Belgrade, January 223, 2013
 |
| Photo: M. Jelesijevic/Tanjug |
“Eight full years have passed since the horrible event, and we still see that part of the Albanian community is ready to commit the most serious crimes, including the barbaric desecration of graves,” Teodosije said.
Commenting on the latest spate of violence in which
several dozen gravestones were either destroyed or damaged
at Orthodox cemeteries in KiM, the Bishop said that
“the feelings at seeing images of broken tombs and
crosses set on fire are terrible.”
“This is the image of Kosovo-Metohija 14 years after
the war and a warning to Europe, which this year is
celebrating 1,700 years since the Edict of Milan, which
granted freedom to Christianity,” he said.
Teodosije stressed that “after so many centuries,
Europe must not allow crosses to burn and Christian
shrines and tombs to be destroyed again.”
“These rampages have given pain to the souls of the
Serbs' and all Christians who see these images, but they
are bringing far greater civilizational and moral shame on
the Kosovo Albanians,” said the Bishop of
Raska-Prizren.
When the bones of the deceased have no peace in this country, many Serbs are wondering, he said, “what kind of future is awaiting them among people who have no qualms about destroying graves.”
He pointed out that all the international representatives
had condemned the violence, particularly Head of the EU
Office in Kosovo Samuel Zbogar.
“I can see from the words these people say how
appalled they are at seeing the brutal scenes taking place
at our cemeteries. KFOR and police increased their
presence around our facilities and as far as can be seen,
there is a firm stance about the need to prevent further
violence against Christians sanctities from happening
again,” said Teodosije.
According to Teodosije, the SPC priesthood in Kosovo is safe, “even though the two nuns and two old women in the Monastery of the Most Holy Mother of God in Djakovica spent a sleepless night while bullies were letting out piercing screams only thirty meters away, wishing to enforce the decision of their leaders to destroy this sacred place.”
During the March 17, 2004 Albanian violence, remembered as the "Crystal Night in Kosovo", at least eight people of Serb nationality were killed and two went missing. According to currently available data, a total of 4,012 Serbs were expelled from their homes in KiM, six towns and nine villages were ethnically cleansed, while 935 homes and 35 Serbian religious sites, including 18 cultural monuments, were burned down or seriously damaged.
