The exhibition was inaugurated near the Rrmaji Cemetery in the framework of the International Day of the Disappeared and aims to serve not only as a space of memory, but also as a reference point for the search of the missing persons and the identification of their burial places.

Sula said that records identify 372 people as killed or missing in the Shkodra region, with collected data pointing to a possible burial site near Rrmaj for 13 of them.

During the activity, AIDSSH member and chairman of the working group Gjergj Marku focused on the work of tracing the missing persons through family testimonies, verification of documentation, identification of suspected burial sites and field research with advanced technology, in cooperation with the local government and the International Commission on Missing Persons ICMP.

His Eminence Giovanni Peragine, Metropolitan Archbishop of Shkodra–Pulti, praised the significance of memory and the right of families to know the truth.

“Today we are here not to nourish hatred nor to open the wounds of the past, but to prevent them from being covered by oblivion. True memory does not seek revenge; it seeks truth, justice and reconciliation,” he said. /p.s./

Likewise, Sula acquainted them with the agreement signed with the Institute of European-Mediterranean History, which aims to re-examine the history between the two countries through the study of documents by groups of researchers, within the framework of joint projects.

Among those present was Aldo Terruzi, the son of Giusepe Terruzi, the employee of the Italian Commercial Bank in Vlora, who disappeared in 1947 in the Burrel prison, where he was serving his sentence after the political accusations of the newly established regime in the country.

For 30 years, Aldo Terruzi has been looking for his father’s remains, like about 200 others who have submitted request to the Authority to clarify the fate of their missing family members.

During the meeting, Terruzi filled out the form for the missing and got acquainted with the new legal changes, as well as the steps taken by the Authority regarding the issue of the missing.

Among the participants was Keti Koçi Currani, an emigrant from the early 1990s transition, which comes from a family with a history of suffering in the country’s communist past. She familiarized herself with the procedures for applying for information to the Authority and filled out the relevant form.

Attending the meeting were: Rovena Sakja, activist in the field of archives interested in further studies of the documents of the former State Security, lawyer Saverio Kashuri, interested in clarifying the past in the plan of violation of human rights under communism, as well as researcher Alma Hado. /p.s./

To mark the International Day of the Disappeared, the US ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier, along with family members of the missing persons and government cabinet ministers, paid tribute, too.

Afterwards, Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti said that Belgrade should open the archives and find out the truth about our beloved ones.

“As institutions, we have a responsibility to do everything we can, and we know that the fate of the missing persons will be revealed as soon as possible and that, together with international factors, we will exert  pressure on Belgrade to open the archives. In addition to opening the archives (in Belgrade), the prosecution office in our country must be much more active, the judiciary much more efficient, because the truth can be reached through justice”, said Kurti./KosovaPress/p.s./