A HOUSE THAT REMEMBERS A TERRIBLE CRIME: Here, Albanians brutally tortured George Martinovic

On “Bora Vukmirovića” street, a part of the city that Gjilan Serbs still call Bačevina, there is a family home of Đorđe Martinović, a Serb who survived Golgotha ​​at the hands of Albanians who mistreated him mercilessly. The ramshackle old house bears witness to how Martinović managed to survive an unprecedented crime, to continue living with his family.

In 1985, Albanians tortured George by taking him to a stake with a pint glass bottle of beer on top. The man survived and somehow recovered, but this act, which was highly debated by the public in the former Yugoslavia, marked not only his life, but also the lives of his descendants.

– For Serbs who sometimes visit our homeland, this house is a reminder of the beginning of Serbian Golgotha ​​in Kosovo, which continues today. I only have words of praise for George, the host and his family, but all of us older Gjilan remember the story that started the mass emigration of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija: the story of an older Gjilan who visits his homeland every time he presents the opportunity.

In a small place where the current Serbian population can be counted on the fingers of one hand, decades after the unfortunate event, passions did not subside. Not only between Serbs and Albanians, but Serbs also accused each other of participating in the cover-up of this crime, against Marjanović, an official of the JNA House at the time.

This year, on September 6, it was twenty years since the death of George Martinovic, who, despite everything, lived to be seventy. He died in Citluk near Krusevac. He left behind his wife Jagoda, three children, Dragan, Srećko, Gradimir and his daughter Olga and numerous grandchildren. Unfortunately, the children passed away in the meantime and daughter Olga lives in Kragujevac and it is difficult to deal with the fact that she buried three siblings in addition to her father.

Currently no one lives in George Martinovic’s house. It is said that it was usurped by the Albanians for a time, but later abandoned. One of George Martinovic’s sons also built a house in the same courtyard. Also recorded is the testimony of Serbs who claim that older Albanians still pass through this house with their heads down.