Petkovic: Suffering like that of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija in March 2004 must not happen to any nation

Photo: Tanjug/Sava Radovanovic

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic said today that the suffering that the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija experienced in 2004 should not and must not happen to any nation or social group, and that by vividly remembering those distressing events, we keep alive, for the sake of all of humanity, a tragic testimony about the danger of chauvinism and political extremism.

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He recalled that on this day in 2004, a wave of violence started and would continue for several days, carried out by Albanian extremists and directed against Serbs, with the goal to expel Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija and destroy everything tied to our state and national presence in that area.

The supposed reason for the explosion of violence, Petkovic recalled, was the drowning of an Albanian boy in the village of Cabra, for which Albanian extremists falsely accused Serbs from the neighboring village of Zupce.

The fact that there was a rapid gathering of a large number of people and synchronized attacks on many Serb villages and settlements, as well as on religious and public buildings, testifies that the March Pogrom was a case of long-planned and prepared violence and ethnic cleansing, while its perpetrators were only waiting for an excuse to launch it.

He emphasized that during this violent rampage of Albanian extremists, eight Serbs were killed, more than 900 of our compatriots were wounded and injured, more than 4,000 driven out of their homes, after which six cities and nine villages were ethnically cleansed of Serbs.

Petkovic added that 935 Serb-owned houses were destroyed or severely damaged, 35 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries were desecrated and destroyed, as well as more than 100 buildings attached to these holy places.

"Although it is clear that the mass violence, which occurred simultaneously in many places throughout Kosovo and Metohija, originated in the political kitchen, to this day no one has been held accountable for one of the biggest crimes in modern history, just as no one has been held accountable for either carrying out or ordering numerous other terrorist attacks against Serbs that took place after 1999," underlined Petkovic.

According to him, the mass lynching of Serbs was part of a plan to completely ethnically cleanse Kosovo and Metohija, which was not fully realized in March 2004 and remains an unfulfilled dream of extremist political structures in Pristina to this day.

"Remembering its citizens who suffered and the destroyed holy places, Serbia, led by President Aleksandar Vucic, is determined to never allow something like this to happen again, at any cost. Aware of the value of peace and stability in the region, our country will continue to be a constructive international factor and one that resolves disputes and disagreements using peaceful and democratic means," stated the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)