Serbian priest in Kosovo: Orthodox Church against ethnic states in Balkans

BBC Monitoring, December 12, 2005

A prominent Serbian Orthodox Church priest in Kosovo has voiced the church's opposition to the creation of ethnic states in the Balkans. In an interview with the Albanian daily Koha Dittore, Father Sava, argued for the preservation of the Serbiab church as a guarantee of Kosovo's multi-ethnic future. Father Sava urged that the Serbian church be given a protected status, and explained that this did not mean "exterritorial" or mini-state status. He also argued in favour of "humane" displacement of Serbs and Albanians within Kosovo. The following is the text of interview with Father Sava Janjic by Fatmir Aliu in Decani, headlined: "Serbian Orthodox Church is against separation of Kosova on ethnic lines" by Kosovo Albanian newspaper Koha Ditore on 4 December; subheadings as published:
 
Assigned by the Serbian Orthodox Church to maintain contacts with all international representatives are interested in Orthodox Church's views, in an interview for Koha Ditore, Father Sava Janjic spoke about the role that the church will have in the future in Kosova [Kosovo], and the requests that this church has for the Kosovar and international institutions. He also spoke about the ShPK's [Kosovo Police Service, KPS] work and the contacts with official Pristina [Prishtina]. He complained mainly about the rhetoric, technical issues, but also about security.
 
Father Sava Janjic explained the requests he presents to the 'internationals' to provide protection to historic, cultural, and religious monuments of Kosovar heritage. He also expressed regret to the Kosovar people on behalf of the Serbian Orthodox Church for the suffering caused during the war in Kosova.
 
Father Sava Janjic, deputy to Bishop Teodosije, has been assigned to maintain contacts with international representatives during the process of status talks and to convey the positions of the Orthodox Church.
 
[Aliu] You said that you offer concrete solutions to your international interlocutors. What does this mean?
 
[Janjic] It is important to ensure that, regardless of the status, the Serbian Orthodox Church will have its freedom of action, its missionary and religious work in Kosovar society, that it will not to be discriminated against, but its independent action and the contact of this diocese with its administrative centre - the church in Belgrade - will be allowed. Let me explain myself: the Serbian Orthodox Church has its administrative centre in Belgrade, but its formal centre is in the Peje [Pec] Patriarchate, which has been the centre of the Serb Orthodox Church since the 12th century. In addition, the long-term security of our religious monuments is also important. This is an issue that relates to the people here and multi-ethnicity of Kosova. If we want to build a Kosova based on the principle of multi-ethnicity, it is very important for these to continue and exist in this environment and that heritage and monuments of Christianity function. Great misunderstanding exists among some political representatives at central and local levels. These protected zones are not impenetrable zones or places, but only zones with additional restrictions, which concern industrialization, construction of buildings, and exploration of natural resources, such as wood cutting. This means that even if you have a property or a piece of land or more private property near an important monument, you just cannot construct any building, factory or open a mine. This is not just applicable to Christian historical and cultural monuments, but to monuments of all religions, to simply protect them together with the environment that surrounds them, because they represent a unique environment. In this regard, we cannot imagine having a large hotel built near the Decan [Decani] Monastery, because in this way it will ruin the entire environment and tourists would not be interested. The tourists want to see something authentic, but also the beauty of nature. Objects for tourists can be built in appropriate places, but not near religious monuments.
 
Visits to monastery
 
[Aliu] How frequent are your contacts with official Prishtina?
 
[Janjic] Certainly, it would be better if we would have more frequent contacts with Kosovar central institutions, apart from a few meetings that we had so far, which were more of an informal nature. We have invited Kosova Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi to visit the Decan Monastery and his visit would be very welcome. I also have to mention that [Environment and Spatial Planning] Minister Ardian Gjini, together with Deputy Chief Administrator Rossin, visited us twice within six months. But certainly we maintain regular contacts with the municipal authorities of Decan. There were also some other special personalities from Albanian political life in Kosova who did not come officially and who, precisely for this reason, did not want to give a political context to their visits. I want to say that we have contacts and we meet unofficially in various circumstances, where we exchange our views. But UNMIK [UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo], which follows our views . . . .
 
[Aliu, interrupting] When you have problems, do you knock on UNMIK or Kfor's [Kosovo Force] doors, or those of the Kosovar institutions?
 
