A relative of Xhafer Deva, Valdet Deva, announced that a lawsuit has been filed against the German ambassador to Pristina, Jorn Rohde in a Berlin court „for serious defamation of the character of Xhafer Deva.“
Earlier last year, news broke out that the Kosovo authorities, together with the leadership of the UN and UNDP, are planning to restore Xhafer Deva’s house in South Mitrovica. According to the project, Deva’s house was set to be turned into a museum dedicated to the former Albanian interior minister during World War II.
After part of the public, as well as some international officials such as the German ambassador in Pristina, drew attention to Deva’s controversial biography, the project was suspended. UNDP expressed “regret for any unintentional offense caused when announcing the initiating of works while omitting the historical background of Xhafer Deva.” On the other hand, the Kosovo side suggested an alternative – saying that the house does not have to bear Deva’s name and emphasizing its architectural value.
The German ambassador, who emphasized that the truth about the Holocaust cannot be twisted, recalled good practices from post-war Germany in opening up cultural institutions with a clear separation from war crimes. The ambassador’s statement was met with harsh criticism of the Deva family, as well as the public and some media, including the representatives of the Kosovo government.
According to the Kosovo media reports, the renovation project of Deva’s house was included in the recently voted budget of the Kosovo government for 2023.
„It’s a shame that neither Ambassador Rohde nor his colleagues in Serbia acted so harshly when Draza Mihailovic or Slobodan Milosevic are celebrated and remembered, whose memorials have been erected in many places in Serbia,“ Valdet Deva said in a Facebook post.
Deva revealed that the witnesses in this lawsuit would be historian Jusuf Buxhovi and a former member of the Kosovo Assembly Faton Bislimi.
On the other hand, he says that „the people will always have a close friendship with the German state“, and that they will not forget their help, adding:
„The German ambassador Rohde has clearly shown that he serves someone other than the state and the generous German people!“
Read more:
Ghosts of Xhafer Deva’s House – the genesis of cooperation with the Third Reich
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