Prishtina, 7 December, 2023
The first official open meeting of the Institute for Research and Documentation of Crimes Committed during the War in Kosovo was held today.
“After a long way to create a strong foundation, I am very happy to welcome you to the first official open meeting of the Institute for the Research and Documentation of War Crimes Committed in Kosovo.” said Prime Minister Kurti during his speech.
“We have to make sure that we do the best we can to address everything that happened during the last war in Kosovo. We have more than 13,000 people killed during the last war, thousands of people raped, thousands tortured and imprisoned.” he added.
He emphasized that for the first time in the post-war history, the Institute foresees a separate division for the material and non-material damage caused and for the needs of the victims.
At the end of his speech, the prime minister reinforced the message that the goal of all of us is common: the creation of collective memory, which will not only serve us, but also all future generations that will come after us.
“History is full of painful lessons, but perhaps the most important part to remember is that peace requires justice as well as rehabilitation. Neither has happened in Kosovo, and the victims of the war deserve both.” said the prime minister.
On this occasion, the Director of the Institute for Research and Documentation of Crimes Committed during the War, Atdhe Hetemi, said that the Institute symbolizes an important step in his support and effort for the recognition and promotion of the truth, for the creation of preconditions for peace sustainable in Kosovo and the region.
The main goal is close cooperation with all those who are interested in documenting, researching and expanding knowledge about crimes committed during the war, where he highlighted that the Institute will work in the service of peace and justice, and will ensure that the crimes that have happened in Kosovo, should not be passed without being documented, as a duty of the institute towards the victims and the society.
In conclusion, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed that aims to define the cooperation between the Institute for the Investigation of Crimes Committed During the War in Kosovo and the State Agency of Archives of Kosovo, during the construction of the Institute’s archive, respectively the sharing of expertise in the verification, the processing and archiving of materials, as well as the development of joint projects for the documentation of crimes committed during the war in Kosovo.
The Prime Minister’s complete speech:
Honorable Vice President of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, Mrs. Saranda Bogujevci,
Honorable Minister of Justice, Mrs. Albulena Haxhiu,
Dear Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Hajrulla Ceku,
Honorable director of the Institute for Research and Documentation of Crimes Committed during the War, Mr. Homeland We search,
Dear representatives of partner institutions and organizations,
Ladies and gentleman,
Dear attendees,
Welcome to this panel discussion invited by the Institute for Research and Documentation of War Crimes.
While I was preparing this speech for today, I remembered May of 2020 when we held the meeting that launched the analysis team for the Institute. From that moment we prepared the analysis, held meetings, discussed narratives, operationalized strategies, and here we are today together.
After a long way to create a solid foundation, I am very happy to welcome you to the first official open meeting of the Institute for the Research and Documentation of War Crimes Committed in Kosovo. We already have the Institute that will be functional very soon, we have the appointed director, Dr. Atdhe Hetemi and we have a set of works that await us.
No one should and cannot claim that we will easily manage to solve all the problems that have been caused for 24 years. It will be hard, very hard. People are tired. Victims have lost faith in the system. Generations of faith are dying every day and thus the primary memory of the war is being lost.
This is a great danger which threatens us and which we dare not allow to happen. We have to make sure that we do the best we can to address everything that happened during the last war in Kosovo. We have more than 13,000 people killed during the last war, thousands of people raped, thousands tortured and imprisoned.
We have experienced devastating damage that we have never measured. Even today, more than 24 years after the war, we do not have a figure that could show us the economic damage that the war has caused to our country.
And the situation is even worse in relation to the emotional and psychological damage, which we have not addressed at all for these years. This is the reason why we decided to start the work with a team that is exclusively concerned with the preparation of the analysis which would be the best way to proceed with the establishment of the Institute. And this has served us well.
Because the Institute was not established by a decision without an operational strategy. The institute is not at the mercy of donations that may or may not come. The institute was established by law, has its own budget line, has and will continue to have experts in the field, will be in coordination with other institutes in the region and international ones.
For the first time in the post-war history, the Institute foresees a separate division for material and non-material damage, and for the needs of victims, not only for crime. However, the Institute must have everyone’s support if it is to succeed. It cannot operate alone.
We do not wish for any moment, under any circumstances, to discard all the good work that has been done so far by many initiatives. We wish that taking into account the work so far, that many of you who are present have done, we go one step further and then many steps together in the future. Let’s see where the gaps are left and fill them.
We are lucky that among us we have very good experts in the field who, in addition to their personal and professional work, also bring the international contacts they have, those in transitional justice.
On this occasion, I would like to thank my former adviser Furtuna Sheremeti. The work of Furtuna extends not only to the material damage, but also to the emotional and psychological as well as the needs of the victims. Furtuna is currently in The Hague, as he is part of the defense team of Mr. Rexhep Selimi, but she has worked and continues to work sparingly in the processes of confronting the past, including here especially the Institute for Crimes Committed During the War in Kosovo.
In the end, the goal of all of us is common: the creation of collective memory, which will not only serve us, but also all future generations that will come after us. History is filled with painful lessons, but perhaps the most important part to remember is that peace requires justice as well as rehabilitation. Neither has happened in Kosovo, and the victims of the war deserve both.
Dear attendees,
We welcome today’s discussion on the next stages of the process of researching and documenting the crimes committed during the war in Kosovo.
For this part, I pass the floor to the Director of the Institute for Research and Documentation of Crimes Committed during the War in Kosovo, Mr. Atdhe Hetemi.
Thank you.
Last modified: December 8, 2023