Page 794 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

Protopresbyter-stavrophor Savo B. jović
all this has introduced great unrest and bitterness among our faithful in this region. Despite expressions of regret and promises, we do not see the authorities undertaking something effective to put an end to such misdeeds. i can- not believe that nothing can be done.”119
He then informs the Holy Synod of Bishops in act No 508, December 15, 1984, that he has sent an act of the fol- lowing content to the Commission for Relations with Reli- gious Communities in Priština, the institute for the Pro- tection of Cultural Monuments in Priština and the insti- tute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Belgrade:
“above the village of Kosovska Gračanica there is a re- fuse dump from the mining floatation in the village of Ba- dovac, which processes ore from the mines of ajvalija, Kiž- nica Badovac, Novo Brdo and the surface mine Kižnica, about 1,000,000 tons per year.
This refuse, which contains several toxic substances: sulfuric acid, phenol, cyanide, etc. is pumped into the dump using water pressure. all the wells in the village have been contaminated by the toxic water, as well as all the land with which it has come in contact, whether on the surface or underground, as well as the basin of the Gračanka River.
Moreover, the dump has reached the maximum of its technically foreseen and permitted height of about 612.5 m. The mining inspection office of SaP Kosovo in its deci- sion No 310–858/84 from June 29, 1974, has prohibited fur- ther dumping but despite that the dumping continues above the technically foreseen height established by experts.
in presenting this problem of Orthodox residents as well as of Gračanica Monastery, we ask that you take ac- tion on your part with competent authorities to prevent tragedy and irreparable damage to the property and lives of the residents of this village and Gračanica Monastery.”120
The Year 1985
His Grace Bishop Pavle informed the Holy Synod of Bish- ops about the suffering and persecution of the Serb people from april 1, 1984, to april 1, 1985:
“This year also there have been plenty of difficulties from the albanian irredentists. The night between august 6 and 7, 1984, the hay of the monastery of Devič was again set on fire and nine stacks of it were destroyed by fire. i im- mediately went to the monastery and found the sisters and two Serbs with their families putting out the fire and saving what could be saved at least for bedding for the livestock. The authorities promised to help with food for the animals because the monastery was in a hopeless position since there was no one to whom it could sell the animals nor could a sufficient quantity of food be purchased for them at any price. The authorities partly kept their promise and two tractor wagons of hay and six of clover were delivered
119 AHSB, Syn No 1762/1984.
120 AHSB, Syn No 2449/1984.
to the monastery but the clover had been rained on and was of poor quality. as one could read in the newspapers, the perpetrators of this act were found and as of today are serving a prison sentence. They are the same ones who set a fire and burned the hay two years ago. (...)
On the eve of the consecration of the small church in the village of Rabovac, November 16, 1984, a pile of hay belonging to Vladimir Spasić, the head of the household where i was spending the night because of the consecra- tion, was set on fire. The authorities promised to compen- sate him for the damage but they have not done so because, supposedly, the agricultural Cooperative in Lipljan has no hay.
in the cemetery in the village of Dvorane near Prizren the night of june 10, 1984, 29 gravestone monuments were destroyed, and in Orahovac on November 16, 1984, six marble monuments. in the cemetery in V. Reka near Vu- čitrn albanian nationalists smeared the gravestones with feces on September 17, 1984. Our priests are complaining that the permanent displacement of our population is still ongoing.”121
The Year 1986
His Grace Bishop Pavle of Raška and Prizren submitted a report on attacks on the Serbian Orthodox Church from april 1985 to april 1, 1986:
“We have permanent difficulties from pressures by al- banian irredentists: the Martinović case (Djordje Martino- vić, a 56 year-old man, was tied up on his field by unknown persons on May 1, 1985; he was then tortured by them, which included ramming a one-liter bottle into his body through his anus with a stick, which then broke in his abdomen), Nedeljković in Mušutište, who had both arms broken, and the recent wounding of a young man in Lipljan.
Near Kosovska Kamenica 52 gravestone monuments were broken in the village of Koretin; in Mučivorac 11; and in Pogačica every single one. in Topolica the monuments were broken and the cemetery plowed over; consequently, the politically active were forced, on their own initiative, to fence it in. Several monuments were also broken in the vil- lage of Petrovce near Gnjilane.
The church of Sokolica Monastery was broken into the night between March 21–22, 1986. at the same time an at- tempt was made to break into the church in Titova Mitro- vica. The chapel in the village of Perkovac was broken into.
in many locations in the Diocese the departure of our population continues. The most drastic example is the Mu- nicipality of Podujevo; when i can to this Diocese 29 years ago, i found two priests and two parishes in Podujevo with over 1,000 households. Today one fifth of that remains or 200 households. One Orthodox household remains in each of four villages in the parish of Podujevo; two Orthodox
121 AHSB, Syn No 917 and 1091/1985.
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