Office for Kosovo and Metohija: We remember Ivan and Pantelija, Gorazdevac crime one of the gravest tragedies suffered by Serbs since 1999

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija of the Government of Serbia said that on this day in 2003, Ivan Jovovic (19) and Pantelija Dakic (12) were brutally killed on the banks of the Bistrica River, while four other Serbian children were wounded and, instead of an carefree childhood, were left with lasting consequences of a crime whose perpetrators, despite the years that have passed, have not been held accountable.

As noted by the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, 23 years later, the pain caused by the crime in Gorazdevac has not faded.

“It remains etched in the memory of the Serbian people as one of the gravest tragedies suffered by Serbs since 1999 and the arrival of international forces in Kosovo and Metohija. Today, as we remember those who were innocently killed, we bear witness to the fact that tensions and pressure on Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija continue. Every new attack, every long gun pointed at the Serbian people and every instance of silence in the face of violence serve as a reminder that true peace cannot exist where our people have no protection and where those who have committed crimes against the Serbian people are not held accountable,” the statement said.

It added that the lives and memories of the victims' families are stronger than anything else.

“That is why it is our duty to remember Ivan and Pantelija, not to forget the wounded children from Gorazdevac, and never to allow their families to be left alone with their pain. Their lives and their memory are stronger than those who have spent decades seeking to drive Serbs from their centuries-old homes through fear and force. The greatest answer to those who wanted the Serbian name to disappear is that it continues to live on in families, in children, and in the perseverance of a people who have refused to forget their victims,” the Office concluded.