Special Rapporteur of the Council of Europe (CoE) Dick Marty stated on Monday that society in Kosovo cannot be democratic until competent bodies face the truth about crimes committed against non-Albanian population and until individuals responsible for the crimes are prosecuted.

There can be no justice without truth, nor can there be democracy without justice, Marty said in an interview for the Swiss portal Swissinfo and added that this is a simple equation that should never be forgotten.

According to Marty, it is in the interest of Kosovo citizens for the truth to surface and for a transparent democratic system to be set up.

He explained that in his report on trafficking of human organs extracted from kidnapped Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo, he simply voiced facts that were already common knowledge, although Pristina tried to impose their version of the events.

Kosovo wanted to impose their official truth, claiming that there are good guys and bad guys and that Western countries bombed the bad guys and supported the good ones, Marty said and added that Slobodan Milosevic's regime did commit heinous crimes but it would be a tremendous lie if it were to be said that the other side is innocent.

Marty noted that the police, intelligence services and international agencies filed a number of reports over the past years with regard to crimes committed on both sides and the connections between politics and organised crime in the region.

Marty said that his report recorded what was already well-known, and added that he had no personal interest, but suffered many unpleasant experiences. Still, the truth cannot always be pleasant, Marty added.