Page 840 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

make its utmost efforts so that right and justice could fi- nally predominate in this part of our state.
PaTRiaRCH PaVLe TaLKeD
TO MiCHaeL STeiNeR
October 16, 2002
His Holiness Patriarch Pavle received today in his Patri-
archal Palace together with the members of the Holy Syn- od of Bishops Mr. Michael Steiner, Special representative of the UN Secretary General in Kosovo and Metohija with his associates.
in an open conversation they discussed the difficult po- sition of the Serbian people and other non-albanain com- munities in Kosovo and Metohija, the issue of return of refugees back to ther homes as well as the fate of many missing and killed persons. The special attention was fo- cused on the problem of destroyed churches, the recent attacks and murders of the remaining Serbs.
Mr. Steiner, during the conversation, asked from His Holiness Patriarch Pavle his support for Serb participation in the forthcoming elections in Kosovo and Metohija.
ORTHODOX GRaVeYaRD iN DeČaNi DeSeCRaTeD ONCe aGaiN
There is Hardly a Gravestone or Cross Left intact at the
Serbian Graveyard in Dečani Gračanica, November 28, 2002
Unknown attackers once again desecrated Serbian Or- thodox graveyard near the Monastery of Visoki Dečani. The monastics of Dečani visited today the graveyard es- corted by italian KFOR, and found out that graves were desecrated and trees cut down. The Orthodox graveyard in Dečani is 1km away from the very Monastery and only one hundred metres away from the italian KFOR check point and headquarters. The graveyard has been devas- tated and there is hardly a gravestone left intact. With sor- row does the Diocese of Raška-Prizren state that the des- ecration of Orthodox graveyards in Kosovo and Metohija continues and that, it seems, no one is able to stop these vandal, senseless acts which threaten to erase the last trace of the existence of the Serbian people in this region.
December 2, 2002
COMMUNiQUe FROM THe SeSSiON OF THe COMMiTTee iN CHaRGe OF KOSOVO-MeTOHija iSSUeS, eSTaBLiSHeD BY THe HOLY aSSeMBLY OF BiSHOPSOFTHeSeRBiaNORTHODOXCHURCH
Having heard the field reports from the present mem- bers of the Committee, the Committee decided that, even three and a half years after the arrival of the international community represented by UNMiK and KFOR, the situa- tion in Kosovo and Metohija was not getting better, but just the opposite—worse. That conclusion is based on the facts that today, just like in the past, the remaining Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija are being attacked, killed, wounded,
and robbed every day. in addition, churches are being dev- astated and, which is a recent trend, graveyards are being destroyed and desecrated.
all these mentioned facts as well as the other ones, known to the public, undoubtedly show not only the true intentions of the albanian extremists to destroy any trace of the existence of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, but also the obvious failure of the mission of the international community to fulfill its promises and obligations which it undertook by the Resolution 1244—those being to provide peaceful and safe life to everyone, the return of all the ex- iled into their homes and the respect of the basic human rights of all the residents of Kosovo and Metohija. it is re- ally hard to comprehend the persistent efforts of the re- sponsible people from the international community to give statements about the general betterment of safety in Koso- vo and Metohija, thus trying to camouflage the situation which is really hard for the Serbs and to offer some kind of support to the criminals to continue their misdeeds.
The Committee did not just state the difficult situation in Kosovo and Metohija, but it also undertook many con- crete activities focused on the Serbian and Yugoslav au- thorities on one side—expecting from them to engage more and cooperate with the international community so as to protect the rights of all the citizens of Kosovo and Meto- hija and render greater aid to the Serbs in Kosovo, and on the international community on the other side—request- ing and expecting from it to show a full objectiveness in its activities and to engage maximally in the protection of the personal and proprietary safety of all the citizens, regard- less of their national affiliation.
The Committee also fraternally and paternally invites the Serbs in Kosovo, and especially the Serbs who are to return to Kosovo and Metohija to persist in staying and existing in this region, and at the same time invites all the people of the good will to help the Serbian community in this holy land.Furthermore, the Committee adopted Bish- op atanasije’s proposition that the Memorandum on Ko- sovo and Metohija should as soon as possible be supple- mented with the new data and subsequently publicly broad- cast. The proposal that the next session of this Committee be held in one of the monasteries in Kosovo and Metohija was accepted with true joy.
Serbian Patriarchate December 2, 2002
ReSOLUTiON
December 25, 2002
8 east 79th Street, New York, NY 10021 Tel.: (212) 570–3593 • Fax: (212) 774-0202 email: scoba@goarch.org
Of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the americas On the Destruction of Spiritual and Cultural Property in Kosovo and Metohija.
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