Organisations that monitor war crimes cases and the families of missing persons in Kosovo said they were surprised by a recent statement by Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri. The latter told members of a parliamentary committee on Monday that the issue of missing persons is not being discussed in Brussels because the European Union has asked for the lists of missing persons and that neither Pristina nor Belgrade provided such lists. Bekim Blakaj, executive director of the Human Rights Fund in Kosovo, however, told the news website: “the list of missing persons exists since 2001. Minor changes were made to the list; names of persons who were identified were removed from the list. The list is accurate and it includes the names and surnames of all persons that went missing during the period 1 January 1998 – 31 December 2000”. Blakaj said there are around 1,700 Kosovars missing and around 420 Serbs. He said that members of the European Parliament in Brussels told him that the parties involved in the EU-brokered talks decide on the topics of discussion. “It is then clear that there is no political readiness by the parties to address the issue of missing persons,” Blakaj added. He also said that Kosovo’s negotiating team in Brussels never consulted him on the matter. Bajram Qerkini, from the association “The Voice of Parents” that represents families of missing persons in Kosovo, criticised Tahiri’s statement. “It is a sin to say that there are no lists. The lists are in the hands of the government committee on missing persons and the International Committee of the Red Cross,” Qerkini said.