Kosovo

"The attack on this Kosovo village that led to the killing of 45 ethnic Albanian civilians 12 days ago came at the orders of senior officials of the Serb-led Belgrade government who then orchestrated a coverup following an international outcry, according to telephone intercepts by Western governments."

"In a series of telephone conversations, Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic and Serbian Interior Ministry Gen. Sreten Lukic, expressed concern about international reaction to the assault and discussed how to make the killings look as if they had resulted from a battle between government troops and members of the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army.

The objective was to challenge claims by survivors -- later supported by international monitors -- that the victims had been killed in an execution-style massacre and to defuse pressures for a NATO military response.

Sainovic is the highest-ranking official in the Yugoslav government responsible for Kosovo matters and has been present at most negotiations with top Western officials; several Western officials said they understand that he reports to Milosevic on Kosovo issues. "We often see him as the link between the government in Belgrade and the administration down here" in Kosovo, one official said."

United Nations 19 Januray 1999: Condemnation

"The Security Council this evening strongly condemned the massacre of Kosovo Albanians in the village of Racak in Southern Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 15 January, as reported by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Kosovo Verification Mission. It noted with deep concern that the report of the Verification Mission stated that the victims were civilians, including women and at least one child. "

United Nations 30 Januray 1999: The Racak massacre 

"During the period from 15 to 18 January, fighting occurred in and around the village of Racak, near Stimlje. On 15 January, the Serb police and, as indicated in some reports, paramilitary units entered Racak. On 16 January, the Kosovo Verification Mission reported that the bodies of 45 Kosovo civilians, including 3 women, at least 1 child and several elderly men, were found, 11 in houses, 23 on a rise behind the village and others in various locations in the immediate vicinity of the village. Many of the dead appeared to have been summarily executed, shot at close range in the head and neck. The Council is aware of the developments in the aftermath of the Racak massacre that prompted the presidential statement of 19 January 1999 (S/PRST/1999/2). Detailed information on this incident was contained in the special report by the Kosovo Verification Mission attached to my letter of 17 January 1999 addressed to the President of the Security Council and in the report of the Kosovo Verification Mission attached to my letter of 20 January 1999 addressed to the President of the Security Council.

The Special Rapporteur on human rights in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, in a statement issued on 16 January from Prague, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a letter of 19 January to President Milosevic, condemned the massacre and called for an immediate investigation of the Racak deaths. However, investigative and forensic efforts in the wake of this massacre have been wilfully obstructed by the lack of cooperation by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with the international community. In an attempt to enter the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to investigate the Racak deaths, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Louise Arbour, was turned back, without a visa, at the border of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 18 January 1999; the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia continues to assert that the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia does not have jurisdiction to investigate alleged war crimes in Kosovo. In order to resolve this problem, the Chief Prosecutor proposed to the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that she would publicly state that her access to Kosovo would not prejudice the position of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on jurisdiction, nor would she use the access as evidence that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has voluntarily submitted to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal. The authorities, however, continued to deny the Chief Prosecutor's entry to Kosovo.

Meanwhile, on 18 January, the bodies of the victims were moved from the site to Pristina, where autopsies were performed in the presence of monitors of the Kosovo Verification Mission. The authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, however, failed to respond to the appeal of the head of a Finnish forensic team to postpone examinations until the arrival of Finnish experts. The forensic team arrived in Pristina on 21 January. By that time, 16 autopsies had been carried out without the Finnish experts being present. The Finnish team, together with Serb and other foreign experts, performed autopsies on the remaining bodies and examined the autopsies performed earlier. "

EU experts leaded by Finnish pathologist Dr. Helena Ranta march 1999: What happend in Račak is "a crime against humanity"

United States Information Agency : "REPORT OF THE EU FORENSIC EXPERT TEAM ON THE RACAK INCIDENT

These comments are based on the medicolegal investigations by the EU Forensic Expert Team
in Pristina as locally authorized by the District Court of Pristina in accordance with the
Yugoslav Law on Criminal Procedure. It should be emphasized, that medicolegal investigations
constitute only a part -- but do not cover the whole spectrum -- of criminal investigations. The
comments represent the personal view of the author, Dr. Helena Ranta, and should not in any
manner be construed as an authorized communication on behalf of the Department of Forensic
Medicine, University of Helsinki or the EU Forensic Expert Team.

1. TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE EU FORENSIC EXPERT TEAM

The EU Forensic Expert Team consisting of Finnish experts has been involved in the
investigation of alleged atrocities in Kosovo since October 1998. When the Racak tragedy
was discovered on 16 January 1999, the OSCE turned to the European Union for assistance.
Since an EU Forensic Team was already available, it was decided that the Team should also
embark on the investigation of the Racak victims.

It should be emphasized that the terms of reference of the EU Forensic Team cover solely the
medicolegal autopsies of the 40 victims brought to the hospital. They do not concern the full
scale of criminal investigations. Accordingly, to mention one important example -- there was no
possibility to conduct scene investigations at the actual site of the presumed crime -- which
could have rendered important additional information concerning the manner of death of the
victims. The findings by the experts are therefore based almost entirely on information derived
by investigating the bodies at the morgue. Furthermore, the investigation of the bodies at the
hospital was greatly complicated by the fact that the start of autopsies by the EU experts
became possible only approximately a week from the estimated time of death of the victims.
More importantly, there was no chain of custody by the EU forensic experts of the bodies from
the moment of death until the time the investigations started on 22 January 1999 in Pristina.
What may or may not have happened to the bodies during that time is difficult to establish in
connection with the autopsies with absolute certainty.

It should be noted that the EU experts now have completed only a part of the overall
investigations concerning the events in Racak -- namely the medicolegal investigation of the
victims. For a more complete picture of what took place in Racak a full criminal investigation
into the events would be required, combining scene investigations, interrogation of witnesses
and analysis of the evidence with the autopsy findings of the EU experts.

The original mission of the EU forensic experts was authorized to investigate in an impartial and
independent manner, sites of alleged killings of civilians in Kosovo, i.a. in Glodjane,
Golubovac, Gornje Obrinje, Klecka, Orahovac and Volujak. The investigations concerning
Klecka and Volujak, initiated last year, are to be completed by the end of March 1999 when
the DNA analysis will be available. Thereafter, the Team will as soon as possible resume
preparations for the investigations with respect to Glodjane, Golubovac, Gornje Obrinje and
Orahovac.

The first crucial step that one would normally expect to be implemented at any alleged crime
scene would be the isolation of the area and the exclusion of unauthorized access. The scene
should then be photographed and videotaped, any evidence be collected and victims localized
and marked at site. This step should also include sampling for a gunshot residue (GSR)
analysis. Victims should then be placed in individual body bags for transport to the morgue.
With respect to Racak none of this was done at all -- or was done only partially or improperly.
Therefore, important information at the site may have been lost.

2. DETAILS OF THE RACAK INCIDENT

According to various sources of information, the incident in Racak most probably took place
on or around 15 January 1999. The EU forensic experts only started working in Pristina on 22
January when the bodies had already been brought to the morgue. The Team therefore has no
first hand information on the events at Racak. Concerning the site of the events and the
circumstances surrounding the deaths of the victims the Team has to rely entirely on the
information from the OSCE/KVM and EU/KDOM observers who visited the site on 16
January 1999, and from reports in the media. According to these sources altogether some 45
bodies were found in Racak. Yet, only 40 were taken to the Department of Forensic
Medicine, University of Pristina to be investigated.

Based on the information obtained from the KVM and KDOM observers the total of 22 men
were found in a gully close to the village of Racak. They were most likely shot where found.
Most of them have been turned over at some stage. The rest of the victims were found at or
close to the village and had either been turned over or moved after death into houses in the
village.

The more time elapses, the more difficult it usually becomes to establish the assumed time of
death. When the Finnish experts had the possibility to start investigations, more than a week
had already passed since the discovery of the bodies at Racak. However, the temperature
both at the mosque in Racak, where the bodies were first brought, and at the Pristina hospital
morgue was close to O C, which has contributed to their preservation. Most that can be said is
that the victims appear to have died approximately at the same time.

