The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, together with the Speaker of the Parliament, Dimal Basha, the acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti, as well as the families of those who disappeared by force during the last war in Kosovo, have paid tribute at the Missing Persons Monument.
Below is President Osmani’s full media statement:
Today, on the International Day of the Disappeared, as we do every year, we got together with the families of those who disappeared by force during the last war in Kosovo to commemorate each one of them, and also to raise our voice once again for justice and to raise our voice against this ongoing crime of Serbia.
And I say that it is an ongoing crime because, beyond the crimes committed in ’98 and ’99 by Serbia, the forced disappearance of individuals, of the loved ones of many families here in Kosovo, is a crime that Serbia commits every day, by keeping them in mass graves, not respecting the agreements reached in Brussels aiming to clarify the fate of these enforced disappearances, Serbia commits a crime against humanity every day and violates international human rights conventions every day.
Today, we are in full solidarity with the families, who still live in anxiety and endless pain, even 26 years after the war, but beyond words, we are together with the families in our ongoing efforts for justice and in our ongoing efforts to hold Serbia accountable for this repeated crime.
We call once again to all our allies, all our international friends, to put continuous pressure on Serbia, this genocidal state, this state that still not only denies the crime, but also hides the crime, keeping thousands of Albanians from Kosovo, but also victims of other wars that Serbia has caused in the former Yugoslavia, forcibly disappeared.
We will continue to work together until the return of the very last citizen of our Republic, and we keep reiterating that our freedom will not be complete without their return.
