TIRANA TIMES
TIRANA, Dec. 20 – Marty’s report also criticised Albania for not cooperating in investigating the alleged abuses.
Del Ponte said her team had to stop the investigation before they could gather more evidence to warrant a formal prosecution, after being blocked by Albanian officials and the court’s limited mandate, which did not cover the Balkan state.
In a series of statements Tirana denied that international experts were hampered in their work to investigate the case. Officially it ws President Topi first, to be followed by the Foreign Minsitry and on Monday also from Proseuctor General Ina Rama.
A statement read from her spokesman said that Albanian authroities had offered full support to the itnernational experts. They had found no proof to open a case and that albanian authroities were ready to offer assistance if an international investion would be launched.
Prosecutor General said that recent allegations in Marty’s report on the existence of bases in Albania where transplantations were allegedly performed are the data that the Albanian prosecution had no knowledge of. She siad they were not informed about it, nor were any requests for investigation submitted by international bodies.
Meanwhile the Katuci family oweing the ‘yellow house’ is increasing its voice that the case has disrupted their life.
Basha denies serving as translator
TIRANA – Albania’s Interior Minister Lulzim Basha also denied he had served as a translator for an ICTY investigator looking for clues on alleged organ trafficking in the infamous yellow house in northern Albania.
“This is a dumb declaration, I have never been in any yellow house,” Basha told reporters. The allegations that Basha assisted the ICTY as a translator were made by former forensics expert Pablo Baraybar in an interview for Swiss newspaper Le Temps. Baraybar said that he had visited northern Albania incognito to investigate the claims in 2003, and had been assisted by Basha, who worked as a legal expert for UNMIK in Kosovo at the time.
But a day later the local media reported he denied that he had said Basha had served as his translator. As usual the case of being or not a translator for him turned into a poltiical issue in this country.
Basha said the claims made in the report, which was approved by the CoE’s Legal and Political Affairs Committee in Paris on Thursday, were only recycled allegations.
Meta in Belgrade agaisnt marty’s report
TIRANA – Economy Minsiter Ilir Meta, also deputy premier and leader of the governing coalition partner Sociaslit Movement for Intergration, was in Belgrade, Serbia to take part at the convention held from its President Boris Tadic’s party.
Meta exploited the three-day stay there to meet with top Serb officials, including the president, prime minsiter and more.
He said that he had made it clear to the Serbs that there had been no proof that Albania had served as the basis for organ trafficking of killed Serbs after the Kosovo war. Meta said he had considered Marty’s claims at the reprot as “fixation” and specualtion not related to the reality. He also added alabnai is not afraid of a probe.
Meta has been deputy premier during the Kosovo war.
Serbia seeks probe
BELGRADE, Serbia – Serbia urged international authorities on Monday to investigate allegations of a trade in the kidneys and other human organs of civilians slain in the aftermath of Kosovo’s 1999 war for secession, officials said.
A Serbian government official traveled Monday to the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, to meet with European human rights officials as part of a diplomatic offensive to trigger the probe.
“Serbia is seeking nothing but the full truth about those accusations,” said Serbian official Rasim Ljajic before he left for Strasbourg. “Without justice, there cannot be reconciliation in the region.” Serbian President Boris Tadic said Monday that Marty’s report created “a completely new situation” that illustrates there were not only Serb crimes in Kosovo during the conflict, but also ethnic Albanian crimes.
“Serbia awaited for years for such a report by international institutions,” Tadic said, appealing for all war crimes to be prosecuted. Serbia’s deputy war crimes Prosecutor Bruno Vekaric said Monday “there should be no political euphoria over the reported trafficking, but a serious investigation to determine who was and who wasn’t responsible for the crimes.” “I think it’s in the interest of Europe, Kosovo authorities and us in Serbia, and most of all the families of the victims,” Vekaric said.
Jelko Kacin, in charge of the European Parliament’s evaluation reports on Serbia’s bid to join the European Union, said in Belgrade on Monday that Marty’s report does not contain enough evidence to support the claims, but added that a legal investigation should be conducted.
“This will represent a great challenge for the judiciary in Albania and Kosovo, and international institutions should be included,” Kacin said.
Albanian American community denounces Marty’s accusations
WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 – The Albanian American community strongly denounces the unsubstantiated allegations made by Mr.Dick Marty of illicit trafficking in human organs and organized crime by former leaders of the KLA. The report is an uncorroborated attack attempting to smear not only PM Thaci, but also the heroic resistance against the Serbian ethnic cleansing campaign made by the Kosova Liberation Army (KLA).
Mr. Marty’s report alleges fresh evidence but presents no new information, contends to have spoken with multiple witnesses, but refuses to publish names.
They also mention Bernard Kouchner, former Foreign Minister of France and UNMIK Chief at the time of the allegations, responding that, “My first reaction, and I read the report very carefully, is that I’m very skeptical about those accusations of the organ trade. My second reaction is to have somebody investigate this, conduct a real investigation.”
Philip Crowley, State Department spokesman, stated, “there are tribunals, such as the ICTY, that have been active for many years. To the extent you’ve got allegations of war crimes, there have been successful prosecutions. Both the UN and the ICTY have investigated allegations of an organ trafficking ring as far back as 2004. They decided to take no action at that time. But we certainly continue to encourage any cooperation – or cooperation in any further investigation of these matters.”
The Albanian American community fully stands behind the government of Kosova’s demand that Dick Marty step back and allow competent, impartial authorities to look into these unsubstantiated allegations and commit to cooperate fully with any fair and unbiased inquiry.
Additionally, we implore the international community to continue to support Kosova’s inevitable membership into Euro-Atlantic institutions.
