The “Mother’s Call” Association representing the families of missing persons in Kosovo, has requested to be part of the dialogue with Serbia.
“I urge [Kosovo institutions] to include one of the mothers [of missing persons] as part of the dialogue delegation, so as to document, with evidence and facts, to the Serbian delegation the crimes committed against Albanians,” said Nysrete Kumnova, the head of “Mother’s Call”.
Kumnova went in a press conference after statements of Serbia’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Ivica Dacic appeared to threaten Serbs who disclose locations of mass graves where Serbian troops buried Albanian and Croat civilians.
“Dacic’s statements[…] should be the last lesson for our leaders and all international bodies,” she added.
She called on the Kosovo government to condition the Brussels talks with Serbia with finding a solution for the missing persons issue and the return of their bodies to their families.
Kumnova said that the issue should be a priority for Kosovo institutions, requesting them to refrain from a final deal if Serbia does not make an official apology for the crimes committed during the war in Kosovo.
“Criminals are known by names and last names and they should be tried and convicted for their criminal acts,” she said.
“Silence is not the answer, therefore I am here today to say that if you forgot the war and the lost lives, we can not forget it, as for 21 year we miss them in our dining tables,” she concluded.
On the International Day of the Disappeared, August 30, Kosovo is remembering the 1643 people who disappeared during the 1998-1999 war with Serbia.
1,643 people are still unaccounted for in Kosovo, 21 years after the war has ended.
