KIM Info Newsletter 16-03-06
On Wednesday morning in Washington testimony was given in the U.S. Congress before the Task group for Human and Religious Rights. Speaking on behalf of the SOC delegation presently on a two week visit to the U.S. were Bishop Teodosije and Rev. Fr. Irinej Dobrijevic. Enclosed is the testimony of Bishop Teodosije.
ADDRESS BEFORE THE U.S. CONGRESSIONAL TASK GROUP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Auxiliary Bishop of Lipljan, His Grace Kyr Teodosije
Vice-Chairman for Kosovo and Metohija of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church (a member of the SOC delegation visiting the U.S.A.)
Washington, March 15, 2006
Esteemed Mr. Chairman,
Respected ladies and gentlemen,
It is my great honor and privilege to have the opportunity, as the Vice-Chairman of the Kosovo and Metohija Committee of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the abbot of Visoki Decani Monastery, to address this esteemed gathering and present testimony on the difficult situation in which our people, clergy and monks and nuns have been living for more than six years, since the end of the armed conflict in Kosovo.
The delegation of our Church did not come to Washington to request a concrete political solution for the future of Kosovo. We are aware that this solution must be achieved through negotiations and with full respect for the norms of international law upon which the International Community rests. We do not represent the Government or any political party but speak on behalf of the people whom we are duty bound to serve and lead in faith, hope and love; hence, I am addressing you not only as political officials of the people of the United States of America but also as faithful yourselves.
I will not talk about the past and history, although our Church is deeply proud of its holy shrines, which our ancestors built on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, the cradle of our spiritual and cultural identity.
Our faith teaches us to speak the truth because "the truth will set us free" (Jn. 8:32). The truth to which we bear witness is not based on our feelings and personal convictions but on concrete facts which cause us deep disturbance and concern for the fate of our people and our holy shrines, especially now when we are faced with fateful political decisions on the future status of Kosovo and Metohija.
I come from a monastery built in the fourteenth century where I live with my monks and which for more than six years has been encircled by barbed wire and Italian peacekeeping troops. They are protecting us because just during this period we have been targeted three times with mortar shells. This did not occur in a time of war but in a time of internationally guaranteed peace. Thanks to the help of people of good will and especially the engagement of the U.S. commander of the south wing of the NATO alliance and KFOR, our most important monasteries have been preserved but many other holy shrines have been transformed into ruins solely because they belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church.
All Orthodox Christians who lived in proximity to our monastery have fled and in the entire Province, there are only 100,000 Serbs remaining, most of them gathered in isolated enclaves where they still do not have basic freedoms, the right to work or a normal life. More than 200,000 Serbs have been living for six years now as refugees without the possibility of returning to their homes. Our children are growing up in constant fear and uncertainty because the society being built around is not a society where all citizens are equal but a society that is being tailored exclusively to meet the needs of the majority Albanian community in which Serbs and other non-Albanians live as more or less welcome guests and strangers. Unfortunately, this sort of relationship takes us right back to the organization of society in Kosovo which led to armed conflict and the intervention of the NATO forces. Did U.S. soldiers come to Kosovo in order to make it possible for one form of repression to be replaced with another? They certainly did not but unfortunately, that is the reality that exists not only in our eyes but also in the eyes of many objective international observers.
Three years ago senior international officials reassured us that the time had come to turn toward the future, and to take part in the building of this society. The Serbs entered public institutions and began to move more freely with the hope that painful memories and the recent past would slowly heal. But then, when least expected, a new wave of violence began in March 2004, when in just two days 4,000 more Serbs were expelled and 30 Orthodox churches were torched. The consequences of this pogrom still have not healed, and a very small number of those who were expelled at that time have returned to their homes. But the most terrible thing is that many have lost the hope that they will be accepted one day by the majority community as equal and free citizens.
