Petkovic: Pogrom on March 17 is a living and unhealed wound on the body of the Serbian essence

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, emphasizes that the pogrom against the Serbs carried out by Albanian extremists on March 17, 2004, represents a living and unhealed wound on the body of the Serbian essence.

Petkovic says that on March 17, 60,000 Albanians attacked the Serbs simply because they had different names, surnames, and faith.

"Albanian extremists set out to ethnically cleanse the entire territory of Kosovo and Metohija of Serbs and everything Serbian. According to reports from the OSCE and Human Rights Watch, over 60,000 Albanians attacked the Serbs simply because they had different names and surnames and because they were of a different faith. In this bloody rampage of Albanians, nine Serbs were killed, 4,000 were expelled, over 900 Serbian houses were destroyed, 35 churches and monasteries were burned, over 10,000 valuable frescoes were destroyed, and 900 villages and six cities, including Pristina, where 40,000 Serbs used to live, were ethnically cleansed," Petkovic said.

He adds that the event that took place on March 17, in the heart of Europe, at the beginning of the 21st century, is above all a great stain on the reputation of the international community, which was present in Kosovo and Metohija at that time and counted tens of thousands of its members who unfortunately watched silently as Albanian hordes rampaged against everything Serbian.

"The crime committed against the Serbs was seriously planned and coordinated, and when you look at the aftermath, considering that after March 17, 18, and 19, after the pogrom, the killings of Serbs and expulsions, some fabricated legal processes were initiated, you will see that all were acquitted of criminal responsibility, and only a few received symbolic punishments, which means that essentially no one was held accountable for the crimes against the Serbs during the March 17 pogrom. None of the masterminds were held accountable, and there is clear information and data indicating how Albanian politicians organized themselves, how since October of the previous year, 2003, they had begun intensive preparations with various meetings, preparing for attacks and everything that was supposed to follow to expel the Serbs, which they did on March 17 the following year, and the pretext was the unfortunate drowning of three boys in the Ibar River, which was presented by Albanian media as the drowning caused by a Serbian attack, later refuted by UNMIK police, clearly stating that Serbs had nothing to do with the incident," Petkovic adds.

He emphasizes that by then, the machinery was already in motion, the plan had long been ready, and they set out to attack the Serbs, Serbian churches, monasteries, monks, nuns, Serbian homes, and ancestral homes, intending to wipe out the Serbian name and surname.

"That ideology of hatred from 2004, unfortunately, lives on today, primarily through the politics of Albin Kurti, who is trying in every way to once again expel the Serbs and engulf them in darkness. All decisions, the escalatory moves of Pristina, including this latest one regarding the abolition of Serbian currency circulation in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija and the introduction of dinars, aiming to stop salaries, pensions, and social benefits, and to suffocate the lives of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, are nothing but a continuation of that criminal policy that was pursued in 2004, clearly demonstrating that the ideology of evil, and on the other hand, the campaign of lies against the Serbs and everything Serbian, continues unabated," Petkovic says.

He adds that President Aleksandar Vucic has clearly stated multiple times that neither Operation Storm nor any pogrom against Serbs will ever happen again.

"The state of Serbia will absolutely do everything to protect its people in Kosovo and Metohija. We will do everything to build peace through dialogue and reach a solution, although it is almost impossible given that the Pristina side refuses everything. But we will not allow a repeat of 2004. The fact that Serbs are being killed, and thousands of our people, families with children, are leaving the territory of Kosovo and Metohija and heading towards central Serbia, only because extremists in Kosovo and Metohija want to erase the Serbian name and surname," Petkovic emphasizes.

He stresses that Serbia will fight to preserve peace, but on the other hand, will never forget March 17, 18, and 19.

"We will never forget what happened to us, as well as the fact that at that time, Belgrade did not prevent the pogrom of its population from the territory of our southern province. On the other hand, we will insist that all those responsible, both the masterminds and the perpetrators of this terrible crime that occurred at the beginning of the 21st century, in the heart of Europe, in front of the eyes of the international community, which silently watched the killing and suffering of the Serbs who simply lived on their ancestral lands, be brought to justice," Petkovic concluded.