prisoners in Serbian jails 01 / missing persons: LINKS

 

Kosovo’s Missing – Everybody’s Burden  By Eleanor Beardsley, UNMIK Press Officer written for the newspaper Jedinstvo, in northern Mitrovic Beneath a blazing mid-day sun, a handful of people lie on pallets under the shelter of a tent.  Just outside the tent, a row of women sit in vigil in chairs in the shade –  mothers and wives, cradling photos of husbands, sons and daughters.  The mixture of heat and emotions bears down on the little camp.  These are the hunger strikers of Gracanica, who say they are trying to call the world’s attention to the fact that nearly 1,200 Serbs have gone missing in the province of Kosovo since 1999.  Sixty-year-old Nada says her son and daughter-in-law disappeared in July 1999 from their home in Pristina.      “My son was a doctor, a specialist in oral surgery.  He was a humanitarian worker, not a soldier or policeman, so he thought nothing bad would happen to him,” she cries.  “We ask assistance from anyone who can shed light on their disappearance.”     Forty-five-year-old Dragan says he does not know how to say goodbye to his only son, who he says was kidnapped while going to his job at the Belacevac mine.  “How can I put this sorrow behind me?” he says.  “UNMIK and KFOR know where our people are.  Why don’t they release them from where they’re being held?”  Believing is Hope Back in Pristina, Lt. Barry Dunn is all too familiar with the grief and frustration of these people.  He has been with UNMIK Police for two years and has investigated dozens of reports of Serbs being held against their will around Kosovo.      “We have physically investigated at least 120 locations where Serbs were supposedly being held as forced laborers,” he explains.  “Not a single one of them has ever panned out.  I know people want to believe that their loved ones are still alive, but it’s just not realistic to go along with this line of thinking.  We have never found any evidence of camps or prisons in Kosovo.”      According to Valerie Brasey a worker with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Pristina, the belief that the missing are being held somewhere is what keeps peoples’ hopes alive.  Brasey talks to Serbian families about their missing on a daily basis.  “The most important thing a family can do if they want to find out what happened to their loved one is to give information about that person to us or to the police,” she explains.  “But by giving this information, which we call ante mortem data, people feel they are accepting that the missing person is dead.  So they don’t want to do it.”  Brasey estimates that there are around 1,500  families in Kosovo (Albanian and Serbian) who have not yet given this information.  The Serbian Red Cross also collects ante mortem data from IDPs living in Serbia. New Technologies in the Search This ante mortem data collected from families is compared with post mortem data, which is information taken from exhumed bodies and compiled in police reports and autopsies.  When a match is found between the two, there is one less missing person case in Kosovo.  In July of this year, UNMIK signed a working agreement with the Sarajevo based International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).  This agreement will give the UNMIK Police Missing Persons Unit (the entity now coordinating all efforts to locate and identify the missing) DNA testing capabilities and a sophisticated computer software program called Disaster Victim Identification (DVI), which helps match ante and post mortem data.      The agreement with ICMP highlights the importance that UNMIK places on finding Kosovo’s missing.  “The grief of families missing loved ones is something common to all the people of Kosovo,”says Hans Haekkerup, UNMIK’s top Administrator in Kosovo.  “It crosses ethnic barriers and spares no one.  This grief and anger also stands as an impediment to Kosovo’s future.  This is why finding the missing is a top priority for UNMIK.” Difficult from the Start From the beginning, finding Kosovo’s missing has been a complex and difficult problem.  In 1999, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia exhumed 2,100 bodies; in 2000 they exhumed nearly 2,000.  Around 1,200 of these bodies remain unidentified and are reburied in two UNMIK cemeteries (at Suva Reka and Dragodan), but mostly throughout Kosovo in municipal cemeteries.  These graves are all individually marked and mapped with an ICTY number.  Graves of the unidentified are considered safe because each community believes they hold the bodies of its own missing.      In 2000, ICTY completed its work and pulled its exhumation crews from Kosovo.  Before leaving, ICTY passed on a list of 60 further sites that could possibly contain mortal remains.  Exhuming these sites is now the job of the UNMIK Police Missing Persons Unit.      Guido van Rillaer, head of the Missing Persons Unit, has just returned from Belgrade where he met with FRY officials in an attempt to formulate a strategy of cooperation on the issue of Kosovo’s missing.      “We still have some 60 to 80 sites to exhume in Kosovo,” says van Rillaer.  “These, along with sites currently being exhumed around Belgrade, will hopefully provide us with answers to some of the outstanding missing cases.  And we will be using DNA testing to establish missing links.”  But according to van Rillaer, DNA testing is no panacea.  “The traditional ways of identification are still the most effective – photos, forensics, testimony from the families.  If we are very close to identifying a body but still can’t make a match, this is where DNA testing will be important as a backup.”  Every Family’s Pain Meanwhile, the UNMIK/FRY Contact Group on Missing Persons has brought a group of Serbian journalists to inspect the UN cemetery at Suva Reka.  Advisor to the FRY President on Missing Persons, Gradimir Nalic, is part of the visiting team.  Nalic says that his work with ICTY in Bosnia showed him that the real answers about the missing come only when the families begin to communicate.  “It will be the same for Kosovo,” he says.  “But whether these bodies are Serbian, Albanian or Roma,” he says, gesturing to the graves around him, “what is important is that they are identified and that their families are notified.”     There are many families in Kosovo living with the agony of uncertainty.  Just five kilometers down the road from the cemetery where the Serbian group is looking for answers about its missing, lies the town of Suva Reka where 43 Albanian women and children were killed in March of 1999.  All of their bodies are also still missing. published with permission of Susan Manuel, UNMIK spokeswoman,  mail on Mon, 10 Sep 2001 07:08:29 +0200

