|
August 9, 2004 ERP KIM Info-service 09-08-04 First year memorial service held for Serb children slain in Gorazdevac In his sermon Bishop Teodosije called on the Serbs of Gorazdevac to remain firm in their determination to endure and with hope in a better future, faith in God's justice and help and love, which triumph over every form of hate. "Even though it may appear at times that evil triumphs over good and injustice over justice, it is God's judgment that is final. That is why ultimately good triumphs over evil, and love over hate because the Lord by His Resurrection triumphed over death and opened the gates of eternal life for all those who live in a union of love with Christ in God's Church," said Bishop Teodosije. He called on the faithful to pray for the two martyred children who were slain only because they were Serbs and Orthodox Christians. 
Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan
"God's justice will ultimately triumph and love will triumph over hate"
| With the intent of making it possible for the Serb children of Gorazdevac, Velika Hoca and Osojane to experience the joys of childhood and summer holidays on the seashore, the Orthodox sisterhood of St. Lidia from Asprovalta in Greece, in cooperation with the Visoki Decani Relief Fund, is organizing a 20-day summer holiday for about 100 Serb children, who will be spending the month of August on the Greek seashore. The children will be taken on holiday by Bishop Teodosije; in addition to their guardians, they will be accompanied by Hieromonk Ilarion Lupulovic from Visoki Decani Monastery, who will acquaint the children with the basics of Orthodox religious education and regularly perform religious services in the Serbian language. | ERP KIM Info Service
Gracanica, August 7, 2004 The first year memorial service for Serb boys Panta Dakic and Ian Jovicic was held at the Serbian Orthodox cemetery in the village of Gorazdevac near Pec. The Serb children were killed on August 13 last year by shots fired from an automatic weapon as they were bathing in the Bistrica River near the village. With the blessing of Bishop Artemije of Raska-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija, Vicar Bishop Teodosije, the local parish priest and the priest-monks of Visoki Decani Monastery served hierarchal liturgy for the repose of the deceased in the church of the Most Holy Mother of God. In his sermon Bishop Teodosije called on the Serbs of Gorazdevac to remain firm in their determination to endure and with hope in a better future, faith in God's justice and help and love, which triumph over every form of hate. "Even though it may appear at times that evil triumphs over good and injustice over justice, it is God's judgment that is final. That is why ultimately good triumphs over evil, and love over hate because the Lord by His Resurrection triumphed over death and opened the gates of eternal life for all those who live in a union of love with Christ in God's Church," said Bishop Teodosije. He called on the faithful to pray for the two martyred children who were slain only because they were Serbs and Orthodox Christians. One year after the massacre of the Serb children in Gorazdevac the perpetrators of this heinous crime have still not been found. UNMIK and Kosovo Police have not only failed to find the criminals responsible but have apparently discontinued the investigation altogether, and persistent Serb enquiries regarding the results to date of the investigation are met by silence on the part of international representatives. Serbs in Gorazdevac continue to live in complete isolation and without basic rights and freedoms. Unlike their ethnic Albanian peers Serb children are spending the dog days of summer in their houses out of fear that they may again be targeted by criminals if they go to bathe in the river or go anywhere from their homes. With the intent of making it possible for the Serb children of Gorazdevac, Velika Hoca and Osojane to experience the joys of childhood and summer holidays on the seashore, the Orthodox sisterhood of St. Lidia from Asprovalta in Greece, in cooperation with the Visoki Decani Relief Fund, is organizing a 20-day summer holiday for about 100 Serb children, who will be spending the month of August on the Greek seashore. The children will be taken on holiday by Bishop Teodosije; in addition to their guardians, they will be accompanied by Hieromonk Ilarion Lupulovic from Visoki Decani Monastery, who will acquaint the children with the basics of Orthodox religious education and regularly perform religious services in the Serbian language.
GORAZDEVAC ONE YEAR AFTER THE MASSACRE Even though representatives of the international mission in Kosovo promised "decisive action" and that the perpetrators of this monstrous crime would be found, to this day there has been no progress in the investigation. Local residents of Gorazdevac say that they were not expecting the children's murders to be found anyway. They note that UNMIK and KFOR have yet to solve a single murder of a Serb in Kosovo and Metohija. 
