Nikolic: We demand that Ivan and Pantelija’s killers be convicted; as long as there is no punishment, this crime continues

President of the Committee on Kosovo and Metohija of the Serbian Parliament Danijela Nikolic recalled that on this day, August 13, 2003, Serbian children were shot at the Bistrica River in Gorazdevac, and that 23 years later there are still no killers, convictions, or punishment.

“There are crimes before which words fall silent. And there are injustices before which silence becomes complicity. On this day, August 13, 2003, Serbian children were shot at the Bistrica River in Gorazdevac. Children who were not carrying weapons, who threatened no one, who were simply swimming in their river, in their village, on their land that summer day. Bursts of gunfire ended their play and forever extinguished the lives of 12-year-old Pantelija Dakic and 19-year-old Ivan Jovovic. Four other young people were wounded,” Nikolic said.

She added that 23 years later there are still no killers, convictions or punishment.

“There are only graves. There are parents whose children never came home. There is Gorazdevac, which hears the same gunshots again every August 13. And there is the shameful silence of those who were responsible at the time for guaranteeing security and justice to Serbs. Shooting at children is a cowardly crime. Even more appalling is that the crime has gone unpunished. It is particularly devastating that, instead of leading to those responsible, the investigation was discontinued in 2010 due to an alleged lack of evidence. The investigation was discontinued, while the killers remained at large. That is why we ask the international representatives today: how much is the life of a Serbian child worth? How many decades must pass before the killing of a Serbian child deserves justice?” she said.

Nikolic stressed that accountability and the truth are being demanded for this crime.

“We are not asking for pity. We are demanding accountability. We are demanding the truth. We demand that Ivan and Pantelija’s killers be identified, brought before the court and convicted. Because as long as the killers of children walk free, justice in Kosovo and Metohija remains nothing more than an empty word. You can close investigations. You can put case files away in archives. You can remain silent for years. But you cannot bury the truth. You cannot erase the names of our children. You cannot ask us to forget. Pantelija Dakic – 12 years old. Ivan Jovovic – 19 years old. Two young lives. Twenty-three years without justice. Gorazdevac has not been forgotten. Gorazdevac will not be forgotten. As long as the killers remain unpunished – this crime continues,” Nikolic concluded.