Memorial service held for boys killed at Bistrica; Dakic: There will always be hope that the perpetrators will be held accountable

The 23rd anniversary of the crime against Serbian children at the Bistrica River was commemorated today in Gorazdevac with a memorial service at the church, followed by prayers at the graves of the two boys who were killed, Ivan Jovovic and Panto Dakic.

The memorial service at the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos was officiated by Bishop Ilarion, who said that it could be said that they were now 23 years closer to being reunited with Ivan and Panto.

"I know that your lives stopped at that moment and that they can never be the same as they were before, when someone—when death and crime—takes your child away from you. But I ask all of you, above all the parents of Ivan and Panto, their brothers, sisters, and relatives, and all of you here, to live through the Resurrection and to measure time from that point, from the point of Christ's coming," he said.

Bishop Ilarion appealed to local residents to remain on their ancestral land and preserve their property.

"Strive to preserve your ancestral land, particularly this land that has been sprinkled with both Ivan's and Panto's blood. We owe it to them to remain here, not to sell cheaply, if I may put it that way, the blood of our innocent children that was shed here. Their blood obliges us," he said.

He stressed that "Kosovo and Metohija is an open wound for all of us."

"But may we pass through that open wound into eternal life; may blessing shine forth from the wound, and may healing and joy shine forth from it. Life has meaning only if it is difficult, because then it has depth, because, as the word itself suggests, it has weight. May God therefore grant us the strength to know how, like our ancestors, to bear the weight of life, so that through it we may also experience the lightness of Christ's yoke," he said.

Milisav Dakic, the father of the murdered Panto, said that over the past 23 years he had come to believe that the international community was far worse and more harmful than the children's killers.

"Those people who did this—they brought them here and they committed the murders. Not only of our children at Bistrica, but I am certain this happened throughout Kosovo—the killing of the harvesters and all the other cases I will not even mention," he said.

He stressed that he would always hope that the perpetrators of the crime would be held accountable.

"As far as I am concerned, there will always be hope, but nothing can be expected from this international community and those wretches," Dakic said.

Panto's brother Nemanja was only eight years old when the crime occurred. He was with his brother at Bistrica and says that he remembers everything.

"We asked our father if we could go to Bistrica to cool off for a while. He told us we could go for half an hour, and we set off. We swam for a while. In the meantime, my brother crossed to the other side of the Bistrica and lit a small fire with Bogdan Bukumiric. It was somehow cold, and the sky had become very overcast. The clouds were black, as though they were foretelling some great tragedy. At least that is how I remember it. I saw them cross and went over to them. I was next to my brother, and Bogdan was on the other side of the fire. Suddenly, bursts of gunfire rang out. The branches were shaking. In all that chaos, we all started heading toward the other bank of the river, where our village was. There was a raised embankment created by the river, so it was difficult; we were slipping through the clay and roots. Then we reached a wire fence and scratched ourselves on it. We were all covered in blood. And throughout all that chaos and confusion, I somehow kept seeing my brother in front of me, as though he were my guide, showing me the way to safety, when in fact he had fallen there, right beside the fire," Nemanja recalled.

He said that a bullet had passed through his brother's head.

"I stayed in that part of the Bistrica. My father found me there, wandering around completely lost, and sent me home. He then continued with my brother toward the hospital, where he was subjected to various forms of mistreatment by KFOR and the security forces that were present at the hospital at the time," Nemanja said.

Tournament keeps their memory alive

For the past four years, a memorial five-a-side football tournament titled "In Memory of Ivan and Panto" has been held in remembrance of the two boys from Gorazdevac.

"There has been a strong response from teams—from the Pristina area, Zvecan, Mitrovica, northern Kosovo; we have teams from Novi Sad, Bijeljina, and many other places. The number of teams is not as important to us as having the people who come here learn about Ivan and Panto, about the kind of people they were, and take away a memory of them as we tell their story in the best possible light," he said.

Borislav Tajic, Assistant Director of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija, said that the shots fired at Ivan and Panto, as well as the other children by the Bistrica River, had been shots fired at what was most sacred.

"Shots at our future, at children's innocence, at the right to life and identity, at the right to remain and survive in one's own home, at centuries of existence and continuity in this region. What makes this wound even deeper is the appalling and shameful silence of international justice. This was one of the gravest crimes committed against Serbs in the province following the arrival of the international mission in Kosovo and Metohija. To this day, the perpetrators have not been found, and that is both the responsibility and a stain on the reputation of all those who terminated the investigation with the shameful explanation that there was allegedly insufficient evidence," he said.

He stressed that Serbia would always remain committed to uncovering the truth and prosecuting those responsible for the crime in Gorazdevac, as well as those in Livadice, Obilic, Staro Gracko, Cernica, and elsewhere, so that all victims could receive the recognition they deserved, their families could learn the truth about their suffering, and the perpetrators could receive the punishment they deserved.

"Today, from this place, we also send the message that there is no statute of limitations for a crime against children. The names of Panto and Ivan, and the scars of Dragana, Marko, Bogdan, and Djordje, are eternal witnesses and a warning to the entire world. We have also gathered here today to demonstrate that such bloody, shameful, and unprecedented crimes will not deter us from preserving and fighting for our existence and survival in Kosovo and Metohija. Proof of that can be seen here today in the children competing in the memorial football tournament. Looking at so many children from Gorazdevac growing up here despite everything, we see the victory of life over death. Our survival—your survival and your remaining here—is the greatest monument to our murdered boys," Tajic said.
Following the memorial service, Tajic laid a wreath at the memorial to those killed during the NATO bombing and to the children killed at Bistrica.

Tajic said that since the displacement and persecution and the tragic events that had taken place, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija had remained committed at every opportunity to understanding the needs of local residents and providing them with every form of support.

Velimir Djokovic, a member of the Parliament of Montenegro, stressed that this was not the first time he had joined the families of the murdered boys in Gorazdevac and said that his emotions were mixed.

"I personally, as well as the municipality and Serbs from Montenegro, have profound respect for all the victims in Kosovo and Metohija, for all those who lost their lives and for those commemorated by these wreaths, particularly because these were young people. In any event, we strive, to the extent of our strength and ability—and we certainly do not lack goodwill—to always stand by the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija and ensure that they feel they have our fraternal support and can rely on us as brothers. We are part of one united people, and that is the only way we should function," Djokovic said.
On August 13, 2003, nineteen-year-old Ivan Jovovic and twelve-year-old Panto Dakic were killed in bursts of gunfire directed at Serbian children swimming in the Bistrica River, while Marko Bogicevic, Dragana Srbljak, Bogdan Bukumiric, and Djordje Ugrenovic were seriously wounded.

The perpetrators have never been brought to justice, and EULEX officially closed the investigation in 2010, stating that there was insufficient evidence.