March 30, 2004

ERP KiM Newsletter 30-03-04
Photo galleries with additional information are available at:  or at our News portal: http://www.kosovo.net

Novosti: Expelled to the last Serb

Formerly about 30,000 Serbs lived in Pristina; after the expulsion of 1999 only a few dozen remained, most of them living in the YU program building and the university settlement. But in the most recent wild rampage, they too have been chased from their apartments and houses.

All Serbs from the areas which still remained "multiethnic" after the expulsion of 250.000 Serbs in 1999 have been ethnically cleansed: Pristina, Obilic, larger part of Gnjilane, Urosevac, Prizren. Paradoxically the most multiethnic part of Kosovo remains North Mitrovica and Strpce Serbian enclaves in which Albanians, Turks, Bosniaks and others still continue to live (photo: Serb refugees from Pristina)

Vecernje Novosti daily, Belgrade
March 22, 2004

By M. Vuksanovic

Kosovo without Serbs, Metohija without Orthodox churches and monasteries - the goal of the Albanian extremists is clear. Thoroughly, step by step, the Albanian extremists have cleansed from the face of the earth 350 Serb homes and turned 30 churches and monasteries into ash.

The entire towns of Pec, Decani, Prizren, Klina, Istok, Podujevo, Urosevac, Kacanik and Suva Reka have been practically left without a single Serb. The March pogrom is unprecedented in world history because it took place in a region controlled by the itnernational community.

According to the official data since the withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army and Serbian police about 250,000 Serbs, Roma and members of other ethnic communities have left Kosovo. What they failed to finish five years ago was completed last week.

Formerly about 30,000 Serbs lived in Pristina; after the expulsion of 1999 only a few dozen remained, most of them living in the YU program building and the university settlement. But in the most recent wild rampage, they too have been chased from their apartments and houses.

The nearby villages of Ajvalija, Besinje, Dragovac, Maticane, Sofalija and Orovic have also been completely ethnically cleansed. In the latest attack Albanian aggressors also plotted but failed to empty Caglavica, the closest larger Serb village, knowing that its fall would also portend the disappearance of Serb Gracanica and Susica.

In Kosovo Polje prior to 1999 there were almost 8,000 Serbs; now only a few remain in certain buildings. Several hundred were expelled a few days ago, when their houses, health center and school was also burned down. Only Bresje and neighboring Ugljare remain.

In Obilic before the war there were just over 6,000 Serbs but have of them were expelled five years ago. At the same time the villages of Krusevac, Lazarevo, Mazgit and Sibovac were left without Serbs. In the past few days Albanian separatists from Obilic forced out the remaining 500 Serbs using unprecedented violence. Five years ago about 1,000 Serbs were also expelled from Stiimlje and to date not one has returned.

In Lipljan municipality there were 10,000 Serbs prior to the arrival of international forces. Thanks to their compactness, 8,500 of them remained. Of that number, 2,000 even remained in the town of Lipljan itself. But in the most recent wave of violence, the majority of them were expelled.

In the Kosovsko Pomoravlje area out of 84,000 Serbs, about 35,000 remained. In Gnjilane, for example, there were 40,000 but after the conflict some 11,000 stayed. In the most recent attack, however, almost all the Serbs from Gnjilane were expelled. The same danger existed for Strpce, where there are about 8,000 Serbs but despite the dramatic events most of them remained in their centuries-old homes.

As soon as international forces were deployed, Albanian separatists expelled the Serb population of almost all of Metohija, with the exception of Gorazdevac and Orahovac. In the most recent attack, about 100 remaining Serbs were evicted from Prizren. Despite the fact that the town is the former capital of the Serbian Emperor Dusan, there now no Serbs left in it. Cleansing also continued in almost 40 villages in fertile Metohija and this crime is considered to be a great success on the part of Albanian nationalists.

Results of five-year UNMIK "peace mission" in Kosovo. More than 4000 Serbs have lost their homes, many of them children. Under the protectorate of the UN Mission and 18.000 best armed NATO led troops Kosovo Albanian extremists led by their political leaders and KLA affiliated extremist gangs purged the small Serb enclaves burning homes, excavating bones of the dead, destroying churches. (photo: Serb children from Lipljan in Gracanica with all what they could take from their burning homes)

NEW ARRIVALS

Only in the district of Kosovska Mitrovica has there been an increase in population numbers. The reason is clear - this is where Serbs who have been expelled from other parts of Kosovo and Metohija are coming.

Unfortunately, Albanian separatists have managed to force out the Serbs from almost 30 villages in Vucitrn munipality. There are no more Serbs remaining in Vucitrn itself, nor in Banjska, Bukos, Stanovci, Donji Svracak, Drvar, Pantina, Samodreza, Slatina...

TESTIMONIALS

Attesting to the true intentions of the Albanian nationalists is the fact that during the past week they have burned down dozens of Serb returnee houses in Belo Polje, Klina, Istok...

But if it is any consolatuion, land ownership records confirm that at least 60 percent of the land in Kosovo and Metohija is owned by Serbs.
/nk

TOP

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.
Our Information Service is distributing news on Kosovo related issues. The main focus of the Info-Service is the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian community in the Province of Kosovo and Metohija. ERP KIM Info Service works in cooperation with www.serbian-translation.com as well as the Kosovo Daily News (KDN) News List

Disclaimer:
The views expressed by the authors of newspaper articles or other texts which are not official communiqués or news reports by the Diocese are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Serbian Orthodox Church

Additional information on our Diocese and the life of the Kosovo Serb Community may be found at: http://www.kosovo.net

Copyright 2004, ERP KIM Info-Service