OSCE: Repeated vandalism of memorial plaque dedicated to Slavuj and Perenic deeply concerning

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo has condemned the removal of the memorial plaque dedicated to missing journalists Djuro Slavuj and Ranko Perenic, stating that the repeated vandalism of the memorial is deeply concerning.

"The OSCE Mission in Kosovo condemns the removal of the memorial plaque dedicated to two journalists, Kosovo Serbs Djuro Slavuj and Ranko Perenic, who disappeared in 1998," the Mission said in a Facebook post.

The Mission stressed that memorials dedicated to victims and missing persons must be respected and preserved.

"The repeated vandalism of this memorial is deeply concerning. Memorials dedicated to victims and missing persons should be respected and preserved," the OSCE Mission said.

The OSCE Mission also called on the relevant institutions to conduct a prompt and effective investigation, bring those responsible to justice, and take appropriate measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The memorial plaque dedicated to the abducted Radio Pristina journalists Ranko Perenic and Djuro Slavuj, which was installed by the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) together with its Kosovo branch on the Velika Hoca–Zociste road, was torn down yesterday for the ninth time, the UNS announced.

Slavuj and Perenic were abducted in 1998 on the Velika Hoca–Zociste road, in the municipality of Orahovac, while traveling to the Monastery of the Holy Unmercenaries in Zociste to report on the return of the abducted monks.