The church in Suvi Do was vandalized again, the second time in two months

Unknown individuals broke into the church dedicated to Saint Petka in Suvi Do last night, which is the second time in just two months.

Mico Kragovic, a resident of Suvi Do, stated that it was unclear who was responsible for these acts, but he was certain that it was someone who harbored ill intentions towards both the Serbs in Kosovo and the church.

"Three months ago, we installed new doors. With the intention of beautifying the churchyard, plans were made to build a retaining wall, a bell tower, and the entire churchyard around the church. However, from the outset, someone is obstructing us, and we all know who that is – someone who means no good to us or the church," Kragovic said to Kosovo Online.

When asked about the exact time of the church break-in, he said that it had occurred during the night, but the precise time was unknown. He added that it was certainly the work of someone with malicious intentions.

"Efforts should be made to prevent such situations from happening again, but I think we are powerless. The locals are concerned considering the whole situation in recent days. Many significant events related to our survival here are taking place, and endangering the church is one way those who wish us harm will try to drive us away," Kragovic said.

According to him, such incidents involving the church happen regularly, and there have been about ten repetitions so far.

"No culprit has been found, just like for everything else – KLA graffiti, harassment of locals along the road, and all the events in the area. The culprits are unknown. Whether they don't want to find them or they know who it is but are concealing them and won't reveal it, I don't know, but there are no culprits," Kragovic added.

Kragovic also wondered how the local residents should feel when the church was endangered.

"One hundred percent, everyone is at risk, and it's only a matter of time when they will come into someone's yard. If they come into the churchyard, they've come into our yard as well, and that's the first step toward a major escalation of the conflict – endangering the church, and then everything else follows in succession," Kragovic warned.

The Church of St. Petka in Suvi Do was previously broken into less than two months ago, during the night between August 7th and 8th. The vandalized doors of the church were discovered by the local residents on the day of the village's patron saint celebration, St. Petka.

Father Dalibor Lazic stated at the time that as soon as he had seen the broken doors, he had called the police, but this was not the first time that the church had been targeted by vandals.