Mr. Chairman,
Today we are still being told that a new beginning lies before us. They are trying to convince us that in independent Kosovo, we will live a life of freedom and dignity. But how can we believe these promises when for the past six years, despite a strong international presence, our people and Church have been living under the strong pressure of ethnic discrimination, individual and institutional violence, injustice and absence of basic law and order? On what basis can we believe that everything will change for the better overnight when we see that the Kosovo Albanians themselves are becoming increasingly open in criticizing corruption, crime, lack of accountability and ineffectiveness of institutions that at this moment they comprise almost exclusively, because in Kosovo there are no true multiethnic institutions?
We frequently ask ourselves with dread how competent and capable are Kosovo institutions of assuming the heavy burden of greater responsibility when there is such a deep disjoint between official statements by political representatives and the lack of accountability of authorities at the local level? Only some 80 kilometers from Pristina there are completely different rules and laws in effect, and security is guaranteed for no one.
Believe me, the issue of the independence of Kosovo for the average Serb in Kosovo and Metohija is not so much an issue of national pride as an issue of fundamental existence: How to stay and survive in a society where for years there has been no essential progress in respect for human rights; where the number of Serb returnees per year is measured in tens, not in thousands; where basic property and legal security is not at all guaranteed? That, ladies and gentlemen, is what concerns Serbs in Kosovo, not emotions and perceptions as some suggest, but the issue of economic and political sustainability of a society still based on family communities and clans, where ministers are chosen according their war deserts and the influence of their clan, not on the basis of their education and expertise.
Although millions of dollars have been invested each year in the development of Kosovo, the unemployment rate is still enormous, and the great majority of people, not only minorities but Albanians, too, live in poverty and squalor. Only a small number of the privileged, who achieved power and money thanks to the force of weapons and nationalistic rhetoric, enjoy tremendous wealth. This is not just the consequence of unresolved final status but of far deeper problems in society. The dissatisfaction of the poor is constantly being directed against the minorities, rationalized by wartime suffering, and institutions are increasingly becoming a screen for a system of values closer to feudal society that contemporary European democracy in the twenty-first century. The status of Kosovo and Metohija is no magic wand that will resolve this problem, and no matter what the status will be, these difficult problems will continue to exist unless the chief obstacles to normal social progress are removed: first and foremost, confrontation with anachronistic nationalistic ideas and tribal mentality, because it is what generates constant ethnic hatred and distrust. As well, Kosovo is no island and without normal relations with the Serbs it is difficult to imagine the economic development, communication and integration of the Province, which is supposed to be approaching European standards.
Kosovo Serbs are constantly being called upon to integrate into Kosovo society and to accept what is generally termed “the new reality”. I am deeply aware that our future as citizens of Kosovo in fact lies in Kosovo regardless of what its future status will be and what the colors of the flag will be. But my primary concern is what kind of society it will be in terms of its quality, not only its appearance. “The new reality” in Kosovo must not be rule by one people over another but a society of free and equal citizens. That is why a hasty decision on the future status of Kosovo could very easily fossilize the rule of clans and “war heroes” and profiteers, while the victims in this society will not be differentiated by ethnic affiliation but will be all those who want to live as free citizens in a democratic Europe. I say these words not only as a Serb but also as a concerned citizen of Kosovo and Metohija.
As long as problems in Kosovo and Metohija are resolved “through connections”, whether personal relationships or diplomatic pressure on local power holders, instead of through healthy and stable institutions, it will be difficult for us to talk about stability, which is essential for a society confronting challenges such as organized crime or even terrorism.
Our Church is ready to make its full contribution to the building of a just society where all citizens will be equally respected but it is difficult for us to convince our people to support institutions that still live with the ideas of the nineteenth century, and which are headed by men who were part of an organization (KLA), responsible for serious violations of human rights not only of Serbs but also of Albanians and other citizens of Kosovo and Metohija.
