The
Interview for the Herald of Kosovo and Metohija
hieromonk Sava Janjic, Decani Monastery, 15 March, 2002

Forgive
them Father, for they know not what they do
Father
Sava, three years have already passed since the end of the war. Do you
think that the situation in Kosovo and Metohija has improved?
Even though the
number of incidents is much smaller than before, the situation has not
changed qualitatively and the Serb people, especially our monks, are
still living deprived of basic rights and liberties. The Western media
very frequently state that the number of murders, thefts and other crimes
against Serbs has gone down; however, they forget that this is not the
result of an improvement in the political situation but of the absolute
ghettoization of the Serbs who are increasingly hermetically separated
from the Albanians for security reasons. In the past few days, the Albanian
language media celebrated the election of "the first president
of free Kosovo". Unfortunately, I must say that Kosovo is not free
for all its residents and that the policy of discrimination and ethnic
repression, especially against Serbs and Roma [Gypsies], is still continuing
despite the presence of the UN and KFOR.
Do
you think that new institutions, as well as the arrival of a new UNMIK
head, will lead to an improvement of the situation in the field?
That is very difficult
to say because in the past, Albanian political leaders in Kosovo and
Metohija did not demonstrate any special interest in changing the policy
of creating an ethnically cleansed, Albanian territory. Moreover, in
their inaugural speeches neither Mr. Rugova nor Mr. Bajrami mentioned
the problem of the Serb community. On the other hand, Mr. Steiner has
emphasized several times to date that one of the priorities is an improvement
in the life standards of the Serb people and we remain hopeful that
he will turn his promises into actions. I believe that it is extremely
difficult to expect a complete change of the Albanian mentality and
behavior which here are not just a consequence of the war but have existed
for centuries. The only way of creating minimally acceptable conditions
for the life of the Serbs is for UNMIK to finally comprehend that in
territories inhabited by Serbs, a separate local government administration
must exist, as well as an entire series of mechanisms which will prevent
the continuation of the ethnic cleansing of our people, by all means
including special relations of the Serb people with the Republic of
Serbia, especially with respect to the protection of our cultural heritage,
education, health, etc. It is necessary to urgently prepare an effective
package of economic renewal in Serb regions in order to retain the work
capable population and create fundamental opportunities for a normal
life. All these measures do not mean the creation of a parallel system
but point rather to a necessity which is the result of the fact that
UNMIK has not been successful in persuading the Albanians to ensure
conditions for an integrated and free society.
Frequently
the problem of the north part of Kosovo and Metohija, especially of
Mitrovica, is represented in the foreign media as the only problem for
the integration of the Serb population.
That view is the
result of a piecemeal approach to the entire problem in the Province.
We have always emphasized that the Serbs of Mitrovica and north Kosovo
have the full right not to allow the same thing to happen to them that
happened to Serbs in other areas of the Province. The international
community does not have the moral right to demand the full integration
of the north part in Kosovo institutions while Serbs in other parts
of Kosovo and Metohija still remain ghettoized, without the right to
freedom of movement, work and life, without unhindered access to hospitals
and other social institutions which are almost one hundred percent in
the hands of Albanians. The problem of Mitrovica and the north cannot
be considered separately, outside the context of the entire situation
in Kosovo and Metohija. With regard to this issue we frequently hear
misleading arguments. I am convinced that the Serbs would demonstrate
readiness for cooperation and full integration within, of course, the
framework of Resolution 1244, if Albanian leaders demonstrated the slightest
readiness to develop a contemporary multiethnic society. Since society
in Kosovo and Metohija continues to develop in the direction of the
creation of a monoethnic society based on criminal activity and violence,
it is completely logical that the Serbs cannot seek their prosperity
in such a society and they are right in demanding that their status
be resolved in a just manner.

No one ever won a
war against the dead... A Serb Orthodox cemetery desecrated by Albanian
extremists
Brestovik village, near Pec, October 2001
What
is the present condition of our spiritual and cultural heritage in this
region?
