Former Chief of the OSCE mission to Kosovo, William Walker called on the international community to set a tribunal to investigate generals and ministers in Slobodan Milosevic’s government- the wartime Serbian leader.
Walker is well- known and respected in Kosovo because he was the first international official to state there was “crimes against humanity” happening in Kosovo, during a visit at the crime scene in village of Recak in 1999, where 45 civilians were massacred by Serbian forces.
This statement was one of the key moments that led to the NATO bombing campaign against Milosevic’s forces.
He told the Prishtina- based TV, T7 on Sunday that he has been critical towards the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office.
“Many people from Belgrade and the government of Slobodan Milosevic did some terrible things here in Kosovo. Many people were brutally treated by the Belgrade government and many people in that government are responsible for those acts. I often mention that the President of Serbia, Mr. Vucic was a member of Slobodan Milosevic’s government and I am sure he was aware of what was happening in Kosovo,” T7 quoted Walker.
Serbia denies the crime in Recak, while in 2019 its president Aleksandar Vucic stated that “it was all fabricated by that global fraudster, scammer and swindler, Walker”.
Mentioning Vucic’s statement, Walker said “I do not see as good the fact that he or any of the generals or ministers of Slobodan Milosevic’s government did not face the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, are not charged and sent to The Hague”.
“I think that there should be a court investigating war crimes, serious war crimes, massive war crimes committed by the government of Slobodan Milosevic, those responsible under Milosevic’s command,” he added.
Slobodan Milosevic died in March 2006 in his prison cell of a heart attack, while being tried for war crimes at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.
On the other side, leaders of Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), including former President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci are facing justice before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) in The Hague.
Known in Kosovo as the Special Court, it will try serious crimes allegedly committed by KLA members against ethnic minorities and political opponents.
