On the International Day of the Disappeared, access to Serbia’s archives is demanded

Around 1,600 people who were forcibly disappeared during the war continue to be sought in our country, while their families wait every day to learn of their fate and whereabouts.

On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, non-governmental organizations held a public discussion. At this event, organized by international organizations with the families of the disappeared, it was emphasized that opening Serbia’s archives is essential to finding the approximately 1,600 people who disappeared in the recent war.

For 27 years, Bekim Gashi from the village of Tërrnje in Suhareka has been searching for his mother and four sisters. He has checked for them in every mass grave opened, following up on every lead and piece of information about the missing.

Gashi stated that the only way to clarify the fate of the missing is to open the archives in Serbia. Referring to his family’s case, he said it is known that the crime was committed by the 549th Brigade and that this brigade holds the records on the location of their loved ones’ bodies.

He called on institutions and non-governmental organizations not to publish names without first confirming them. According to Gashi, for the families of the missing, there is nothing worse than receiving false news.

Forensic expert Dritor Haliti explained that the DNA examination procedure requires at least three months.

According to Haliti, in the first phase, the Institute immediately takes a sample and sends it to the International Commission on Missing Persons. There, systematic analyses are carried out to create a DNA profile, which is then compared with data and blood samples from family members before a conclusion is drawn.

Bekim Blakaj from the Humanitarian Law Center in Kosovo said that families must be enabled to receive all information regarding the process.

Blakaj emphasized that families not only have the right to bury their relatives with high honors, but they should know everything about the procedure and the reasons why finding their family members has been delayed until now.