Page 836 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

july 25, 2002
THe MONaSTeRY OF SOKOLiCa LeFT WiTH- OUT KFOR’S PeRMaNeNT PROTeCTiON
Bishop artemije made a protest to the KFOR represen- tatives due to the fact that the Danish contingent, which had been protecting the Monastery of the Most Holy Moth- er of God-Sokolica, near Kosovska Mitrovica, suddenly left this shrine without any military protection. KFOR lo- cal commander informed mother Makarija, the abbess of the Monastery, that in the future KFOR would protect this shrine by sending military patrols there occasionally. Bish- op artemije urgently requested Mr De Siters, General Va- lenten’s political adviser, to return—as soon as possible— the check point in front of the Monastery of Sokolica, which is surrounded by albanian villages and very far from the closest Serbian village.
july 30, 2002
a MeSSaGe TO THe DiSPLaCeD SeRBS OF KO- SOVO aND MeTOHija TO ReSPOND TO THe VOT- eR ReGiSTRaTiON
We herein invite the faithful children of the Serbian Or- thodox Church and all of those who have been forced to leave their home and homeland, as well as those who re- main in Kosovo and Metohija, and did not register last year, to respond to the voter registration which is in process, for their own benefit, the benefit of their children and father- land, so that the Commission for Refugees in the Republic of Serbia will have accurate statistics concerning the num- ber of expellees for whom Kosovo remains at heart, and especially for those whose graves and roots are in Kosovo and Metohija.
†PaVLe, SeRBiaN PaTRiaRCH
august 1, 2002
BiSHOP aRTeMije STRONGLY CONDeMNeD TeR- RORiST aTTaCKS iN KLOKOT aND THe HOLY aRCHaNGeLS MONaSTeRY
Gračanica july 31, 2002, 20:50
Bishop artemije strongly condemned today’s albanian terrorist attack in Klokot and expressed his profound con- sternation due to the confirmed news that the albanians had planned a devastating terrorist attack on the Holy arch- angels monastery last week. “Serbs will never be peaceful and able to move freely in Kosovo and Metohija as long as albanian terrorists move around without any restrictions and blow up Serbian houses and shrines, now—three years after the war. it is high time for the international commu- nity to face the reality and confront albanian extremism with concrete military and political actions. Terrorism must be stopped, perpetrators brought to justice and all the citizens be thus allowed to move freely and exercise all otherbasichumanrights,”Bishopartemijesaid,givingthe statement to the information Service of the Diocese of Raška and Prizren this evening.
aLBaNiaN TeRRORiSTS PLaNNeD TO DeTO- NaTe 9KG OF eXPLOSiVeS aT THe CHURCH CeL- eBRaTiON WeLL-iNFORMeD SOURCe CLOSe TO KFOR aND UNMiK iNFORMeD CHURCH OFFiCiaLS THaT a DeVaSTaTiNG TRaGeDY WaS aVOiDeD aT THe CeLeBRaTiON OF THe 650TH aNNiVeR- SaRY OF THe HOLY aRCHaNGeLS MONaSTeRY LaST SaTURDaY
Gračanica july 31, 2002
Well-informed anonymous source close to highest KFOR and UNMiK authorities informed the Orthodox Diocese of Raška/Prizren that KFOR soldiers had found 9 (nine) kg of explosives behind a large rock on the slope of a hill above the Monastery of the Holy archangels, close to the medi- eval tower of Višegrad. The military experts apparently believe that the explosives were activated by a mobile phone. Surprisingly, not all the explosives were detonated, other- wise the rock could have rolled into the monastery grounds and cause casualties among the congregation, Bishop and clergy who were praying only 100 meters away.
This information from the official international circles confirmed the fears and suspicions that a very serious ter- rorist attack was planned during the celebration. informal reports obtained in the last few days from the local repre- sentatives of the German KFOR stated that the explosive had already been found (minimum 4kg, while only a few hundreds of grams actually exploded). it is very difficult to understand that KFOR has not searched the grounds around the Monastery before the celebration in which 1000 Serbs were supposed to participate. it is equally surprising that KFOR authorities have not yet issued an official statement and that the incident was not even mentioned in regular public KFOR press releases. Unfortunately, this appears to be a typical example of avoiding one’s responsibilities so as to conceal the real situation in the region.
august 9, 2002
ORWeLLiaN ReaLiTY iN KOSOVO aND MeTO- Hija aND SeRBS’ POSiTiON THeRe
Yesterday in the afternoon, media broadcast unbeliev- able news that the abbess of the Gračanica Monastery, Mother efrosinija, was arrested on august 7 in the evening and detained in the police station till midnight. Mother efrosinija was questioned by a German police inspector under suspicion that cannabis is being grown and allegedly consumed on monastery grounds (sic).
Honourable nun who dedicated her entire life to feats, praying, helping both friends and enemies, was forced af- ter the police harassment and humiliation to deny official- ly that absurd accusation, aiming to preserve unsullied her own reputation, the reputation of the sisterhood she takes care of, as well as the reputation of the Serbian Church and itsfaithful.
Why did the UNMiK police carry out this “great ac- tion,” when just a day later, on august 8, their official—the
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