Office for Kosovo and Metohija: Urgent response from international representatives needed over illegal works in the protected zone of Visoki Decani Monastery

The Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija called on international representatives in Kosovo and Metohija to respond urgently and decisively and to halt without delay the renewed illegal construction works within the Special Protective Zone of Visoki Decani Monastery, which the Raska-Prizren Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church highlighted in a statement today.

As announced, the Office will inform all relevant international stakeholders about the incident and provide all necessary information through diplomatic channels concerning the unlawful nature of the works in question.

“We emphasize that these activities are evidently part of a broader policy of systematic pressure on the Serbian Orthodox Church and its faithful and are therefore being carried out without any consent from or knowledge of the Diocese and the brotherhood of Visoki Decani Monastery,” the Office for Kosovo and Metohija said in a statement.

The statement recalled that over the past 27 years, the monastery had been subjected to armed attacks on four occasions, in addition to numerous other threats and graffiti containing messages of ethnic and religious hatred and intolerance.

“Today, we are witnessing yet another attack on one of the most important holy sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church, carried out through unilateral actions, unlawful and illegal construction, and works within the monastery’s Special Protective Zone itself. These activities could have far-reaching consequences for this jewel of Serbian medieval heritage, which is also under UNESCO protection. Once again, we are witnessing the fact that even regulations adopted in Pristina are disregarded when it comes to the guaranteed rights and property of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija and that they are brazenly and shamelessly violated. It is therefore essential that the international community respond decisively on this occasion as well and prevent any further activities within the Special Protective Zone of Visoki Decani Monastery,” the statement said.