Petkovic: Two decades of impunity for crimes in Gorazdevac; Serbian children victims of the ideology of hatred

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, reminded today that twenty years had passed since the terrorist attack in which two Serbian children had been killed and four were seriously wounded in Gorazdevac and called on the international community not to allow this crime to stay unpunished because finding and punishing criminals would also be an indicator that there was goodwill for normalizing relations and building mutual trust.

"It has been two decades of mourning and pain for the murdered Serbian children, but also two decades of remembering the long-suffering Serbian Metohija, which in the minds of Albanian terrorists and brutes was the victim of a plan to exterminate the Serbs from this area, which was almost fully realized. Pantelija and Ivan lost their young lives because of the insane ideology of hatred, which is directed towards all of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, their culture, spirituality, writing, and general duration," Petkovic emphasized in the statement.

The fact that this ideology has not been abandoned to this day and that it has numerous political supporters, inspirers, and sponsors in Pristina is particularly worrying, he points out.

Also, he adds, the fact that this monstrous crime happened in front of the international community, i.e. after the arrival of the international mission in Kosovo, which is responsible for protecting human lives, punishing crimes, and introducing the rule of law, is incomprehensible.

Despite the promise of UNMIK representatives that they would "leave no stone unturned" to find the killers, he recalls, the case was closed in 2010 because the investigation did not yield any results.

"As a rule, the criminals against the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija remain unfound, nameless, and unpunished. By closing the investigation into the suffering of our children and many other compatriots in Kosovo and Metohija, a sin against humanity was committed, and the international community capitulated to the ideologies of hatred and terrorism," Petkovic said.

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija expects the international representatives not to turn a deaf ear to Serbian suffering, not to forget this crime and the wounds of parents, and to invest their authority to find the perpetrators, because this kind of crime is not subject to a statute of limitations.

"That the ideology of hatred is alive and well is shown by the recent events in the province, in which the victims were Serbian children: among other things, on Christmas Day, this year Stefan and Milos Stojanovic from Gotovusa were attacked with firearms, on Christmas Day Stefan Tomic from Klokot was beaten, not long after that, two Albanians stabbed Boban Djuzic, and ROSU members beat two Serbian young men, Djordje and Lazar, in Josanica near Leposavic, as well as Dara and Kristijan in the village of Zitkovac, attacks on the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija are a daily occurrence,” the announcement emphasizes.

However, he adds, that despite the tragic loss and daily adversities, the Serbs survive and remain on their land and by guarding and visiting the graves of their children and deceased ancestors, they preserve the Serbian trace, existence, and roots in Metohija.

"The State of Serbia will continue to support and help them in this and to be constantly present in their lives as it has been so far so that those who remained and survived would live better and so that the truth about committed and unpunished crimes would see the light of day. Finding and punishing criminals would also be an indicator that there is goodwill for normalizing relations and building mutual trust, and that dialogue is the only means to solve all problems in the province," Petkovic emphasized.

The statement reminds that on August 13, 2003, in an armed attack on more than fifty Serbian children who were bathing in the Bistrica River, Pantelija Dakic (12) and Ivan Jovovic (19) were killed, while Djordje Ugrenovic was seriously wounded. (20), Bogdan Bukumiric (14), Marko Bogicevic (12) and Dragana Srbljak (13).