Belfry of Church of Holy Archangel Michael in Stimlje set on fire

Arson attack, not a "children's game"

After the recent desecration of the church in Gornja Brnjica in Pristina, Albanians set fire to belfry of Church of the Holy Archangel Michael near Stimlje

The Church of Holy Archangel Michael in Stimlje
The burned upper part of the belfry is visible in the photo. The grotesque
conclusion of the UNMIK police that it was not an attack on the church but only a part of a "childrens game" is seen by the Serbian Orthodox Church and Kosovo Serb people as an open solidarity with the arsonists and criminals.  http://www.kosovo.net/belfry_stimlje2_vel.jpg

CONTENTS:

Belfry of the church of Holy Archangel Michael set on fire by ethnic Albanians
After the recent desecration of the Holy Apostles church in Gornja Brnjica near Pristina, ethnic Albanians set fire to belfry of Church of the Holy Archangel Michael near Stimlje. After today's visit of the delegation of the Church to Stimlje the general conclusion is that this can be nothing but an arson attack.

UNMIK police report adds more oil to the fire.. (commentary by Fr. Sava Janjic)
After five years of constant ignoring of systematic destruction of the Serb religious and cultural heritage, which was either ascribed to some unknown attackers or even Serbs themselves, UNMIK police now finds another way of avoiding their own responsibility. intentionally publishing a shameless lie that the fire in the belfry of the Stimlje church
"was accidental, caused by children playing".

Unprecedented arrogance of Finnish KFOR - Communique of the Diocese
The behavior of the Finnish battalion is not only shameful for all of KFOR but is resulting in worsening relations between the Serb population and military forces who by their passivity and irresponsibility are openly placing themselves on the side of the Albanian extremists, forcing the Serbs to increasingly view them as occupying forces

Four years of experience has forced us to reject further cooperation.... interview with Bishop Artemije for the "Svedok" (Witness) Belgrade Daily
 
After everything our people in the southern Serb province have gone through in the past four years, including cooperation with the international community which offered us many programs and promises, we have gained little or nothing. I openly told Holkeri that under the circumstances in which the Serbs are living, we cannot participate any further in their programs and concepts. Four years of experience has forced us to reject cooperation to our own detriment and our own destruction.  


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photo of the belfry charred with fire - arson attack or a children game?
larger size photo: /belfry_stimlje1_vel.jpg

Belfry of the church of Holy Archangel Michael set on fire by ethnic Albanians

After the recent desecration of the Holy Apostles church in Gornja Brnjica near Pristina, ethnic Albanians set fire to belfry of Church of the Holy Archangel Michael near Stimlje. After today's visit of the delegation of the Church to Stimlje the general conclusion is that this could be nothing but an arson attack, many of which have been seen so far all over Kosovo and Metohija.

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ERP KIM Info Service
Gracanica, January 21, 2004

(desecrated Orthodox Christian icons in Holy Archangel Michael church in Stimlje. An archive photo from "Kosovo Crucified". The church was desecrated by Muslim Albanian extremists in summer 1999)

The Diocese of Raska-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija most strongly condemns the setting of a fire in the belfry of the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Holy Archangel Michael in Stimlje. After the recent desecration of the church in the village of Gornja Brnjica near Pristina, this represents yet another instance of attack on Orthodox holy shrines in the area of central Kosovo and Metohija. As in the previous instance, this attack also occurred in the area of responsibility of Finnish KFOR, which in both cases failed to protect the targeted churches.

According to an UNMIK police report dated January 20, 2004, on Sunday, January 18 at approximately 17,25 hours a fire was set in the belfry of the church which was quickly localized by the firefighting team. The report goes on to state that on the basis of initial findings it is believed that the fire "was caused by children and not thought to be a direct attack against the church or its community".

Today ERP KIM Info Service correspondent G.N. and Fr. Randjel Denic, the parish priest for Lipljan and Stimlje, attempted to verify the UNMIK police report regarding the fire that broke out in the belfry of the Serbian Orthodox church in Stimlje. They first contacted Finnish KFOR, whose area of responsibility includes Stimlje, and requested additional information regarding the incident. Local representatives at the Finnish base in Lipljan did not demonstrated the slightest willingness to help them or provide photos of the damage in KFOR's possession. They even refused to provide them with a military escort so they could visit the church because they claimed the existence of full freedom of movement. The Finnish chaplain, who was separately addressed by Fr. Randjel, also refused to help.

Finally the ERP KIM reporter and Fr. Randjel set out unescorted and at their own risk to determine the damage that had been done to the belfry. The fire damaged a significant part of the wooden construction and roof of the belfry. The priest did not have time to enter the church itself because a group of Albanians, obviously hostile as a result of the arrival of the Serbian priest and a reporter, had already gathered around the church. The church and belfry are encircled by barbed wire and Fr. Randjel stated categorically that it is completely impossible for "children" to easily access the belfry because the barbed wire had to be cut by pliers.

