Two Serbian Orthodox cemeteries desecrated
February, 20 2015. The incidents happened in the villages of Krusevac near Obilic and of Donji Livoc near Gnjilane, as report b92 and the Serbian Orthodox Church’s Raska-Prizren Diocese.
In Krusevac, tombstones were torn down, covered with garbage, plastic and rubber, and then set on fire. The diocese said that the photographs taken by its priests show that the tombstones were completely destroyed.
The diocese condemned the incidents in the strongest terms, expressing deep regret that the practice of desecration of Serb graves in Kosovo and Metohija continues.
RTV puls is reporting that in Donji Livoc, the grave of Gradimir Milosavljevic, buried in 1998, was desecrated and exhumated.
Speaking about the cemetery desecration, Kosovo police spokesperson Ismet Hasani said that they were “aware of the case” and had launched an investigation in cooperation with the public prosecutor.
He added that a pathologist from Pristina would examine the crime scene, “after which it will be known what was taken from the tomb.”
The Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo-Metohija (KiM) condemned the desecration of cemeteries in the Serb villages of Krusevac and Donji Livoc and urged the competent authorities in the southern Serbian province to find and punish those responsible in order to finally put an end to such vandalism.
It is with great regret that we have to acknowledge the fact that a decade and a half since the incident in Krusevac, the authorities in Pristina and the international community have still not found a way to put an end to this vandalism which is unlike anything else in the civilized world, the Office for KiM said in a release.
“Such failure to act is an indirect message to that small number of people who hold nothing sacred that attacks on Serb cemeteries, Serb churches and monasteries, such as last week’s robbery of the Temple of Saint Demetrius in Susica, are welcome,” the statement said.
The Office for KiM called on the international community and authorities in Pristina to find and punish the perpetrators and not to allow a small group of individuals to cause damage to their reputation, because all these incidents not only undermine the spirit of multiculturalism in Kosovo-Metohija but also compromise all efforts to normalize relations and make normal coexistence in the province possible.
Photo documents of Raska-Prizren Diocese
Video document of RTV puls