А Kosovo Police officer accused Serb Orhtodox priests in St. Nicholas church that they destroyed crosses on their own cemetery

о. Стева Митрић на остацима старог гробља поред цркве Св. Николе у Приштини

A member of the Kosovo police service Ajshe Azemi, who works on the protection of the St. Nicholas church in Pristina said today to the priest who lives and works at that church, Fr. Stevo Mitric, that the priests of St. Nicholas' broke the crosses on the cemetery behind the church (the photo left shows Fr. Stevo at what still remains of the old Serbian cemetery in Pristina).

This shameful act was a direct consequence of the media hysteria which has been instigated by the "Kosovo state television" RTK which two days ago broadcasted an information that according to the Kosovo Intelligence Agency it was Serbs themselves who destroyed their cemeteries. In the meantime the Intelligence Agency distanced itself from this statement, but the RTK has never officially retracted this preposterous claim which was broadcasted in the main news program at 19.30 on January 22.

Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren has strongly condemned today the language of open hatred on ethnic and religious basis by the Kosovo TV and has requested from the Ministry of Interior to withdraw Ms. Azemi from her duty near the church.

The systematic destruction of the Serbian Orthodox cemeteries was witnessed by many internationals among which is Archmandrite Nektarios Serfes from Boise, Idaho US. Fr. Nektarios travelled with a group of US citizens throughout Kosovo and witnessed the barbarism against Orthodox churches and cemeteries. The photo right shows Fr. Nektarios two years ago at the desecrated cemetery near the Monastery of Zociste, near Orahovac. Beside destroying crosses and photos of the deceased the vandals often opened the tombs themselves and scattered the bones which made a particularly painful impact on the families of the deceased.

Kosovo Government has promised today that it will cover all the expenses of the repair of the damaged tombs. However, the problem is that the most of the families whose family tombs are desecrated are refugees in Central Serbia and cannot retrun to Kosovo for years. Many Serbs see this statement of the Government as a kind of propaganda because it would be logical first to create conditions for the living people to return and then help them repair their tombs.