[Janjic] To tell you the truth, for the time being Kosova is under the UN protectorate and certainly the highest authority in Kosova is UNMIK. The issue of security, and certain issues that are related to religious monuments, are under Kfor's jurisdiction. Therefore, it is logical that we approach them more often. We do not want to ignore the bodies of the local authority, but I have to say that in some cases the local authority has limited powers to engage in specific issues. I feel very bad and we express regret for all that has happened in Kosova in the past. For the killings and the victims of the war in Kosova, but I hope that those people who have come through this torture have understood how painful this is and will change the reality, not allowing other people to experience the same pain.
 
[Aliu] Do you feel forgotten by the Kosovar institutions?
 
[Janjic] I would like the central institutions of Kosova to see all the people as citizens of Kosova, and not see one group of citizens, the Albanian citizens, as their primary interest and the non-Albanians as their second interest. This point of view towards the people of Kosova will not take us to Europe, and certainly it discourages members of other ethnicities to experience the institutions of Kosova as their own. Politicization of all possible issues is a characteristic of the Serbian party and the Albanian one. This is a fact. But I want to say that if the institutions of Kosova want to bring all ethnicities together, they should behave equally towards all of the people. An ethnic approach dominates, so the communities in Kosova, which are not Albanian, feel that an Albanian society is being built in Kosova and, as such, this society will be built exclusively for the Albanian community, whereas the others could be here and there.
 
[Aliu] Can we say that the Serb community of Kosova pays no attention to the Kosovar institutions?
 
[Janjic] Here in the Decan Monastery, we have more contacts with the Kosovar authorities than in any other place where Serbs live in Kosova. Through no action of ours have we proved that we do not respect or recognize the Kosovar institutions. It is a fact that the Serbs of Kosova do not participate in these institutions, unfortunately. There are many reasons, and may can be justifiable or not, depending on how you see the arguments. It is also a fact that these Serbs participated in these institutions before and then 17 March [ 2004] happened.
 
[Aliu] Do you believe that the March riots happened because of their participation in the institutions?
 
[Janjic] Not because of the Serbs' participation in the institutions, but the institutions failed completely in the most crucial moments, as well as Kfor and UNMIK. Simply, the Serbs understood, in a way, that despite their participation in the institutions they are not able to improve their position and do something for their community.
 
[Aliu] So you believe it is better to stay outside the institutions?
 
[Janjic] No, I would not say so. I believe it is better to be a part of the institutions, but not by all means. It is necessary for the Kosovar institutions and the international community to create space for such inclusion, by strengthening the mechanisms that would disable the making of decisions that are discriminatory towards Serbs and other minorities. Then those ethnic communities would feel that there is more space for them.
 
[Aliu] What mechanisms are you talking about?
 
[Janjic] Mechanisms that would stop the phenomena of the past. We witnessed that when various documents were distributed in the Kosova Assembly, the translation into the Serbian language was missing. So, an observation of the internal work, as a preventive mechanism, is requested here. But there are other banal problems, too, for instance the placing of mono-ethnic murals on the corridors of the Kosova Assembly, but on the other hand we want to present Kosova as a multiethnic state. With this a message is sent that there is not much space for other nationalities in this country.
 
[Aliu] But the murals were removed, immediately after the complaints were made. Are there now other conditions and requests for participation in the institutions?
 
[Janjic] I do not want you to misunderstand me. We cannot make a problem out of history, but we certainly cannot forget it. But it is necessary to promote history in such a way as not to be oriented against any ethnic community. Here in Decan, the names of streets have been completely changed. The street that takes you from Decan to the monastery used to be called the 'Monastery Street', whereas now it has been renamed 'Skenderbeu'. I believe this is not a good sign or a wise decision. The problem is not in 'Skenderbeu', because if you ask me, I would name the main street of Decan 'Skenderbeu'. But it is not right to remove the name 'Monastery Street' as there are no other signs in the town that show where the monastery is.
 
Status - not primary
 
[Aliu] Have you complained to the local authorities about this issue?
 
[Janjic] On many occasions, but no signs showing where the monastery is have been put up so far. I have also raised this issue with Prime Minister Kosumi, Xhavit Haliti, but also with the others. I believe there is a will among some people, but then again, there is a lack of readiness to come out in public and say that, nevertheless, Kosova should show openhandedness for various ethnic communities, which is also the wealth of a multi-ethnic society.
 
