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ERP KiM Newsletter 22-07-04c Bishop Artemije: U.S. must stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo "In Kosovo many Albanian extremists believe that the U.S. will tolerate ethnic cleansing and creation of a new ethnic Albanian state. The U.S. Administration must finally give them a clear message that the U.S. will not allow creating of a society based on ethnic crimes and brutal violation of religious rights. Otherwise the U.S. policy in the Balkans will prove to be in dramatic discrepancy with the policy in other parts of the world", concluded the Bishop his statement to the media after meeting with the U.S. representatives on the Capitol Hill.
ERP KIM Info-service After participation in the annual convention of the Serb National Federation in Pittsburgh Bishop Artemije returned to Washington D.C. where he had meetings with representatives of the U.S. Congress and Senate. In his meetings with Sen. George Voinovich, Congresmann Hyde and other representatives Bishop Artemije said that after March pogrom the situation of human rights for the Serb population remains equally unsatisfactory as before. "In fact we can hardly see any improvement, quite on the contrary - Kosovo Serbs still live in their ghettoes, they don't have basic access to institutions (schools, medical facilities), employment, freedom of movement, use of their language etc. Security situation is very fragile and with organizers of the March riots still free (and on their positions) a potential for reiterated violence still exists. The return process has been completely stalled and this should be one of the crucial standards for further progress in stabilization. Kosovo Albanian institutions, particularly on the municipal level, constantly make various kinds of obstructions, while Kosovo Government complains that they cannot provide any money for the returns. In this way Albanian-led institutions openly take part in ethnic cleansing which is completely inacceptable and must not be tolerated by the West", Bishop emphasised. In his contacts Bishop Artemije said that reconstruction of destroyed churches and monasteries has not begun and that Kosovo Albanian leaders are not ready to take responsibility for barbarous destruction of Serb Christian heritage which has been exposed to annihilation in the last 5 years. "They ask for more competencies and even an independent state while 140 of my churches lie in ruins. Such destruction of Christian heritage in a period of "peace" is unprecedented in the modern history of Europe. Perpetrators and organizers of these crimes must be finally identified and punished. To reward crime with more authority and give former KLA warlords power over their victims would be unforgivable mistake and a wrong signal which would encourage further violence", said the Bishop. Bishop confirmed that an agreement was reached on June 25 between the Orthodox Church and the Kosovo provisional authorities to establish an independent Commission under the auspices of the Council of Europe that will manage the cultural sites reconstruction process and urged all parties concerned to push this process forward, but confirmed that since then no progress has been made. "It seems that this agreement was only a fig leaf to cover shameful unreadiness of Pristina authorities to pay for the damage made on our holy sites", said the Bishop. "While everywhere in the region we can see that international community does not reward violence and encourages moderation and respect of human and religious rights, Kosovo province remains a shameful exception. It is not only that UN Mission, KFOR and Albanian-led institutions have tolerated ethnic violence against Serbs for five years but have also proved to be ineffective to protect Serb civilians and churches in front of Albanian mob and extremists. So far no one has openly taken responsibility for these failures and resigned", said Bishop Artemije. "UNMIK bears responsibility for many of the failures but we must not forget that life for non-Albanians in Kosovo would be far more worse without UNMIK and KFOR. In fact, I can frankly confirm that no Serbs would stay to live in such a socity tailored only for ethnic Albanians", he added. "In Kosovo many Albanian extremists believe that the U.S. will tolerate ethnic cleansing and creation of a new ethnic Albanian state. The U.S. Administration must finally give them a clear message that the U.S. will not allow creating of a society based on ethnic crimes and brutal violation of religious rights. Otherwise the U.S. policy in the Balkans will prove to be in dramatic discrepancy with the policy in other parts of the world", concluded the Bishop his statement to the media after meeting with the U.S. representatives on the Capitol Hill. This is Bishop Artemije's third visit to Washington D.C. this year. In his attempt to bear witness to the catastrophic situation of human and religous rights in Kosovo, particularly after the March pogrom Bishop Artemije will visit the U.S. capital once more before the end of 2004.
Our Newsletters in html format are available on the Web at: Photo Galleries of the March pogrom are available at: http://www.kosovo.net/pogrom.html ERP KIM Info-Service is the official Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren and works with the blessing of His Grace Bishop Artemije. Additional information on our Diocese and the life of the Kosovo Serb Community may be found at: http://www.kosovo.net If you want to unsubscribe go to the page: http://www.kosovo.net/erpkiminfo.html |
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