Page 772 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

Protopresbyter-stavrophor Savo B. jović
first days of our arrival, we have had no peace. Throughout the whole year, beginning in the spring—the month of March until the beginning of winter, they harass us, the garden, the meadows, etc. and in the winter they merci- lessly cut our forest which we labored to clean and work because when we came we did not have a single branch to use, the entire forest was ruined. Now that we have pre- served it and gotten to the point that we have something to use instead of having to buy it to burn in the winter, now all the surrounding villages, such as Vojvodići, Lauša, Reza- lo—are mercilessly cutting and destroying it. We have filed reports but it is useless; to this day, they cut down and take away. We do not know what to do; unless this anarchy is brought to an end and someone makes them stop, we can- not survive here. They are not afraid of anyone, not the police, not the foresters—for them they are nothing.
On the basis of everything described above, we most humbly beg that you take us under your protection and put an end to this anarchy so that we do not have to leave from this monument. We are afraid, they are coming and work has begun in the field and we do not dare, it is sad to say, freely go out in the field, especially me because i am con- stantly being threatened that they will kill me. i would not want to be anyone’s innocent victim because i am doing no wrong, only guarding this ’cultural-historical monument’ that we have built with difficulty. Therefore, i beg you to take us women under your protection and undertaken le- gal measures.
i hope that you will take our and my (appeal)—as the elder of this monument into consideration as being justi- fied and protect us, if you would have us stay, wrote abbess Paraskeva in her appeal.”76
His Grace Bishop Pavle then sent the following petition to the Commission for Religious affairs of the autono- mous Province of Kosovo and Metohija in Priština with act No 636 from October 7, 1969:
“We have received the following report from Visoki De- čani Monastery under No 17 from February 6, 1969:
Rako Vukanić from Goraždevac, ecclesiarch, related the following to me:
in Babići near Goraždevac there is a primary school with 70 Serb students and 30 albanians. During the cele- bration of the New Year they tried to put an albanian flag on the school. This was opposed by Milutin Milosavljević (age 55) from Pištane, Cvetko Babić (age 35) from Babići and Cvetko Radulović from Vragovac. They asked that a Serb flag also be hoisted because the majority of the stu- dents were Serbs. They removed the albanian flag. after that they arrested them and took them to Peć. They spent seven days each in solitary confinement, they were beaten and doused with cold water by albanian policemen. They were sentenced and spent a month each in the prison in Peć.
76 AHSB, Syn No 1539/1968. 770
Six or seven months ago Milutin Vukotić (70) from Peć put a match in the monastery office lock. it is a Wehrheim lock and i had a hard time removing it. i scolded him for this joke and advised him not to do it any more. This was the third time on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, and he had done the same thing twice previously.
On the feast of the Dormition the police heard me scold- ing him, and they laughed and that’s how the whole thing ended.
Since November 28 to today the albanians have plant- ed 6–7 bombs in Peć. Recently they planted a bomb in the apartment of Milutin Vukotić from Peć, wrapped in a rag and soaked with gasoline and then set on fire. One of the taxi drivers managed to tear away the cloth at the last min- ute and no explosion occurred.
Yesterday i received a visit from adem Luka, the head of the Secretariat of internal affairs from Peć, and two of his subordinates. He told me that he had heard of the inci- dent with the lock, that it was supposedly his job to protect me and he asked me to make an official statement about the matter. i asked him that i had to think for a bit and that i would tell him what i knew tomorrow. Today one of the subordinates returned and asked me to make a statement. i refused with the motivation that i could not do so be- cause i know the head as a sly and serious chauvinist. Fi- nally, we learned that they wanted to proclaim Milutin mad and that he was the one who had thrown all the bombs. Thus, everything was a major act of cunning and provoca- tion because they want to ascribe the crimes of the alba- nians to a Serb man who had nothing to do with. i am send- ing this statement for safekeeping in the monastery archive.
i am forwarding the above for your information and would like to note that we have done nothing regarding this report because it does not directly affect the church, although it is characteristic that state officials do not pun- ish albanians for such attacks but forgive them their mis- takes as men who do not know what is punishable and what is not, whereas they consider Serbs to do everything con- sciously and with the intention to provoke.”77
at its regular meeting in 1969 the Holy assembly of Bishops made the following decision under AS No 20/zap. 54 tač. 3:
“Please ask His Grace Bishop Pavle of Raška and Priz- ren to regularly inform the Holy Synod of Bishops of every case involving attack on church personnel, the church and church property by citizens of albanian nationality so that in every case we can immediately advise the Federal and Republic Commissions for Religions.”
at the same session of the Holy assembly of Bishops (May 19) it was decided to sent the following petition to Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia president, josip Broz Tito:
77 AHSB, Syn No 1710/zap. 365, May 23, 1969.