March 19, 2013

The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia to the Republic of Turkey hereby informs that in the Year of 2013, the Ninth Anniversary of the March Pogrom, that took place on March 17, 2004, at Kosovo and Metohija, will be marked in the Republic of Serbia.

The marking of the Anniversary will be organized by Office for Kosovo and Metohija and Office for Diaspora in the Government of the Republic of Serbia through number of  lectures, documentary films, movies and books about this tragic event.

In the March Pogrom in 2004 900 people, mostly Serbs and other non – Albanians, were seriously injured; 935 Serbian, Roma and Ashkali houses were damaged and set on fire; 3870 people were expelled from Kosovo and Metohija; 6 cities and 10 villages were ethnically cleansed; 35 religious buildings of the Serbian Orthodox Church were destroyed, 18 of which represented the monuments of special importance for Serbian Nation; dozens churches were desecrated; large number of Register Books that witnessed about Serbian existence at Kosovo and Metohija were destroyed. Altogether, 33 individual acts of violence were committed by 51 thousand people, mostly  Kosovo Albanians.

Furthermore, 9 Serbs were killed in the March Pogrom and 143 were wounded.

For all mentioned crimes nobody has been held responsible.

The March Pogrom was one of the greatest atrocities in Europe after the Second World War.

More details, photos and video recordings about this tragic event can be find at the web site of the President of the Republic of Serbia (www.predsednik.rs), the Government of the Republic of Serbia (www.srbija.gov.rs), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia (www.mfa.rs) and the Office for Kosovo and Metohija in the Government of the Republic of Serbia (www.kim.gov.rs).

The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia to the Republic of Turkey hopes that such crime against any nation or ethnic group will never take place again, anywhere in the World.