The Association of Families of Kidnapped and Murdered in Kosovo will protest today in front of the Monument of Gratitude to France, located in Kalemegdan in Belgrade, due to the decision of the court in Colmar not to deliver Haradinaj to Serbia.

The protest will start at 12:44.

The statement adds that the refusal of a request for extradition of Ramush Haradinaj presents a big blow for the victims' families and that the process broached all over again old wounds.

Today, Kosovo marks the national day of missing persons and, on this occasion, EULEX takes the opportunity to remember those who have gone missing and the plight of their families.  EULEX remains committed to help solve the issue of the missing.

Digging in order to find the mortal remains of Kosovo Albanians in Raska, Serbia, starts today. The news was confirmed by the head of the Commission for the Missing, Prenk Gjetaj. He said that the diggings will take place in Kizavec , and that this is the fifth continuance of the previous works there.

Gjetaj added that according to the information that they have received from the Serbian party, these diggings are expected to be the final ones on finding the bodies of the Albanians killed during the last conflict in Kosovo.

On February 27, the Austrian Chairmanship of the OSCE held a high-level conference on Freedom of the Media in the Western Balkans, at Hofburg in Vienna.

The following is the address at the conference of Veran Matic, head of Serbia’s Commission for the Investigation of Murders of Journalists and news editor-in-chief for B92:

According to Amnesty International, human rights around the world are at risk due to politicians who use “toxic and inhumane” rhetoric against ethnic or religious minorities, with the scope of strengthening their position in power.

In the annual report called “Situation of Human Rights in the World”, this organization says that over 1600 people remain missing since the last war in Kosovo.

Chairman of the Kosovo government’s commission on missing persons, Prenk Gjetaj, announced that excavations into a suspected mass grave site inside the compound of a mosque in the northern part of Mitrovica will get underway on 16 February. Gjetaj said the excavation works will be carried out in close cooperation with EULEX and relevant Kosovo institutions. EULEX confirmed that excavations will begin but did not give an exact date saying the site will be assessed in the near future.

Association of the families of those killed and kidnapped from Kosovo and Metohija urged Belgrade officials to convey to the Albanian side in Brussels that "the conditions for peace are to find out the truth, and to resolve the fate of the kidnapped."

The statement points out that it is necessary to learn the truth and resolve the fate of the kidnapped Serbs, Roma, Albanians, Gorani, Muslims, as well as justice for victims or the prosecution and punishment for command responsibility of KLA commanders.

The Association of Families of Kidnapped and Murdered Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija say that Hashim Thaçi was forced to play the peacemaker in order to save himself from responsibility for kidnapping, murder and trafficking in organs.

The announcement came as a reaction to a visit of the President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi to Velika Hoča and Suva Reka, where he laid wreaths at the memorial of the murdered and kidnapped Serbs.

No representatives of the Serbs in Velika Hoča have met with President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi during his visit yesterday. Although they were informed about the visit, the representatives of the Association of Families of Kidnapped and Killed have not been present.

The arrival of the President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi to Hoča was accompanied with the increased security and a group of journalists from the Albanian media. No one came from Serbs who live there.