UNMIK/PR/504
SRSG Hans Haekkerup today attended a memorial service for eight victims of Friday’s attack on a bus convoy carrying Kosovo Serbs.
The SRSG expressed his condolences to families in attendance, as well as to members of the Gracanica monastery and to Patriarch Pavle, leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who travelled from Belgrade to lead the service.
Mr. Haekkerup cited his visit to some of the victims recovering at a KFOR hospital in saying that their desire for peaceful co-existence with Albanians in Kosovo was a sign of hope amidst a terrible tragedy.
The Patriarch thanked the SRSG for the visit: “It is very important to have people coming to us in this particular moment of sorrow and great pain. It means that those same people are capable of helping. I’m grateful for all you have done to promote peace here and for all your assistance to both Serb and Albanian communities.”
“This (attack) is a great problem, not only for Kosovo, but also for Europe as a whole,” the Patriarch said.
The service took place in front of the church, where coffins of the eight victims who have been identified by forensic pathologists lay. Pathologists have said that at least one other victim remains to be identified.
The victims, three females and five males, ranged in age from two to 65 years old, and included a young couple and their infant child.
Families received the coffins today and separate funerals will be conducted from tomorrow.