[Aliu] What is the future of Kosova Serbs?
 
[Janjic] First of all, the future depends on young people. Economic development is needed for this and political stability is needed for the economic development. There will be no investments from outside in Kosova as long as the investors do not see that the Kosovar society is stable.
 
[Aliu] So you believe that Kosova is not stable in the political and social aspect?
 
[Janjic] In the entire Western Balkans we have a problem with organized crime. This is not something that only exists in Kosova. There is also such crime in Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Hercegovina. But if we see what happened on 17 March and interpret it in the economic language, the damages were worth millions. This would hardly convince anyone to invest, without any prior stability.
 
[Aliu] What about the unresolved status of Kosova? Does this issue have any impact on the lack of foreign investment or not?
 
[Janjic] Certainly it does. The status is one of the most important elements, but not the main one. In parallel with the building of the status, it should also be working on standards. The status is not a magic wand that automatically brings foreign investors who would open new workplaces right away. A lot needs to be done concerning the rule of law to bring investors. We have quite good laws in Kosova, but when they are interpreted at a municipal level, half of these laws are not valid. The influence of families or clans who replaced the institutions is still evident. This hinders application of the law the most.
 
[Aliu] Which clans and families are you talking about?
 
[Janjic] I am talking about families, tribes; they are very organized people and have great influence. The local institutions, in some parts of Kosova, are often not completely autonomous. They depend on some individuals or groups. So, as long as the judiciary and the police are not completely independent...
 
[Aliu, interrupting] So you believe that the police are not independent?
 
[Janjic] The ShPK is on the right track, but in the way [UN standards envoy] Kai Eide said, and I would not want to personally analyse this issue. There is a limitation as to what level the ShPK can perform its duty. For this reason the EU will take over control from the ShPK, to shape to fight organized crime, in the war against ethnic violence, and so on.
 
[Aliu] With all due respect, but I am not asking you about Eide's opinion, but yours. Do you believe that the ShPK is independent or not?
 
[Janjic] I fear that it is not yet completely independent, because, if we examine it in the plan of power transferal, almost all powers have been transferred to them, whereas we still have cases when absolutely inadequate investigations are being initiated. Practically, investigations into the largest number of cases have ended, and almost nothing has been resolved. When we hear and see such investigations, we get the impression that the ShPK does not want to do its job or is trying to cover up for someone that is involved in crime. I do not want to generalize things, because there are many people in the ShPK who want to do their job seriously.
 
[Aliu] Let me put it this way. Would you feel safe if the ShPK protected the Decan Monastery instead of Kfor?
 
[Janjic] I believe that the ShPK is not yet capable of and mature enough to deal with this kind of security. I do not know in the future... [ellipses as published] I do not want to prejudge anything, because I do not know how long Kfor will stay here and what situation we will have. For the time being, in this area the ShPK is primarily concerned with illegal wood cutting and some other police issues. But the security issue is of a wider character than the ShPK is currently trained for and technically capable of.
 
[Aliu] What status do you request from the institutions of Kosova, as a community of Orthodox churches in Kosova, or what status will you request when the status of Kosova is resolved? I do not mean from Belgrade or the international community, but from the Kosovar institutions.
 
[Janjic] The starting point will be the principles of the Contact Group. The fifth point of these principles speaks about a special status for religious and cultural institutions and monuments. A special institutional protection mechanism, which would prevent any kind of activity that would harm this community and which would enable the normal function of monasteries, should be ensured for the monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Now I cannot define exactly what should this status should be. Certainly, tax alleviation would also be included in this request. Also certain guarantees from the international community so that local authorities do not have the possibility to change them.
 
[Aliu] You are afraid that the municipal authority would change something in the guarantees that a central authority would offer you?
 
[Janjic] In principle, if something is not guaranteed by the international community, there is always the possibility for the local institutions, with the number of their votes, to have the possibility to make changes. So I believe that would be much better for this future agreement to also have international guarantees. It must be understood that the cultural heritage should be something that connects all ethnic communities, and not something that separates us, or as something that is used as a political exponent for certain political objectives. Our goal is not for us to be someone's political exponent, but to be a part of this Kosovar society. We are a part of the Serbian cultural heritage, but we are in Kosova. At the same time, we are a part of European and world heritage; therefore preservation of this heritage is in the interest of Kosovar institutions and certainly we will work with them.
 
