27 YEARS SINCE UNSOLVED MURDER OF FOUR SIMIĆ BROTHERS

BELGRADE, JUNE 20 /SRNA/ – Twenty-seven years have passed since the murder of the four Simić brothers in the village of Slivovo near Novo Brdo, one of the many crimes committed against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija that, even after more than two decades, has not received a judicial resolution, announced Serbia’s parliametary Office for Kosovo and Metohija.

Trajan, Dimitrije, Živojin, and Živko Simić were killed not far from their homes, on the land where they were born, which they did not wish to leave. The crime occurred in the presence of international security forces within the AOR of British KFOR contingent, but truth and justice for the Simić family have yet to arrive, and the perpetrators have never been identified. “The remembrance of this crime remains a warning that without punishment for crimes, there can be no genuine peace,” the Office stated. It was assessed that the fate of the Simić brothers bears witness to the tragic period the Serb people endured in the southern Serbian province, including after the arrival of international missions. Even their funeral, the Office recalls, could not be held in their native village. Instead, they were buried in Gračanica, where their families sought the security that had been denied to them in Slivovo. “Today, as we mark the anniversary of their suffering, we remember not only four innocently murdered men, but all Serbs who suffered because they wished to remain on their ancestral land, preserve their homes and families, and maintain their Serb identity in Kosovo and Metohija,” the statement said. It emphasized that everyone has a duty to ensure that their names are not forgotten and to persevere in the search for the truth, regardless of the passage of time. “By preserving the memory of the Simić brothers, we preserve the dignity of all Serb victims in Kosovo and Metohija. Only a people who do not forget their victims have the strength to defend the truth about their past and build a safer future for generations to come,” the Office stressed.