 

http://www. 2net.co.yu/ apis/spisak_ kidnapovanih _sa_opisom.pdf

Abducted people in UN governed Kosovo: more than 1000 104 confirmed murdered, 54 released from KLA captivity) list in Serbian language (no date or source given): SPISAK KIDNAPOVANIH I NESTALIH LICA NA KOSOVU I METOHIJI Link received by mail 9 Dec 2001 - "DEC 10, UN and basic human rights in Kosovo"

 

part of A-PAL (ALBANIAN PRISONER ADVOCACY)  - MAY 3, 2001  A-PAL REGARDING MISSING  The subject of missing has been overshadowed for the past two years by the urgent needs of the 2,000 prisoners and their families. After a war, it also takes time for basic information to be gathered, cross-checked, and published.  Now, however, it is time for A-PAL to join with other organizations in the region to support the families of those who still seek answers about missing family members. According to HLC director, Natasa Kandic, the crime of abducting individuals is a very serious crime with long-lasting implications.  Background Information:  The ICRC in Kosova began working on gathering information on missing in January, 1998 and has updated those records ever since. Their staff also cross-checks their information with other lists and tries their utmost to be accurate in their reports. Their list of missing from the Kosova conflict is on their web site. Their director is Valerie Brasey.  ICRC conducts region-wide information gathering on missing from all the Yugoslav wars. It is very important to understand that missing is a regional problem now in all parts of the former Yugoslavia.  UNMIK has a department for Missing and Detained. The human rights staff director there is Mary Ellen Andreotti. The missing persons staff member is Charlie Johnson. And now the Kosova Red Cross is beginning work on verification.  In addition, the Humanitarian Law Center in Belgrade and Prishtina recently has published a book on non-Albanian missing with photographs and narrations. They also held a roundtable on missing in Belgrade in March, 2001, which was attended by UNHCHR, UNMIK Human Rights staff, police, Serb UNMIK, and UN Envoy on Missing and Detained, Henrik Amneus. The HLC has now completed a similar book of Albanian missing and hopes to have another Roundtable in Prishtina. Because of extreme hostility in Kosova between Serbs and Albanians, Kandic sees the first step happening at the "expert" level. Because people need to begin talking on both sides. But how to make this begin?  Both the HLC and the ICRC have previous experience working on the problem of missing in Bosnia. 5,000 people disappeared from Srebenica for example. There has been five years of discussion and few bodies have been found. But the families of missing in Bosnia now recognize the importance of beginning discussions among ethnic groups as the only way to provide answers.  So far, A-PAL has made every effort to be factual in our newsletters, sites, and action campaigns. So in future newsletters, we will only work with standardized groups, those that have experience in being objective in their reporting and gathering of information. It is a terrible thing to raise the hopes of these desperate families only to disappoint them later on when the information turns out to be untrue. To the best of our knowledge, there are no hidden detention camps on either side, Serb or Albanian. This is a region-wide problem as the result of the wars in the break-up of Yugoslavia.  According to ICRC director, Valerie Brasey, Families of Missing need real answers not false hopes. They need information, tragic or not, to finalize what happened, and to begin a peaceful start to a new life. Widows need legal information to begin new lives.  