by Ali Daci.

Abstract

This study examines the 1999 massacre of Kosovar refugees in Husaj, Montenegro, perpetrated by Serbo-Montenegrin military and paramilitary forces. Between March and June 1999, 21 civilians—including children and the elderly—were killed, dozens were wounded, and some individuals, such as Sadik Ramçaj, remain missing. Despite multiple criminal complaints filed by the Montenegrin Committee of Lawyers for the Protection of Human Rights and submissions to the Hague Tribunal, Montenegrin judicial authorities repeatedly dismissed evidence and acquitted the accused. This persistent impunity underscores systemic failures in both Montenegrin and Kosovar legal institutions. The study calls for renewed international judicial intervention, sustained advocacy by Kosovo, and the establishment of a commemorative memorial in Husaj to honor the victims and address unresolved human rights violations.

The Killing of Kosovar Refugees in Montenegro (1999)

Today, on April 18, 2023, the 24th anniversary of the killing of Kosovar refugees in Montenegro, we ask: why has Mr. Dritan Abazović, Acting Prime Minister of Montenegro, not instructed the investigative and judicial authorities to take concrete measures to arrest the suspects and clarify this genocidal case?

Refugees were killed in Husaj; innocent civilians fell under the hail of bullets from Serbo-Montenegrin military and paramilitary forces.

Even 24 years after the killings, no prime minister or justice minister in Montenegro or Kosovo has demanded a full investigation into the murder of Kosovar refugees on Montenegrin territory in the spring of 1999.

The state of Kosovo must insist on justice for its citizens. High-ranking Kosovar officials should demand that Montenegro clarify this crime and bring the perpetrators to justice—a crime that violates all laws of war and refugee rights conventions. Families of the victims expect Prime Ministers Abazović and Kurti to take concrete steps and make this a priority in bilateral relations between Kosovo and Montenegro.

Twenty-four full years have passed since the killing of Albanian refugees from Kosovo in Montenegro by Serbo-Montenegrin military and paramilitary forces. Between March and June, until the complete withdrawal of Serbo-Montenegrin military forces from the Rozhaje Highlands, two children, two elderly women, elderly men, and young people were killed, raising the total number of dead, massacred, and burned victims to 21, while dozens of other refugees and local Montenegrin citizens of Husaj were seriously wounded. Since that time, the body of Sadik Ramçaj from Vrella e Istogut remains missing. It is suspected that others may have been liquidated or disappeared under torture in improvised Serbo-Montenegrin army prisons in Andrijevica—cases that were never investigated.

On May 18, 2005, the Montenegrin Committee of Lawyers for the Protection of Human Rights filed a criminal complaint for crimes committed against Kosovar civilians, signed by renowned lawyer Velia Muriq, president of this association, and by Zenel Mekaj, the committee’s representative in Peja. The complaint was also delivered to the Hague Tribunal, specifically to investigator Mr. Roel Versonnen in Belgrade.

On July 30, 2008, the Supreme State Prosecutor of Montenegro issued an indictment proposing the pre-trial detention of eight members of the I Battalion of the III Motorized Brigade of the Podgorica Corps of the II Yugoslav Army. Subsequent witness hearings were held in Rozhajë, Bijelo Polje, Podgorica High Court, and the Court of Appeals. All facts and testimonies, not only from Albanians but also Montenegrin officials, were dismissed by Montenegrin “justice” authorities.

The silence regarding this crime and the release of the accused is a cowardly act of Montenegrin justice, unacceptable and contrary to human rights. After three years of investigation, the accused were released by the Podgorica Court of Appeals due to lack of evidence and declared “innocent” in December 2014.

The Court of Appeals in Podgorica cleared the accused in Husaj, Bukel i Sipërm, Fushë e Gilit, Besnik, and surrounding areas of the Rozhajë municipality, where the crimes occurred. Such absurdities of Montenegrin injustice should not surprise public opinion, as crimes and criminals have never been punished since the Tivar Massacre, where over 4,800 Kosovar Albanian recruits were killed and massacred, or the Chetnik genocide against the civilian population of Bihor.

In 2015, lawyer Velia Muriq renewed the criminal complaint, requesting that the Montenegrin Supreme Prosecutor investigate the case, arrest the suspects, and prosecute the perpetrators. Letters were sent to the highest Montenegrin authorities, calling for immediate and continuous investigation.

This case should be appealed repeatedly to the highest international courts, such as the International Court of Justice or special tribunals, because Montenegro continues to hide a well-documented crime. Without serious action, Montenegrin justice will reward suspects of 1999 war crimes in the Rozhaje Highlands. Meanwhile, residents of the Rozhaje Highlands, together with the victims’ families and municipalities of Peja and Istog, should urgently erect a monument in Husaj dedicated to these martyrs of the nation.

P.S. For information, the memorial project has been prepared and awaits approval from competent Montenegrin authorities.

Ali Daci
April 18, 2023
Rozhajë.