Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
Avgust 26, 2004

PATRIARCH PAVLE TO SERVE LITURGY IN MONASTERY OF HOLY ARCHANGEL MICHAEL IN RAKOVICA
BISHOP ARTEMIJE RECEIVES SOREN JESSEN-PETERSEN AND GENERAL HOLGER KAMMERHOF
JESSEN-PETERSEN: WE WILL DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE FOR SERBS TO RETURN TO SVINJARE
DIOCESE OF RASKA AND PRIZREN CONDEMNS DESECRATION OF CEMETERY IN DRAGODAN

PATRIARCH PAVLE TO SERVE LITURGY IN MONASTERY
OF HOLY ARCHANGEL MICHAEL IN RAKOVICA

His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle will serve Holy Hierarchal Liturgy on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God on August 28 /15 in the monastery of the Holy Archangel Michael in Rakovica. The service begins at 9:00 a.m.

BISHOP ARTEMIJE RECEIVES SOREN JESSEN-PETERSEN
AND GENERAL HOLGER KAMMERHOF

His Grace Bishop Artemije of Raska and Prizren spoke with new UNMIK chief Soren Jessen Petersen on Wednesday, August 25, in the monastery of Gracanica after Petersen and Kosovo prime minister Bajram Rexhepi's visit to the destroyed monastery of Holy Archangels the preceding day. The UNMIK chief is on his eighth day of touring Kosovo and Metohija in order to become acquainted with the situation on the ground first hand.

Bishop Artemije told the UNMIK chief his view of the situation, saying that in essence it has not changed since March 17. "The March pogrom was just the culmination of a process of violence and ethnic discrimination that the Serbian community has endured since the arrival of the UN mission and KFOR peacekeeping forces," said Bishop Artemije. He reminded Petersen of the number of murdered and kidnapped Serbs, over 200,000 refugees, numerous Serbian houses and 150 churches in ruins under the eyes of the whole democratic world.

"Even though the number of incidents has decreased, the potential for violence remains high and the apparent peace that reigns is illusory because the main organizers and perpetrators of violence against Serbs remain free. If violence continues to be tolerated as in the past and extremists continue to be tolerated instead of confronted, the situation will get even worse."

The Bishop explained to the new chief of UNMIK that the process of Serbian refugee returns is practically at a standstill while Kosovo and Metohija under an international protectorate is increasingly becoming a monoethnic society exclusively tailored for the Kosovo Albanians. "Since March 17 not only has the rebuilding of churches not even begun but not a single stone has been moved, not to mention the churches destroyed during the summer of 1999," said Bishop Artemije. He also insisted on the position that everything damaged must be repaired and not only what was damaged during the March violence.

The new UNMIK chief said that he is familiar with Bishop Artemije's views and aware of his criticism, which he finds understandable and justifiable to some extent. Petersen repeated that UNMIK is implementing a policy of zero tolerance for criminal activities and crimes against minorities and he described the riots in March as an evil that must not be repeated. Expressing his personal respect for the Bishop, his advice and wisdom, Petersen admitted that he is aware of the situation in which Serbs and other minorities are living.

On the same day Bishop Artemije also received a farewell visit from the KFOR commander, German general Holger Kammerhof, who will replaced in the near future by French general Yves de Kermabon as head of international peacekeeping forces. Bishop Artemije told the KFOR commander of his deep dissatisfaction with the reaction of KFOR forces during the March riots. General Kammerhof assured Bishop Artemije of his conviction that during the March riots he did "everything within his power".

JESSEN-PETERSEN:
WE WILL DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE
FOR SERBS TO RETURN TO SVINJARE

UNMIK chief Soren Jessen-Petersen said today in the village of Svinjare near Kosovska Mitrovica that UNMIK in cooperation with the Kosovo government and KFOR will ensure security for the return of all Serbs who fled from the village after the March violence.

"I am content when I see that people are ready to return, that they want their homes to be rebuilt and to live here. We will do everything within our power to make this a safe place and to finish building the houses that are not just houses but their homes," said Jessen-Petersen.

The UNMIK chief said that he wants these houses to be places where one can live and that he will therefore ensure that utility buildings are also built and that locals receive 2,000 euros apiece to obtain essential home furnishings.

Milorad Radivojevic, the representative of the village of Svinjare, said that the situation in Kosovo would grow worse if the UNMIK chief refuses to acknowledge what happened to the Serbs on March 17. Our neighbors would even return to the burned ruins of their homes if only they knew they would be safe, said Radivojevic. He added that out of 137 houses destroyed in Svinjare only 30 have been rebuilt but the construction was not done well and just living in them represented a risk. Kosovo prime minister Bajram Rexhepi and the advisor to the UNMIK chief for returns, Nenad Radosavljevic, accompanied Jessen-Petersen on his visit to Svinjare.

DIOCESE OF RASKA AND PRIZREN CONDEMNS DESECRATION
OF CEMETERY IN DRAGODAN

The Diocese of Raska and Prizren most strongly condemns the desecration of the cemetery in Dragodan where Serbs and Roma who perished in Kosovo and Metohija since the arrival of KFOR and the UN mission are buried. UNMIK spokesman Neeraj Singh confirmed that about 100 graves of Serbs and Roma have been desecrated and condemned this vandalism. At a press conference in Pristina Singh explained that these were graves used by the UN to bury persons of Serbian and Roma nationality after autopsy that have yet to be identified. According to Serbian pathologists 140 people killed throughout Kosovo and Metohija have been temporarily buried here since the arrival of international KFOR forces.

[Serbian Translation Services]