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January 23, 2004
ERP KiM Newsletter
23-01-04
Bishop Artemije on his
new world tour presenting the truth on Kosovo and Metohija
 After
his visit to Moscow where he will have several meetings with state
officials, representatives of respectable institutions and the Church
hierarchs, Bishop Artemije will pay visit to the United States in
February and have presentations in Washington D.C., Cleveland and
Chicago. ERP KIM Info-service will cover these events on which Bishop
Artemije will give his direct testimony of the catastrophic human-rights
situation in Kosovo, destruction of Christian Orthodox heritage and the
essential failure of UNMIK and KFOR to provide minimum security and
living conditions for Kosovo Serbs five years after the NATO
intervention in Kosovo.
"At the
moment Kosovo Albanians are only free in Kosovo, but to be more precise
they are free to do what they want and how they want. The freedom for
others does not exist except in enclosed enclaves and ghettoes. This is
not multi-ethnicity but a simulation of democracy and peace", this has
been one of the most often repeated conclusions of Bishop Artemije.
Bishop Artemije on one of his
presentations on Kosovo and Metohija
(photo archive ERP KIM Info-service)
| Ibrahim
Rugova - Kosovo's "Baron Munchausen"
ERP KIM
Info-service
Gracanica, January 23
 In
his yesterday's address to the Kosovo and Metohija
Parliament the President of Kosovo Ibrahim Rugova proved
himself to be not only a person who is misinformed about the
situation in the southern Serbia's province, but also an
open fabricator of lies and an initiator of even deeper
interethnic discords.
In his speech
it seemed that Mr. Rugova was speaking more about some
developed European state than about a Province ravaged by
organized crime, ethnic discrimination and terrorism.
For Rugova, Kosovo lives in freedom, a great progress has
been made in all spheres of life, economy is booming and the
institutions are working in a most professional way.
Despite the
fact that Kosovo is officially an autonomous part of
Serbia-Montenegro and that Serbs cannot be "a minority" in a
country in which 8 million Serbs live in comparison to 1.5
million Albanians he derogatively referred to Serbs again as
"ethnic minority" despite the term "ethnic minority" in the
legacy of Former Yugoslav constitution denotes a community
which lives outside of its mother state.
The reality
in Kosovo and Metohija is exactly the opposite to what
Rugova said: Kosovo is free only for ethnic Albanians and
those who have made true progress and prosperity in the
impoverished Province are only mafiosi and former KLA
warlords who work under the cover of largely corrupted
Kosovo institutions. Kosovo's economy is primarily based on
drug and cigarette smuggling, prostitution and white
slavery. An ordinary visitor to Kosovo can hardly see
industry and working factories. All around the countryside
are ubiquitous car-washes, petrol pumps and kebab-shops
which can hardly give prosperity to an increasing
population. Pristina, as a capital of the Province, has
population of more than 600.000 but still the infrastructure
which can support maximum of 300.000 people. Kosovo
residents lack electric power for several hours a day while
the institutions are working only on the benefit of ethnic
Albanians who dominate them. In short, Rugova gave a picture
of Kosovo as it should be and not as it is. Once again he
proved to be a person of complete political incompetence and
lack of basic responsibility.
For many
young Kosovo Albanians (not to mention Serbs and other
non-Albanians) Kosovo is less and less attractive place to
live. Rule of organized crime, prostitution, smuggling,
terrorism and ethnic repression have made this tiny province
even unbearable place to live for Kosovo Albanians who hoped
that after the conflict in 1999 Kosovo would chose a road
towards democracy and ethnic tolerance. However, for the
last five years this province which is already called by
press "Balkan Columbia" is going in completely different
direction - away from Europe, rule of law and order. |
CONTENTS:
 Kosovo bishop urges Russian authorities, public to
help the Serb population
Bishop Artemije said it was greatly important that the situation in
those two provinces be discussed time and again at international
institutions, such as the UN, the UNESCO, and the PACE. The deployment
of the KFOR international peacekeeping force has not brought peace and
freedom to all of Kosovo's population, as the relevant UN Security
Council resolution envisaged, but only to the Kosovo Albanians, the
prelate pointed out. He went on to recall the province's 115 devastated
and desecrated Serb cathedrals and cloisters built between the 12th and
the 20th centuries. Many of them survived the 500-year-long Ottoman
yoke, but came tumbling down after just a year of UN peacekeepers'
control, he said emphatically.
