TOMBSTONE VANDALIZED AT ORTHODOX CEMETERY IN VILLAGE OF GORNJI TIČIĆI

KAKANJ, OCTOBER 20 /SRNA/ – A tombstone at the Serbian Orthodox cemetery in the village of Gornji Tičići near Kakanj has been vandalized, parish priest of Dobrinje, Dragiša Cvjetković, confirmed to SRNA.

Cvjetković stated that the destroyed tombstone belonged to Janko Đorđe Simić, and that the Zenica-Doboj Canton Interior Ministry was informed of this shameful act. Police officers visited the site and conducted an investigation. "The cemetery in Gornji Tičići was desecrated back in the 1990s, when many gravestones and crosses were broken. Over the last 20 years, once a year in May, parishioners return to their homeland and gather at this local cemetery," said Cvjetković. Of the many damaged tombstones, Cvjetković noted that parishioners managed to restore only the tombstone of the late Đorđe, when in 2019 a modest marble plaque with his photo was erected. "Already in May 2020, during a visit to the cemetery, damage was observed to the photo, where the eyes of the deceased had been scratched out with a sharp object. During prayers in May 2025, the plaque was still intact, but in late September, during a visit to maintain the grounds, displaced parishioners discovered the tombstone had been smashed," Cvjetković reported. He added that, despite these cowardly acts, with faith in God, unity, and solidarity, work continues on restoring and maintaining the cemetery. "Currently, we are cutting low vegetation, branches, and overgrowth so that the cemetery in Gornji Tičići is properly maintained, as befits the departed. God willing, the next step will be to install a fence around the cemetery," Cvjetković concluded.