Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren
H.E. Mr. Christopher Hill, Ambassador
H.E. Mr. Wolfgang Petritsch, Ambassador
H.E. Mr. Boris Maiorsky, Ambassador
Prizren, March 10, 1999
Dear Sirs,
I am taking this opportunity to express the positions of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which in the same time are reflecting views of the majority of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija.
Regretfully, our Church and independent representatives of the Kosovo Serb people gathered around the Serbian Resistance Movement – Democratic Movement have not been given opportunity to take part in the Rambouillet negotiations while almost all other non-Serb communities and political associations were represented and consulted. We very well understand that it did not depend directly on you, but nevertheless it was the international community which convened the meeting and so much insisted that all different parties and organizations on the Kosovo Albanian side should participate the meeting. Therefore, we find it quite disappointing that such an opportunity was not offered to Kosovo Serbs who have been organized politically together with their Church and have actively supported peaceful and democratic settlement of the Kosovo crisis so far. It is our firm belief that without participation of the Kosovo Serb representatives led by their Church a just and durable solution will never be reached. That is why I am writing to you in order to openly express our positions on the present situation in the province as well as to make a few constructive proposals.
In the beginning I would like to express our great respect for the efforts of the international community and the Contact Group to bring peace to Kosovo and Metohija and stop the violence. But, at the same time I cannot but express my serious concern for the present situation in the province, especially regarding the position of the Serbian population. My people in this province is found squeezed between the militant nationalism of ethnic Albanian extremists, rather inconsiderate and undemocratic policy of Belgrade and indifference of the international community. The Orthodox Church has always had a special role in guarding of national and religious interests of our people and therefore, in this moment, we are aware that we must do all we can to secure future existence of Orthodox Serbs in this area. That is our foremost goal and interest. The protection of holy Orthodox Christian shrines, which we have more than 1300 in this area, is also our great responsibility
Our Church has so far earnestly supported peaceful negotiations and has resolutely condemned fighting and violence as a method of realization of political ideas and claims on both sides. However, having read and analyzed the text of the Rambouillet Accords I must admit that it does not offer adequate protection to our people in conditions in which almost all political power and security in the province is to be granted to Kosovo Albanians. The non-Albanian national communities are in reality only promised to have their rights protected while all efforts are directed towards securing the substantial self rule for the Kosovo Albanians. This brings our people into a position of a national minority in our own country, in which we have been living for a thousand years. Therefore, if the agreement is implemented in its present form, I am afraid that many Kosovo Serbs would see that as a signal for their mass-exodus from the province. I hope you can understand this, especially having in mind a very difficult position in which Kosovo Serbs had lived prior to 1989, under the ethnic Albanian authorities when hundreds of thousands of Serbs left the province under direct and indirect pressures.
It has always been our opinion that the problem of Kosovo and Metohija is primarily an issue of human rights and absence of democracy, and not a territorial problem which is to be resolved by territorial changes. But, since the international community has already preferred territorial and ethnic approach to civic one, we are in position to request for our people the similar territorial provisions which the Kosovo Albanians are to be given by Serbia and FRY according to the Accords.
I think that this claim can be best realized by comprehensive communal reorganization of the province and reinforcement of communal authority in form of the multilevel autonomy.
To be more precise, I feel that the current text of the Interim Agreement beside many good points has serious deficiencies which nevertheless can be successfully improved by an annex which would grant Kosovo Serbs their right of selfadministration in rural areas in which they constitute relative or absolute majority. Due to militant activities of KLA Serbs in rural areas now mostly live in compact territorial enclaves The existing communal borders should be corrected to reflect more precisely the ethnic structure on the ground by merging parts of several existing communes and creating additional ones. In these communes Serbs would have their local administration, police and judiciary on the communal level as well as the substantial institutional links with Serbia. In this respect we think on special economic, judiciary, and generally political links with the constitutional and legal system of Serbia.
The mechanisms which prevent an Albanian dominated Assembly to impose on Serb communes discriminatory decisions must be additionally strengthened, primarily by reinforcement of the communal, i.e. local autonomy. In that way the relation between the Kosovo authorities and communal authorities will be more balanced. On the other hand the Albanian communes could have additionally strengthened links with the Federation. In reality, that would mean two parallel legal systems in Kosovo and Metohija which could better reconcile diverse interests of the Albanian and Serb population which differ not only in ethnicity but in language, culture and religion. For major cities we propose the multiethnic rule in which the political power would be shared by national communities through veto enabled two-chamber Assemblies. This solution could give Kosovo Serbs in their ethnically compact areas much better feeling of security and prevent them from leaving the province. On the other hand it will make them much more supportive of the Agreement which many of them now see impossible to accept and implement in its present form.
As Church leaders we have responsibility to say to our people what they may expect in future. We would not like, by any means to be accomplices in the implementation of the Agreement which will not adequately protect the basic interests of our nation and secure for us normal life in future. If the international community fails to anticipate what might happen to the Kosovo Serb community, I must say with great regret that our Church and our people will openly oppose politically to such an Agreement and refuse to take part in its implementation. If the vital interests of Kosovo Serbs are disregarded the international community will unwillingly become an accomplice in the process of eradication of the Serb Orthodox people from Kosovo and Metohija and will de facto create an ethnically purged territory in the heart of Europe, which is so much against the ideals of modern democratic society. No matter how much we supported a peaceful settlement of the conflict we are not to endorse an agreement which will cause mass exodus of our people and eventual dissolution of Serbia and FRY. We are afraid that in this case it is also possible to expect the process of increased radicalization among the Serbs in general which could cause greater instability in this part of Europe.
I must say that these fears are not only my private convictions but rather a result of many talks and analyses of the present situation among my people. On approximately 50% of the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, which is currently under the KLA control, there are no Serbs living, because more than hundred Serb villages have been completely purged in the course of the last twelve months. Proportionally looking, these are extremely alarming consequences for our already decreased population in Kosovo and Metohija. The local Serbs have not generally speaking taken part in security operations but are nevertheless exposed to various forms of pressures, terror and revenge which makes them even more discouraged in situation when the strongest political and military force among the Kosovo Albanians is the KLA.
Especially of vital importance for us are our churches and monasteries as well as other historic and cultural monuments which treasure our national and religious identity. Under the previous Albanian autonomous authorities our historic and cultural heritage was a target of various abuses and violations. It is our firm belief that these shrines and monuments cannot survive if Kosovo and Metohija become ethnically cleansed from the Serbian people. In fact the best protection for these facilities can be assured if the monastic communities with their property were placed under the communal jurisdiction and care of the neighboring Serb communes. Serbian Orthodox Church and the republic Ministry of Culture must preserve their full authority over the protection of these monuments. The Church without its congregation cannot exist and the protection of our cultural and religious heritage without the proper and effective protection of our national interests is impossible and completely unacceptable for us. Since there is no democracy without the full respect of the private property, I also feel obliged to remind you that the land confiscated from the Church by the communist authorities after the Second World War should be given back to its lawful owner or at least recompensed in cases when the return of the property is not possible. We cannot agree by any means that this property is alienated from our Church for good.
I believe that you will understand our concerns and proposals as an attempt to make the current Agreement better, without changing its most important elements, and to help finding a comprehensive peaceful and democratic settlement for the Kosovo crisis which would secure full collective rights for all national communities in Kosovo and Metohija.
Once again I strongly suggest you to explore the
possibility of incorporating our proposals into the Agreement in a form
of an annex or otherwise. If our suggestions find your positive response
I assure you that our Church will support the implementation of the Agreement.
Sincerely Yours
+A R T E M I J E
Bishop of Raska and Prizren
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