The Ministry of Culture of Serbia accepted the amendments to the draft Law on Cultural Heritage, at the request of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), so that special attention is paid to the protection of cultural heritage in Kosovo.
However, it remains unclear how Serbia will apply the new law.
Let us remind you that Serbia does not have power in Kosovo, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, said on May 27, 2019, during the session of the Assembly of Serbia on Kosovo. Addressing the deputies, he said that Serbia has no power in Kosovo except in health and education and that it is necessary to stop deceiving the public.
Serbia has no security services in Kosovo, such as the army or the police. The Republic Statistical Office of Serbia, as stated on the website, "since 1998 has not had data for the AP (Autonomous Province) of Kosovo and Metohija, so they are not included in the coverage of data for the Republic of Serbia (in total)".
What is possible and what is not?
Aleksandar Popov from the non-governmental organization Center for Regionalism, assesses for Radio Free Europe (RSE) that the Serbian Ministry of Culture will find it difficult to implement its intentions.
"If all the agreements reached so far are respected, Serbian institutions are integrated into the Kosovo system. "I don't see the possibility that our ministry directly protects the cultural heritage in Kosovo, unless this is achieved by some agreement, as part of the negotiations that will continue," said Popov.
Popov also says that he does not believe that neither the international community nor the government in Pristina would accept it.
"Until now, it was possible for the Serbian government to invest or invest in some other areas, in some projects in the north of Kosovo and in communities where Serbs are in the majority, but this way, that some law (of Serbia) is directly applied in Kosovo, from the current situation and situation, I don't see how that's possible," Popov concluded.
What is the cultural heritage of Serbia in Kosovo for the SPC?
According to the website of the Office for Kosovo of the Government of Serbia, there are about 1.300 churches, monasteries and other buildings, localities and spatial entities in Kosovo, which, as it is claimed, constitute the cultural heritage of the Serbian people.
The website further states the information of this institution, according to which 150 SPC buildings were destroyed or damaged in Kosovo in the previous decade.
As it is stated, certain objects are "largely trafficked on the world's illegal antiquities market".
"There is a danger that, at the beginning of the 21st century, a unique multicultural and multi-ethnic region will disappear from the soil of Europe," the announcement states.
What did the SPC criticize the Ministry of Culture for?
The Serbian Ministry of Culture prepared and opened a public hearing on the Draft Law on Cultural Heritage on May 6.
During the presentation of the draft, representatives of the working group of the Ministry of Culture pointed out that it is in line with the regulations of the European Union, as well as that it introduces the category of cultural property - cultural area for the first time. It is also planned to establish two national committees, which will deal with the issues of cultural properties that are inscribed on the UNESCO list.
However, the SPC, which is the largest religious community in Serbia, assessed in a letter to the ministry on May 31 that the Draft Law contradicts the current Law on Churches and Religious Communities.
"Among other things, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church pointed out that in six articles of the draft of this law, the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is mentioned, and in none of the articles is the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, where the cultural heritage is most endangered and, almost daily, exposed to attacks and devastation", it was indicated in the letter that it was transmitted by the SPC.
Also, the patriarch indicated the possibility of "malicious conclusions", as he described the possibility of excluding Kosovo, which he refers to as a "southern Serbian province", from the text of the umbrella law.
It is also stated that the SPC is "the largest individual owner of spiritual, movable and immovable cultural heritage" and that as such it was not involved in the drafting of the Law on Cultural Heritage "which encroaches on its internal functioning".
The ministry accepted the objections of the patriarch
Culture Minister Maja Gojković responded on the same day. In the statement, she stated that she accepts the criticism of the church.
As stated in the announcement, Gojković stated in her letter to the patriarch that the text on which the comments and suggestions were submitted is not in the draft law stage, or in the process of adoption before the Government or Parliament of Serbia.
She added that special attention, joint effort and commitment are directed to the protection of cultural heritage located "on the territory of our Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, which is exposed to attacks and destruction every day".
The patriarch thanked the minister
In a statement, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije thanked the minister "for the decision that the procedure for passing the Law on Cultural Heritage will be concluded when the text of this very important law is agreed upon with the Serbian Orthodox Church, the largest individual owner of spiritual, movable and immovable cultural treasures in the Republic of Serbia. "
As announced in the press release, the Serbian Orthodox Church will appoint representatives who will work with experts from the Ministry of Culture to protect Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo.
The minister in SAN criticizes Kosovo
On Tuesday, June 1, at the meeting of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU), the Minister of Culture assessed that there is more and more so-called soft pressure on Serbian religious and cultural heritage in Kosovo.
She also stated that time has shown that, as she put it, the "temporary institutions of self-government" lack both the expertise and the will to take care of Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo.
President of SANU Vladimir Kostić, opening the meeting entitled "Protection, preservation and affirmation of the Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija", said that there is no time for delay - when it comes to the protection of the Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo - there is no more time.
"Faced with denials, provocations, and the taking away of the essence of that heritage, we realized that there is no more time to delay," said Kostić.
In his speech, the president of SANU, Kostić, quoted himself from six years ago, when he said that "for the values we are fighting for today, we have to fight tooth and nail".
The government did not include the Serbian Orthodox Church in the talks about Kosovo
Orthodox theologian Ivica Živković told RFE/RL that the issue of preserving cultural heritage in Kosovo is complex, that is, it needs to be resolved with international support.
"It is the subject of future and ongoing negotiations, which are conducted with international support. What is important is the current moment and the steps taken by the state."
Historian Vladimir Veljković, who deals with religious issues, underlines three things for RSE.
The current regime did not include the Serbian Orthodox Church in agreements, negotiations, meetings regarding Kosovo, although we see that donations are given to the church.
