North Mitrovica: Twenty years since the March Pogrom marked with memorial service and wreath-laying

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the March Pogrom, in which two Serbs were killed in North Mitrovica, today, in remembrance of the victims, the President of the Provisional Municipal Authority of Kosovska Mitrovica, Ivan Zaporozac, representatives of the Serb List Zlatan Elek and Igor Simic, as well as the Assistant Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Igor Popovic, laid a wreath at the locations where Borivoje Spasojevic and Jana Tucev were killed.

In the presence of several dozen citizens, homage was paid to the fellow citizens who were killed on March 17, 2004, and on the occasion of the anniversary of the March pogrom, a memorial service was held next to the "White Angel" monument, located near the bridge, which bears the names of those who perished during the NATO bombing of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999.

Addressing the gathered citizens, the President of the Provisional Authority of Kosovska Mitrovica, Ivan Zaporozac, emphasized that today was a sad day for all citizens of Kosovo and that the Serbs remembered everything that had happened during the March Pogrom.

"With a false scenario on March 17, 2004, the persecution and pogrom of the Serbs began throughout Kosovo and Metohija. Innocent victims perished, 4,000 Serbs were expelled from their homes, around 900 houses were destroyed, and 39 churches and monasteries were desecrated. What we want to convey today, as we do every year, is that the Serbs have suffered for centuries in these areas, being persecuted and victimized by anyone passing through this land, yet the Serbs have managed to remain and survive in these areas. Therefore, on this day and in all the days to come, we declare that we will stay and survive, and we will remember everything and our people will continue to live here," Zaporozac said.

Assistant Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Igor Popovic, stated that the false narrative of Albanian politicians and media manipulation had been the pretext for the attack on everything Serbian in Kosovo.

"That served as a pretext to expel the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija. Today, we see that the Albanian political scene in Pristina continues to repeat that narrative, even though the UNMIK investigation found that the children who perished were the result of accidents. Still, the regime insists that it was done intentionally by the Serbs as a pretext to blame the Serbs in the north and other regions of Kosovo and Metohija. We will endure here; the Serbs will continue to fight; the Republic of Serbia will continue to support the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, and we call on the international community to find those responsible for the March Pogrom," Popovic said.

Dragan Spasojevic, whose father Borivoje was killed on March 17, said after laying wreaths at the site where his father had been killed, that twenty years later, the persecution of the Serbs in Kosovo continued.

"It's been twenty years, but the idea of ethnic cleansing of the Serbs from this area still persists, and it seems that now it's even more intense because back then, the violence was manifested on the streets, while now it's being carried out through institutional ethnic cleansing. This is a difficult period for the Serbs in these areas, and we will continue to commemorate these dates and through them remember and honor our innocent victims," Spasojevic said.

In the March Pogrom that occurred on March 17, 2004, during violent attempts by the Albanians from South Mitrovica to cross the main bridge over the Ibar River and confront the Serbs, the then 36-year-old Jana Tucev was killed on the terrace of her home, and Borivoje Spasojevic, aged 63, was killed near his apartment.

The killers of the two Serbs were never identified.

Nineteen people of Serbian nationality perished in the March Pogrom.