Destiny of Ljubomir Knezevic, journalist of Pristina-based daily ‘Jedinstvo’ and associate correspondent of ‘Politika’ who went missing on this day seventeen years ago in Kosovo, is unknown yet.
Knezevic was kidnapped from the railway station in Vučitrn/Vushtrri on 6 May 1999 by the KLA members. Serbian War Crimes Prosecution informed that investigation is still ongoing in this case in cooperation with the Serbian Ministry of Interior’s war crimes department, the EU special investigation team and EULEX prosecution in Pristina.
United Nations Human Rights Advisory Panel’s (HRAP) opinion from 2014 in case of Ljubomir Knezevic shows incapability of international community in Kosovo and other competent bodies in Kosovo. It also shows lack of interest in criminal investigations of kidnapped persons, and Knezevic is one out of seven journalist who were listed in the register of the Association of Journalists of Serbia of kidnapped and murdered in Kosovo. HRAP brought an opinion that there were significant omissions on the side of UNMIK in providing safety for people, and that EULEX and authorized bodies in Kosovo should find and punish perpetrators, and that UNMIK should publicly apologize to family of Knezevic and pay a compensation. Apart of this decision, which was the sign of a sort of justice, family of Knezevic has not received anything yet.
Half a year ago Coordination of Serbian Associations of Missing and Murdered in the region of former Yugoslavia has sent a considerable documentation to 120 addresses worldwide, including the UN Security Council, about drastic violations of human rights of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija in the end of nineties of the last century. However, no reply has been received yet from any institution, says Dusan Celic, chairperson of the Association.
“The biggest number of violations of human rights, first of all of the right to life, took place during the mandate of the United Nations in Kosovo and Metohija, after 10 June 1999. International community, not only that it didn’t guarantee right to life to all, but kidnappings, murders and ethnic cleansing took place in front of its eyes,” explained Celic. He went on to say that not a single proper investigation was conducted in Kosovo in case of kidnapped and murdered Serbs, and added that it is worrying that certain criminal cases under EULEX competence, with regard to kidnapped and murdered Serbs, have been handed over to local judiciary. He said that there is a fear that cases handed over from EULEX to local judiciary won’t be processed by the special tribunal for the KLA crimes in Kosovo.
Celic also warned that UNMIK, who submits quarterly reports to the UN Security Council, does not mention existence of its human rights advisory panel, which brought 110 decisions on violations of human rights of Serbs in Kosovo.