Most of the victims wore several warm jackets and pullovers. No ammunition was found in the
pockets. It is likely that no looting of the bodies has occurred, because money (bank notes)
was found on them. The clothing bore no identifying badges or insignia of any military unit. No
indication of removal of badges or insignia was evident. Based on autopsy findings (e.g. bullet
holes, coagulated blood) and photographs of the scenes, it is highly unlikely that clothes could
have been changed or removed. Shoes of some of the victims, however, had been taken off,
possibly before the bodies were carried inside the mosque. Among those autopsied, there
were several elderly men and only one woman. There were no indications of the people being
other than unarmed civilians.

The Racak events have been described as a "massacre". However, such a conclusion does not
fall within the competence of the EU Forensic Team or any other person having participated
solely in the investigation of the bodies. The term "massacre" cannot be based on medicolegal
facts only but is a legal description of the circumstances surrounding the death of persons as
judged from a comprehensive analysis of all available information. Thus, the use of this term is
better suited to be used by organs conducting criminal investigations for the purpose of initiating
legal proceedings. Moreover, medicolegal investigations cannot give a conclusive answer to the
question whether there was a battle or whether the victims died under some other
circumstances. A full criminal investigation combined with the interrogation of witnesses by
appropriate investigative entities could shed more light on the circumstances prior to and at the
time of the death.

It should be noted that especially persons not familiar with criminal investigations may have a
natural tendency to interpret some observations made at the site of the tragedy as signs of
post-mortem mutilation. These, however, are most likely related to animal activity -- such as
stray dogs, which are in abundance in the area, and other wild animals -- or traces on the dead
bodies caused by the high pressure of projectiles. No indication of tampering or fabrication of
evidence was detected.

Traditionally, a paraffin test has been used in gunshot residue analysis (GSR). To remove
residues from the hand, casting with paraffin has been suggested. This test lacks specificity,
however, and at the Interpol meeting in 1968 it was officially stated that it no longer should be
used. The most successful technique to date for the analysis of GSR analysis is without doubt
the Scanning Electron Microscope with an Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analyzer (SEM-EDX).
Only this method has the ability of determining the metallic content without concern about
environmental contamination. With the SEM-EDX, the sample is virtually unaffected by the
analysis and can be re-examined, if necessary, many times. The sample for the GSR analysis is
collected by means of a tape-lift taking into consideration routine precautions (contamination).
Paraffin test was for the above reasons not used by the Finnish Team. Test samples for
SEM-EDX were taken and they proved to be negative.

3. CO-OPERATION BETWEEN ORGANS AND TECHNICAL ARRANGEMENTS

At the professional level, the Team experienced no problems in collaboration with Yugoslavian
or Belorussian pathologists. After a demonstration autopsy, all agreed upon common methods
and procedures. Furthermore, local criminal and autopsy technicians contributed to the
cooperative working atmosphere. The Team was able to complete its investigations without
any outside pressure put upon it in Yugoslavia or elsewhere.

In Finland, the presence of media in autopsy theatres is unacceptable. Prior to initiating the
autopsies it was agreed that media coverage should be minimized. Nevertheless, the Head of
the Pristina Institute of Forensic Medicine, Professor Dobricanin, allowed television teams and
photographers to enter the premises. When asked, he confirmed that this was in accordance
with his instructions.

Confusion has been caused by statements and premature conclusions drawn by local experts
while the investigations were not completed. In Finland, on-going investigations are not
commented upon. After the completion of the autopsies in January, the Serbian and
Belorussian pathologists decided to draw up common reports summarizing their findings. The
Finnish Team declined to sign these which was erroneously interpreted as disagreement on the
findings between the local experts and the Finnish Team. The view of the Finnish Team is that
no professional conclusions on the basis of the autopsies should be made without a
comprehensive analysis of the data gathered from the corpses. The analysis and tests were
conducted at the Helsinki University Department of Forensic Medicine only after the Team
returned from Kosovo. Therefore, arriving at conclusions or signing of reports in January
would have been premature and thus out of place.

Bearing in mind the complex nature of the investigations, it is the view of the Finnish experts
that nothing could have been achieved by unnecessarily speeding up procedure. The
involvement of the Team began after 16 autopsies had already been performed by local
pathologists. With respect to these corpses, the EU experts were in the position only to verify
that the work had been done properly. There was no information available from the scene of
the alleged crime at the time when autopsies were being performed, which further complicated
a systematic approach. All histological, toxicological, and DNA analysis had to be performed
afterwards in Helsinki. For safety reasons films had to be developed in Helsinki. All
radiographs were digitized and incorporated into a data base. In all, more than 3000 photos
were taken and 10 hrs of video film taped.

