INTERVIEW
WITH HIS EMINENCE BISHOP OF RASKA AND PRIZREN, THE RT. REV. ARTEMIJE
(RADOSAVLJEVIC) - March 7, 2002
Your
Eminence, the one hundredth issue of The Herald of Kosovo and
Metohija will soon be published. It began to come out at the
time of the horrible expulsion of our people when few people knew
what was happening in Kosovo and Metohija. We began working at the
time when a quarter of a million Serbs and other non-Albanians left
their centuries-old homes. Those of us who knew the true state of
affairs and the actual scale of these events mourned because of them.
Two and a half years later, things seem to have hardly changed for
the better. Various domestic and international NGOs are working
on the return of displaced persons. But what to do and what to undertake
to create a realistic strategy for refugee returns?
The
hundredth issue of a newspaper or magazine represents a very humble
anniversary. So it is with our bulletin, The Herald of Kosovo
and Metohija, which has been coming out for the past two years.
It was started in the most difficult of times for the Serb people,
after the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo and Metohija of its Serbs, after
great crimes, kidnappings, murders, the destruction of churches. Since
Slobodan Milosevics regime was still in power in Belgrade and
in control of all state and public media at that time, the truth about
Kosovo and Metohija reached neither the hearts nor the ears of our
people. This is why we felt the need to initiate our bulletin, which
began with a small circulation of 2,000 copies, grew to 3,000 and
now to 5,000 copies. Its purpose was to regularly inform and present
facts and the truth regarding what is happening in Kosovo.
The
one hundred issues of this paper truly reflect the actual conditions
of the lives of the Serbs of Kosovo and Metohija during the past two
and one-half years, as well as everything else that has happened in
the meanwhile. Regular readers gained true insight and an accurate
picture not only of the events themselves but also of the causes of
our defeat, our tragedy in Kosovo and Metohija.
However,
what those of us who remained to live in Kosovo and Metohija find
interesting and what absorbs all of our attention is the issue of
the return of expelled persons to Kosovo and Metohija. There is no
doubt, when this issue is raised, the first thing to be mentioned
are the conditions that need to be created in order to make these
returns possible. Despite all the pressures and crimes which we have
endured on our own skins, I personally believe that the first thing
that should be done is to improve the living and working conditions
of the Serbs still remaining in Kosovo and Metohija because whether
the expelled will want to return will depend on this. If they are
getting reports from Kosovo and Metohija every day that the Serbs
there are under constant attack, that bombs are being thrown at their
houses and shops, at their children in the playgrounds, that murders
continue to occur, that churches and monasteries continue to be destroyed,
very few people will be inspired to come back and live under these
conditions. Therefore, the international community, our state and
all the NGOs, international and domestic, need to devote their
primary concern to creating the necessary conditions and normalizing
the lives of the remaining Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. When conditions
improve, those who were expelled will want to return to their homes.
Of course, necessary conditions for those returning need to be provided
also - the repair of their destroyed or damaged homes, village infrastructure,
employment opportunities, the opening of schools and hospitals...
Those
of us who work in Kosovo and Metohija and the NGO The Herald
of Kosovo and Metohija are not able to carry out the enormous
task of bringing back our people by ourselves. That is why it is necessary
for our state, the highest institution of our people, not just the
NGOs, to get involved and invest itself in this problem and
to try to work on it in its contacts with the international community.
Thank God, these contacts do exist and they continue to expand. Because
if we allow another year or two to go by and people still do not return,
I am afraid that afterwards there will be a very small number of people
wanting to return at all.

Bishop Artemije in search for justice for his suffering people
The
NGO The Herald of Kosovo and Metohija organized a series
of lectures and literary evenings, visits to the enclaves, and a large
exhibition of photographs dedicated to destroyed shrines in Kosovo
and Metohija. What to undertake, how to interest and convince the
government and officials to synchronize their activities, so that
the news about Kosovo and Metohija does not end up on page ten on
the newspapers or in the twenty-fifth minute of a half hour television
newscast?
