Human Remains in Zubin Potok Reopen War Wounds, Fehlinger Calls for Justice and Pressure on Serbia

The discovery of human remains in several areas of Zubin Potok, believed to belong to victims of the most recent war in Kosovo, represents a significant step toward clarifying the fate of missing persons and investigating crimes from 1998-1999 that remain unsolved.

Following the initial discoveries, Kosovo’s justice authorities launched forensic examinations and DNA analyses. These procedures are intended to identify the victims and determine the circumstances of their deaths, giving families who have been searching for decades an opportunity to learn what happened to their missing relatives.

The case has renewed attention on mass graves, as well as the need for greater interinstitutional cooperation in locating suspected sites and shedding light on war crimes.

Commenting on these developments, Austrian expert Gunther Fehlinger told “Bota sot” that the discovery of human remains at several locations in Zubin Potok was extremely important for Kosovo, the families of missing persons and the investigation of unresolved war crimes.

According to him, these findings must be handled with dignity, full forensic professionalism and legal care. He stressed that DNA analyses must establish the identity of each victim, while prosecutors must determine the time, circumstances and responsibility for each death.

Fehlinger warned that until these procedures are completed, no claim regarding the victims’ identities or specific perpetrators should be presented as conclusive. According to him, identification and the determination of responsibility must be based solely on accurate evidence and adherence to legal and forensic standards.

The expert also said the findings show that previously unknown grave sites can still be discovered 27 years after the end of the war, thanks to new testimony, forensic investigations and the professional work of institutions.

According to him, each identified site could provide answers to families who have been waiting for decades. At the same time, the locations may preserve evidence of abductions, executions, the concealment of bodies and attempts to obstruct justice.

Fehlinger said the success of the investigations cannot be judged solely by the number of remains discovered. The assessment must also include the preservation of crime scenes, identification through DNA, maintenance of the chain of evidence, witness interviews and the investigation of people who may have ordered, committed or concealed the crimes.

According to the Austrian expert, the discoveries in Zubin Potok add further weight to the Declaration on Missing Persons, adopted during the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue in 2023. The document provides for cooperation in clarifying the fate of missing persons and exchanging relevant information.

He called on the European Union to insist on the agreement’s full implementation. According to Fehlinger, Serbia must provide unrestricted access to military, police, municipal, state and security service archives related to the wartime period.

He also called for the release of operational documents, transport records, information about burials and any material related to primary, secondary or concealed graves. Fehlinger stressed that cooperation on missing persons must not remain merely a symbolic item in the Brussels dialogue.

He said the EU should make Serbia’s progress toward membership, as well as the political and financial benefits associated with that process, conditional on measurable cooperation regarding missing persons and the provision of evidence concerning war crimes.

Addressing the impact the findings could have on war crimes trials, Fehlinger said forensic evidence could strengthen criminal cases. It could help identify victims and establish their number, document patterns of crimes and create links between different locations.

However, he explained that in every court proceeding, the link between the crime and the accused must be proven individually. Delays in DNA identification could slow investigations and trials, while successful identification could strengthen cases, correct the historical record and give families the truth they have sought for so long.

In conclusion, the expert called for the fate of missing persons not to be turned into a tool for political confrontation or interethnic tensions. He stressed that every victim, regardless of their background, has the right to be identified, treated with dignity and given justice.

Fehlinger said the families had waited far too long and that Kosovo’s institutions, Serbia, the European Union, EULEX, the International Committee of the Red Cross and all responsible institutions must continue cooperating until the fate of every missing person is clarified.

In his closing statement to “Bota sot,” Gunther Fehlinger stressed that long-term normalization between Kosovo and Serbia cannot be achieved without the truth about the missing, accountability for war crimes and the full identification of the sites where victims were buried.