[Aliu] So you believe that the future status of the Serbian Orthodox Church is related to Kosova? Not episodic connections with Belgrade, with Moscow, or other centres?
 
[Janjic] Absolutely. As the others do. The Serbian Orthodox Church does not have its own territory, sovereignty, or state. This church acts in various places. We have dioceses in Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, the United States, Austria, and New Zealand. Normal communication with the administrative centre has been enabled in all of those places. It is known that the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church is Patriarch Pavle, who is in Belgrade, and all the states, Macedonia, Austria, and even New Zealand know this. As such, the church does not imply any territorial or political presence. For instance, the Serbian Orthodox Church, with its believers in Germany, does not request the territory of the church to be united with Serbia. This is absurd and there are no such political connotations anywhere.
 
[Aliu] Are you close to Belgrade's policy in the sense of their political requests and their policy on historical monuments, even when it is said that "autonomy should be granted to Orthodox religious heritage?"
 
[Janjic] As a church we emphasize that the church should not do the state's job, and nor should the state should take the church's role. As a church, we are interested in the existence of our people and our sacred monuments. The church is not just a construction; it is a living body, an institution, with many monuments and a cultural heritage.
 
[Aliu] With all due respect, you did not answer. Do you request some kind of 'exterritorial status' for Orthodox cultural and religious monuments in Kosova or not?
 
[Janjic] It is very important to understand that protected zones do not mean that they are exterritorial places, mini states, or even special states within one state in the territorial aspect. First of all, they are places (territories) with a certain amount of restrictions regarding industrial construction, exploration of natural resources, and its goal is to protect the historic monument but also the natural surrounding. There are such protected zones in many countries of Europe, but also in the United States.
 
[Aliu] You think that you will encounter understanding among Kosovar political leaders for these requests of yours?
 
[Janjic] There are various ways of illustrating a democratic state, which is capable of respecting the cultural and ethnic pluralism of its people. Now if Kosova becomes a state tomorrow, everything should not be identified as a symbol of Albanians or all-Albanian.
 
[Aliu] If we understood you correctly and if we take from the context what you are saying so far, you, too, are impatient for the status of Kosova to be resolved. You are complaining about issues of rhetoric, technical aspects, and street names.
 
[Janjic] In general, we have not firmed up our requests yet. We have just entered a process that will be intensive. I have expressed some of our views. Those technical modalities, that I mentioned, are some of them. Experts from the United States and Greece have promised us that they will help with their ideas.
 
Against ethnic states
 
[Aliu] Ideas related to what aspects?
 
[Janjic] General ideas: about the position of the church and monastery. Certainly, this issue will also be raised in the Kosova government and we want to be totally coordinated, in every aspect. Regardless of what solution is found, it should not be raised as an issue of cultural heritage, because it is an issue that goes beyond the boundaries. Belgrade has its positions, which is natural, but whatever the solution for Kosova the cultural and religious heritage in Kosova should not be risked. Our church is completely against the separation of Kosova on ethnic lines. We are categorically against this idea. We do not believe that ethnic states should be created in the Balkans. But we are also against the principle of a Kosova created and based on an ethnic state of Albanians. Simply, Kosova is a place where other communities have been living for centuries and these communities should be allowed to be a part of the future of Kosova.
 
[Aliu] Do you oppose the will of the majority of the people of Kosova who want to decide for themselves on the political future of the country in which they live?
 
[Janjic] I personally believe that the church should not take on such a role, opposing or agreeing with the will of the people, or even worse, representing the position of one state. I can say that the church is interested in all of the people being represented and not just to have the representation of the majority to the detriment of the minority, or for the majority to be harmed because of the minority. Therefore, a solution that contributes to regional stability, not to have any more wars, should be found. It should be a solution that will not bring about the displacement of population or as they call it 'humane displacement', which is terrible.
 
[Aliu] You said 'humane displacement'. What are you talking about?
 
[Janjic] About moving the population from one part of Kosova to another, or the dividing of Kosova into two parts. I would not want the solution for Kosova to result in the displacement of Serbs from the localities where Albanians are in the majority or vice versa, from the north to the south. As a church, we support a solution that will take care of, first of all, the life of normal people and the economic development of the region in its entirety. The best solution and in the middle between some international principles, such as the right to self-determination, the people's will, but also stability for the entire region, should be found here . A balance between these norms should be found...
 
