March 2004 Kosovo riots anniversary

March 2004 Kosovo riots anniversary

Mass riots of Kosovo Albanians who pinned the deaths on the Serbs, gradually spread to massive clashes throughout the whole province in which 19 persons were killed, including 11 Albanians and 8 Serbs, and more than 900 people sustained injuries.

Around 800 houses were destroyed and damaged during the clashes, along with 35 orthodox churches and monasteries.

Thousands of Serbs staged protests in Serbia against the attacks on Kosovo Serb enclaves. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Pavle, led a procession of about six thousand marchers from the centre of Belgrade to the Temple of St Sava.

On the same day that violence broke out in Kosovo, mosques in Belgrade and Niš were set on fire.

President Boris Tadić appealed to the UN and progressive world powers not to give in to extremists’ blackmails and to take into account international law and the significance of integrity of borders when deciding on the final status of Kosovo. Tadić said in a statement that “the whole country has to fight for democracy and a joint future in Europe, which has no room for the persecution of any nation."

Serbian Prime Minister said in a statement that “the horrible violence and terror committed by ethnic Albanians three years ago was in fact an attempt to complete the ethnic cleansing process,” adding that “banishment of Serbs and violence over them are taking place even today and almost on a daily basis.”

Kostunica also said that at the Security Council session scheduled for March 19, Serbia will categorically demand that in line with explicit provisions of Resolution 1244, the safety of Serbs and other non-ethnic Albanians in Kosovo be guaranteed.