Cases of killed, missing journalists should be investigated

BELGRADE -The Journalists' Association of Kosovo-Metohija (DNKiM) and the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) called on UNMIK, EULEX and Pristina's institutions on Wednesday to pursue investigations into the cases of killed and missing journalists during 1998 and 1999 and bring perpetrators to justice.

In a joint statement, the DNKiM and the UNS urge the relevant international and Pristina institutions to act upon the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Advisory Panel in Pristina, delivered after determining numerous omissions in relation to the cases of killed and missing journalists in Kosovo-Metohija.

The two associations point to major irregularities in UNMIK's police and court operations and drastic violations of the European Convention of Human Rights in the cases of missing and killed journalists.

"It has been shown that not even a minimal probe was conducted in cases of kidnappings and killings, and in cases where there were witnesses who point to potential perpetrators, none of them was questioned," says the statement by the two professional associations.

The DNKiM and the UNS called on the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to inform the public about his moves after the Human Rights Advisory Panel had published its conclusions.

The international police forces and judiciary had certain information concerning the kidnapping of Ljubomir Knezevic, a correspondent of the Politika and Jedinstvo dailies, RTS staffer in Pristina Mile Buljevic, journalist at the Serb newsroom of Radio-Television of Kosovo Marijan Melonasi, but did nothing to shed light on their fate, says the release.

In relation to the abduction of Knezevic in Vucitrn on May 6, 1999, the Human Rights Advisory Panel...