Over 140 people attended the presentations of the interim record of killed and missing in the territory of Kosovo municipalities of Đakovica and Orahovac. The two presentations, organized by HLC-Kosovo, took place at the Pastrik Hotel in Đakovica and the Cultural Center in Velika Kruša on July 4th and 5th respectively.
At the presentation in Đakovica, 42 photographs of victims and 17 victims’ identification documents were gathered.
“The families who lost a member and who are still searching for their missing loved ones cannot be compensated for their pain, but for the sake of those who perished and for our own sake it is important to preserve the truth about what happened, maintaining an accurate record of their sufferings”, said Nataša Kandić, executive director of the Humanitarian Law Centre at the presentation in Đakovica.
Prezentacija u Đakovici/Gjakovë
“This project is very important because it covers the entirety of Kosovo, something that has not been done so far. This may be the last opportunity for victims’ families to provide detailed personal data on their loved ones who are no longer with us and thus contribute to keeping the collective memory of them alive”, said lawyer Teki Bokshi in Đakovica. Mr. Bokshi, as a HLC associate, has long worked on clarifying the fate of the missing, and providing legal aid to prisoners from Đakovica.
In Velika Kruša 57 photographs of victims and two identification documents were gathered. The Mayor of Velika Kruša, Kadri Dollovi, thanked the HLC for its efforts to shed light on the crimes committed in Kosovo.
“We from the Humanitarian Law Centre could not prevent the events that happened, but we did and do our utmost to document these events and preserve them in our database. Photographs and documents of crimes will fade over time; therefore it is important that they all be entered into our database and preserved for good so that our children, here in Velika Kruša, can read about what happened in Celine, Pusto selo, Velika Kruša, Mala Kruša”, said Nataša Kandić at the presentation in Velika Kruša.
“We know, Mrs. Kandić, that you have been under great pressure because you work for the sake of truth,” said Mr. Dollovi to the executive director of the Humanitarian Law Centre. He asked for further assistance so that Velika Kruša residents may find the truth about the missing people from that village, and find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
