Tadić calls for investigation, EULEX wants evidence

27 January 2011 | 10:50 | Source: B92, Tanjug

STRASBOURG,BELGRADE -- Serbian President Boris Tadić has called for an urgent investigation into organ trade while EULEX is waiting for CoE Rapporteur Dick Marty to produce evidence. Boris Tadić (Tanjug) Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Serbian president pointed out that there was no institution that could conduct the investigation at the moment but that one could be immediately created. He said that it was an imperative not to sweep the accusations of crimes under the rug and that legitimacy of the investigation would only be ensured if an efficient witness protection program was implemented. “I want to thank the Parliamentary Assembly for taking the first step toward determining of truth about what happened in secret KLA prisons. As a president of Serbia I call for an urgent, full and independent criminal investigation into these accusations which would be under the international mandate and internationally recognized,” Tadić told the PACE. “The legitimacy of such investigation can only be ensured if an efficient witness protection program is immediately established. It’s imperative not to sweep the accusations of those horrific crimes under the rug,” he explained.  Families of missing encouraged Adoption of Marty’s report in the PACE has encouraged the families of the kidnapped and killed who expect that the fate of their loved ones will finally be revealed. “I believe that nobody can be deaf and that nobody can be emotionless when they hear tragic and monstrous stories that have been written in the report,” said president of the Association of the Families of the Kidnapped and Murdered in Kosovo Verica Tomanović. “The judiciary will say whether they [accusations] are true and who is responsible for what. We are saying that the truth needs to be available for us,” she pointed out.  Marty’s accusations continue In the meantime Marty has been making new accusations. He told weekly NIN that the Hague Tribunal had destroyed the evidence that came from the town of Rripe near Burrel, in Albania. “That certainly is not normal procedure in any tribunal in the world. When you collect evidence and believe you do not have the necessary evidence, or do not have the necessary jurisdiction to continue with your investigation, you never destroy the evidence, especially when there is no statute of limitation. Evidence is preserved, there can be new evidence at a later date that gives a new meaning to the old," he was quoted as saying.  EULEX: Marty should produce evidence EULEX has once again confirmed that they would launch the investigation into the alleged crimes as soon as they receive any kind of evidence. “Every investigation needs to be based on evidence. As you know, we have sent two letters to Mr. Marty asking him to submit the evidence that could shed light on the allegations that were presented in his report,” EULEX Spokeswoman Irina Gudeljević stressed. “We have received his reply but he still has not submitted information or evidence that would allow us to prosecute the case. We are still waiting for evidence and information that could start the investigation,” she explained. The resolution based on the CoE rapporteur’s report calls for an investigation but it is non-binding and it is still unclear which institution could conduct the investigation. There have been speculations that the investigation could be handed over to the Hague Tribunal, EULEX or courts in Belgrade and Priština. European Parliament (EP) President Jerzy Buzek stated after the meeting with Serbian parliament speaker Slavica Đukić-Dejanović in Brussels on Wednesday that the EP wanted to wait for concrete evidence from the Council of Europe (CoE) regarding the allegations about organ trafficking in Kosovo. “We will certainly carefully consider the allegations, as we always do in such cases, but we need concrete evidence and we have to wait to obtain them if we are planning on taking any serious action. Let us wait and examine this case very closely,“ Buzek told the journalists regarding the adoption of the resolution on organ trafficking in Kosovo by PACE. “We expect to obtain concrete evidence from the CoE and we are ready to get involved, but for the moment, primary responsibility rests with the CoE, with which we are closely cooperating,“ he added.