"On the one hand, the Serbian Orthodox Church, at the last Parliament, did not repeat its earlier positions, that based on the constitution and resolution 1244, Kosovo is part of the Republic of Serbia, so that was left out," Veljković told RSE.
"The second thing is that we don't know what the program of the Serbian Orthodox Church is, in what way it actually believes that the issue of cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija should be resolved, but this is how it is apparently reacted on a case-by-case basis," explains Veljković.
"And the third thing, we see that actually, the current regime, did not include the Serbian Orthodox Church, in those agreements, negotiations, meetings, regarding Kosovo, although we see that donations are given to the church," concludes Veljković.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo invites the Serbian Orthodox Church to a meeting
The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in the Government of Kosovo, Hajrulla Ceku, stated on May 26 that "the Government of Kosovo is maximally committed to the protection of cultural heritage, especially Orthodox churches".
"Dialogue with the Orthodox clergy in Kosovo is the only way to a permanent solution," Čeku wrote on his Facebook profile with the publication of a letter from Kosovo Prime Minister Aljbin (Albin) Kurti addressed on May 20 to the abbot of Visoki Dečani monastery Sava Janjić.
In that letter, among other things, it is stated that the Government of Kosovo will take care of "all our (cultural) monuments, especially Orthodox churches and monasteries."
Prime Minister Kurti also expressed his desire to visit Visoke Dečani and talk with the abbot of the monastery Savo Janjić, noting that only through honest communication can we reach understanding, solve challenges and remove prejudices.
The Diocese of Raško-Prizren announced on May 27 that it was "completely pointless" to respond to the letter of Kosovo Prime Minister Aljbin Kurti addressed to the Abbot of Visoki Dečani Monastery Sava Janjić, in which Kurti expressed his desire to visit Visoke Dečani and talk with Abbot Janjić.
The reason for this, as stated in the announcement of the Diocese, is non-compliance with the decision of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo regarding the property of that monastery.
Property problem in Decani
Although the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo are final and binding for all parties, the local leadership in Dečani refuses to implement the decision of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, according to which 24 hectares of land belonged to the Visoki Dečani monastery.
The local authorities there claim that the property belongs to the social enterprises "Apiko" and "Iljirija" and that it never belonged to the monastery, but they believe that the Constitutional Court legalized the decision of Slobodan Milošević from 1997 when he decided to donate the property to the monastery.
The mayor of Dečan Baškim (Bashkim) Ramosaj told RSE that the local authorities have not changed their position and that the decision of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo will not be implemented.
The international community in Kosovo has repeatedly called on the Municipality of Dečani and the Government of Kosovo to implement the decision of the Constitutional Court, according to which 24 hectares of land are owned by the Visoki Dečani monastery.
Sociologist and connoisseur of political situations Artan (Muhaxhiri) Muhadžiri assessed for RSE in May that the position of the SPC in Kosovo is a "delicate" issue because it "involves many actors and interests at different levels, religious, historical, cultural and political", and notes that the team the issue is dealt with by the Kosovo and Serbian sides, but also by the international community.
"After 2008, there was little discussion on this topic due to the complexity of the situation, almost everything was left to the definitions of Ahtisaari's plan. It was considered that this issue will be part of the final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia," said Muhadžiri.
Stating that Kurti's initiative can help create a constructive atmosphere, Muhadžiri also adds that the protection of SPC property in Kosovo has been politicized and that the public has made much more "noise" than the real situation on the ground. He concludes that in the end, a "specific solution" will be found for the SPC in Kosovo.
Kosovo is looking for its artifacts from Serbia
Meanwhile, the director of the National Museum of Kosovo, Ajet Ljeci, addressed a letter to the National Museum in Belgrade, the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade and the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts on May 19, with a request to return to Kosovo the artifacts that are still kept in Serbia.
In the announcement of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, it is stated that the request of the National Museum of Kosovo was supported by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Donika Gervala and the Minister of Culture Hajrula Čeka through a cover letter.
The National Museum of Kosovo announced that more than 1.200 artifacts from the archaeological and ethnographic collection of Kosovo were taken in the late 1990s "for a temporary exhibition in Serbia", with the obligation to return them, but that this was not done.
A day later, on May 20, the Office for Kosovo announced that it does not recognize the category of "Kosovo cultural heritage", just as it does not recognize "Kosovo statehood".
Parallel with Montenegro
The issue of SPC property is also open in Montenegro, where the previous government, led by Milo Đukanović's DPS, came into conflict with the SPC in 2019 due to the Law on Freedom of Religion, which stipulated that the property of religious communities, built up to 1918, would be transferred to property of the state if the religious community does not have evidence that it owns that property.
Evaluating that the state is trying to "steal its property" with this law, the SPC launched several months of mass protest rallies, under the slogan "We don't give away the holy places". In the elections that were held at that time, the parties that supported litias won.
Immediately after it was elected, the new Government led by Zdravko Krivokapić changed the controversial Law in accordance with the interests and demands of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
However, the Basic Agreement that the state announced it would sign with the SPC, which regulates the rights and obligations between the state and the church, has not yet been signed.
Although the SPC expected that the Prime Minister of Montenegro Krivokapić would sign the contract on May 27, it did not happen because the Prime Minister explained that he could not even formally sign the Basic Agreement before the session of the Government of Montenegro at which the text of the Agreement must be adopted.
What the text of that contract looks like is not known to the public. However, the SPC reacted with a statement in which the patriarch expressed his surprise at the unsigned contract, "not in the least seeing the foundation and justification of Prime Minister Krivokapić's intention not to sign the contract".
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