Serbs, ethnic Albanians meet to discuss protection of Serb religious sites in Kosovo

Associated Press, May 23, 2006 4:36 AM

 

VIENNA, Austria-Ethnic Albanian and Serbian officials met for the fifth time in Vienna on Tuesday to discuss the protection and survival of Kosovo's cultural and religious sites, particularly in parts of the province dominated by ethnic Albanians.

 

The talks also were focusing on the legal status of the Serbian Orthodox Church's dioceses in the province.

 

"We want religious autonomy for Kosovo Serbs and special ties of the Serbian Orthodox Church's (dioceses) with Belgrade," said Leon Kojen, a Serb negotiator, ahead of the talks. Serbs consider Kosovo to be the cradle of their civilization, and key Serbian religious and historical sites are located there, and are currently being guarded by NATO peacekeepers.

 

Ylber Hysa, who leads the ethnic Albanian delegation to the Vienna talks, pledged a "partnership approach."

 

"We want to see churches and all historical sites protected," he said.

 

In March 2004, the holy sites were targeted in anti-Serb riots that left more than 30 medieval churches and monasteries damaged or destroyed. That year, UNESCO designated the Visoki Decani monastery, the largest and the best preserved medieval monastery in the province, a World Heritage site.

 

Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations and patrolled by international peacekeepers since a 1999 NATO air war halted a crackdown by Serb forces on separatist ethnic Albanians. About 100,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo, living mostly in enclaves protected by peacekeepers. More than 200,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians fled after the war, fearing reprisals by ethnic Albanians, and only a trickle have returned.

 

Three top Serbian Orthodox bishops, including Bishop Artemije, who is responsible for a diocese in central Kosovo, were also participating in the talks.

 

Another Serbian negotiator, Dusan Batakovic, said his delegation also would demand the restitution of church property confiscated by communists after World War II, in accordance with Serbian laws.

 

Tuesday's meeting follows four rounds of largely deadlocked discussions on reforming Kosovo's local government and allowing the province's Serb minority to run their own affairs in areas in where they form a majority.

 

Batakovic accused Kosovo's Albanians of "offering nothing more than empty words."

 

"We are not receiving any guarantees that our people in the province will be protected," he said.

 

The discussions are part of a United Nations-led effort aimed at steering the two sides toward settling the province's status by the end of the year. U.N. mediators led by Former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari are expected to call in July for direct talks on the province's future.

 

Kosovo remains formally part of Serbia, but its ethnic Albanian majority wants independence, while Serbs want Belgrade to retain control.