Milica Rakić | |
|---|---|
Милица Ракић | |
 Photo of Milica Rakić | |
| Born | (1996-01-09)9 January 1996 |
| Died | 17 April 1999(1999-04-17) (aged 3) Belgrade, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia |
| Citizenship | Yugoslav |
| Known for | being a child killed during theNATO bombing of Yugoslavia |
Milica of Belgrade | |
|---|---|
 | |
| NewChild Martyr | |
| Born | 9 January 1996 Belgrade, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now modern-daySerbia) |
| Residence | 8 Dimitrije Lazarov Raša Street,Batajnica, Belgrade |
| Died | 17 April 1999 8 Dimitrije Lazarov Raša Street, Batajnica, Belgrade, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
| Cause of death | Shrapnel intake from acluster munition |
| Honored in | Folk Orthodoxy |
| Majorshrine | Batajnica cemetery, Belgrade, Serbia |
| Feast | 17 April [O.S. 4 April] |
| Attributes | Martyr's cross,wreath, red dress |
Milica Rakić (Serbian Cyrillic:Милица Ракић; 9 January 1996 – 17 April 1999) was a three-year-oldSerbian girl who was killed by acluster munition during theNATO bombing of Yugoslavia.
Milica Rakić was born inBelgrade on 9 January 1996.[1] Her parents were Žarko and Dušica Rakić. She had an older brother named Aleksa.[2]
Between 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on 17 April 1999, three-year-old Rakić was struck by shrapnel while in the bathroom of her second-floor apartment at 8 Dimitrije Lazarov Raša Street, in the Belgrade suburb ofBatajnica.[3] Her home was located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from theBatajnica Air Base. Batajnica was repeatedly targeted byNATO during itsair campaign againstYugoslavia, which lasted between March and June 1999.[4] Rakić was killed instantly. At the time of her death, she was sitting on apotty chair.[5] Five other civilians were wounded in the attack.[6]
Rakić's funeral took place on 19 April.[2] The same day, Yugoslavia's Minister of InformationMilan Komnenić released a statement attributing her death to "NATO cowards".[7]
Rakić was one of 89 children killed during the NATO air campaign, according to SerbianPrime MinisterMirko Cvetković.[8] Rakić's death was widely covered in the Serbian media.[9] Her death was not reported by most major Western news outlets.[10] The final NATO report on the bombing of Yugoslavia made no mention of Rakić's death, even under the category of "special incidents".[11]Human Rights Watch (HRW) investigators visited the site of her death on 7 August 1999, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. According to HRW, acluster munition exploded next to the apartment in which Rakić was living.[3] The incident marked the first NATO use of cluster munitions inSerbia-proper; all prior instances of their use by NATO had been recorded inKosovo.[4] TheYugoslav Ministry of Health provided HRW with photographic documentation of the incident, which was also included in the bookWhite Book of NATO Crimes in Yugoslavia, published by theGovernment of Yugoslavia.[3]
In 2000, a monument dedicated to the children killed in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was unveiled in Belgrade'sTašmajdan Park. It featured a bronze sculpture of Rakić in front of a marble block inscribed with the words "we were just children" written inSerbian and English. The monument was commissioned by the newspaperVečernje novosti and financed by donations that it had received from its readers. The sculpture was stolen twice, once in 2000 and again in 2001, after which it was never recovered.[12] In 2014, a commemorative fountain was dedicated in Rakić's memory in Batajnica.[13] The following year, a new sculpture of Rakić was unveiled in Tašmajdan Park to replace the one that had previously been stolen.[12] The Little Milica Rakić Park in Batajnica was also established in her memory. The park was subjected to extensive renovations in 2017, financed bySerbia's Ministry of Defence.[14]
Following her death, some sectors of the Serbian public called for Rakić to becanonized as a saint by theSerbian Orthodox Church.[15] In 2004, theTvrdoš Monastery near the town ofTrebinje, inBosnia and Herzegovina, unveiled afresco of Rakić which contained an inscription describing her as aneomartyr. At the time, the Serbian Orthodox Church announced that it would only consider canonizing Rakić if hercult gained a widespread following.[16] On the frescoes, she is referred to asSaint Milica of Belgrade (Serbian:Света Милица Београдска,romanized: Sveta Milica Beogradska)[17] or asSaint Milica of Batajnica (Serbian:Света Милица Батајничка,romanized: Sveta Milica Batajnička).[18]
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