WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR: M.J.
The obligation of the institutions of Montenegro is to ensure justice for the victims and their families, and the expectation from the supreme state prosecutor Milorad Marković is to provide a review of the prosecution of the crime in Kaluđerski laz that happened 25 years ago, according to the civil sector.
The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, also called for the erection of a memorial yesterday, and the Bosniak Party believes that the election of the VDT has created the formal prerequisites for the judicial authorities of Montenegro to finally begin the prosecution of that crime.
A quarter of a century has passed since members of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's Army killed a total of 22 and wounded 7 civilians of Albanian nationality in the area of Kaluđerski Laz, near Rožaj, who fled to the territory of Montenegro during the NATO intervention in 1999 when Kosovo was engulfed in war.
Among those killed were children, women and the elderly. To this day, no one has been punished for those murders, nor has it been established that a war crime was committed, the victims and their families have not been compensated, and there are no monuments in Kaluđerski Laz.
The Action for Human Rights announced that the organization expects the supreme state prosecutor to provide a review of the prosecution of this crime, that the government find a way to compensate the victims and that the local self-government ensure that a monument is erected to the victims in Kaluđerski Laz.
The Center for Civic Education recalled that all those killed were of Albanian nationality, that they came to Montenegro fleeing war, violence and persecution, which indicates that the execution of this crime was motivated solely by ethnic reasons.
In 2008, according to that organization, the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office qualified this crime as a war crime and brought charges against eight members of the Army.
Yugoslavia, but after seven years of proceedings, all the accused were acquitted, so this event remains one of the series of war crimes cases from the 90s that did not receive an adequate judicial epilogue.
It is the obligation of the institutions of Montenegro to ensure justice for the victims and their families within the framework of their competences, and the obligation of the citizens is to nurture the culture of remembering the innocent victims - announced the CGO.
The HRA points out that the punishment of war crimes is important for the victims and victims' families, but also for the entire society, which in this way ensures the rule of law and prevents crimes from being repeated.
Responsibility for crime must be individualized. We call on the Special State Prosecutor's Office to reconsider the case of murders and injuries of refugees and locals in Kaluđerski laz - say the HRA.
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the events in Kaluđerski laz, the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, spoke, saying that this crime represents a dark chapter in our history, marked by the loss of innocent lives of those who sought refuge in our country.
The victims deserve justice and that is why I appeal to the competent authorities not to give up on establishing the complete truth and the responsibility of the perpetrators. Also, I call for the erection of a dignified memorial that will permanently honor the victims, but also serve as a place of instruction for future generations - announced Milatović.
The Bosniak Party also reminded yesterday that this was the most massive crime in the area, and that to date no one has been held accountable for the murders in the village of Kaluđerski laz.
We believe that the election of the supreme state prosecutor created the formal prerequisites for the judicial authorities of Montenegro to finally proceed with the prosecution of that crime. Without an essential confrontation with the past, there is no lasting reconciliation in society, and no talk of true justice. In this sense, we are encouraged by the recent statement of VDT Milorad Marković, that the prosecution of all war crimes will be his personal, but also the strategic commitment of the State Prosecutor's Office, and that war crimes cases are a priority - BS announced.
Yesterday, the 25th anniversary of the war crime in Kaluđerski laz was marked on the bridge over Rožaj's river Crnja, with a gathering organized by Haxha Lajçi and lawyer Velija Murić, another one that was marked without a monument, highlighting the list of the names of the victims killed in Kaluđerski laz.