Experts concerned over Kosovo future
Mr. Tupurkovski says it would be disastrous if the international
community permitted borders to be changed anywhere in the former
Yugoslavia. He believes Macedonia, where over one quarter of the
population is ethnic Albanian, is threatened by Kosovo's independence.
And he worries greatly about the possibility that ethnic Albanians in
Kosovo and Macedonia will seek to join with Albania to form a greater
Albania.
No
progress in talks on return of Serbs to Podujevo
Ivica
Markovic, the Coordination Center representative for Podujevo
municipality, stated that no progress was made during the last meeting.
"I could not say that any progress has been made because there are a lot
of preconditions that have to be fulfilled. Above all freedom of
movement, and then freeing of illegally occupied Serbian apartments, and
the rebuilding of the destroyed houses," stated Markovic.
Church building in Prizren broken into and robbed
- attacks on church property continue
The abbot of
Holy Archangels Monastery near Prizren Fr. German has informed the
Diocese of Raska and Prizren that upon visiting the Church of the Most
Holy Theotokos of Ljevis today with a German military escort, Monk Jovan
(Milojevic) found that unknown persons had broken into one of the church
buildings located in the churchyard and stolen some of its contents. The
building is a utility structure where miniature icons and souvenirs were
formerly sold to visitors of the church.
Rugova's parliament address deepens Serbian
skepticism
"In his address, on couple of occasions Rugova violated constitutional
framework calling himself upon illegal and illegitimate changes of the
province status. After such speeches we cannot be optimists in the
return of exiled Serbs, and stabilization of the situation in the
province," evaluated Ivanovic.
SNV and Coordination Center criticize Holkeri
statement
The statement made by UNMIK Head Harri Holkeri that he would exert
pressure on the Serbian government to solve the fate of kidnapped and
missing Albanians from Kosovo and Metohija, without mention of other
nationalities, is discriminating against Serb rights, assessed the
Serbian National Council of Kosovska Mitrovica.
Putin: Moscow ready to participate in fair
solution of Kosovo problem
Russian
President Vladimir Putin said
Moscow is ready to take the most active part in the fair resolution of
the Kosovo issue.
Flash News from Kosovo and Metohija, Jan 22
More News Available on our:
Kosovo Daily News
list (KDN)
KDN
Archive
This newsletter is available on our ERP
KIM Web-site:
http://www.kosovo.net/erpkiminfo.html
Kosovo Bishop urges
Russian authorities, public to help his Province's Serb population
Bishop Artemije said it was greatly important that the situation in
those two provinces be discussed time and again at international
institutions, such as the UN, the UNESCO, and the PACE. The deployment
of the KFOR international peacekeeping force has not brought peace and
freedom to all of Kosovo's population, as the relevant UN Security
Council resolution envisaged, but only to the Kosovo Albanians, the
prelate pointed out. He went on to recall the province's 115 devastated
and desecrated Serb cathedrals and cloisters built between the 12th and
the 20th centuries. Many of them survived the 500-year-long Ottoman
yoke, but came tumbling down after just a year of UN peacekeepers'
control, he said emphatically.
TOP
RIA Novosti,
Olga Lipich
Moscow, January 22, 2004
 Bishop
Artemije of Raska and Prizren, currently visiting Moscow, has urged the
Russian government and public to offer a helping hand to the Serb
population of Kosovo. His bishopric brings together Kosovo and Metohija,
provinces within Serbia and Montenegro.
In a RIA interview Thursday, His Eminence Artemije said that he greatly
appreciated the Andrew the Protokletos Foundation's initiative to
arrange summer vacations in Russia for Serb children from Kosovo and
Metohija, expressing hope that other public and governmental
organizations will follow suit.
Bishop Artemije said it was greatly important that the situation in
those two provinces be discussed time and again at international
institutions, such as the UN, the UNESCO, and the PACE. The deployment
of the KFOR international peacekeeping force has not brought peace and
freedom to all of Kosovo's population, as the relevant UN Security
Council resolution envisaged, but only to the Kosovo Albanians, the
prelate pointed out. He went on to recall the province's 115 devastated
and desecrated Serb cathedrals and cloisters built between the 12th and
the 20th centuries. Many of them survived the 500-year-long Ottoman
yoke, but came tumbling down after just a year of UN peacekeepers'
control, he said emphatically.