Groups such as the ONZA Detective Agency are active now in all areas of former Yugoslavia, Croatia, Bosnia, Vojvodina, and Serbia. We urge families to deal directly with the ICRC, which is now located in all Kosova villages, rather than private groups that may seek financial gain in preying on hopes that in the end may be false.  In Bosnia, the work of the International Committee of Missing Persons has been very controversial as well. They have developed a huge DNA blood bank. This can be one method of verifying remains, but again, it often raises false hopes and creates a storehouse of difficult to manage precedents and procedures.  One little known fact of the greatest value is: the ICRC staff are protected from testifying in court cases involving missing. This means that their field staff throughout Kosova villages keep all information confidential. Their position is simply this: families need answers.  ICRC does not verify Information at burial sites. Instead they pass the information on to KFOR or SFOR or the UNMIK police. They cannot be forced to reveal the source of this information.  We urge everyone reading this newsletter-politicians, NGO workers, teachers, advocates, and family members as well as released prisoners-  Start talking about this problem with all those in positions or responsibility. Make sure the media provides this simple background information. Have the ICRC talk in villages about the role of confidentiality and the concrete process involved if they should receive information about a burial site.  RESOLVING THE ANGUISH OF THE FAMILIES OF DETAINED AND MISSING IS CRUCIAL TO ESTABLISHING SECURE HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOSOVA, SERBIA, MACEDONIA. HELP START THE PROCESS.  ICRC/KOSOVO- InfoDiss/PRI@mekoe.unicc.org Communications specialist: "Caroline Michele Ma Douilliez" <cdouilliez.PRI@icrc.org>

 

THE ICRC PUBLISHES THE SECOND EDITION OF THE "BOOK OF MISSING" KOMITETI  NDËRKOMBËTAR  I  KRYQIT  TË KUQ (KNKK) LËSHON BOTIMIN E DYTË TË "LIBRIT TË ZHDUKURVE" Persons unaccounted for in connection with the Kosovo crisis see:   back010410.htm

TUE, 13 MAR 2001 22:34:59 GMT
Kosovo's Missing Persons
Little or No Hope
see below

WEBSITE
http://www.balkan-info.com/links/missing.htm

Missing Persons

Albanian|Greek|Russian|Serbian

In response to numerous requests from visitors to the site, below please
find links to web sites that contain information about persons displaced
or unaccounted for in the Southeast Europe region. Most links are
searchable, and much of the information is posted in the English,
Albanian, and Serbian languages. The International Committee of the Red
Cross (http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/balkans) contains a wealth of
information on this subject.

http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/kosovo
 The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) list of persons
unaccounted for in connection with conflict in the Balkans. Also in
Albanian and Serbian.

http://www.refugjat.org/index_e.html
 Association for Democratic Initiatives has a database of missing
persons that can be searched by names or towns. In English and Albanian.

http://www.glaine.net/~kosova/
 A refugee database searchable by name and town. In several languages,
including English and Albanian.

http://www.albania.co.uk/kosova/index.html
 Family Location Center. In English.

http://www.kakarigi.net/people/
 People Finder Service. Database is searchable by name, town, gender and
age. Originally for people from Bosnia and Hercegovina. In English.
_______________________________________________________________________
WEBSITE
http://www.kosovoforum.net/site/index.htm