It is with regret
that I must admit that there have been no positive moves. Following
the destruction and damage of more than 110 Orthodox Christian churches
and monasteries, the process of destruction of our centuries old heritage
is continuing. The latest reports from the field indicate that churches
which were only damaged or set on fire from within a year ago are now
even more damaged and destroyed. On the other hand, there is an attempt
to remove the ruins of our churches altogether and thus erase every
trace of their existence as well as traces of the crimes committed against
them. However, what is most horrific is the desecration of the cemeteries.
Father Radivoje Panic and Dr. Gordana Subaric, in their documentary
film "Cemetery Wind" ["Grobni vetar"], show by pictures
and words the barbarian destruction of cemeteries in the Pec area, especially
in the villages of Siga and Brestovik. The opening of graves, the destruction
of coffins and the scattering of bones represents the highest level
of barbarism and insanity by the Kosovo Albanians. Unfortunately in
all wars in the region of Yugoslavia there has been damage to grave
markers but no one removed the bodies of the deceased and scattered
their bones. We have to keep in mind that this is not a new development.
As early as 1988 an incident occurred in which the graves of children
in a Serb cemetery in Kosovo were desecrated in the same way, and their
bodies and diapers were scattered around the desecrated grave mound.
What is even more horrific is the fact that many bodies of the deceased
were simply taken away in an unknown direction because many of the graves
are empty and the traces of their desecration and destruction are obvious.
It is symptomatic that no one among the Albanians has publicly condemned
these barbaric acts nor has this been discussed in their media. If the
deceased are treated in this manner, one can only imagine how the living
are treated. We are witness to the increasing development in Kosovo
and Metohija of an anti-Christian campaign directed against the centuries
old values of Christian and European civilization. While new mosques
built by wealthy Arab magnates through their "humanitarian and
religious" organizations crop up throughout Kosovo and Metohija,
Christian churches continue to be destroyed and everything bearing the
sign of the Holy Cross is rapidly disappearing from the Kosovo landscape.
Desecration of Christian Roman Catholic cemeteries by the Albanian Muslims
also occurred in Prizren even though the Roman Catholic Albanian community
remains silent for the most part about such incidents for fear of more
violent attacks by their Muslim compatriots. Three years have already
passed since the end of the war and not a single destroyed Orthodox
church has been rebuilt, a clear indication of the complete inequity
and bias of the international community.
What
is the reason for the destruction of the cultural and spiritual heritage
in Kosovo and Metohija?
I am certain that
it is not revenge but a clearly coordinated plan and strategy to destroy
a centuries old culture bearing witness to the presence of the Orthodox
Serbs in this region. In the process of building a new "Kosovar
nation", the strategists of this "nation building" program
set a goal for themselves to destroy as much Serb spiritual and cultural
treasure as possible, while the rest is to be a subjected to an adoption
process by means of various quasihistorical theories which are publicly
prominent at the highest levels. Thus, for example, the Orthodox Bogorodica
Ljeviska Cathedral in Prizren is "the oldest Roman Catholic church
in Kosovo and Metohija", Decani Monastery was built by members
of some "Gasi clan", and the Patriarchate and Gracanica are
built on destroyed Catholic churches. Of course, all these quasihistorical
exhibitions cannot be confirmed by a single shred of evidence but in
the general politicization of history ethnic Albanian children in Kosovo
are learning these lies and tomorrow they will be the extremist advocates
of these ideas. Therefore, the attempt is being made to transform Kosovo,
which has never been a united geographic, ethnic or political whole,
into a new state. In order to do this it is necessary to create a Kosovo
history, culture, nation of so-called Kosovars, a new flag, etc. This
process is being conducted on the basis of advice from an entire range
of experts, primarily from the U.S.A., who view an independent Kosovo
as the main support for American interests in this region. So in the
latest report on human rights of the State Department mention is made
of "Serb Kosovars". The word "Kosovar" is an Albanian
translation of the Serb name "Kosovac" and today in Kosovo
when someone says Kosovar one primarily means of Kosovo Albanians. For
us Orthodox Serbs our fatherland is and remains Serbia to which Kosovo
and Metohija have belonged for centuries. This province remains only
a geographical concept within a wider framework and any form of "Kosovarization"
of Serb ethnos, culture and spirituality in this region is absolutely
unacceptable. The Serbian Orthodox Church, as the chief guardian and
treasury of this Serbian and Orthodox Christian identity, is consequently
under fiercest attack by the architects of the new "Kosovar"
state which some international circles would like to see in this region.
