Jeremic: Monuments of the SOC cannot belong to so-called "Republic of Kosovo"

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Vuk Jeremic said today at the General Conference of Unesco in Paris that monasteries and churches of the Serbian Orthodox Church cannot belong to so-called "Republic of Kosovo".

"In this organization it is expected from us to protect and care the cultural identities we have, not to be accomplices in a political attempts to create new ones", Jeremic pointed out.

Serbia will as the member of Unesco intensify efforts for the protection of the cultural heritages throughout the world, said the minister.  It is most directly concerned Serbia and in its south province, in Kosovo and Metohija, where four places are on the list of endangered monuments under the protection of Unesco for which protection is Serbia responsible as a state.

He said that in a post-conflict environment, the respect for the identity of all is the precondition for reconciliation, while the exclusion or denial of one's identity prevents this.
 
The chief of the Serbian diplomacy at the same time called the members to support support Serbia's candidacy for a seat in the Committee of UNESCO World Heritage.

 Minister reminded that Serbia adopted even in 1844 a law called the "Ban on destruction of ancient cities and fortresses," and its institutions responsible for protection of culture over time developed an extensive and respected network unmatched in Southeastern Europe which received recognitions by various bodies of Unesco, and by the World Heritage Committee. 

He reminded that the president of Serbian Boris Tadic was a host of the Ninth Summit of chief of states of the countres of Southeast Europe in Viminatium, one of the richest cultural and urban centers of the Roman Empire at the intersection of the East and West, North and South. 

Source: Tanjug