LISTS OF THE  DEAD AND MISSING IN KOSOVO

ALBANIAN LIST   http://www.kosovoforum.net/site/ALBANIAN.htm
MINORITIES LIST   http://www.kosovoforum.net/site/balkan.htm
RED CROSS LIST  http://www.kosovoforum.net/site/RCFRONTPAGE.htm
_______________________________________________________________________

http://arhiva.inet.co.yu/inet/d/20010901/list.html www.inet.co.yu - I*Net a.d. Kneza Milosa 12 11000 Beograd Yugoslavia (+381 11) 642429   Spisak nestalih i kidnapovanih Srba i drugih ne-Albanaca na Kosovu i Metohiji u poslednje tri godine   Spisak nestalih lica sa opisom nacina kako su nestali je na srpskom - fajl "Spisak kidnapovanih sa opisom nestanka.zip".  Na spisku je ukupno 1006 lica. Spisak jos nije kompletan. Kako budemo dolazili do novih podataka spisak ce se dopunjavati. Spisak nestalih lica sa opisom nestanka.zip Size:  ZIP file 247949 bytes PDF file 372062 bytes U fajlu "Tabela srpski.pdf" se nalazi tabela sa 822 imena nestalih i kidnapovanih, sa biografskim podacima i mestom nestanka na srpskom. Tabela srpski.zip Size:  ZIP file 280653 bytes PDF file 1039284 bytes U fajlu "Table English.pdf" se nalazi tabela sa 822 imena nestalih i kidnapovanih, sa biografskim podacima i mestom nestanka na engleskom. English list.zip Size:  ZIP file 264284 bytes PDF file 1020606 bytes     Probnu verziju programa Win Zip mozete da preuzmete ako kliknete na sliku sa desne strane:     Program Adobe Acrobat mozete besplatno da preuzmete ako kliknete na sliku sa desne strane:

Copyright: All those wishing to use or publish AIM texts are welcome to do so, provided that they indicate the source and inform the AIM office in Paris which is interested to receive comments and reactions on the information it provides. AIM, 17 rue Rebeval, 75019 Paris, France, admin@aimpress.org

TUE, 13 MAR 2001 22:34:59 GMT

Kosovo's Missing Persons

Little or No Hope

According to the Association of Families of Missing and Abducted Persons of Kosovo, 20 percent of the Serbs on their list went missing before the 1999 NATO bombing, five percent during the bombing, and 75 percent after the arrival of peacekeepers in the province

