At the sitting held on 18 June 2021, the Committee on Kosovo-Metohija considered how to approach resolving the issue of missing persons in Kosovo-Metohija.
In addition to the Committee members and MPs, the sitting was also attended by representatives of relevant state institutions, embassies, the UN Office in Belgrade, EU Delegation to Serbia and associations of families of missing persons in Kosovo-Metohija.
Opening the sitting, Committee Chairman MA Milovan Drecun said that resolving the issue of the missing in Kosovo-Metohija is of special importance for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and the reconciliation of Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija. Drecun pointed out that the state authorities of the Republic of Serbia have demonstrated full resolve and political readiness to deal with this topic, while the provisional institutions in Pristina show no such political will and often hinder the resolution of the fate of the missing.
The President of the Commission for Missing Persons of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Veljko Odalovic informed the attending about the Commission’s work and the process of resolving the fate of missing persons.
Odalovic said that, within the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, a Working Group was formed in 2004 for persons listed as missing in Kosovo-Metohija, that meets under the auspices of the UN Secretary General Special Representative in the context of Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999). Through the mechanism of this Working Group, 75% of the total number of missing persons cases (6064) have been solved, he said.
Odalovic added that through the work of the Commission, several cases were noticed which confirm the irresponsibility and inhumanity of the representatives of the international mission in dealing with the found remains and destruction of evidence of crimes committed against Serbs and non-Albanians.
There had been crimes in Kosovo-Metohija and families have the right to know who committed them, Veljko Odalovic said at the end of his presentation, adding that everyone involved in resolving the issue of missing persons in Kosovo-Metohija should do their job equally responsibly in order to regain the trust of the families of the missing.
In the ensuing discussion, the Committee members agreed that the issue of missing Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija needs to be addressed. Committee Chairman MA Milovan Drecun stressed that the international presence in Kosovo-Metohija had covered up the crimes against Serbs, stating that there can be no solution to these issues without cooperation with all the countries that had contingents in KFOR areas of responsibility.
The sitting was chaired by the Committee Chairman MA Milovan Drecun and attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Milica Obradovic, Danijela Vujicic, Milos Terzic, Tamara Pilipovic, Dejan Stosic, Rajko Kapelan, Slavisa Bulatovic, Ljubomir Maric, Djordje Todorovic, Srbislav Filipovic, Zvonimir Stevic and Danijela Veljovic, as well as MP Radovan Tvrdisic.