That is the very reason why this problem represents one more reason
why the protection of our Christian monuments should never at any price
be placed within the jurisdiction of some Albanian ministry; instead,
it is necessary for Belgrade and the international community to define
mechanisms for the protection of our legacy and culture as soon as possible.
What
are relations like with the other religious communities?
Our diocese, headed
by Bishop Artemije, from the very start initiated dialog with other
communities with the goal of finding ways for the peaceful coexistence
of all communities. After three years of meetings and talks, we do not
have a single concrete example of any Roman Catholic or Muslim Albanian
taking a decisive step and speaking up against the policy of ethnic
violence and intolerance. What is more, the recent interviews of the
Roman Catholic bishop of Prizren, Marko Sopi, the statements of his
secretary, Don Shan Zefi, as well as an interview of the imam of Pec
represent examples of the most extreme hate speech in the post-war period
such as cannot be found among the generally far more politically cautious
Albanian political leaders. Non-Albanian Roman Catholics, primarily
the remaining Croats, are very dissatisfied with the extremely pro-Albanian
policy of Bishop Sopi, who is openly spreading historical untruths and
laying claim to the oldest Orthodox monasteries and churches as having
been supposedly Roman Catholic and snatched away by the Serbs. This
sort of treatment is to a great extent imperiling relations between
our Church and the Roman Catholics in general. Of course, there does
not exist a single statement or act by our bishop nor by any of our
priests or monks which could be quoted as an example of support for
a policy of violence for the very reason that our Church in this region
from the beginning has been clearly opposed to violence and crimes on
either side. Unlike the Albanian religious leaders, Bishop Artemije
visited a mass grave said to contain murdered Albanian civilians with
international representatives as early as July 1999 and most severely
condemned every crime, expressing sincere Christian regret for every
lost life. Our monasteries, and Decani is an example, actively helped,
fed and provided medical assistance to Albanian civilians during the
time of the war, even providing them with sanctuary inside the monastery.
Everyone received assistance: Roma, Goranis, Albanians and, of course,
the numerous Serb unfortunates whom the monasteries continue to actively
assist today. In Djakovica, for example, we have six old Serb women
who were never visited by a single representative of the Roman Catholic
or Muslim Albanians to offer them at least a piece of bread in their
misfortune. This kind of treatment to a large degree prevents a sincere
dialog despite our good will.

The life under
constant KFOR protection
A group of Serb children in Serb village of Crkolez with the Spanish
peacekeepers
Winter 2002
These
days there is a lot of talk about the so-called "conditional independence"
of Kosovo as a way out of the very complicated situation of the unresolved
status of the Province.
Yes, I recently
read the latest report on this issue prepared the International Crisis
Group and in this document I do not find anything new not already stated
by the other supposedly independent commission headed by Judge [Richard]
Goldstone. In short, both groups explain that the international community
needs to recognize the status of "conditional independence"
for Kosovo as soon as possible which would, in their opinion, stabilize
Kosovo society and the entire region. Conditional independence, according
to the ICG, means independence from the FRY but in the form of a kind
of moderate international protectorate. This proposal is, however, completely
unrealizable in the field because if freedom for non-Albanian communities
cannot be achieved now despite the presence of such a huge number of
international institutions and troops in Kosovo and Metohija, it is
difficult to believe that this will be possible in some kind of independent
Kosovo with a very limited international presence. I am more prone to
view this proposal as an attempt to circumvent [UN Security Council]
Resolution 1244 and avoid the opposition of Russia and China, which
do not accept changes to the external border of the FRY. Although the
ICG report does not mention it specifically, it is to be expected that
(in the event that this idea is endorsed by the global community) great
pressure will be exerted on the FRY to accept the secession of Kosovo
and Metohija and that this issue is quite likely to be included on the
list of conditions for further integration of Serbia and Montenegro
into international institutions. It is not necessary to say to what
extent this would put a brake on democratic processes in our country.
