UN SC to hear about organ trafficking

Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic today directly accused Sali Berisha of ordering a cover-up in the organ trafficking case. Vukcevic spoke in Belgrade, two days after a visit to Tirana, and after his Albanian counterpart Ina Rama refused to launch an investigation into allegations that Kosovo Serb civilians were kidnapped in the province after the 1999 war, and taken to northern Albania, where their vital organs were extracted. UN SC to hear about organ trafficking Beta reports that Vukcevic told Wednesday's edition of Press newspaper that Berisha, who is today Albania's prime minister, "ordered the security services to destroy documentation on the missing Kosovo Serbs, their transport to Albania, and organ trade". Vukcevic accused Berisha of issuing this order under pressure from one of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, leaders, and subsequent Kosovo premiers, Ramush Haradinaj. Since Tirana refused to open an investigation into all this, the war crimes prosecutor continued, Serbia will send the case to the UN Security Council and the Council of Europe. "The world must learn about what happened in northern Albania," Vukcevic said. "We have arrived at a conclusion that politics played a significant role in the cover-up of the war crimes committed against Serbs and non-Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija. Carla Del Ponte's book, obviously, is an unpleasant testimony for Albania." Vukcevic also said that some 300 people were kidnapped and taken to Albania in this way, and that there is information about several possible mass graves, but that this is something that must be investigated by Albania or by international institutions. But speaking to the media on Wednesday, Vukcevic said that he has not seen the official document in which the Albanian state prosecution refused to cooperate, adding he is therefore "unable to comment media reports about the rejection". "If these reports are true, this is primarily a political decision," Tanjug quoted him as saying. Vukcevic told reporters that at a meeting two days ago with Rama, continued cooperation between the two prosecution offices was agreed, and that so far he has not seen any official document refusing such cooperation. "We asked for their help in eight points and it is simply incredible that they were able to translate this from English in such a short time and look into our requests," said the war crimes prosecutor. hat his office's spokesman Bruno Vekaric commented that the Albanian Prosecutor Ina Rama had not even had time to look through all the materials. Serbian Justice Minister Snezana Malovic echoed the views of the War Crimes Prosecution, stating that the decision had obviously been taken under political pressure. State Secretary to the Justice Ministry Slobodan Homen told B92 that following Albania’s decision to drop the investigation, the Serbian institutions would call on the help of international organizations. “The problem is that Albanian politics has got involved here, and that this is a purely political decision,” he said. "Therefore, we will address international organizations, first of all, the Council of Europe’s [CoE] representative in charge of this case. We’ll provide them with all the evidence and I believe that Albania will need to explain why such a decision was taken only 12 hours after it received the evidence,” Homen said. Vukcevic met on Monday with the Albanian chief prosecutor and her team to discuss the investigation launched by the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution into the alleged organ harvesting. The prosecution announced earlier that the CoE’s rapporteur in the matter, Dick Marty, would be notified of all the allegations regarding the organ harvesting of missing persons. The allegations first surfaced in former Chief Hague Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte's book "The Hunt", published in Italian earlier this year. B92 TV's team was in northern Albania recently, visiting some of the locations where kidnapped Serbs are said to have been held and killed. "Hallucinatory lies, sick fantasy, fiction" Sali Berisha's spokesman this evening in Tirana reacted to Vukcevic's allegations by saying they are "lies and product of sick fantasy" on the part of the Serbian war crimes prosecutor. "This is a hallucinatory lie and a product of fantasy inspired by sick fiction," Grid Roji was quoted as saying.

UN SC to hear about organ trafficking

Beta reports that Vukčević told Wednesday's edition of Press newspaper that Berisha, who is today Albania's prime minister, "ordered the security services to destroy documentation on the missing Kosovo Serbs, their transport to Albania, and organ trade".

Vukčević accused Berisha of issuing this order under pressure from one of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, leaders, and subsequent Kosovo premiers, Ramush Haradinaj.

Since Tirana refused to open an investigation into all this, the war crimes prosecutor continued, Serbia will send the case to the UN Security Council and the Council of Europe.

"The world must learn about what happened in northern Albania," Vukčević said.

"We have arrived at a conclusion that politics played a significant role in the cover-up of the war crimes committed against Serbs and non-Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija. Carla Del Ponte's book, obviously, is an unpleasant testimony for Albania."

Vukčević also said that some 300 people were kidnapped and taken to Albania in this way, and that there is information about several possible mass graves, but that this is something that must be investigated by Albania or by international institutions.

But speaking to the media on Wednesday, Vukčević said that he has not seen the official document in which the Albanian state prosecution refused to cooperate, adding he is therefore "unable to comment media reports about the rejection".

"If these reports are true, this is primarily a political decision," Tanjug quoted him as saying.

Vukčević told reporters that at a meeting two days ago with Rama, continued cooperation between the two prosecution offices was agreed, and that so far he has not seen any official document refusing such cooperation.

"We asked for their help in eight points and it is simply incredible that they were able to translate this from English in such a short time and look into our requests," said the war crimes prosecutor.

hat his office's spokesman Bruno Vekarić commented that the Albanian Prosecutor Ina Rama had not even had time to look through all the materials.

Serbian Justice Minister Snežana Malović echoed the views of the War Crimes Prosecution, stating that the decision had obviously been taken under political pressure.

State Secretary to the Justice Ministry Slobodan Homen told B92 that following Albania’s decision to drop the investigation, the Serbian institutions would call on the help of international organizations.

“The problem is that Albanian politics has got involved here, and that this is a purely political decision,” he said.

"Therefore, we will address international organizations, first of all, the Council of Europe’s [CoE] representative in charge of this case. We’ll provide them with all the evidence and I believe that Albania will need to explain why such a decision was taken only 12 hours after it received the evidence,” Homen said.

Vukčević met on Monday with the Albanian chief prosecutor and her team to discuss the investigation launched by the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution into the alleged organ harvesting.

The prosecution announced earlier that the CoE’s rapporteur in the matter, Dick Marty, would be notified of all the allegations regarding the organ harvesting of missing persons.

The allegations first surfaced in former Chief Hague Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte's book "The Hunt", published in Italian earlier this year.

B92 TV's team was in northern Albania recently, visiting some of the locations where kidnapped Serbs are said to have been held and killed.

"Hallucinatory lies, sick fantasy, fiction"

Sali Berisha's spokesman this evening in Tirana reacted to Vukčević's allegations by saying they are "lies and product of sick fantasy" on the part of the Serbian war crimes prosecutor.

"This is a hallucinatory lie and a product of fantasy inspired by sick fiction," Grid Roji was quoted as saying.