"It would appear that this was an act of arson and the next target may easily be the church itself, which is without direct KFOR protection," Fr. Randjel told the ERP KIM Info Service, adding: "The UNMIK police report, which states that the fire was set by "children", sounds all too familiar to Kosovo Serbs, who have heard the same justification for many previous attacks against cemeteries and churches. For example, two years ago, according to an official KFOR report, 'small children' removed and carried off the entire copper roof of the Church of St. Lazar in Piskoti near Djakovica and dug up the Orthodox cemetery there." "In Stimlje today there are only 17 elderly Serbs remaining who almost do not go out of their homes and it is completely certain that a fire will be set by local Albanians," said Fr. Randjel.

After visiting the church Fr. Randjel and our correspondent visited the local UNMIK administrator Masanba Seck of Nigeria who received them in the building of the Stimlje municipal assembly where the flag of the Republic of Albania was prominently displayed. Although the building also includes an UNMIK office, no UN Mission markings were displayed although Kosovo Province is under UN administration and not a part of Albania. The UNMIK administrator said that he could not give any statement regarding the case and that an investigation of the incident by UNMIK and the Kosovo police is in the progress.

When our reporter asked why neither UNMIK nor KFOR informed church representatives of the incident, which they had found out about almost by chance from a very brief UNMIK police report posted on the World Wide Web, neither the UNMIK representative nor the KFOR commander had any comment.

The building of the Municipal Assembly of Stimlje with an unavoidable flag of
Republic Albania. Although within the building is located the local UNMIK office there is
no UN flag or any UNMIK sign. Is this multiethnicity and implementation of 1244 UNSCR Mr. Holkeri or just building of a new Albanian state on the sovereign territory of Serbia?
larger photo: /municip_stimlje_vel.jpg

The local spokesman of the Finnish battalion Jani Manakaneki said in a brief statement for the ERP KIM Info Service that the wooden belfry of the Orthodox church in Stimlje had been set on fire at approximately 17,25 hours on January 18. The Finnish battalion removed its fixed control checkpoint in front of the church on October 2003 because the situation is purportedly "stable" and there is full freedom of movement in the region of Stimlje municipality. KFOR patrols pass through Stimlje twice daily, said Manakenaki, adding that the entire case is under the jurisdiction of local Kosovo and UNMIK police, who are conducting an investigation.

The Church of the Holy Archangel Michael was build on a hill above Stimlje in 1920-22 on the foundation of an older church which existed here in the Middle Ages. The church was also build as a memorial shrine to the fallen Serbian soldiers of World War I. It was build according to the design of one of the first Serbian woman architects, Jelisaveta Nacic, with funding from the Kneginja Ljubica Fund. Several of the icons in the church are the work of painter Uros Predic. An orphanage for girls was originally built next to the church. In 1977 the church was restored.

In August 1999 Albanian extremists from Stimlje broke into the unprotected church and desecrated it, damaging a large number of icons. A fire was set inside the church at that time which damaged most of its internal furnishings.

We are enclosing the report of the UNMIK police regarding this incident:

FIRE
Shtime - 18/01 - 1725 hrs. The belfry tower of the Orthodox Church was burning. Fire brigade extinguished the fire. No information about the extent of damages. One patrol stays at the scene

Initial investigations give suspicion that the fire on the belfry of the church was caused by children and not thought to be a direct attack against the church or it's [sic] community.

After five years of constant ignoring of systematic destruction of the Serb religious and cultural heritage, which was either ascribed to some unknown attackers or even Serbs themselves, UNMIK police now finds another way of avoiding their own responsibility. intentionally publishing a shameless lie that the fire in the belfry of the Stimlje church
"was accidental, caused by children playing".

It appears that Mr. Chappell and UNMIK police officials still live in their own dreams and not in Kosovo's reality. But the the truth is different. UNMIK police has now thrown all its masks off and is openly siding with Kosovo Albanian extremists in fear of their own lives and careers. It would be no wonder that Mr. Chappell said that the fire broke because of intensive heat in January.

However, let's go back to Stimlje and see some facts:

1. First of all the church and the belfry are surrounded by a thick barbed wire ring and for anyone to enter the church compound would have to cut the barbed wire which is not so easy for adults, not to mention children. OK, these were tough and strong Kosovo children.

2. In order to climb the locked belfry the children had to break the lock which perhaps could be a part of the children game. I really do not believe that Mr. Chappell ever played in that way anytime in his life, but OK again, Kosovo "games" are unique in the world. Instead of playing with toys Kosovo Albanian children burn churches, dig graves and rob houses. Quite an interesting phenomenon for sociologists, indeed.

3. To set the fire in cold weather, in the middle of winter and snow cannot be done by firecrackers or matches. One needed some fuel to make the old wooden beams burn. So the children had to carry some gasoline to play with. OK, another of Kosovo beloved toys.

To sum it up Mr. Chappell's "children" could not have been children at all but ethnic Albanian adults who intentionally cut the barbed wire, broke into the belfry and set it on fire as a first step before blowing up the church, which will of course come next. This obvious arson attack cannot be qualified as a game except if UNMIK police officials do not consider "such fire games" a part of acceptable behavior which can be tolerated.

