Action for Human Rights (HRA) expects the Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković to provide a review of the processing of the crime in Kaluđerski laz, and 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.
"It has been a full 25 years since the members of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's Army in the area of Kaluđerski Laz, near Rožaj, killed a total of 22 and wounded seven civilians of Albanian nationality, 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 these murders, nor has it been established that the victims and the families of the victims have been compensated. represented salvation for refugees from Kosovo, Brahim Ljaljić, a resident of Kaluđerski Laz, whose son was wounded in the army's attack on civilians, testified that daily, about 1998 days before the shooting, columns of refugees from Kosovo passed through Kaluđerski Laz - civilians, women, children and the elderly. They were passing through the Kaluđerski Laz bridge, near where the soldiers were killed. None of the soldiers touched the refugees until April 1999, 20," the HRA statement said.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) added that it is unknown why the soldiers shot at the refugees that day.
"No one was held accountable for the crime due to a poorly conducted investigation. The High Court in Bijelo Polje could not identify which of the soldiers shot the civilians or who issued the order, so it acquitted all the accused due to lack of evidence in 2013. It later confirmed that verdict and the Court of Appeals. The higher court did not even answer the question of whether the killing of refugees in the area of Kaluđerski Laz was a war crime. This led to the fact that the families of the injured did not receive compensation due to the expiration of the statute of limitations."
The HRA said that punishing war crimes is important for the victims and victims' families, but also for the entire society, which ensures the rule of law and prevents crimes from being repeated.
"Responsibility for the crime must be individualized. We call on the Special State Prosecutor's Office to reconsider the case of murder and vulnerability of refugees and locals in Kaluđerski Laz," HRA said.
They also state that one of the surviving refugees, Hadži Ahmeti, spoke about the brutality of the Army of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that day: "It was daylight visibility when the firing started, and it was already dark when it stopped. Before the firing stopped, I tried to come to my children. I found the strength to go ... Then I saw the boy who was serving water, dead. Later I found out that the boy's name was Labinot and I got the impression that he was from this village village where the incident happened. I saw that this German woman, who was raising a white scarf as a sign of surrender, was shot in the stomach, and Mursel Brahimaj was shot in the head, so that his brain was partially visible. Hatmona Barjaktari was shot in the legs. A little further towards the stream I saw Ramiz Brahimaj lying on his back, holding his hands..."
"Read the testimonies of the witnesses of this event - locals, one of the survivors from the refugee column and two members of the Montenegrin police in the book 'Against Forgetting' by Action for Human Rights. Let's show respect to the victims, let's get to know the facts about the crimes in order to be able to prevent them," he concludes. in the announcement of the HRA.
Bonus video:
