Marty: Many expected no positive results from report

ZURICH - The report by Clint Williamson, the lead prosecutor in the special team set up by the EU to investigate crimes against Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija, has come as a surprise to Western governments, which did not expect it to produce positive results, says Dick Marty, a former special rapporteur of the Council of Europe.

Williamson refers to crimes against humanity, and he does not do it lightly - he knows what that implies, Marty has told the Swiss radio station SRF, noting that this makes his report very significant.

It was hard to produce evidence because witnesses have no trust in Kosovo's judiciary or international courts, and there are reasons for that, Marty said, adding that some witnesses faced threats and intimidation, while others disappeared.

Marty said that he shares Williamson's optimism with respect to finding the missing evidence of trafficking of human organs (harvested from kidnapped Serbs and Roma).

He also refers to crimes against humanity and cases of torture, and the organ trafficking was never my main point, Marty said.

I have mentioned some cases, and Williamson obtained the same result, Marty explained.

The European and US governments are now surprised because they did not expect Williamson to come up with positive results, he said, adding that three years ago, when the investigation started, no one even thought that a court would be formed to examine these allegations.

That means that everyone believed that Williamson will find no corroboration of Marty's report, but today the opposite has happened, and I think that they are in a difficult situation from a diplomatic point of view because now the court must be formed, he said.