Vladan Batic

Belgrade, July 18 (Beta) - "The bodies buried in a mass grave in Batajnica will not be transported to Kosovo before they have been identified", it is said in a statement issued by the Serbian Justice Ministry on Wednesday.

"On the basis of an investigation launched by the court, the relevant Serbian institutions will carry out the identification of the bodies", the statement said.

The cabinet of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica forwarded a request to the Serbian Justice Ministry and Belgrade district court on behalf of the Association of Kidnapped and Missing Persons in Kosovo and Metohija, demanding that the bodies found in the Batajnica mass grave not be transported to Kosovo before they have been identified.

"Talking to the head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Daan Everts, Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic expressed his dissatisfaction with the inefficiency of the UN mission in revealing the fate of those missing and kidnapped", the statement said.