[Aliu] What is that balance? You must have a position, given that you are against separation of Kosova into two entities and you are for a solution that will satisfy, more or less, all of the communities in Kosova. If it is not one or the other, than what is the optimum?
 
[Janjic] I do not know. You are trying to get me to give a political statement, but...
 
[Aliu, interrupting] But all these are political statements. If you say that you are against the separation of Kosova, a thing that official Belgrade is trying to realize in Kosova, this is the position of Serbian President Boris Tadic.
 
[Janjic] Tadic's idea is not an idea for separation of Kosova from the outside, but from within. Nevertheless, the church does not support the separation idea, because then the existence of minorities in territories where the majority lives would be endangered. This would mean reunification of Balkan borders based on ethnic principles.
 
[Aliu] Do you support President Tadic's proposal?
 
[Janjic] Do not bring me into a position where I have to directly comment on such things. The position of the church in this situation, when we have various proposals in Serbia, is not to come out with statements in favour or against. The situation is delicate and we do not want the church to be part of an internal disagreement. Every idea for separation would be dangerous. But on the other hand, we are against the creation of a state where only the interests of Albanians would be represented...
 
[Aliu] How can you prejudge that such a thing will happen?
 
[Janjic] I am not saying that this will happen the next day, but in principle the church is against this. If Kosova could manage to show more interest in other communities, the fear of Kosova Serbs of an independent Kosova would be completely different. Great fear exists from the independence of Kosova. The people believe that in this way, despite the international and Kfor presence, the Serbs in Kosova cannot exist in an equal environment. You can see that the inscriptions in Serbian language are covered, torn, or painted. Monuments of culture have been destroyed to a great extent. How does the majority want to convince the minorities that what they are thinking of building will be a joint [effort]? We do not want extremes from either side. We do not want to have a state where tomorrow we would, once again, have to pack our bags and go somewhere else.
 
Proper relations
 
[Aliu] Allow me, but if you completely sidestep the will of the Kosovar society, and here I must add the majority, and in fact we do not know what this will is because we did not have a referendum about this issue, do you believe that the people or the institutional leaders should be asked first?
 
[Janjic] Political leaders should be elected by the people and speak about the will of the people. Therefore, if politicians were elected in a democratic way, and if they really are accountable before their electorate, then what they say should be the will of the people. Therefore, I never clearly understood the need of a referendum if we have politicians who were elected in a democratic way.
 
[Aliu] President Chirac was in favour of adopting the constitution [European], whereas the people were against the constitution in a referendum.
 
[Janjic] Referendums can greatly complicate things, because if a referendum is initiated in Kosova, the same thing could be done very easily in Serbia. Therefore, there would be even more complications . . . .
 
[Aliu, interrupting] But we are talking about two million people who live in Kosova and 10 million residents of a neighbouring state.
 
[Janjic] I want to say that I am not a politician. Your question is something new for me, because I never thought about such a thing. I believe that many factors will be taken into consideration during the talks process, not only the will of the people of Kosova, because the will of the people was created by the media. This is not a process that is related just to the will of the people, although I assess that will highly. Certainly it is important for the people to be asked and express their position, but I am afraid that the solution that will be found will not satisfy the interests of any party, as some say. This was said on several occasions also in diplomatic circles of the United States that the solution will be some kind of a compromise...
 
[Aliu] What does 'compromise' represent for you?
 
[Janjic] I honestly do not know what to say. Here, in the Decan Monastery, we live with the local people and we will continue to live together. Considering the situation which we are in here, and whatever the status of Kosova may be, I believe that this will not be reflected so much in our daily lives with regards to what our relations with the community with which we live will be. For us it is crucial to establish proper relations and understanding with other communities. Do not misunderstand me, but for me the issue of status is not so essential. The important things for me are quality of life, how the law, the rule of law, will be respected, and security. All this depends on the status. Some Serbs believe that if Kosova remained part of Serbia, all the Serbs' problems be solved automatically. This is not true. On the other hand, the Kosova Albanians believe that if Kosova becomes independent, all the problems would be solved, but perhaps they would become even more complicated.
 
Source: Koha Ditore, Pristina, in Albanian 4 Dec 05