If
things are at the point where we are the ones who need to animate
the state, I am afraid we will not accomplish much. I believe that
the state should treat this is a priority, and that we are the ones
who are able to help, to jump to its aid in activities being implemented
by the state, so as to make its work as effective as possible. We
are really not in a position nor do we have the means to influence
state officials to become more engaged with respect to the issue of
Kosovo and Metohija and, first and foremost, of Serb returns to this
region. The fact of the matter is that the final solution of the status
of Kosovo will also depend on how many Serbs there are in Kosovo and
Metohija now and how many there will be when the status issue is addressed.
If we do not think about this and work on it right now, I am afraid
that the future will catch us unprepared and that we will not have
valid arguments to keep Kosovo and Metohija within the framework of
our state of Serbia and Yugoslavia. This should be the basic realization
and preoccupation of every member of the state apparatus from the
Yugoslav president to the Serbian president (I am not sure we still
have one because we have not seen or heard from him in a while), the
Serbian prime minister, and especially of those in the Coordinating
Center [the Coordinating Center of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
and the Republic of Yugoslavia for Kosovo and Metohija headed by deputy
prime minister Nebojsa Covic]. This is what we should be working on,
what we should be thinking about, in addition to visiting our people
who are still in refugee camps and scattered in various locations
in Serbia to encourage them to return home while at the same time
creating the necessary preconditions so that this can be realized.
Your
Eminence, The Herald of Kosovo and Metohija has been very
dedicated in recording and publishing all the decisions of the Serb
National Council [of Kosovo and Metohija]; it simply served as a chronicle
of developments in connection with the SNC. What will be the fate
of the SNC now that a provincial government [of Kosovo] has been established,
including a provincial parliament and other institutions supported
and blessed by the international community?
Three
or almost four months have passed since the election and creation
of the parliament of Kosovo and Metohija. So far the work of this
parliament has neither influenced nor been detected in the field.
The Serb National Council has remained as active as it has been recently,
concerning itself with the Serb people and their needs and problems
throughout the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. Two days ago this
parliament resumed its work, a president of Kosovo and Metohija was
elected, a government of Kosovo and Metohija was elected in which
the Serbs apparently were not included and it remains highly questionable
what the activities of this government will be.
The
SNC continues to carefully follow all developments in Kosovo and Metohija,
as well as in our state of Serbia and Yugoslavia. It will continue
to animate and coordinate all activities with respect to realizing
the goals we have already discussed - for the survival of our people
in Kosovo and Metohija, the return of the expelled, and the discovery
of the fate of at least 1,300 and perhaps as many as 1,500 Serbs who
have disappeared or been kidnapped during the past two and a half
years.
It
remains to be seen what the work of the new government of Kosovo and
Metohija will be like. It now faces a very important test and it will
work under the great pressure of the international community. We will
see how the work of this government will be reflected on democratic
tendencies in Kosovo and Metohija, first and foremost, on the position
of the Serb national community.

Bishop Artemije in UN Security Council Meeting
with Kofi Anan, GENSEC, Sep. 2000
The
previous regime did not allow and did not agree with the participation
of the Serbs in elections for local organs of government. You and
the Serb National Council managed to secure the existence of local
community offices in settlements where Serbs are in the majority in
order to defend their interests to some extent. At that time, the
regime and others attacked you as a traitor and accused you of all
kinds of things. However, you believed that one could not confront
the international community, and that Serbs should instead actively
participate and influence the unfolding of the situation in Kosovo
and Metohija. Now new elections at the local level are expected. Do
you think that the Serbs will participate in these elections in greater
number? Have they recognized that isolation leads nowhere?
I
think that the Serb National Council and, first and foremost, the
Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija, were correct in assessing
the value of cooperation with the international community because
without cooperation with them, the survival of the Serb community
in Kosovo and Metohija would be absolutely impossible. The regime
of Mr. Milosevic certainly knew this and probably had the goal of
a Kosovo and Metohija completely cleansed of Serbs so it could rub
the nose of the international community in it all the time. However,
we believed that our basic national and state goal and interest was
for the Serbs to remain and survive in Kosovo and Metohija.
