Families Recall Vuçiq’s Statement That the “Panda” Crime Was Not Committed by Albanians and Demand the Truth

New claims about the suspected perpetrators have brought renewed attention to the killing of six young Serbs on December 14, 1998, at the “Panda” café in Pejë.

The victims’ families, however, say they no longer believe speculation and are waiting only for official evidence from the justice institutions.

Ivan Niniq, the lawyer representing the families, has asked Serbia’s Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime to question Radomir Boban Baçeviq. His name was mentioned by Milosh Medenica, a convicted Montenegrin fugitive, as the person who directly opened fire inside the “Panda” café.

Speaking to the Nova news portal, Zvonko Gvozdenoviq, the father of Vukota Gvozdenoviq, who was killed at the age of 16, said the families would no longer accept accusations unsupported by evidence.

He said he could not know whether Medenica’s statements were true. According to him, the Prosecutor’s Office must verify them and determine whether they have any basis, while stressing that this is not the first time someone has exploited the deaths of their children.

Gvozdenoviq recalled that many names have been mentioned over the years as possible perpetrators of the massacre, but no evidence that could solve the case has ever been presented.

According to him, the families want evidence, the identities of those who opened fire and the names of those who ordered the crime. He clarified that they are not seeking names circulated through rumors, but only individuals whose responsibility has been confirmed by the Prosecutor’s Office.

He also criticized the Serbian institutions over the stalled investigation, noting that more than a decade has passed without any concrete results.

The attack on the “Panda” café took place on December 14, 1998, when armed individuals opened fire with automatic weapons inside the establishment in Pejë, where young Serbs were gathered.

Ivan Obradoviq (15), Vukota Gvozdenoviq (16), Zoran Stanojeviq, Svetislav Ristiq (17), Dragan Trifunoviq (17) and Ivan Radevićq (25) were killed.

Vladimir Lonçareviq and Mirsad Shaboviq, the owner of the establishment, were seriously wounded, while Nikola Rajoviq sustained minor injuries.

Debate surrounding the “Panda” case has also been fueled over the years by statements made by Serbian President Aleksandar Vuçiq.

In December 2013, while serving as Serbia’s deputy prime minister, Vuçiq stated that Albanians had not committed the “Panda” crime and warned that the public would be shocked once it learned the truth.

At the end of 2015, two years after that statement, Vuçiq said he was almost certain about what had happened at the café. However, to date, the perpetrators have not been officially identified and the case remains unsolved.