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Teodosije: Serbs still threatened in Kosovo
28. August 2010. | 07:56
Source: Emg.rs, Tanjug
Teodosije told Westerwelle that now, 11 years after the armed conflict, two-thirds of the Serb population of Kosovo-Metohija are still displaced, adding that as a result of years of violence and ethnic discrimination the Serb villages are now inhabited mainly by older persons whose number can be counted in tens only.
Vicar Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan said in an interview with the German foreign minister on Friday that the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija are still discriminated and vulnerable, and expressed particular concern over the insistence on transferring the protection of the most important monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) in the hands of the Kosovo police.
According to a statement by the Diocese of Raska and Prizren, Minister Guido Westerwelle promised that the German government will remain actively involved in efforts to resolve problems in Kosovo and that it will do everything it can to ensure a normal and peaceful life for all people and a full protection of religious sites.
The SPC is particularly concerned about NATO insisting on the hasty transfer of protection of the SPC most important monasteries in the hands of the Kosovo Police in these difficult conditions, Bishop Teodosije said.
The issue needs to be approached with particular caution, given the existing security problems, the bishop said, recalling the March 2004 pogrom, when a total of 30 churches and two monasteries were destroyed in only two days.
Therefore, the bishop said, the NATO decision is experienced as a kind of political pressure, which could multiply a negative impact on the future of the Serbian people and the Church in this region, which is in nobody's interest.
Teodosije told Westerwelle that now, 11 years after the armed conflict, two-thirds of the Serb population of Kosovo-Metohija are still displaced, adding that as a result of years of violence and ethnic discrimination the Serb villages are now inhabited mainly by older persons whose number can be counted in tens only.
At the meeting in Gracanica (central Kosovo), Bishop Teodosije said that the process of return of displaced persons has been almost stopped and that many Serbs are under pressure to sell their property and leave their homes in Kosovo.
Bishop Teodosije called on solving all the existing disputes through dialogue, and not by imposing a unilateral solution.
Comments (2)
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28. August 2010. 22:05:48
| Anne
0
I don't think that serbians are threatened in Kosovo,they are free for everything but they don't want to be free themeselves because are forced by the government of Serbia.They are minority and simply for the sake of truth they can not seek for the position of majority...and there is no problem if Serbian Orthodox Churches will be protecyed by Kosovo Police they are part of the Republic of Kosovo and I don't see any problem here...Kosovo now is a state herself so herself is going to protect its territory..like Serbia should with hers instesd of caring so much for something that has never been hers
29. August 2010. 08:00:54
| Mark
0
Anne, you clearly do not understand the history and reality on the ground, even if by some chance you actually live in Kosovo. Were you there in 2004 when Albanian mobs torched churches and monasteries, and desecrated graves? And yes, the mobs actually did descend to that level of barbarism. Do you know what the KFOR forces did during those two days? Practically nothing. Do you know who participated and even led some of those destructive mobs? Albanian men who are now current members of the Kosovo Police. Tell me, why should Serbs trust the government of Kosovo? It's run by former terrorists like Hashim Thaci and Agim Ceku who, unlike their Serbian counterparts, have not only gotten away with theft and murder, but have been rewarded by Western powers with recognition and support. The Serbs are the only ones who have paid for their crimes. Albanians remain unpunished for theirs. And you say Kosovo was never Serbia's....do you really believe that??? History would beg to differ with that ridiculous statement. Kosovo holds a special place in the minds of Serbs because it was their heartland until the 20th century.
The Serbian Orthodox Church doesn't want to hand over protection of its sacred shrines to the Kosovo Police because the Kosovo Police have no credibility and no accountability. There are no guarantees that they will actually do their job and protect the places to which they are assigned. And considering how weak the protection was that KFOR provided to the Serbs in the past, I would say the Kosovo Police would give even less...basically nothing. Don't be surprised if there's another pogrom in a couple years, and new Albanian mosques built atop the ruins of ancient Serbian churches.