TOP
Experts
concerned over Kosovo future
Mr. Tupurkovski says it would be disastrous if the international
community permitted borders to be changed anywhere in the former
Yugoslavia. He believes Macedonia, where over one quarter of the
population is ethnic Albanian, is threatened by Kosovo's independence.
And he worries greatly about the possibility that ethnic Albanians in
Kosovo and Macedonia will seek to join with Albania to form a greater
Albania.
TOP
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=8506BBEB-61B7-4271-9305ECBED1F30C7E
Voice of America (USA)
Barry Wood
Washington
21 Jan 2004, 23:42 UTC
Listen to Barry Wood's report (RealAudio) Wood report - Download 330k
(RealAudio)
The future of Kosovo, the Albanian populated, disputed southern province
of Serbia, was discussed this week at Washington's Woodrow Wilson
Center. Jeffrey Simon, a scholar and expert on Kosovo, says things are
not good in Kosovo, the United Nations administered territory in the
heart of the Balkans. Mr. Simon says the international community has not
reached consensus on the territory's future and thus an enduring
settlement is not even on the agenda.
The United Nations last month published a ten page set of standards that
Kosovo's provisional government must implement before future status can
be considered, perhaps at the end of next year. Serbia, whose forces
were driven out of Kosovo by a sustained Nato bombardment in 1999,
opposes independence while the territory's one million ethnic Albanians
demand it.
Mr. Simon, a researcher at Washington's National Defense University,
says uncertainty is a huge obstacle complicating the development of
effective local government.
"You have the growing apathy of citizens. You have the increasing
impunity of the spoilers who have no interest in the development of
Kosovo," he said. "And you have the relative ineffectiveness of
international institutions. Their ineffectiveness especially in working
with different groups in order to build a common democratic future."
Mr. Simon says the NATO-led occupying force in Kosovo enforces a kind of
perverse stability in the territory.
Vasil Tupurkovski, also speaking at the Wilson Center, an opposition
politician in Macedonia which borders Kosovo on the south, sees things
differently. He says the international community is moving towards
accepting the independence of Kosovo, a development Mr. Tupurkovski
believes will unsettle the entire region.
"It will be a problem for Serbia," he said. "It will be a problem for
Bosnia and Herzegovina, which means again the resurrection of many
issues in the Balkans. From that respect I believe the (U.N.) standards
do have a meaning. And that the international community will make a
tremendous mistake if they don't stand behind the standards, regardless
of the timetable."
Mr. Tupurkovski says it would be disastrous if the international
community permitted borders to be changed anywhere in the former
Yugoslavia. He believes Macedonia, where over one quarter of the
population is ethnic Albanian, is threatened by Kosovo's independence.
And he worries greatly about the possibility that ethnic Albanians in
Kosovo and Macedonia will seek to join with Albania to form a greater
Albania.
TOP
No progress in talks on return of Serbs to Podujevo
Ivica
Markovic, the Coordination Center representative for Podujevo
municipality, stated that no progress was made during the last meeting.
"I could not say that any progress has been made because there are a lot
of preconditions that have to be fulfilled. Above all freedom of
movement, and then freeing of illegally occupied Serbian apartments, and
the rebuilding of the destroyed houses," stated Markovic.
TOP
B92 Belgrade
January 22, 2004
Podujevo - On Wednesday, in Podujevo, representatives of the
Coordination Center for Kosovo and Metohija, held talks with UNMIK
representatives, and representatives of the Albanian political parties
from the Podujevo municipality, in order to enable a return of Serbian
refuges in this Kosovo municipality.
It was stated that in one of the previous meetings UNMIK and the
representatives of the Coordination Center reached an agreement for the
building of 57 houses for returnees, but that this project was stopped.
Ivica Markovic, the Coordination Center representative for Podujevo
municipality, stated that no progress was made during the last meeting.
"I could not say that any progress has been made because there are a lot
of preconditions that have to be fulfilled. Above all freedom of
movement, and then freeing of illegally occupied Serbian apartments, and
the rebuilding of the destroyed houses," stated Markovic.
