By Margaret Yates

Around 3000 people are still considered missing since the conflict in Kosovo in 1998/1999. More then two-thirds of the missing are ethnic Albanians. Dialogue on this topic between Pristina and Belgrade started this march with the first meeting of the working group on missing persons. A second meeting is supposed to happen this Thursday in Pristina.

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Up to now, the two sides agreed on a general framework of rules and procedures on how to deal with this problem. Also they agreed on a provisional list of missing persons compiled by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Recently mass graves with more then 30 non-Albanians corpses were found in Kosovo close to Klina/Kline and Malesevo/Malesheve.

In Serbia proper the first mass graves were discovered in 2000. The biggest of them is Batajnica, on the outskirts of Belgrade, in which some 700 bodies were found.

On the 27th of May, sixty-four mortal remains were transferred to Kosovo from Serbia. These mortal remains were exhumed from the Batajnica mass grave.

Relatives waited for the transfer at the Merdare Crossing point and laid flowers on the mortal remains.

The grief after six years is still big. Nysrete Kumnova heads the Association of ‘Mothers Calls’.

Actuality: How do I feel as you can see, in these moments here you can see how I feel, if the wound would heal for good, but the wounds are staying open. I don't know for how much longer.

The remains have been transported to the Rahovec/Orahovac mortuary for forensic investigation. After identification the mortal remains will be released to the families.

Serbian Authorities have so far returned more than 400 mortal remains. However, as there are still many more in Serbia, the Kosovo Assembly committee for missing persons expressed dissatisfaction with the number of remains repatriated from Serbia.

The Head of the Office of Missing persons and Forensics, Jose-Pablo Baraybar, says progress is being made but more needs to be done.

Actuality: As you know there is still a number of cases that should be transferred from Serbia, maybe less than 300 but still it is a large number of remains, less than half of the remains are still waiting to be transferred from Serbia.

However, Baraybar is optimistic that more corpses will be handed over in the coming months.

Actuality: We are working as fast as we can in cooperation with all sides to resolve this situation. We really hope that in the months to come more remains will be transferred. But we understand as well that the transfer of remains is dependent on the remains having a DNA report – meaning for them to be identified.

The head of the International Red Cross' European branch, Francois Stam, emphasized at the meeting on missing persons last March in Belgrade that no reconciliation is possible without resolving this issue.

Actuality: Families have waited for six years or more and beyond the purely humanitarian nature of this working group there’s also the fact that I think it would be very difficult to seriously consider true process of reconciliation and looking at the future with this issue unsettled.

Back announce: The Working Group on missing persons meetings are chaired by ICRC and under auspices of the SRSG Soren Jessen-Petersen.

That’s was all for today, thanks for listening and stay tuned.