Kosovo Albanians rampaged through Prizren destroying all Christian monuments (3/24/2004)

What happens in Kosovo now?

This latest mass-orchestrated campaign of ethnic cleansing against Serbs in Kosovo, which started decades ago is persuasive evidence that Kosovo Albanians have an extremist and xenophobic leadership that is incapable of respecting minorities like Serbs, Gorans, Turks, Slavic Muslims and Gypsies. Kosovo Albanians cannot expect any kind of self-governance if they do not purge their leadership of xenophobia and extremism. The West asks this of Serbs, it must also demand the same from Kosovo Albanians. If the West fails to do this, Kosovo will only get worse and the appetite of Albanian extremism will only grow and further destabilize. Those who refer to Serbian sentimentalities over Kosovo as a mere perversion over some battle 600 years ago demonstrate a fundamentally inability to understand a crucial dimension to this complicated issue. It's like telling Jews that the desire for a Jewish homeland/Israel is based on their foolish memories of the ancient Jewish Kingdom thousands of years ago. We need informed opinions that have a deep understanding of the many complexities to this problem, not suggestions based on worn out political clichés and amateur political impulse.

The following disturbing scenes show the acts of unprecedented violence and barbarism in the southern Kosovo city of Prizren. Once a home to 8.000 Serbs only 60 elderly Serbs remained in the Serbian quarter after the first ethnic purge in 1999. In the afternoon of March 17 large crowds of Kosovo Albanians gathered from all sides and began systematic destruction of all Serbian Orthodox sites in Prizren including the Seminary of Sts Cyrillus and Methodius, Bishop's residence, eight churches (including the large Cathedral of St. George and the medieval cathedral of the Holy Virgin of Lyevish) and finally stormed the Orthodox monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren from which the monks were evacuated in the last moment. These photos were taken by an unknown Kosovo Albanian photographer and placed on his web site which was closed yesterday because on the photos many faces of the perpetrators of these vandalisms and crimes can be easily recognized. ERP KIM info-service has grabbed the entire site before it was removed and is enclosing a selection of photos showing Kosovo Albanian barbarism in Prizren.

Cathedral of St. George in Prizren before destruction
with the smaller church of St George (Runjevic) to the right)

Serbian Orthodox Seminary of Sts. Cyrillus and Methodius in Prizren
with professors' appartments and dormitories for students prior to
the armed conflict in 1999. After the conflict the Seminary served
as a place of refuge for several families. Two SErb bodies were found
in the ashes of the burning Seminary on March 18

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