The Ministry of Culture of Serbia condemned Pristina's announcement that it would not give up on declaring Xhafer Deva's house a cultural center

The Ministry of Culture of Serbia has condemned Pristina's announcement that it will not give up its intention to declare the house of notorious Nazi criminal from the Second World War Xhafer Ibrahim Deva in South Mitrovica a cultural center.

The Ministry's announcement states that such projects represent the falsification of history and the promotion of crime and violence.

"Projects of revisionism and glorification of fascism, which, following the warning of the Ministry of Culture, were clearly condemned by the international community and especially the European Union, represent the true picture of Pristina's determination to further undermine the possibility of coexistence in Kosovo and Metohija. At the same time, it is one of the activities by which Pristina brutally abuses the name of culture for aggressive and reckless projects that have nothing to do with culture. It is not only an attempt to rehabilitate a fascist criminal, but at the same time it is also a clear proof of what Pristina is trying to build its quasi-statehood on," it is stated in announcement.

The ministry notes that this was a notorious Nazi collaborator, who was active in the formation of the SS division ‘Skender-beg’, known for arranging and committing crimes against Serbs and Jews, the mayor of Mitrovica during World War II and the Albanian interior minister during the occupation during World War II, who was decorated by Adolf Hitler in 1944.

Also, the Ministry of Culture reminds that the high representative for EU foreign and security policy, Josep Borrell, in his response to the Ministry of Culture regarding the warning about such events, emphasized that the European Union strongly condemns anti-Semitism and xenophobia and all its manifestations, including the growing intolerance and bigotry towards ethnic minorities and vulnerable communities.

By the way, in the budget for 2023, the Ministry of Culture of Kosovo provided 300,000 Euros for the renovation of Xhafer Deva's house.