Serbian refugees are saying that they would gladly return to their homes
in Podujevo. Expressing their lack of confidence in the Albanians, they
are saying that they would return if the army and the police return as
well.
Podujevo municipality had 2000 Serbs. Now there are only around 30,
which are constantly being guarded by KFOR. In the last four years there
has been no case of return of Serbs in this municipality.
TOP
Church building in Prizren
broken into and robbed
The abbot of
Holy Archangels Monastery near Prizren Fr. German has informed the
Diocese of Raska and Prizren that upon visiting the Church of the Most
Holy Theotokos of Ljevis today with a German military escort, Monk Jovan
(Milojevic) found that unknown persons had broken into one of the church
buildings located in the churchyard and stolen some of its contents. The
building is a utility structure where miniature icons and souvenirs were
formerly sold to visitors of the church.
TOP
Church of the Most Holy
Theotokis of Ljevis in Prizren with small church building
in front
which robbers entered from the inside of the churchyard
ERP KIM Info
Service
Gracanica, January 23, 2004
The abbot of
Holy Archangels Monastery near Prizren Fr. German has informed the
Diocese of Raska and Prizren that upon visiting the Church of the Most
Holy Theotokos of Ljevis today with a German military escort, Monk Jovan
(Milojevic) found that unknown persons had broken into one of the church
buildings located in the churchyard and stolen some of its contents. The
building is a utility structure where miniature icons and souvenirs were
formerly sold to visitors of the church.
Although the
entire church is surrounded by barbed wire, the vandals simply jumped
over the wall from the street into the churchyard and broke into the
building.
This robbery of
a church building in Prizren once again shows that buildings of the
Serbian Orthodox Church are not sufficiently protected and that there is
great danger of vandals breaking into any of the churches not under
constant KFOR protection unobserved. At present the only object under
constant KFOR guard in Prizren is the Orthodox Cathedral of St. George
and the building of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren.
TOP
Rugova Parliament Address
Deepens Serbian Scepticism
"In his address, on couple of occasions Rugova violated constitutional
framework calling himself upon illegal and illegitimate changes of the
province status. After such speeches we cannot be optimists in the
return of exiled Serbs, and stabilization of the situation in the
province," evaluated Ivanovic.
TOP
Borba,
Belgrade daily
Pristina, January 22, 2004
Pristina, 22 Jan (Borba) – On Thursday, "Povratak" coalition
representatives in the Kosovo parliament, have evaluated that today's
parliament addressing made by Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova, has
deepened lack of thrust that Kosovo Serbs have for the provincial
institutions.
"It is a fact that Rugova addressed the "integration of minorities" only
at the end of his broad expose which only points to ho much he is
sincere about that issue," stated Kosovo parliament vice president
Oliver Ivanovic.
Addressing Rugova's expose, Ivanovic stated that the return of the
dispersed to Kosovo needs "deeds and not only words" but added that not
many of those could be seen in real life.
"In his address, on couple of occasions Rugova violated constitutional
framework calling himself upon illegal and illegitimate changes of the
province status. After such speeches we cannot be optimists in the
return of exiled Serbs, and stabilization of the situation in the
province," evaluated Ivanovic.
Ivanovic is to the stances that "Rugova's description of the situation
in Kosovo is closer to the picture of a country such as Switzerland or
another well developed country".
"Kosovo is governed by poverty, lack of development, unemployment, and
uncertainty. That is what Rugova did not mention." emphasized Ivanovic
adding that this is why it cannot be expected the Serbs would return in
Kosovo and Metohija.
TOP
SNV and Coordination Center Criticize Holkeri Statement
The statement made by UNMIK Head Harri Holkeri that he would exert
pressure on the Serbian government to solve the fate of kidnapped and
missing Albanians from Kosovo and Metohija, without mention of other
nationalities, is discriminating against Serb rights, assessed the
Serbian National Council of Kosovska Mitrovica.
TOP
Radio
Televison Serbia (RTS)
Kosovska Mitrovica, January 22, 2004
The statement made by UNMIK Head Harri Holkeri that he would exert
pressure on the Serbian government to solve the fate of kidnapped and
missing Albanians from Kosovo and Metohija, without mention of other
nationalities, is discriminating against Serb rights, assessed the
Serbian National Council of Kosovska Mitrovica.
