurti, this process has been blocked. We are trying to find a way to overcome this and continue our work," says Odalovic.
According to him, there have been some activities that Belgrade has moved to Geneva and Brussels to try to activate the mechanism from that side.
"We aim to align with the spirit and content of the Declaration on Missing Persons agreed upon in Ohrid last year and put it into function. Unfortunately, we haven't had any significant results so far. We are absolutely open to this issue and all proposals, regardless of where they come from. However, the initiatives we have submitted have not received, at least from our side, any responses from Pristina—why they won't cooperate, or if they will, how and what they want," he emphasizes.
He adds that this is something Belgrade persistently insists on, and it has been a topic at multiple meetings in Brussels.
But, as he observes, unfortunately, this has also not yielded any results.
He also highlights that, except for the first time, the Pristina and Belgrade delegations have not met again in Brussels on this issue.
"This is concerning, not to mention the archives, information, locations, and site searches, which are things we need to agree on among ourselves, create a plan, and be on the ground, rather than just holding meetings and explaining why something isn't working. These are operational matters that are of interest only to the families, both Albanian and Serbian," said Odalovic.
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