Many are attacking the Church for supposedly supporting the former regime but please do not forget the testimony of my diocesan hierarch, Bishop Artemije, who in 1997 appeared here before Congress and unambiguously condemned the politics of force of the regime at that time. We opened the doors of our monastery to refugees of all nationalities, most of them Albanian Muslims, and with the help of International Orthodox Christian Charities from Baltimore (IOCC), we did as much as we could to alleviate the suffering of all without difference. Our Albanian Orthodox brothers and sisters in Albania and Archbishop Anastasios also received numerous refugees from Kosovo and helped them in their time of need. After the war it was the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija that first extended its hand to Albanian leaders, led the Serbs into institutions, condemned crimes and expressed its deep regret for wartime suffering.
And how has the Church paid back? With the torching and destruction of 150 holy shrines, the eradication of cemeteries where almost all crosses have been obliterated. Our sisters in Devic Monastery still pray in a torched church “decorated” with crude graffiti by ethnic Albanian nationalists instead of medieval frescoes. Where were the institutions and where was the Kosovo police when our churches were burning in March 2004? The entire institutional structure of provisional institutions built by UNMIK, including even international organizations, collapsed like a house of cards.
Mr. Chairman,
A strong international presence will be necessary for a long time yet in Kosovo. Observers in white suits who would sent their reports to Brussels or New York would be mere silent witnesses to a tragedy that will destroy not only the future of the Kosovo Serbs but also of those young Albanians whose knowledge, talents and hopes cannot be realized in a society where weapons and warmongering are valued more than science and creativity. An international military presence is especially important but, most of all, concrete executive powers by international representatives.
Moreover, before decisions are made on the future status of Kosovo, Kosovo Serbs must be adequately protected, not merely with formal promises as in the past but with a strong system of decentralization that will exist at both the municipal and the regional, i.e. the horizontal levels, with special ties in the areas of health, education and culture with the institutions of Serbia. Special attention must be devoted to financial benefits for the Serb population that lives on the edge of existence, without jobs or even the possibility of working its land out of fear for its life. Whether Serbs will continue to leave Kosovo or whether they will return here will depend not only on security and freedoms but also on existence of economic prospects for a more prosperous future for themselves and their families. That is why financing the economic development of the Serb community is one of the most vital issues that must be resolved.
Refugee returns must not be a mere formality but a priority. Declarative invitations to Serbs to return into a society that does not even guarantee them a minimum of personal or property security is a farce, and that is why the maturity of institutions for future status must be measured not according to the quantity of rhetoric but according to concrete results on the ground. For example, there is not a single Serb returnee in Decani municipality and this is not a unique case. The protection of private property is considered paramount in all civilized countries, while in Kosovo land is being retailored and usurped without any sanctions because the judicial system is paralyzed not only by the enormous number of unresolved cases but also by local judges’ fear of making decisions in accordance with laws that may imperil the interests of local power holders and “war heroes”.
An especially important issue is the protection of Serbian cultural and historical heritage and especially Orthodox monasteries. For centuries holy shrines such as Decani and the Peć Patriarchate have survived both Ottoman rule and two world wars only to now live in fear whether some local leader of war veterans will target them with artillery despite the presence of the most powerful military force in the world. This protection cannot be reduced to local Kosovo laws, which are generally not honored nor those who enacted them; it must be raised to the international level with firm international guarantees, protection zones and special provisions that will enable not only the secure lives of the monasteries but also their economic subsistence.
Mr. Chairman,
Our Church is especially aware of the role of religious communities in the process of reconciliation. That is why we have invited representatives of the Roman Catholic and Islamic communities to take part with us in an interfaith conference in the monastery of the Pec Patriarchate in May of this year with the help of the Norwegian church so that we can send a powerful message to politicians and all citizens that the future of Kosovo and Metohija can only be built in peace and tolerance, and based on respect for the identity of every community and its culture as the common treasure of the entire civilized world. We will send a powerful appeal that we as religious representatives do not want to permit religion to be used as an excuse for hatred and violence against others and their places of worship. We are certain that this voice will reach the hearts of many who wish to live in peace with their neighbors regardless of their religious or ethnic affiliation.
Thank you for your kind attention.