Scene of crime where Serb children came under fire in Gorazdevac,
ERP KIM Info Service archive photo
Kurir daily, August 6, 2004 By Petar Miletic First year memorial service to be held tomorrow in Gorazdevac for children slain by ethnic Albanian terrorists as they were bathing in the river GORAZDEVAC - Almost a year has passed since August 13, 2003 when ethnic Albanian extremists carried out a real massacre in Gorazdevac. They opened fire on children bathing in the river. They killed Panta Dakic and Ivan Jovovic, and wounded Dragana Srbljak, Marko Bogicevic, Bogdan Bukumiric and Djordje Ugrenovic. Relatives and local residents of Gorazdevac will hold a one year memorial service on August 7. At the house of Milisav Dakic, the father of the late Panta, everything reminds us of the 11 year-old boy: the picture on the wall, his belongings in the room, as if he was still alive. We asked Milisav if any officials visited them after Panta's funeral and he answered tersely: "No. And I don't need any of them to come. No one can give me back my son." His wife and Panta's mother Gordana said that even those supposedly conducting an investigation have never come to the house. "On several occasions we have gone to the police station to ask if there has been any progress in the investigation. All we could get, however, was more promises that the murderers would be captured; of course, there are no results," said Gordana despondently. After the murders in Gorazdevac, there was talk that Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova and prime minister Bajram Rexhepi would visit the families of the dead children. Local residents of Gorazdevac, however, advised them to first ensure that the murderers are brought to justice and then attend the children's memorial service. Now Milisav Dakic says they should stay away from Gorazdevac: "I don't need their statements of sympathy or political games. I can neither forgive nor forget. They killed my child," said Milisav bitterly. Panta's sister Saska and brother Nemanja say they miss their sibling very much. "We used to play together and he would stick up for us in school if the other kids teased us," said Saska. Nemanja prefers not to talk about Panta and the children's mother says that the death of his brother has been especially difficult for him. Bogdan Bukumiric, who was most seriously wounded - hit by seven bullets, he was in a coma - does not feel like talking. "I'm tired of everything, reporters and politicians. It's hard for me to think about it," said Bogdan. Even though representatives of the international mission in Kosovo promised "decisive action" and that the perpetrators of this monstrous crime would be found, to this day there has been no progress in the investigation. Local residents of Gorazdevac say that they were not expecting the children's murders to be found anyway. They note that UNMIK and KFOR have yet to solve a single murder of a Serb in Kosovo and Metohija. In Gorazdevac we also visited the other children wounded in the August massacre. Marko Bogicevic is bed-ridden again. He cannot move and diagnoses suggests he will have to have more surgery. Dragana Srbljak and Djordje Ugrenovic were not seriously wounded and they have returned to their everyday lives. However, Dragana's mother, Mirjana, say they are still living in fear. "She's already at the age when she wants to go out but if she's ten minutes late, the whole house is in a panic and we go look for her in the village. It's difficult to live with so much fear," stressed Mirjana. Indeed there is still a lot of tension throughout Gorazdevac. Ethnic Albanians are free to pass through the village with prominently displayed national symbols. "They're provoking us," said one of the local residents, adding that he does not dare address so much as a harsh word to them let alone do anything more serious. UNMIK police, KFOR and the Kosovo Police Service react immediately. Members of Italian and Romanian KFOR are somewhat more visible in the streets of Gorazdevac than elsewhere but apparently it's not enough. A group of Albanians recently entered a cafe in the very center of the village and began a fight with some Serb locals. TOP
More News Available on our:
Kosovo Daily News list (KDN)
KDN Archive
Our Newsletters in html format are available on the Web at: Photo Galleries of the March pogrom are available at: http://www.kosovo.net/pogrom.html
ERP KIM Info-Service is the official Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren and works with the blessing of His Grace Bishop Artemije.
Our Information Service is distributing news on Kosovo related issues. The main focus of the Info-Service is the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian community in the Province of Kosovo and Metohija. ERP KIM Info Service works in cooperation with www.serbian-translation.com as well as the Kosovo Daily News (KDN) News List
Disclaimer:
The views expressed by the authors of newspaper articles or other texts which are not official communiqués or news reports by the Diocese are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Serbian Orthodox Church Additional information on our Diocese and the life of the Kosovo Serb Community may be found at: http://www.kosovo.net If you want to unsubscribe go to the page: http://www.kosovo.net/erpkiminfo.html
Copyright 2004, ERP KIM Info-Service
|
