Office for Kosovo and Metohija: Our demand to uncover the truth about the harvesters’ murder will never expire

The crimes of the terrorist KLA are shrouded in silence, but Serbia and the Serbian people will never remain silent or allow their martyrs in Kosovo to be forgotten. Their suffering and the truth about their deaths will always be spoken of, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija stated on the anniversary of the murder of 14 Serbian harvesters from the village of Staro Gracko.

On this day in 1999, in the municipality of Lipljan, 14 Serbian harvesters from the village of Staro Gracko were brutally murdered. The youngest victim, Novica Janicijevic, was only 17 years old.

“They were brutally executed at close range, and although it is clear that the perpetrators of this horrific crime were members of the then-unresolved terrorist KLA, not a single one of the killers has been brought to justice. The crime was committed after the arrival of international forces in Kosovo and Metohija, and the killing of innocent Serbian farmers, whose only ‘crime’ was being Serbs, happened under their mandate. This demonstrated both the failure to protect Serbs and the failure to identify and punish the perpetrators. That is why today, we are witnessing their willingness to turn a blind eye to the persecution of those who condemned and pointed out the crimes of the KLA, and who dared to seek justice for innocent Serbian victims,” the statement from the Office reads.

The Office adds that the investigation into the “bloody harvest” was closed due to an alleged lack of evidence, even though it is hard to believe that such a crime, requiring extensive preparation and the involvement of multiple perpetrators, could leave no traces pointing to those responsible.

“Interest from the international community in prosecuting this and similar unpunished crimes in Kosovo may fade, but our demand to uncover the truth about the suffering of our innocent compatriots will never expire,” they stated.

“The crimes of the terrorist KLA are covered by a veil of silence, but Serbia and the Serbian people will never be silenced or allow their martyrs in Kosovo and Metohija to be forgotten. We will always speak of their suffering, just as our assistant Igor Popovic did, as a voice for the most vulnerable victims. Because he pointed out unpunished crimes against Serbs, Popovic was arrested. This only confirms that in Pristina, not only is there no political will to punish the perpetrators, but there is an organized conspiracy of silence aimed at violently suppressing any remembrance of the crimes committed against Serbs,” the statement continues.

Despite this, they stated, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija will not give up the search for truth. No matter how alive the ideology that led to the murder of the Serbian harvesters still is in Pristina today, the Office will continue fighting for the truth to be heard, for the victims to receive justice, and for their families to find peace, because those who follow in the footsteps of terrorists and war criminals must not be allowed to manipulate the facts.

On July 23, 1999, in Staro Gracko, 14 Serbs were killed at close range in a field. The victims were: Milovan Jovanovic (1969), Jovica Zivic (1970), Radovan Zivic (1967), Andrija Odalovic (1967), Slobodan Janicijevic (1965), Mile Janicijevic (1957), Novica Janicijevic (1981), Momcilo Janicijevic (1946), Stanimir Dekic (1955), Bozidar Dekic (1947), Sasa Cvejic (1973), Ljubisa Cvejic (1939), Nikola Stojanovic (1936), and Miodrag Tepsic (1951). The youngest among them, Novica Janicijevic, was only seventeen years old.