As well, I must add that the immediate consequence of such a solution
would be to speed up the dislocation of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija
because even now international organizations cannot offer the remaining
Serbs better security than military protection in their beseiged enclaves.
In my opinion, the status issue can be discussed ONLY when we see concrete
improvement with regard to respect for human rights, the return of expelled
Serbs, Roma and others, and of course, when the Kosovo Albanian political
leaders finally demonstrated sincere readiness to treat non-Albanian
residents of the Province as equal citizens. At the moment, none of
these conditions is fulfilled and for the non-Albanian population in
this region, especially for the Serbs, there is no freedom of movement,
employment or life. Without these basic preconditions, any discussion
or solution regarding status would be wrong and only encourage extremist
and nationalist elements. I must say that this idea is promulgated by
certain individuals who are well-known for their pro-Albanian stance
and who cannot hide their great disappointment because their "Kosovar"
friends are slowly losing international credibility because of their
treatment of the non-Albanian population as second-rate citizens and
unwanted guests on "ethnic Albanian territory". That is actually
why they have produced this proposal, wrapped up in nice promises and
visions, in order to push through the independence of Kosovo despite
the catastrophic situation in the field in spite of the presence of
40,000 NATO troops. When the time comes for this, it is also of critical
importance for Kosovo Serbs to participate equally in the making of
any sort of decision on the status of Kosovo, of course, in addition
to Belgrade and the government in Pristina. The international community
does not have the moral right to force our community, which has been
decimated here since the NATO deployment, to accept a program which
would lead to the creation of an ethnically Albanian society under the
guise of democracy and freedom. It is completely unnecessary to emphasize
that no one among the Kosovo and Metohija Serbs accepts the creation
of any form of independent Kosovo. Negotiations can take place regarding
all other possible solutions except this one. At the same time, it is
important to knwo that in addition to the will of the residents of this
region, the decision regarding final status should be made in accordance
with International Law, the Helsinki final document and other documents
preventing secession without the consent of the mother country, especially
with regard to a country which is becoming more and more democratic
and closer to European integration. Every further atomization of the
Balkans is contrary to the idea of European integration and everyone
in Kosovo needs to be conscious of this fact.
And
finally, what is the outlook for our people and for the Serbian Orthodox
Church in Kosovo and Metohija?
Even though we have
many reasons for pessimism it is with joy that I can say that we are
filled with a spiritual optimism. For us Orthodox Christians, suffering
is not only a punishment but, first and foremost, a blessing from God
and an invitation to repentance and turning to God. Among many true
believers this suffering has only strengthened faith and willingness
to sacrifice and endure. Despite the very inhuman treatment of our people
and churches, we strive to retain a human treatment towards the Albanians
and to always demonstrate a readiness for dialog. It is sad that they
do not see that this treatment toward Christian shrines, helpless old
ladies, children and others who are frail and feeble represents, first
and foremost, their personal tragedy because a better future cannot
be built on crimes. For example, a few days ago a middle-aged Serb woman
was killed in the middle of the street in Lipljan through no fault of
her own. A year ago a bus carrying Serb civilians was blown up, etc.
These are all examples of abuses against those who are not able to defend
themselves and represent a great shame for both those who committed
these deeds and for those who tolerate them or remain silent in secret
approval. The war against the dead especially represents the most morbid
dimension of the hate which reigns in this region. Nevertheless, despite
everything, in our prayers we never fail to mention those who in their
ignorance and blindness commit such acts, praying with the words of
Our Lord Jesus Christ: Forgive them, Father, for they know not what
they do!

Fr. Sava (middle) serving a liturgy at Decani Monastery
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