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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Return of Kosovo Serbs linked to feeling of security

Belgrade, 17 March 2010

State Secretary for Kosovo-Metohija Oliver Ivanovic said today on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the March 2004 pogrom in the southern Serbian province, that the instigators and organisers of the pogrom must be found, pointing out that destroyed houses have been rebuilt, but that the Kosovo Serbs did not return.

Ivanovic told Radio-Television Serbia (RTS) that the pogrom occurred on 17 and 18 March 2004. The Albanian extremists expelled more than 4,000 Kosovo Serbs from their homes, ethnically cleansed six Serbian towns and nine villages, and destroyed 35 Orthodox churches and monasteries.

Those who caused the pogrom succeeded, since not only did most people not return, but the negotiations on the status of Kosovo-Metohija were launched, said Ivanovic.

He added that Kosovo Serbs do not feel safe, especially if they come individually, and cannot be persuaded to return collectively.

Noting that their return is closely related to the feeling of security, Ivanovic said that this process could be intensified if the temporary Kosovo institutions and the international community did what they promised.

The State Secretary for Kosovo-Metohija said that the status of Kosovo-Metohija will not be resolved for a long time.

Following the announcements of KFOR that it will officially transfer the responsibility for the protection of Gazimestan to the Kosovo police on 18 March, Ivanovic said that he met with the KFOR Commander and warned him that there is distrust between Serbs and Albanians, and that the monasteries of Kosovo-Metohija and other items of Serbian heritage in the province must not be threatened.

In the March 2004 pogrom, Albanian extremists killed eight Serbs, with two still reported as being missing. Eleven Albanians were killed in clashes with KFOR members. There were 954 injured, 143 of whom were Serbs and dozens of members of international forces. A total of 72 UN vehicles were destroyed. A total of 935 Serbian houses and dozens of schools, health centres, post offices and 35 Orthodox monasteries, churches and other religious buildings, including 18 cultural monuments, were destroyed and burnt down during the 17 and 18 March 2004 pogrom.