The proposal of the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to suggest a common Day of Remembrance for the victims of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, at the conference on the Western Balkans in Vienna, was unacceptable for the Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic and Foreign Minister of Kosovo Hashim Thaci.
Representatives of the Association of Kidnapped and Missing Serbs in Kosovo have different opinion. “If the whole world decided that 30 August is International Day of the Missing persons, then we, who used to live in one country, could also determine one date. All of us, who lost someone, are the victims. Not all Serbs, or all Albanians, are criminals. We should start from that point, “said Milorad Trifunovic, coordinator of the Association of Families of Kidnapped and Missing Serbs in Kosovo.
Silvana Marinkovic, representative of the Association of kidnapped and missing Serbs in Gracanica is of a similar opinion. “It should be accepted, because it is one step towards the reconciliation of the peoples in the region,” said Marinkovic.
Representatives of the Commission for Missing Persons of the Government of Kosovo stated that remembrance and commemoration can be discussed only when persons who committed crimes will be accused.
“Politicians should do something else. Politicians need to investigate where the missing people are. Let’s think about the general day of mourning which is 30 August,.. that is a day of missing persons throughout the world. We in Kosovo have always celebrated April 27, so we don’t need more than those two dates, “says Bajram Çerkinaj, coordinator of the Association of the families of the missing and kidnapped Albanians.
