On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the biggest ethnic violence in post-war Kosovo, in which the Serbian people, as well as the Roma, came under attack, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced that the majority of the material damage has been repaired, and that „with the money of Kosovo taxpayers, Orthodox religious buildings have been restored“. He added that material damage at that time „took precedence over human losses“.
Recalling that in the „March pogrom on March 17 and 18, 2004, Albanian extremists destroyed or severely damaged 35 monasteries and churches of the Serbian Orthodox Church“, the Diocese confirmed for KoSSev that most of the destroyed churches have been rebuilt from 2005 to 2010.
However, they explained that the reconstruction was also done with the help of the international community, specifying what exactly was reconstructed with those funds, pointing out that the reconstruction was led by the Commission for the Reconstruction of the Council of Europe, but also that cooperation with Kosovo institutions was halted after 2010.
„From 2005 to 2010, the restoration was done with the consent of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and with the Commission for Reconstruction of the Council of Europe, in which, in addition to the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the Republic of Serbia, representatives of Kosovo institutions also participated,“ Diocese said in a written statement for our portal.
„The money was paid through Kosovo institutions, but it also came from foreign countries. The European Union directly renovated the complex of the Prizren Theological Seminary with its own funds (the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the believers of the Russian Orthodox Church participated in the renovation). The EU also renovated the bishop’s palace in Prizren and some other buildings independently of the Reconstruction Commission and in direct cooperation with the Diocese. The Russian Federation’s donation of $1,000,000 was paid at the international donor conference in Paris for the restoration of damaged churches through UNESCO.“
However, the Kosovo institutions participation in the reconstruction process was interrupted in 2010 following Pristina’s insistence that the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia must leave the Reconstruction Commission, the Diocese explained.
Until then, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments prepared project documentation for all renovated buildings and supervised the work with its experts.
„Reconstruction continued in the following years with the efforts of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren and with the help of international and domestic donors,“ the Diocese stated.
The reconstruction process in front of the SOC was led by Bishop Teodosije with the blessing of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
One of the most disturbing video footages from the #Kosovo riots in March 2004 shows K/Albanian rioters storming the #Serbian #Orthodox #Church of Saint Andrew in #Podujevo. The church was set ablaze, and rioters climbed onto the roof, breaking crosses and hurling them in front… pic.twitter.com/Lzd0xnOdoj
— Dečani Monastery (@DecaniMonastery) March 16, 2024
„It has never been revealed who directed the protest participants towards the settlements with Serbs and Orthodox churches and monasteries,“ said Albin Kurti on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the biggest ethnic violence after the war.
He visited the graves of three Albanian boys, who drowned in Cabra back in 2004, which prompted what the Serbs call a pogrom.
Previously, his comrades from Self-Determination did the same, who shared a message about Albanian victims and accusing Serbs, emphasizing that the boys in Cabra were murdered. Kurti spoke in a slightly different, softer tone, mentioning the Serbian victims, but with similar messages as the ones shared by his party.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
