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Serbian human rights activist Natasha Kandic is honored in Pristina with the "Key to the City"

Serbian human rights activist Natasha Kandic is honored in Pristina with the

Serbian human rights activist Natasha Kandić was honored on Sunday with the "Key to the City" award of Prishtina, by the mayor of the capital of Kosovo, Perparim Rama. Rama said in a post on Facebook that he awarded this award to Kandic as a sign of gratitude for "the life he dedicated to justice, truth and reconciliation".

Kandic founded the Centre for Humanitarian Law in 1992 to document human rights violations that have been committed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. Rama said that Kandiq is one of those rare voices who "did not remain silent, even when the world chose to close its eyes".

"With her unwavering courage, she gave voice to pain, she gave justice to memory and honor to victims regardless of nation or language. Her work and dedication remind us that without truths there is no lasting peace, neither in Kosovo nor in the region," he wrote.

Speaking during the award ceremony, Kandic said that he thought about how he would accept this honor on April 27, precisely on a date when the Meja massacre, where 376 people were killed in 1999, is commemorated in Kosovo.

"I thought a lot about how to accept the key right today. It was very difficult to think about it," Kandić emphasized.

In Kosovo, April 27 marks the National Day of the Missing from the last war 1998-1999.

"We all know what happened on April 27. All of us who were in Meja today saw the families near the graves, the candles lit, and we know that there are still 15 missing persons, who were last seen on April 27 and their fate is still unknown. I want to believe that next April, next April 27, will not come without their families having a grave where they can place a candle," Kandić said.

According to official data, 1,617 people are considered forcibly missing since the last war in Kosovo. During the war in Kosovo, about 13,000 people, mostly Albanians, were killed.

Kandic has spent years of her life documenting war crimes in Kosovo and other countries in the former Yugoslavia. In 2018, Kandić was honored by the then Prime Minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj with the "Golden Map of Kosovo" award./ REL

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