Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti has responded to the 10th anniversary of Serbia’s 30-year classification of the 37th Motorized Brigade archive of the Yugoslav Army.

In a social media post, Kurti reiterated the demand for the opening of these archives in Serbia, as per the agreement reached on May 2nd last year in Brussels.

“We have submitted several requests for the release of the 37th Motorized Brigade archive of the Yugoslav Army, which is responsible for numerous massacres in the Drenica region,” he wrote.

10th Anniversary of the 30-Year Classification of the 37th Motorized Brigade Archive

“During the 1998-99 war in Kosova, the Serbian state’s strategy was to hide crimes by concealing bodies. This strategy remains in place today. The successors of Milosevic in Belgrade, once collaborators and now leaders of the Serbian state, refuse to open the archives to reveal the locations of mass graves,” Kurti continued.

He noted that ten years ago, the Serbian Ministry of Defense classified documents related to the activities of the 37th Motorized Brigade in Kosova as state secrets. This decision, made on July 31, 2014, obstructs the truth about the murders of Albanian civilians and the concealment of their bodies in mass graves in Serbia.

“Based on the May 2nd agreement in Brussels, we reaffirm our demand for the opening of these archives. We have already sent several requests regarding the 37th Motorized Brigade archive, which is linked to many massacres in the Drenica region. The Serbian government’s decision to keep these documents secret for 30 years is an attempt to conceal the crimes committed. It is also a clear sign that Serbia, while standing over the graves of murdered Albanian civilians, has shown no remorse for the atrocities committed in Kosova”.

Kurti added that this act represents a violation of human rights, denying families the right to know the truth and hindering efforts to achieve justice. By keeping these documents hidden, Serbia fails to distance itself from Milosevic’s regime and its genocidal crimes in Kosova.

“Only by uncovering the truth and holding perpetrators accountable can we achieve justice and lasting peace in the region,” Prime Minister Kurti concluded.

/a.p./