There is a court order by the Investigative Judge authorizing the Team to conduct the
medicolegal autopsies. According to Yugoslav law, the autopsy reports will therefore have to
be handed over to the District Court of Pristina. A copy of the autopsy reports will also be
conveyed to the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Pristina. The European Union
Presidency will be notified of the results of the investigations accordingly.

It should be emphasized that the medicolegal investigations undertaken by the EU forensic
experts constitute only part of the normal investigation of alleged crimes. Comprehensive
picture over the sequence of events in Racak can only be achieved by combining the
medicolegal findings of the EU Forensic Team with other possible information from different
sources eventually available at a later stage.
"

Helena Ranta to BBC Radio "The victims were most likely civilians"(listen)

"The bodies found in a gully near Racak were most likely shot where found. Their clothing bore no identifying badges or insignia of any military unit. No indication of removal of badges or insignia was evident. Based on autopsy findings (e.g. bullet holes, coagulated blood) and photographs of the scenes, it is highly unlikely that clothes could have been changed or removed. -- Statement of Dr. Ranta, March 17, 1999 "

Ranta to dutch NRC Handelsblad: "In the pockets of the dead, we encountered no munitions, but only banknotes."

Reuters october 2000: Kostunica Acknowledges Kosovo Genocide in interview with CBS` "60 minutes"

"President Vojislav Kostunica has acknowledged that Yugoslav security forces committed genocide in Kosovo and said he was ready to take responsibility for crimes committed by his predecessor Slobodan Milosevic. "

"In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes II", released on Monday and to be aired on Tuesday, Kostunica was asked if there was any doubt that the Yugoslav army and police were guilty of genocide in Kosovo. "Those are the crimes and the people that have been killed are victims," the president responded"

 

BBC May 2001 : Milosevic 'ordered Kosovo cover-up' say Serbian police

Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic ordered the destruction of material that could have implicated him in war crimes, say Serbian police.

"Milosevic ordered former Interior Minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic to take measures in order to eliminate all the traces which could lead to any evidence of crimes committed," said Dragan Karleusa, a top official at the Serbian interior ministry.

 

Milosevic trial in Hague march 2003: Ranta repeats that the Racak massacre was a "crime against humanity" and that the victims were civilians

"At his ongoing trial for genocide and other crimes, Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic attempted on Tuesday to demonstrate that the Albanians killed by Serb forces in the Kosovo village of Racak were combatants of the Kosovo Liberation Army, and not the civilian victims of a massacre as has been claimed. In the courtroom of the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Milosevic said that Finnish forensic dentist Helena Ranta had been manipulated to write a report on the events in Racak which paved the way for the NATO bombings of Serbia and Kosovo in 1999. Testifying at the trial on Tuesday, Ranta sharply denied being the target of any kind of manipulation. "

"The Finnish forensic team led by Ranta investigated the massacre in Racak in 1999. One of the victims was a young woman, another a young boy, and the rest were men. The investigators did not find any evidence to suggest that the dead were combatants. "

"At Tuesday's session of the trial, Milosevic also focused on reports by Serb investigators who said that there were powder burn marks on the hands of 37 of the 40 bodies. He saw this of an indication that the dead were fighters, and not civilians.

Ranta rejected the findings, pointing out that they were based on a paraffin test which had been used already in the 1930s, and which she did not consider reliable. Ranta's group did not conduct any powder burn tests, because they were not able to study the bodies until a week after the victims had died. She said that such tests should be conducted within three to six hours after the shots had been fired.

Milosevic also showed pictures of an ammunition cartridge and a military identification tag, saying that they were further evidence that the victims were fighters.

According to the Ranta report, all of the bullets found by the Finnish investigators were found in the ground directly beneath the bodies. In an ordinary combat situation the bullets would have been more likely to penetrate the bodies, flying further away.

The bullets found inside the bodies were taken by the Serb investigators. "

Links

- Balkans WItness
http://www.glypx.com/balkanwitness/racak.htm
- See links in the article