Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

March 17 symbol of terror and ethnic cleansing

Belgrade, 17 March 2006

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said today, on the second anniversary of the March violence of ethnic Albanian extremists against Serbs in Kosovo in 2004, that this date is a symbol of terror and everything contrary to European values.

Vojislav Kostunica

The official web site of the Serbian government brings the Prime Minister's statement in full.

Exactly two years ago ethnic Albanian extremists committed an act of terror against Kosovo Serbs. The attack was clearly premeditated and aimed at completing the job of ethnic cleansing. The ultimate aim behind it was to sever Kosovo-Metohija from Serbia through constant violence and terror. The conception of an independent Kosovo itself is solely founded on the idea of monoethnicity and an exclusively Albanian state.

March 17 stands for nothing but terror. It symbolises everything that is contrary to the values that are the foundation of Europe and any other civilised society. March 17 represents cruelty, violence and ethnic cleansing. Today, two years later, almost all consequences of the event remain. Even more tragic is the fact that the actual organisers have never been brought to justice.

Serbia is prepared to find a compromise solution to the province's future status and is patiently and consistently working to enable appropriate autonomy for Kosovo-Metohija within Serbia and Serbia-Montenegro, in line with the essential principles on which international law and order are based, reads the Prime Minister's statement.