In any case this ironic and totally unfounded qualification by the UNMIK police is seen and felt by the Serbian Orthodox Church as an open act of solidarity with the arsonists and criminals. Who knows, perhaps the next revelation from the UNMIK police HQ would be that the Serbian Holy sites are being destroyed by aliens and UFO's. No.... Sava you are going to far, because NATO would probably be blamed for this failure then. The "children" are the most innocent solution, particularly in the winter season when they like to play with fire.

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Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren
Kosovo and Metohija

Official communique
for immediate release

Unprecedented arrogance of Finnish KFOR

Finnish KFOR refused any assistance to the Serbian Orthodox priest and a reporter who wanted to visit Stimlje

The behavior of the Finnish battalion is not only shameful for all of KFOR but is resulting in worsening relations between the Serb population and military forces who by their passivity and irresponsibility are openly placing themselves on the side of the Albanian extremists, forcing the Serbs to increasingly view them as occupying forces

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ERP KIM Info Service
January 21, 2004, Gracanica

The Diocese of Raska-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija expresses it horror and protest due to the unprofessional and irresponsible attitude of members of Finnish KFOR in Central Kosovo. Unfortunately, instead of performing their jobs and protecting threatened holy shrines in their area of responsibility, just days after an attack on the church in the village of Gornja Brnjica we have yet another attack on the Serbian Orthodox Church. Instead of informing representatives of the Diocese in a timely manner and at least assisting the parish priest in visiting the scene of the attack, Finnish KFOR representatives behaved very provocatively and arrogantly toward representatives of the Diocese, who requested but were not granted a military escort to visit the church and assess the extent of the damage.

By transferring all responsibility on UNMIK and the Kosovo police, Finnish KFOR is behaving in exactly the same manner as only days ago when its members calmly and coldly observed the beating of Serb men and women from Novo Naselje by Kosovo Albanian hooligans, refusing even to provide emergency medical care to the injured man. This inhuman behavior by individual members of the Finnish battalion who were in contact with the representatives of the Diocese today, including even their chaplain who refused to provide any assistance whatsoever, is not only shameful for all of KFOR but is resulting in worsening relations between the Serb population and military forces who by their passivity and irresponsibility are openly placing themselves on the side of the Albanian extremists, forcing the Serbs to increasingly view them as occupying forces and not as peacekeepers.

Unfortunately, while the former secretary of the NATO alliance Lord Robertson is being (secretly though) awarded the highest honor of the Serbia-Montenegro Army, at the same time in Kosovo and Metohija NATO is allowing Albanian nationalists to freely continue with the ethnic cleansing of the Serbian people and the destruction of its holy shrines by its passivity in the battle against Albanian extremism and ethnic violence. We ask to what extent representatives of the Serbia-Montenegro Army and Ministry of Defense, who chose to generously bestow this honor upon the same man who coolly stated that Serbs "were impaling Albanian babies with their bayonettes" (see interview in NIN, Belgrade weekly) are in fact representing the interests of the people who elected them to their posts and to what extent they are acting out of their personal and political interests.

In response to a recent letter by Bishop Artemije to KFOR commander in chief general Holger Kammerhoff regarding the attempt to usurp the Church of Christ the Savior in which the Bishop requested reinforced protection for this church, the general in a rather official way replied that the Bishop should address the appropriate municipal institutions, advising him to urge greater Serb participation in the work of institutions - the same institutions which passed the decision to usurp the church property in the first place by outvoting the Serb deputies, which are terrorizing the remaining Serbs in the Province under the guise of law. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to understand whether this attitude is the result of a complete lack of experience and unfamiliarity with the real situation or an arrogant irony being used to permit the unobstructed continuation of Albanian institutional repression against the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija.

The Diocese is especially embittered by the fact that no one bothered to inform it regarding attacks on the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church and that it is forced to learn of such events through the highly filtered and impersonal reports of the UNMIK police. Even when they aware of an attack on a church, SOC representatives are unable to safely travel to the scene of the attack due to the lack of freedom of movement and security. Taking into account the degree of corruption among the majority of UNMIK personnel, many of whom are also on the pay lists of the Albanian mafia, it would hardly have been surprising if the whole church had been blow apart - only to be somehow justified by someone or even more simply ignored, in keeping with the folk adage - Three days of any wonder are more than enough.

Information Service of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija

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Bishop Artemije's interview for "Svedok"

Four years of experience has forced us to reject further cooperation to our own detriment

After everything our people in the southern Serb province have gone through in the past four years, including cooperation with the international community which offered us many programs and promises, we have gained little or nothing. I openly told Holkeri that under the circumstances in which the Serbs are living, we cannot participate any further in their programs and concepts. Four years of experience has forced us to reject cooperation to our own detriment and our own destruction.

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Broad autonomy within Serbia-Montenegro - Bishop Artemije