Rakocevic on the anniversary of the kidnapping of civilians in Orahovac: The plan was to eliminate people who meant something so that these towns would disappear

The kidnappings of civilians in Orahovac are a typical example of striking at the vital symbolic points of that city, and in the same manner, Pristina, Pec, and other cities where Serbs lived disappeared, stated writer and journalist Zivojin Rakocevic to Kosovo Online, marking 25 years since the kidnapping of several people in Orahovac.

Exactly two and a half decades ago, on June 16 and 17, 1999, retirees Panta Grkovic, who was later identified and buried in the Orahovac cemetery, and Tika Miljkovic, who managed to escape after several days in captivity, were kidnapped in Orahovac. Every trace was lost of Peki Pelevic, Marko Vitosevic, and Sveta Grkovic, who were taken from their homes that day, and to this day, nothing is known about them.

"In June 1999, 25 years ago, a model was established that had a particularly fatal impact on the towns of Kosovo and Metohija. It was then crucial for those coming out of the forests, who saw the end of the bombing under guns and weaponry, and those who armed themselves in the meantime, to cleanse the towns and deliver a fatal blow to them. This fatal blow in Orahovac, Pristina, Pec, Urosevac, and Gnjilane had its own principles and definitions to the greatest possible extent. On the most brutal level, it was necessary to eliminate doctors, educators, administrative workers, people who meant something, and people who were symbols of those towns. This is why, first and foremost, it was important to target civilians to spread fear deeply and make those communities and towns disappear," emphasized Rakocevic.

Orahovac is a typical example of striking at the vital symbolic points of that city, and in the same way, Pristina and Pec disappeared, adds Rakocevic.

"When you see Dr. Andreja Tomanovic in Pristina, when you see Professor Lekovic, when you see people from the post office, when you see civilians, when you see our Aleksandar Simovic who disappeared and was kidnapped, you see that it was a plan to eliminate people who practically represented certain areas of life, institutional areas. After that, there was no more sense or work, and our towns and our life in the towns disappeared," said Rakocevic.

From 1998 to 2000, a total of 86 Serbs were kidnapped in the municipality of Orahovac. The monument to the kidnapped and killed Serbs at the entrance to the village of Velika Hoca bears the names of 84 of them.