By Sparta
Memory Eternal
Let us begin by honoring the memory of those killed for their bodily organs during the Kosovo War and its aftermath. Memory Eternal (Vechnaya Pamyat/Вечнaјa Пaмјat in Serbian Cyrillic) is the traditional Orthodox Christian hymn commemorating the dead. This version is sung by St. Sergius’ Choir, at St. Sava’s Serbian Orthodox Church in Cleveland, Ohio.
Orthodox Concert St. Sergius Choir (Alex Petrovsky) – Vechnaya Pamyat
America Forgets
It’s amazing. When the Serbs were accused of committing atrocities, our congressmen couldn’t jump up fast enough on the floor of the House to condemn them, yet something as horrific as this, they and the media remain silent. It’s news all over Europe, but we’ve heard nothing about this in the states.
EUobserver: EU and US accused of cover-up on organ trafficking
By Andrew Willis
14.02.2011 @ 09:25 CET
Investigator Dick Marty…A report published by Mr Marty in December sent shockwaves through the international community when it linked Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci to a gruesome crime ring which carried out organ harvesting and heroin smuggling in the region.
Serb prisoners held in special detention camps were killed and had their organs extracted for sale on the international black market in the 1990s, claimed the 27-page document.
A former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Mr Thaci’s name was frequently cited in intelligence and diplomatic reports from Kosovo sent by western information agencies such as the FBI, MI6, “but the western politicians persistently remained quiet,” Mr Marty said in the interview.
“Everybody kept quiet. That’s the real scandal, not my report in which I only wrote what many have known for a long time,” he added.
That claim appears to be supported by a recently leaked US diplomatic cable which suggests former Dutch state secretary for European Affairs Frans Timmermans warned the US in 2007 that senior Kosovo officials were heavily involved in criminal activities.
“Kosovo is run by people who live off crime … [they have] no other means to support themselves,” Mr Timmermans reportedly told US officials in The Hague, according to the cable published by WikiLeaks.
An EU mission in Kosovo, Eulex, is currently investigating the recent allegations, but the supervisory body is plagued by internal problems that will prevent witnesses giving real evidence, Mr Marty said.
“There is no secrecy. All translators are local, there are many local staff. That is why even the most confidential information has been systematically leaking,” he said.
“If I gave [Eulex] the names of the witnesses I interviewed [as called for by the EU], their lives would immediately be under threat.”
Instead, a special investigation unit from abroad with a credible witness protection programme is needed, suggested the Swiss politician – something he feels Europe will oppose as it will expose their previous unwillingness to act.
“Europe is never going to accept that. Because it knows that my witnesses would really talk and reveal that a large part of the European politicians knew all along what was going on in Kosovo. Do you really think that Brussels wants to hear something like this,” he said.
Originally published on 1389 Blog.