Thank
God that we were successful in this and managed to retain a good part
of our people despite all the suffering and tragedies they endured.
Without cooperation with the international community, not only would
our survival here have been impossible but so would any returns.
As
far as the elections are concerned, the necessary preconditions really
did not exist during the first local elections for them to be held.
First of all, they were not supported by the regime in Serbia at the
time. In the elections held in November, even though the decision
regarding Serb participation was made relatively late, even though
there was tremendous obstruction by certain individuals and would-be
leaders of the Serb community in Kosovo and Metohija and in Serbia
herself, a respectable number nevertheless participated and this enabled
the Serbs to win the third largest representation in the parliament.
The Return Coalition is the third largest party in the Kosovo and
Metohija parliament. We believe and time will show that this was a
good principle, that it is a good method and the only possible one.
I am happy that events have demonstrated that the position we adopted
right from the start has turned out to be accurate and correct. Now
this position has been adopted by our country, too, especially by
the Coordinating Center which was established to maintain relations
with the international community.
At
the next elections, and this depends also on how the people will be
informed and instructed through the media from our country of Serbia,
but I believe that without participation in these elections we cannot
have significant influence over the course of events in Kosovo and
Metohija.

Patriarch Pavle
and Bishop Artemije, June 2000, in Gracanica
Do
you think that the expelled Serbs and others from the non-Albanian
community living in Serbia will also be included in these local elections?
Just
as they were included in the recent parliamentary elections, they
could certainly also be included in local elections because they are
still officially residents of the settlements where they lived prior
to their expulsion and they should have some influence there.
Can
you comment, Your Eminence, regarding the activities of the Housing
and Property Directorate of the United Nations, whose function it
is to assist Serbs and others from non-Albanian communities, as well
as Albanians, to determined the current status of the property of
people from Kosovo and Metohija. Despite the fact that the NGO The
Herald of Kosovo and Metohija has been constantly included in
their programs, it appears that interest and response among the people
is not adequate. What can we do, what should we undertake?
It
is a very painful realization and a fact that many foreigners show
far greater concern for Serbs and their rights, both property rights
and personal rights, than does our own state. For example, this organization
under UN auspices which concerns itself with the resolution of property
issues and the protection of property rights and personal rights and
is active in this domain. Thank God, The Herald of Kosovo and
Metohija has been active in acquainting our people with their
rights and responsibilities - what they need to do, whom they need
to contact and what proof they need to gather and submit to the appropriate
institutions in order to realize their property rights and the protection
of those rights.
I
believe that all daily newspapers should publish the announcement
of this international organization, that people should be informed,
that state television should highlight this at the beginning of its
prime time news broadcast at 7:30 p.m., that expelled Serbs should
be told to go to such-and-such addresses to realize their property
rights. The possibility of their return to Kosovo and Metohija will
depend on this being done, too.
I
really believe that the state should be involved in national issues
and through its media, it should acquaint every individual and family
member, first and foremost, the heads of the families of Serb refugees,
on how they can protect their property rights in Kosovo and Metohija.
It goes without saying that I believe that it would not be good for
Serbs to reclaim their property for the sole purpose of selling it
to the Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija. I think that the state should
find a mechanism to prevent the appropriation of Serb property in
Kosovo and Metohija, its sale and the permanent exclusion of Serbs
from Kosovo and Metohija.

During
the interview with the bishop, the theatrical actor Momir Bradic arrived.
The bishop kindly invited us to remain his guests a little longer
in order to hear firsthand the impressions of Mr. Bradic from his
trip throughout Kosovo.
We
visited all the schools in Gracanica and the surrounding villages.
I gave an hour-long lesson in history and spirituality; I recited
the Testament of Stefan Nemanja. They invited me to come back again
as soon as possible, said Mr. Bradic.
In
Gracanica we visited the King Milutin [Elementary] School. Only the
lower grades were present, the third and fourth grades. We agreed
to come back for another visit to all the enclaves after receiving
Your blessing to do so and to expand the lesson in history with a
second part - how St. Sava realized the testament of Stefan Nemanja.
