10th anniversary of the Staro Gracko massacre
A commemorative service was held on Thursday to mark the tenth anniversary of the murder of 14 Kosovo Serb civilians in Staro Gracko near Lipljan, in central Kosovo.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Thursday, July 23, 2009
14 villagers, including one young boy, were killed during an ambush as they worked their land on July 23, 1999.
UNMIK special police units arrested Mazlum Bitiqi in October 2007 on suspicion that he had participated in the murders, but he was releases subsequently.
The commemoration ceremony was held by Serb Orthodox Archishop Artemije who said that "the victims are obliging the Serb people to remain in Kosovo" and that it was the "responsibility of the international community to find the perpetrators of the crime against the innocent harvesters".
Assistant minister at the Serbian Ministry for Kosovo Dragan Petkovic said that this crime "should never be forgotten".
No one from the international community attended the memorial service devoted to one of the most horrific crimes committed since the arrival of UN and Kfor to Kosovo in June 1999.
