Serbian officials react to EULEX appointment

The EU mission in Kosovo, EULEX, says its still incomplete Kosovo organ trafficking investigation team now has a chief. U.S. diplomat John Clint Williamson was named as chief prosecutor of the EULEX special team, the EU mission in the province announced. Serbian officials react to EULEX appointment The team is supposed to investigate allegations of human organ trafficking in Kosovo, presented in a reports submitted in late 2010 by Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty. "It is good that EULEX is finally going to form a team to investigate the claims made in Dick Marty's report and the crimes committed by members of the terrorist organization known as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). I want to believe the investigation will be unbiased, despite the fact that there is already some pessimism, since the man who was appointed is potentially someone the Serbs do not trust," Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic told Tanjug. "Right now, the willingness to start the procedure has to be welcomed, so the crimes committed against the Serbs would finally be revealed and the criminals punished for their involvement in organ trafficking," he stated. Bogdanovic stressed that he "wanted to believe the truth would be laid bare and that the international community would realize there had been crimes on both sides". "So far only the Serbian side has been accused of war crimes, while the crimes perpetrated by the KLA have been little mentioned or investigated," he added. The special team will investigate the findings of Marty's report which accuses the ethnic Albanian KLA of perpetrating the atrocities, with kidnapped Serb civilians as their victims. Williamson previously worked at the Hague Tribunal, taking part in the prosecution cases against Slobodan Milosevic and Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan, as well as the war crimes cases relating to the towns of Dubrovnik and Vukovar. He also served as U.S. ambassador for war crimes. In 2001 and 2002, he was in Kosovo, where he headed the justice office of the UN mission UNMIK, which was in charge of supervising the justice and penitentiary system in the province. Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic today welcomed the appointment, saying that he held Williams in exceptionally high esteem, as a professional who made great contribution to the solving of war crimes cases in the Balkans. Reports today describe Williams' current job as "special expert" with the UN secretary-general's office. The EU mission, EULEX, initiated a preliminary inquiry regarding Marty's claims January 27 this year. Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said ahead of this week's UN Security Council session dedicated to Kosovo that this UN body would have to take a stance by the end of the year on Serbia's request for a UN-mandated probe into the organ trafficking case.

Serbian officials react to EULEX appointment

The team is supposed to investigate allegations of human organ trafficking in Kosovo, presented in a reports submitted in late 2010 by Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty.

"It is good that EULEX is finally going to form a team to investigate the claims made in Dick Marty's report and the crimes committed by members of the terrorist organization known as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). I want to believe the investigation will be unbiased, despite the fact that there is already some pessimism, since the man who was appointed is potentially someone the Serbs do not trust," Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanović told Tanjug.

"Right now, the willingness to start the procedure has to be welcomed, so the crimes committed against the Serbs would finally be revealed and the criminals punished for their involvement in organ trafficking," he stated.

Bogdanović stressed that he "wanted to believe the truth would be laid bare and that the international community would realize there had been crimes on both sides".

"So far only the Serbian side has been accused of war crimes, while the crimes perpetrated by the KLA have been little mentioned or investigated," he added.

The special team will investigate the findings of Marty's report which accuses the ethnic Albanian KLA of perpetrating the atrocities, with kidnapped Serb civilians as their victims.

Williamson previously worked at the Hague Tribunal, taking part in the prosecution cases against Slobodan Milošević and Željko Ražnatović Arkan, as well as the war crimes cases relating to the towns of Dubrovnik and Vukovar.

He also served as U.S. ambassador for war crimes.

In 2001 and 2002, he was in Kosovo, where he headed the justice office of the UN mission UNMIK, which was in charge of supervising the justice and penitentiary system in the province.

Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević today welcomed the appointment, saying that he held Williams in exceptionally high esteem, as a professional who made great contribution to the solving of war crimes cases in the Balkans.

Reports today describe Williams' current job as "special expert" with the UN secretary-general's office.

The EU mission, EULEX, initiated a preliminary inquiry regarding Marty's claims January 27 this year.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić said ahead of this week's UN Security Council session dedicated to Kosovo that this UN body would have to take a stance by the end of the year on Serbia's request for a UN-mandated probe into the organ trafficking case.