Memorial Service for victims in Livadice: The cry for truth remains in vain

A memorial service was held at the Church of the Holy Martyr Paraskeva in Laplje Selo for the passengers killed in the attack on the "Nis Express" buses on February 16, 2001. Following the service, family and friends gathered at the grave of the deceased Mirjana Dragovic.

Jelena Stojanovic, sister of the deceased Mirjana, stated that although the years pass, she still expects justice to be served.

"It seems futile to talk about justice after so many years, and unsuccessful attempts to obtain it, not just for our victims here, but for all victims in Kosovo and Metohija. My father died without seeing justice. Whether we will ever see it, remains a question. We hope for justice," said Stojanovic.

Poet Ratko Popovic remarked that a treacherous act against the Serbian people occurred 24 years ago, adding that the cry for truth to be known has remained in vain.

"For 13 years in this church, we have been sending pleas, requests to the international community to find the perpetrators, the criminals, and adequately punish them for the deeds committed, not only in Livadice but across Kosovo and Metohija. Our cry has remained in vain, a dead letter on paper. We will continue with our prayers and similar acts of gathering, striving for justice to be known, for the truth to be told, so that people who died innocently may find peace for their souls," Popovic conveyed.

The event was attended by the President of the Gracanica Municipality, Ljiljana Subaric, who emphasized that although the international community and Kosovo police remain silent, Serbs must not forget this crime.

"Twelve people died, and no one has been held accountable. The international community remains silent, as does the Kosovo police, but it is essential that we do not remain silent. We are here to visit their graves on this day, to remember them," said Subaric.

She stressed that this crime has left a deep mark on the consciousness of all Serbs.

"And so it should. It should also be ingrained in the consciousness of our generations, so that those who perished are remembered. We remember them, regardless of the fact that nobody else cares. Not only for this crime, whose perpetrators remain undiscovered, but for all other crimes that have occurred in Kosovo and Metohija," Subaric stated.

The attackers on the buses in Livadice remain unknown. The only suspect, Florim Ejupi, was acquitted by the Supreme Court, even though he was initially sentenced to 40 years in prison in the first instance.

In the explosion in Livadice, Zivana Tokic, Slobodan and Nenad Stojanovic, Suncica Pejcic, Mirjana Dragovic, Milinko Kragovic, Veljko Stakic, Dragan Vukotic, Lazar Milkic, Nebojsa, Snezana, and Danilo Cokic lost their lives, and forty-three displaced Serbs traveling from Nis to Gracanica for the Memorial Saturday were injured.