What
was your impression of Caglavica and the photography exhibition of
Dragan Tanasijevic on display there, The Guardians of the Holy
Shrines? asked the bishop.
It
is a very exclusive, very beautiful exhibition in a beautiful facility.
The acoustic arrangements were very good. Unfortunately, there were
not many Serbs there. There were more of these local foreign guests.
And
how did the foreigners respond?
First
of all, every one of them had a translator with him to translate every
word that was said. I recited another part of the Testament, the part
about the name, here as well, and later I quoted from the Heavenly
Liturgy. As I was reciting the latter, your guest, Mr. [Michael] Steiner,
arrived and he listened very attentively to all this. The monk Sava
also arrived with him. He gave a speech and acquainted those present
with the contents of the exhibition and its history, and thanked them
for their protection. He said that he hoped the barbed wire and tanks
would disappear as soon as possible and that peace, joy and contentment
would prevail, and that our Church would be able to live and work
again like before. His speech was followed with great attention.
In
the secondary school in Laplje Selo, I recited the Testament to the
graduating class, the young men and girls at that school. I normally
recite this text in Serbia and abroad but I have never experienced
such attention, absorption, such reciprocal energy. When I finished
the Testament, one of the professors said: Lets respond
to this now in the words of [Petar Petrovic II] Njegos.
A
girl stood up and began to recite an excerpt from The Mountain
Wreath.
Another
professor who was there then said: Lets respond to our
dear guest now with the words of Desanka [Maksimovic]. They recited
Gracanica.
We
concluded with the words of Bishop Nikolaj: May the Serbs become united,
God-fearing and more numerous.
What
was your impression of Kosovo? asked Bishop Artemije.
On
Miholjdan I was in Velika Hoca and Gorazdevac. At that time we were
taken and driven around in their transporters so I could not see or
sense everything that has been done, or see what a danger it is to
live in Kosovo as I saw now.
Now
I traveled some 20 kilometers with Father Nektarije and I saw how
he communicates. Well see each other, well get together,
Nektarije says without mentioning where we will see each other and
where we are now. We did not have an escort immediately but from a
certain intersection. It was only now that I realized how dangerous
life in general is there.
What
I saw was two different worlds. One world is expanding and building
a main road from Merdare to Pristina with beautiful houses. I saw
something which caught my attention immediately, a sole Serb flag
on a single house, despite the fact that we passed through almost
the entire Serb area surrounding Gracanica. This means that only one
Serb house is being built there.
What
I found most disturbing was the traffic on every road, not only on
the main road. To me it was as crowded as if I had found myself on
Knez Milos Street in downtown Belgrade.
That
is an indicator of the fact that life in Kosovo is as busy as an anthill,
said the bishop. Unfortunately, it is a monoethnic life; it
is solely Albanian. The Serbs in Kosovo remind one of the Serbs in
Serbia - you can go for ten kilometers and not see any of the people
by the road or in the yard.
That
is disturbing; thats an unusual impression, repeated Mr.
Bradic.
On
the other hand, I saw the tremendous yearning of those young people.
Those young men and girls - there was so much purity in their eyes
and in their hearts; their eyes were open wide as they followed the
story which is true for it is here that we became a people.
The
woman speaker told me, said Mr. Bradic, that I reminded
them of our past while they, the Serbs of Kosovo, are taken to task
for overemphasizing our past. How would you comment on this, she asked
me.
I
think that they have every right to take us to task for something
that they do not have. Kosovo and Metohija is our great archeological
site. Wherever we dig, we find one of our graves or our altars. They
take us to task for always coming back to this. Because anyone who
does not know how far back our predecessors go needs only to search
among the bones and graves of our predecessors; they will show the
truth. Therefore, this is our truth. They take us to task for it because
it is something that they do not have. They are younger than we are.
end text

Bishop Artemije - just
arrived to Gracanica manastery in a white UN helicopter
The Bishop is under constant guard of special UNMIK close protection
unit