Memorial Service in Staro Gracko: Reopen the investigation and find those who killed 14 Serbian harvesters

On the occasion of 26 years since the murder of 14 Serbian harvesters, a memorial service was held today in Staro Gracko in front of the monument dedicated to the victims. The abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Archangels, Father Mihailo, said that their only guilt was having a Serbian name and surname. The families of the murdered harvesters are demanding that the case be reopened and an investigation conducted.

The memorial service for the fallen harvesters was conducted by Abbot Mihailo, with the participation of priests from the Raska-Prizren Diocese, and in the presence of family members of the victims, residents of Staro Gracko, and surrounding villages.

The service was also attended by the Vice President of the Serb List, Dalibor Jevtic, the President of the Provisional Authority of the City of Pristina, Novak Zivic, the President of the Provisional Authority of the Municipality of Lipljan, Milan Joksimovic, Member of the Serbian Parliament Sonja Odalovic Ilic, Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija’s Bureau Malinka Mitrovic, as well as representatives of the Municipality of Gracanica, who laid flowers in front of the memorial after the service.

Abbot Mihailo stated after the service that "being born and living on the land of Kosovo and Metohija is a great blessing and a gift from the Lord."

"This holy land of Kosovo and Metohija has suffered, has paid a great price. And these martyrs of ours whom we brought here in 1999 and buried, together with Patriarch Pavle and all who attended that funeral—this remains a lasting memory for all of us present, a reminder of the suffering of the people who live on this land," said Father Mihailo.

Their guilt, he emphasized, was only in the fact that they had Serbian names and surnames, “that they were gathering their harvest and doing their job to survive and remain on this land.”

"Unfortunately, there were people who stopped them in this, who simply riddled them with bullets and killed them, so we had to bury them in our cemetery and send them off. But, brothers and sisters, that is only a temporary resting place. Everything physical that we have and that is among us humans, everything that is in this bodily package is temporary. But souls are eternal, and their memory is eternal, and it will always live on in the hearts of their relatives, friends, and all those who knew them and lived with them. Because of unfortunate people and unfortunate individuals who had nothing better to do than to take someone’s life, their lives were violently cut short," said Father Mihailo.

He added that every act is done before God.

"Here on our land we have become much smaller than a minority, we are now few, but God’s grace and love give us strength. We endure, we are here, and as long as even one of us lives, this will be our land. As long as we exist, we will praise God and remember the victims, and I am sure that the Lord will receive them as martyrs and sufferers of our land of Kosovo and Metohija into His kingdom," said Abbot Mihailo.

The Vice President of the Serb List, Dalibor Jevtic, called for the investigation into the murder of the 14 Serbian harvesters to be reopened and for the perpetrators to be punished.

"That will be a small comfort for the families and friends of the victims, but it will be a clear message that justice is attainable. We live in times when not only do those who commit crimes want to go unpunished, but they also want to forbid us from speaking about those crimes and seeking justice. However, our gathering here today is a clear message that we will never give up, not only from marking and commemorating the victims of all those who perished in these areas and for whom justice has still not been served. And what always sends a particularly strong message—not to say that it makes me happy, but it sends a clear message to those who wanted to use the murder of 14 harvesters to force Serbs to leave these areas—that they did not succeed. It is a fact that we are not here in the numbers that we should be throughout Kosovo and Metohija, but it is also a fact that those of us who remain and endure in these areas, especially those who have remained and endured in Staro Gracko, send a clear message that we are not giving up. Even if there is only one of us left, it is a clear message that we are here and that we will not give up on living in these areas," said Jevtic.

He emphasized that he regrets that, once again, there were no representatives of the international community present at the memorial, despite the fact that they had promised to bring the perpetrators of this horrific crime to justice.

"Even though they did not fulfill that promise, they were at least obligated to be with us on this day each year, especially with the families of the victims. I call on them once again not to turn a blind eye to this or to other crimes that have occurred in Kosovo and Metohija, because turning a blind eye to the deeds of criminals only encourages them to continue oppressing Serbs with other acts, not only preventing them from living here but also discouraging them from even thinking about returning to these areas," said Jevtic.

He recalled the detention of Igor Popovic, assistant director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, for calling for accountability and justice during the memorial in Orahovac, and called on the international community to react and ensure Popovic is soon reunited with his family and released.

"I think it is important to say this today because, I repeat, someone wants to forbid us from speaking. Despite taking justice from us, despite taking away our ability to demand accountability from those who commit crimes, today, on the 26th anniversary of the bloody harvest, it is important to send the message that we will not stop demanding accountability, we will not stop demanding justice, and we will not stop speaking about this and all other crimes," said Jevtic.

A resident of Staro Gracko, Zoran Cirkovic, emphasized that hope dies last and that there is divine justice that will reach the perpetrators.

"Right after the bloody harvest, 180 people left the village. During the pogrom, about another 100 left. There used to be 530 residents here. In 2018, the investigation was suspended by the Kosovo law enforcement authorities and the international community. After that, the case was never reopened. We, as families and as a village, demand that the case be reopened. If people won’t do it, then God will do His part," said Cirkovic.

On this day, in the fields of the village of Staro Gracko, during the harvest, Milovan Jovanovic, Jovica and Rade Zivic, Andrija Odalovic, Novica, Slobodan, Mile and Momir Janicijevic, Stanimir and Bosko Dekic, Sasa and Ljubisa Cvejic, Nikola Stojanovic, and Miodrag Tepsic were killed. Their murder is considered one of the most heinous crimes committed after the Kosovo conflict in 1999, for which no one has been held accountable.