Rakocevic: The relocation of the monument to Serbian soldiers is a civilizational precedent; they behave as if the Serbs don't exist

The monument to Serbian soldiers who perished in World War I is no longer in its original place at the military section of the Orthodox cemetery in Pristina, Zivojin Rakocevic, a journalist and writer, emphasizes that its relocation is a civilizational precedent, and as a result, an initiative should be launched for the descendants of those buried there to sue everyone involved, including ambassadors, for desecrating the cemetery and the Great War memorial.

The memorial plaque, dedicated to Serbian heroes who perished during the Balkan Wars and World War I from 1912 to 1918, was moved to the military section of the Orthodox cemetery in Pristina for unknown reasons and without notifying the Serbian community and the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren.

This is a deeply personal act of desecration and, at the same time, an attempt to alter our role in the Great War.

"We now understand that this part of the cemetery has been devastated, and it is entirely inappropriate and uncivilized to touch any monument when those who own this cemetery, live five kilometers away, completely uninformed about the work and celebrations. This is against the will of all who come to this cemetery, and whose relatives, ancestors, and friends are buried here. Five meters away, ten meters away are memorials to our friends and relatives, and no one has seen fit to ask, 'Can we conduct work, can we move plaques, who are we to give speeches at someone else's cemetery, form alliances, renew friendships, and behave as if it is about a long-lost nation?'", Rakocevic said.

He points out that Pristina, as well as some international representatives, behave as if the Serbs do not exist.

"The basic problem with these celebrations, this meeting of reconciling conflicting parties and world wars at our cemetery in Pristina, is the fact that they think we do not exist. They act as if we are a long-lost nation, like the Incas, and Mayans, like we are the Vinca civilization, and that they are now the inheritors of our graves, our memorials, our memories, our pain, our history, our glory, and our pride. No, they are not the inheritors of our graveyards, they are not the inheritors of our history, they are not the inheritors of our cultural heritage, they are not the inheritors of our memory. This is solely and exclusively our graveyard", Rakocevic emphasized.

It is a civilizational precedent for someone else's cemetery to be reconstructed, and celebrations to be held there, Rakocevic claims, while the Serbs, as he says, look at that powerless to do anything.

"The essence of the French initiative should be to return eight monuments to French soldiers who were at the old cemetery in Djakovica, and that it should be a memorial. On the other hand, these graves were destroyed and taken away in 1999 when the UNMIK chief in this area was Bernard Kouchner.

These are the graves of soldiers who perished for the liberation, not of Kosovo, but of Serbia, because they never liberated Kosovo here. They liberated Old Serbia and Serbia after World War I", Rakocevic said.

He adds that it is a terrifying fact that the ambassadors of the two most powerful European countries "do not give up desecrating our memorial".

"An initiative should be launched for the descendants of those buried there to sue everyone involved, including ambassadors, before the courts of their countries, for desecrating the cemetery and the Great War memorial", Rakocevic believes.