The spokesmen added, however, that many members of the Romani community are anxious for revenge against skinheads. They warned there might be more violence in Belgrade in the near future. The attack on the Sisices came 10 days after Belgrade skinheads killed Dusan Jovanovic, a Romani teenager, in what observers called the first hate crime in which Serbian skinheads killed a Rom. On 20 October, some 2,500 people turned out for a silent march through Belgrade and Jovanovic's funeral. Leading clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church were present and strongly condemned skinhead violence against Roma.
Romani spokesmen say skinheads have harassed Roma in Yugoslavia for years.
They charge that skinheads regularly taunt or beat Roma and sometimes set fire to their victims' hair. Romani organizations estimate the number of Roma in federal Yugoslavia at 140,000. Other observers say there are 2,000 skinheads in the country. Political opposition groups and non-governmental organizations condemned the attacks on Jovanovic and the Sisices. They blamed the government of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic for creating what they called a growing atmosphere of intolerance.