April 5th, Graçanicë – Preparatory Team for the Establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission held its consecutive consultation with historians, journalists, artists and legal professionals from Serbian and other communities of the Republic of Kosovo.
The ethnic background profile of the individuals and organisations invited was very diverse and thus the public discussion on the issue of truth and reconciliation was of great interest to many.
The panel of the Preparatory Team for the Establishment of Truth and Reconciliation Commission consisting of Nora Ahmetaj and Baki Svirca initially explained the basic concepts of Transitional Justice, and then the participants shared their experiences and also spoke about the President’s initiative on the Kosovo Truth Commission and its necessity.
The participants stated that this initiative is a right one. Prosecutor Argita Bulatović said that “This initiative might be a bit late and it should be established by the Parliament, even though it is a President’s initiative.”
Sadik Idriz, a professor from Prizren presented very concise suggestions, and according to him” if this Commission is established, it should not only engage in Albanian-Serbian reconciliation, but it must include other communities and have multi-ethnic consistency.”
Fetnan Dervish, history professor, member of the Turkish community asked if” the field of education will be included, especially the subject of history, as this subject often times is an agent for different activities.”
Director of the house of culture in Graçanicë, Živojin Rakočević, is of the opinion that “even terminologically, the truth is not equally acceptable to all”, while Daut Qilangji, of Roma community, asked “can you please tell us what kind of a truth can this Commission bring to the members of the Roma community, who did not side neither with Serbs nor with the Albanians?”
Participants of the public consultation welcomed President’s initiative and while aware of the difficulties of the whole process, they agreed that the sole motto of the Commission must only be the truth.