AIM Belgrade, February 26, 2001

One of the placards relatives of missing Kosovo Serbs regularly display during their frequent protests says: "Fourteen Kostics have been abducted -- Where are they?" The Kostics were a big family of workers and farmers from the village of Retimlje, near Orahovac. During a three-day operation of the Kosovo Liberation Army in the Orahovac region from July 17 to July 19, 1998, at the time the OSCE verification mission was present there, farmer Andjelko Kostic, 62, was killed in front of his home, and then all who were present -- men, women, and children -- were taken prisoner.
    Andjelko's son was given two hours to bury his father, and the men where then herded into a truck and taken in the direction of the village of Opterusa. They were never heard from again and nothing is known of their fate. A total of 43 Serbs were abducted, among whom were the 14 Kostics. Pavle Kostic, the other son of the murdered Andjelko, could not reach the village on the day his family disappeared because of the fighting. Today he lives in the Belgrade suburb of Zeleznik with his mother, his sister, and her three children. He has no job. Together with other members of the Association of Families of Missing and Abducted Persons of Kosovo he constantly calls on representatives of the new authorities, foreign embassies, and international organizations. "They tell us: 'We understand how you feel and we'll do what we can.' We don't know whether they understand how we feel, but nothing has been done," says Pavle Kostic.
    A host of international organizations deals with the people of all nationalities who went missing in Kosovo. Each one of them has its own data, procedures, methodology, and priorities. Among them is, first of all, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the most active in the search for the missing persons, and followed by UNMIK, that is, its office for human rights and joint tasks with which a bureau for imprisoned and missing persons has been founded, as well as a police unit for missing people. The OSCE is also there with its unit for missing persons, as well as the Victim Recovery and Identification Commission (VRIC), the non-government International Commission for Missing Persons, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, and a special High Commissioner envoy for human rights.
    Shortly after he took office, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica formed a Commission for Missing and Displaced Persons and Refugees.
    A federal Commission for Kosovo, headed by Momcilo Trajkovic, was also established and announced it will form a subcommittee for the missing. After the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia ended, relatives of missing people created several associations to deal with this issue. The results of their endeavors, however, brought little comfort to families searching for their beloved ones.
    According to the ICRC, the fate of over 3,500 people who went missing in Kosovo since the beginning of 1998 is still unknown. In an updated version of the book on the missing the ICRC is preparing, the names of 2,700 missing ethnic Albanians and 830 non-Albanians (of whom, according to UNMIK, about 550 are Serb and about 300 of other ethnic groups) will be listed. The Association, however, has a list of 1,300 missing Serbs. ICRC representatives say that the difference is due to the fact that not all families have approached them and that in many cases, whole families have disappeared, leaving no one to fill out the necessary paper work (the ICRC accepts applications only from close relatives). The Association has numerous files on exactly such cases: in June, 1999, the entire Sutakovic family was abducted: father, mother, and their three sons, ages 20, 18 and 12; on July 17, 1988, on the outskirts of Orahovac the Baljosevic family was abducted -- father, mother, son, daughter-in-law and 13-month-old baby. According to the Association -- and its data is not disputed by the International Committee of the Red Cross -- 20 percent of the missing Serbs on their list were abducted before the NATO bombing started on March 24, 1999, five percent during the bombing, and 75 percent after the arrival of peacekeepers in Kosovo.
    Many of the abductions were witnessed by others. On July 12, 1999, a woman and her daughter-in-law were present when the woman's husband and son were taken away. They saw five KLA fighters in uniform pushing them into a white Mercedes and taking them away in an unknown direction. They remembered the license plates and reported the abduction immediately to the German KFOR units in charge of the town. The man and his son were never found and their kidnappers were not discovered.
    Most representatives of international organizations in charge of missing persons are convinced that many of the victims are no longer alive and that it will be hard to find their bodies. "We found the majority of missing Albanians, some 1,000, in Serbian prisons," says Francois Blanchi from the ICRC."The same, however, does not go for non-Albanians. Missing Serbs, for instance, were not found in regular prisons in Kosovo, neither in Bondsteel, nor in Pristina, nor in Mitrovica. Stories of secret camps, especially in northern Albania, persist, although they were never officially confirmed. Exhumation and identification of the bodies are a story in their own right. The ICRC has a list of 3,200 exhumed bodies, of which almost 1,300 have yet to be identified. The organization says that there are 17 unexamined mass graves (which the Hague Tribunal is not interested in). All clothes and personal property found on the bodies exhumed from the graveyards in Pristina, Gnjilane, Djakovica, Pec, Prizren, and villages near Kacanik and Glogovac, were shown to the relatives of the missing persons on three occasions -- Albanians and Serbs were separately invited for identification. This helped to identify a number of people, but only the body of monk Hariton (without the head because it could not be found) was delivered to priests for burial. When the bodies of other people are in question, the families were told there was no adequate "legal and technical" cooperation, and that therefore they could not be given the bodies to bury them in their graveyards in accordance with their customs.
    Unofficially, international organization representatives thus define the main problems: only the former embattled sides -- the KLA and the Yugoslav army and Interior ministry -- can say in what currently unknown locations the battles were waged and where additional bodies can be found. But by doing that, however, they would incriminate themselves or others close to them, and today all fear responsibility for war crimes. Witnesses, when there are any, are afraid to speak.
    In Bosnia and Herzegovina, of 20,500 persons who went missing during the war according to ICRC data, only 10 percent have been found.

Roksanda Nincic
(AIM)

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