August 29, 2005

Mother of seriously wounded Nikola Dukic
My son is an athlete, he'll live

"As a mother, I want these to be the last children to be killed or shot full of holes in Kosovo. Sympathy is not enough for a mother. Once and for all, the world's powerful need to put a stop to this violence. This is a slow death," said Milica Dukic, the mother of Nikola Dukic, who was seriously wounded in a terrorist attack by Albanian extremists.

According to Dr. Stojan Sekulic of Simonida Hospital in Gracanica at approximately 4:00 p.m. Nikola Dukic, accompanied by a physician from the hospital and his mother, Milica, headed toward Belgrade where his medical treatment will continue at the Military Medical Academy. According to Dr. Sekulic, the youth's condition is presently stable.

"He underwent additional drainage prior to leaving the hospital in Pristina. While he was there, we provided all necessary medication that they lacked. Upon his arrival in our hospital we administered reanimation. He'll be traveling in an ambulance," said Dr. Sekulic.

Two young Serbs, Ivan Dejanovic and Aleksandar Stankovic from the village of Suvi Dol near Lipljan, were killed in the terrorist attack, while Aleksandar Janicijevic from the neighboring village of Novo Naselje was also wounded. Dukic underwent surgery and his spleen and parts of his upper and lower intestine were removed.

"I hope for the best. My son is a brave athlete... Today he talked a little but he tires quickly. He managed to say that he remembers the burst of automatic gunfire and nothing else," said Dukic's mother, Milica. She and her family fled Suvi Dol in 2003 for Belgrade. Nikola returned a month ago to his village to visit relatives and friends. Nineteen year-old Aleksandar Janicijevic, originally from Stimlje where his property was burned and which he fled with his father and sisters for Novo Naselje, was readmitted to the hospital in Gracanica yesterday.

"I brought him home but last night he had bad pains and he had to go back to the hospital. We have nowhere to go! We don't have a doctor here, the boy had bad pains and I was afraid that his wound might become infected... I am afraid for him and for his health. I visited him this morning and he's a little bit better," said Nikola Janicijevic, Aleksandar's father.

Yesterday unrest and mourning reigned in the village of Suvi Dol.

"It's hard... When you get a message from Belgrade that Serbs can't survive in Kosovo, how are those of us here supposed to feel," said Zika Nastic, a village representative.

Yesterday at about 4:00 p.m. "Blic" was told in the forensics section in Orahovac, where the bodies of the killed youths were transferred, that autopsies were almost finished. They added that the autopsies were not attended by a single Serbian pathologist. This was confirmed by Serbian pathologist Slavisa Dobricanin.

"This is the first time we weren't notified and state officials need to think about that. Nebojsa Covic used to arrange it and now it's presumably supposed to be arranged by someone from the Government. A crime has been committed against our people and Serbian pathologists had to be at the autopsy," emphasized Dobricanin.

Since the terrorist act of the killing and wounding of the Serbian youths unconfirmed information has been circulating throughout Kosovo and Metohija that has been raising tensions. On the basis of UNMIK police reports, it is obvious that the instance of incidents within the Albanian community has increased in the last few days, and rumors are being launched in the attempt to take advantage of this to create an atmosphere similar to that of March 17, 2004. The Serbian Assembly's Committee for Kosovo and Metohija has asked (Assembly speaker) Predrag Markovic to urgently address the UN.

All political parties have condemned this act, as have international representatives. Protest gatherings took place in Gracanica and Kosovska Mitrovica, and a day of mourning was proclaimed in Kosovo and Metohija.

Albanian media relayed the news regarding the killing of two Serbian youths and the wounding of two others. But they did not speculate regarding the possible perpetrators of the crime. In the newspapers "Zeri" and "Koha Ditore" the news was on the front page. "Lajm" published news of a mysterious murder on page three, and there was no mention of it on the front page of "Kosova Sot", either.

By Z. Jevtic - N. Zejak