Its main focus will be to keep evidence of crimes and damages committed by Serbia in Kosovo during the time period 1990-1999. With its institute the Government of Kosovo aims at filing charges against Serbia at the International Court of Justice – as soon as this will be possible (after a still pending UN membership. In the meantime it serves to support according efforts of external institutions). As the institute’s new director Minister Kuci introduced international law specialist Dr. Zejnullah Gruda: Prof. Dr. Gruda was born in 1936 in Peja. He holds a Magister degree from the law faculty of the University of Sarajevo and a Doctoral degree in political science from the University of Belgrade, where he also worked as a lecturer. From 1975-1978 Gruda was the Yugoslav ambassador in Panama. Later on Dr. Gruda served as the General Secretary of the Yugoslav Red Cross. Currently he is a University Professor with a special focus of his lectures on International Public Law. KON / NK 
PRISTINA, Kosovo — The Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Hajredin Kuci today inaugurated the Kosovo War Crimes Institute. The establishment of a war crimes institute was announced about 6 weeks ago on 1st. of May. The proclaimed aim of the institute is the research, documentation and publication of war crimes in Kosovo. As to Minister Kuci the concerning activities shell be conducted professionally without political influence. According to the former announcement the war crimes institute will have the status of a public agency under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kosovo.
"… it is necessary to create a demarcation line between those innocent and those responsible, and thus to avoid the tendencies of accusing certain people for collective responsibility, to demonize them, which is a racist attitude"
"… responsibility is deeply connected with the demands set by the victims to bring different criminals to justice, which is a necessary condition for building and reestablishing common trust and peace among the people in these territories after all that had happened in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosova. … By bringing the perpetrators to justice we would avoid the possibility of demonizing whole nations, of identifying the Croats with the Ustasha, the Bosniacs with Islamic fundamentalism, the Albanians with nationalism and terrorism, the Serbs with Chetniks, etc. …"
If Zejnullah Gruda orients his work on his own written statements then the Kosovo war crimes institute will hopefully support true justice: blind against ethnicity and social status, equal against everyone. KON / NK
Filed under: Media Reports, Opinion, Gruda, Kosovo, Kuci, War Crimes