SNV Municipal Board President Nebojsa Jovic said Holkeri's statement
gives encouragement to ethnic Albanian extremists. Holkeri should invest
efforts toward the finding of the murderers of 1,700 Serbs killed in
Kosovo and Metohija from 1999 until the present day, Jovic said.
As announced, this statement made by Holkeri only encourages Albanian
extremists, whereas, as assessed, the UNMIK Head should be more engaged
in order that murders of 1,700 Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija since 1999
are solved. Beta.
Meanwhile Coordination Center for Kosovo and Metohija excluded the
possibility that UNMIK be transferred all bodies found in the mass
graves in Serbian adding that this can be done only with the already
identified bodies.
Gvozden Gagic, the chief of the Coordination center bureau for kidnapped
and missing person explained that the remains of 246 persons have just
been preliminary identified, and have not been fully processed and that
there for they are not ready for handing over.
"We will give Kosovo only the identified bodies. Justice system excludes
possibility of handing over all of the bodies" stated Gagic.
TOP
Putin: Moscow ready to participate in fair solution of Kosovo problem
Russian
President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is ready to take the most active
part in the fair resolution of the Kosovo issue.
TOP
MOSCOW, January
22 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is ready
to take the most active part in the fair resolution of the Kosovo issue.
Talking to the ambassador of Serbia and Montenegro at the ceremony of
giving credentials in the Kremlin, the Russian president said Moscow is
interested in "the soonest establishment and consolidation of this new
state community." "We're ready to assist this process in every possible
way," the head of state said. "Russia intends to take the most active
part in the fair solution of this region's problems in future too,
including the Kosovo issue."
TOP
News from
Kosovo and Metohija, Jan 22
TOP
www.inet.co.yu
I*Net News, Belgrade
Thursday 22 January 2004
23:20 Russian president Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is ready to take
a most active part in finding a just solution to the Kosovo problem. In
talks with ambassador of Serbia and Montenegro Milan Rocen at a
credentials presentation ceremony in the Kremlin, the Russian president
said that his country is interested in "the earliest possible
establishment and strengthening of a new state union".
22:40 Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova again repeated today that "an
independent and democratic Kosovo, integrated into Europe, would
significantly stabilize the situation in the region". In address before
MPs of the Kosovo parliament, Rugova announced the priority of the
provisional government in the Province will be "the integration of
national minorities".
22:20 Nenad Radosavljevic, the repatriation coordinator in the cabinet
of the UNMIK chief, stated that 38 million euros have been earmarked for
Serb returns to the Province in 2004. "Fourteen million euros remains in
the budget from last year, while the remaining 24 million are expected
to come from donors," said Radosavljevic.
20:20 Using foul language and curses, a group of about 30 young
Albanians in Djakovica attacked two KFOR minibuses and a German
transporter carrying monks of the Serbian Orthodox Monastery of the Holy
Archangels and a crew of German state television ARD, targeting them
with snow balls and chunks of ice. The ARD TV crew, accompanied by the
monks and German KFOR troops, was filming the ruins of the Serbian
Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity in the center of Djakovica, when
they were accosted by a group of enraged young ethnic Albanians who,
after verbal insults showered them with chunks of ice and attempted to
destroy their vehicles, reported the Information Service of the Diocese
of Raska and Prizren in a statement.
TOP
ERP KIM Info-Service is
the official Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska
and Prizren and works with the blessing of His Grace Bishop
Artemije.
Our Information Service is
distributing news on Kosovo related issues. The main focus of the
Info-Service is the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian
community in the Province of Kosovo and Metohija. ERP KIM Info Service
works in cooperation with www.serbian-translation.com
as well as the Kosovo Daily
News (KDN) News List
Disclaimer:
The views
expressed by the authors of newspaper articles or other texts which are
not official communiqués or news reports by the Diocese are their own and
do not necessarily represent the views of the Serbian Orthodox
Church
Additional information on
our Diocese and the life of the Kosovo Serb Community may be found at:
http://www.kosovo.net
Copyright 2004, ERP KIM Info-Service
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