For his proposal, 7 deputies voted in favor, 4 against, and 164 did not participate in the vote.
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Letter to the Reader — Why We're Asking for Your Support ContributeIn his speech, Kamberi emphasized that the deaths of Albanian soldiers were treated by the authorities at the time as "suicides", "accidents" or isolated incidents, but the families of the victims and the Albanian community have raised persistent suspicions of ethnic and political motives.
"State authorities in Serbia have never officially acknowledged that Albanians were killed for ethnic reasons while performing military service in the JNA. Individual cases have been treated as suicides, accidents or isolated incidents, without a political or discriminatory background," Kamberi stressed.
According to Kamber, the 135 Albanians killed in the Yugoslav People's Army are the reason why young Albanians do not see themselves as part of compulsory military service.
He stressed that Albanians in the former Yugoslavia often faced discrimination, stigmatization, and cultural repression within the military, especially after the 1981 demonstrations in Kosovo.
According to Kamber, the lack of independent investigations and the closure of military archives have prevented the cases from being solved, while the topic continues to remain silent in public and institutional discourse in Serbia.
"The lack of independent investigations and transparency only added to suspicions that these were ethnically or politically motivated killings. Many historians, journalists and human rights activists suggest that Albanian soldiers were deliberately exposed to violence because of their ethnicity, especially in the context of growing Serbian nationalism and anti-Albanian attitudes. Albanians were often perceived as untrustworthy, potential separatists, or even as a threat to the federal structure of the state," Kamberi stated.
The Albanian MP requested that the Commission include representatives of the Serbian Parliament, human rights organizations, and representatives of the Albanian community, with the aim, as he said, of "determining the truth" about the cases of Albanians who died in the ranks of the JNA.
Full speech:
The 135 Albanians killed in the Yugoslav People's Army are the reason why young Albanians do not see themselves as part of compulsory military service.
In relation to this initiative, there is concern among the Albanian community in the Presevo Valley about the possible calls of young Albanians to perform military service, because the past and its consequences continue to influence the collective consciousness of Albanians.
Albanians, who as citizens of the SFRY were obliged to perform military service in the Yugoslav People's Army, often faced ethnic discrimination, political stigmatization, and cultural repression within the army. This open hostility towards Albanians intensified especially after the 1981 demonstrations in Kosovo, when demands for republican status were declared "irredentism" by the regime. The phenomenon of the killings of Albanian soldiers in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), during the existence of the SFRY (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), represents a sensitive topic, which is often addressed in political and historical contexts, especially by the Albanian community. During the 80s, 135 young Albanians lost their lives while performing military service in the JNA.
During the 1970s and 1980s, a significant number of deaths of Albanian soldiers were recorded in suspicious circumstances, which the authorities often classified as “suicides”, “accidents” or “violations of military discipline”. The families of the victims often did not believe the official versions and reported traces of violence on the bodies that were returned to them. The lack of independent investigations and transparency only increased suspicions that these were ethnically or politically motivated killings. Many historians, journalists and human rights activists suggest that Albanian soldiers were deliberately exposed to violence because of their ethnicity, especially in the context of growing Serbian nationalism and anti-Albanian attitudes. Albanians were often perceived as untrustworthy, potential separatists, or even as a threat to the federal structure of the state.
This phenomenon has left deep scars in the collective memory of Albanians, especially in Kosovo and the Preševo Valley. At various times, there have been attempts to document these cases and seek justice for the victims, but no comprehensive official investigations have ever been conducted, neither by the former Yugoslav state nor by its successors. Some cases have been addressed in the media or through the activism of human rights organizations. In Serbia, the phenomenon of the killings of Albanian soldiers in the Yugoslav People's Army has generally not been recognized as a systematic crime, nor has it been officially classified as a topic deserving special investigation. This topic in the state and public discourse of Serbia has several important characteristics:
State authorities in Serbia have never officially acknowledged that Albanians were killed for ethnic reasons while serving in the Yugoslav People's Army. Individual cases have been treated as suicides, accidents, or isolated incidents, with no political or discriminatory background.
No official investigation has been initiated, either by military or judicial institutions in Serbia, into the suspicious deaths of Albanian soldiers. Military archives from the Yugoslav period are closed, especially those related to the JNA and security services.
In Serbian public discourse and historiography, this topic is largely ignored. When it is mentioned, it is usually in the broader context of “the suffering of all the peoples of Yugoslavia” during the crises. While the suffering of Serbian soldiers during the wars of the 90s is often discussed, the treatment of Albanians during the SFRY period is not mentioned.
Some organizations, such as the Humanitarian Law Center and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), have dealt more extensively with the violations of Albanian rights in Kosovo and war crimes, but the topic of Albanian soldiers killed in the JNA remains little addressed and insufficiently documented in Serbia.
The main Serbian-language media do not report on this topic. Public opinion in Serbia does not have extensive knowledge of this phenomenon, while there is often a lack of interest in critically confronting the past, especially when it comes to crimes or discrimination against Albanians.
Given that the conclusion is that: in Serbia this topic is silent, undocumented and unrepresented in both official and public narratives, which reflects a serious lack of dealing with the past and institutional discrimination against Albanians in the Yugoslav period, in accordance with Article 40, point 6 of the Rules of Procedure of the People's Assembly, I present the Proposal for the formation of a Special Commission for the determination of the truth in the cases of the death of 135 Albanians in the ranks of the Yugoslav People's Army during the 80s. In addition to representatives of the People's Assembly, the commission should also include representatives of the civil sector dealing with issues of human rights and transitional justice, as well as representatives of the Albanian community.
Based on Article 40, point 6 of the Rules of Procedure of the People's Assembly, I present the Proposal for the formation of a special Commission with the aim of determining the truth in the cases of the deaths of 135 Albanians in the ranks of the Yugoslav People's Army during the 80s.