Forensic Science

March 26, 2010 - Kosovo - President Fatmir Sejdiu’s speech at the Conference on Legal Medicine and Forensic Science:

Honorable Deputy Prime Minister Manaj, Honorable Minister of Justice Kelmendi, Honorable guests and researchers of legal medicine and forensic science, honorable participants,

Allow me to wish you welcome and a fruitful work in this international scientific event that is being held under my auspices.

The issue of missing persons and identification of human remains of people killed during wartime has represented a pressing concern to our country for more than a decade now.

Hundreds of Kosovar families still live in a deep anxiety and long for their loved ones.

Our efforts to recover around 2,000 missing persons and to identify all the human remains have not ceased for a single minute.

We hope that the further sensitization of the society at large and the families of missing persons to the new methods of identification and scientific explanations on the process will contribute to these state efforts and engagements.

New research and identification methods represent a priority to our practitioners and scientists, who will have the chance to exchange their experiences and, together with their colleagues from various countries of the world, contribute to the introduction of these methods.

Honorable participants,

Honorable forensic experts,

Your input to this conference will indicate, once again, that the humanity lies, first of all, on practitioners and scientists who, with their engagement, contribute to the society as a whole. Through your participation in this conference, you are proving once again that you have brought your professional and scientific potential at the service of humanity.

Dealing with the issue of the missing and identification of human remains in every possible humanitarian and professional manner was and remains our state priority.

This conference organized by the Ministry of Justice, in attendance of renowned figures of forensic science from different countries of the world, who have proved and attained high professional standards and qualities in this field in the international arena, falls within the course of our engagement as a state.

We will never give up on our efforts to increase the local professional and scientific capacities in the field further. The support that the state will provide in building these capacities will rely on the conclusions that will be drawn at this international conference.

This conference coincides with the 11th anniversary of NATO attacks against Serbian deadly targets, which were the main cause to the killing of many Kosovars. We pray that there will be no more people killed or wars or conflicts and tragedies in the future of the people of the region and others peoples elsewhere.

I call again on Serbian state institutions to distance themselves from the people who have committed crimes and to renounce hegemonic policies against other people of the region and policies that have caused the disappearance of many victims that remain unaccounted for.

It is the duty of all forensic experts to reveal the truth by identifying each unidentified human remain and to tell that it was because of these policies that people have died and that those who have killed are hiding somewhere and want to remain undiscovered and that such policies should not be conducted anymore. Accordingly, the international community must step up the pressure on Serbian state institutions today, tomorrow or in the shortest term, or else the number of identifications will remain the same and this would imply that we have come to terms with the crimes that have been committed in Kosovo.

The complete annihilation of a people was planned premeditatedly. There was a murder instinct that had targeted the Albanian majority and other ethnicities in Kosovo. There were blueprints of ethnic killing and cleansing that resulted in what happened here in Kosovo and that targeted other people of the former federation that has dissolved now.

We call on humanists, scientists and state institutions to not give up on their actions, especially when it comes to developments inside the state of Serbia that aim at scoring few points in the eyes of international community by handing over a human remain or two. They should distance themselves from the crimes that were committed and acts of corpse burning, because there is some information that indicates that bones of some people that Kosovo is missing might not be found at all.

Therefore, the present and future generations are obliged to attach a special weight to the contribution that they must provide to better relations between peoples and states. It is only then that the souls may rest in peace and that the anxiety and the suffering of many families in Kosovo can be alleviated a bit.

It is rather for our people to tell a moving story about a tragedy experienced than to suffer from an endless pain for their loves ones, which they are missing even nowadays.

Dear participants,

Kosovo appeals for the truth to be revealed. Kosovo appeals to the international courts and justice to prosecute those who have committed crimes.

A positive thing when it comes to international justice is that no statutory limitation applies to crimes against humanity, but, even if this were the case, it would still be better to follow through with the prosecution of those who have committed crimes.

We have also followed the criminal proceedings that were recently initiated in the Republic of Serbia for the crimes that were committed against the people of Kosovo. We want these proceedings to be unbiased, but, at the same time, we do not want these proceedings to be a part of their farce, only so that they can say that they are doing something. However, the fact that it has been acknowledged that crimes have been committed is encouraging, but they should also distance themselves from and hand over the war criminals who have committed crimes in Kosovo and in other countries.

This does not relate to your immediate duties, because this conference is dedicated to the identification of human remains and the elucidation of the fate of missing persons from Kosovo. At the same time, this conference should serve as an appeal to other institutions to live up to their duties and I believe that knowledgeable people who have been dealing with issues here and in other countries as well will assist us.

This is a laborious and difficult process. There are many obstacles and other elements that render the work more difficult, but I believe that there is nothing more humanitarian than to work swiftly and efficiently on shedding light on the fate of each missing person from Kosovo.

Mrs. Minister, I congratulate you on the work that you have done in organizing this conference and I hope that we will have other opportunities in the future and that the joint engagement of the people and institutions that are directly involved in this issue will contribute to the final elucidation of each missing person from Kosovo.

This conference should serve as a chance to shed light on the fate of those who are not among us and to contribute to the engagement of our institutions for the sake of generations to come.

Only then can this mission be considered accomplished. Peace and stability requires partnership and cooperation and this is what makes for building a better future for the humankind.

I wish you a fruitful work!