Monument to Serbian poet torn down in Kosovo

The poet's bust is missing, writer and journalist Zivojin Rakocevic told the radio station. "Members of the Vuckovic family who live in Strpce and Lazar's brother Slobodan Vuckovic, who is now a returnee to Gornje Selo, have called me to confirm that the monument is destroyed and that the bust is missing," Rakocevic said. "On Christmas Day, this was a clear and horrifying message to the Vuckovic family and all of us," Rakocevic said. Just kilometres away, in the village of Drajcici, the demolition of a 109-year-old Serbian school started ten days ago, Rakocevic said, adding that it is clear that someone is intent on keeping displaced Serbs from returning to the region of Sredacka zupa. Hazir Berisa, the police spokesman for the province's southern Prizren region, said that the investigation is complete and that there are no suspects in the case, but that the motivation for the theft of the bust could be the material it was made of. Lazar Vuckovic drowned in 1966 at the age of 30, when his boat capsized in Lake Ohrid, Macedonia. The Lazar Vuckovic Literary Meetings - a notable literary event in the former Yugoslavia - are held in Kosovo.

Gov't office: Another method of intimidating Kosovo Serbs

The Serbian government Office for Kosovo condemned late Wednesday the tearing down of a monument to Serbian poet Lazar Vuckovic in Gornje Selo, a village in the south of the province, warning that the incident is yet another method of intimidating Kosovo Serbs to keep them from returning to their homes. This is a more than clear message to Serbs that their return to the region of Sredacka zupa has not been met with approval, a statement from the Office said. "Knowing from experience that the Pristina authorities will not do anything to find and punish the perpetrators of this act of vandalism, we demand that the international community react and protect Serbs in the province, their property, and the graves and monuments to their dearest ones," the statement said. The monument to the most famous Serbian poet from Kosovo was torn down on January 7, on Orthodox Christmas Day. Not far from the site, in the village of Drajcici, the demolition of a more than century-old Serbian school started just days ago, the statement of the Office said.