Nine Years Since the Crimes in Suva Reka
March 26, 1999—March 26, 2008
From 1989 to 1999, Serbian armed forces committed numerous crimes in Kosovo. One of the worst crimes was committed in Suva Reka (Suha Reke in Albanian) on March 26, 1999. In only a few hours, members of the Serbian police killed 48 people, including 46 members of the Berisha family. The oldest person, Hanumsha, was 100 years old; the youngest, Eron, was only a year old. Three members of the Berisha family survived this pogrom by escaping from the truck in which the dead were transported to the Yugoslav National Army barracks in Prizren. The bodies of the victims have been found in a mass grave in the Batajnica neighborhood of Belgrade. Over 1,100 of our fellow citizens were buried in secondary graves throughout Serbia.
On the anniversary of this crime, we need to remember that:
This crime, as well as other crimes against the Albanian population, was state-organized. The organizers and perpetrators were members of the Serbian police.
The victims of this and many other crimes were civilians – unarmed and innocent, 'guilty' only because they were of a different ethnicity.
This, as well as all crimes committed from 1991 to 1999, was committed in our name, in the name of 'Serbianness,' motivated by an ideology of blood and earth. Because of this, it is necessary that we clearly and publicly distance ourselves from this all and such crimes.
On this occasion, we stress that Kosovo’s declaration of independence must not be used as an excuse for the relativization of responsibility for the crimes committed in our name, nor should it be used in any other way for amnesty of war crimes and war criminals.
On this occasion, we express our deepest and most sincere compassion and solidarity with the families of those killed in Suva Reka – for the loss of their loved ones, their immeasurable suffering, and the unending humiliation the Serbian regime has caused them.
Furthermore, we will continue to give emotional, moral, and political support to the families of the victims. We will continue to join them in monitoring the Special Court trials for the Suva Reka war crimes, as we have since 2006.
At this time, we demand that the perpetrators of crimes be adequately punished and that the organizers and commanders of the crime be indicted as well. We know that the organizers of these crimes are in Belgrade peacefully passing their retirement.
Furthermore, we will continue to work for a break from the criminal politics of the previous regime and for the punishment of crime, first those that were committed in our name and then all others.
This is our moral imperative and our civic responsibility. It is a precondition for reconciliation, a just and lasting peace, and democracy in Serbia.
Women in Black
Belgrade
March 25, 2008
