Head of the Serbian government media relations office Milivoje Mihajlovic said that nothing important has changed seven years after the pogrom in Kosovo, and that March 17, 2004, is a big black stain on the conscience of the international community, under whose protectorate Kosovo was then and remains to this day.

Some churches were restored and some important monuments of Serbian culture in Kosovo destroyed, but the fear remains among Serbs of that eruption of Albanian extremism, whose goal was ethnic cleansing, Mihajlovic told the Radio and Television of Serbia.

Many lost their homes and over 4,500 people were driven from their homes, Mihajlovic said, reminding that some houses were later rebuilt and 270 people were arrested and charged with participation in the mass demonstrations and violence.

Most of them were only fined and these were mostly high school and college students, which means the investigation has not come close to the organizers, although KFOR and UNMIK assessed at the time that the violence across Kosovo was orchestrated, Mihajlovic said.

He pointed out that March 17, 2004, was the final blow to the urban Serb population in Kosovo. There are hardly any Serbs left in Pristina, Gnjilane or Urosevac.

Kosovska Mitrovica, albeit divided, is the only town where Serbs still live, Mihajlovic reminded. Mihajlovic said that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina gives hope to the Serbs in Kosovo and is an open channel of communication, which is still in the early stages, while expressing expectation that the two sides will start solving some ordinary issues, improving security and communication.

In the wave of Albanian violence on March 17, 2004, remembered as "Kosovo's Kristallnacht", 19 people were killed - eight Serbs and 11 Albanians, while two are still missing.