Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Marko Djuric condemned today the desecration of a memorial to the murdered and kidnapped Serbs from Orahovac municipality during the conflict in 1999.

Djuric said that the desecration of the memorial in the village of Velika Hoca outside Orahovac was “another mindless attack on a memorial for local Serbs who were murdered during the conflict in Kosovo”.

“Vandals toppled the cross on the memorial and brought down the flagpole flying the Serbian flag. This is the third time that the memorial has been attacked with impunity,” Djuric said in a statement.

According to Djuric, the toppling of the cross is a sign of wide-spread intolerance for Christian symbols in Kosovo, adding that the few remaining Serbs in Orahovac municipality live under great pressure and frequent threats and provocation.  He recalled that a nearby memorial plaque to two abducted Serbian journalists had been toppled several times before someone was arrested for that vandalism.