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Serbian church sues over Kosovo
BBC ^ | Thursday, 9 December, 2004 | BBC

Posted on 12/09/2004 9:50:50 AM PST by Jane_N

The Serbian Orthodox Church has filed a lawsuit against the UK, France, Germany and Italy for allegedly failing to protect its churches in Kosovo. Bishop Artemije of Raska and Prizren, who lodged the complaint, told Serbian media that the four nations had allowed ethnic Albanians to ransack churches.

The state-run Politika paper quotes him saying dozens of Orthodox churches and religious monuments had been destroyed.

Nato-led troops took control of mainly-Muslim Kosovo in June 1999.

The international community forced Serb troops and authorities out of the province amid escalating violence against separatist ethnic Albanian rebels.

Mob attacks

Clashes have continued between the majority Albanian population and the Serb minority since the Nato-led troops moved into Kosovo.

An outbreak of violence in March, in which Serb-owned homes and churches were attacked, left 19 people dead.

Bishop Artemije said the UK, France, Italy and Germany had failed to protect the Orthodox Church's property, followers and institutions.

Monasteries, medieval icons and frescos are among the religious sites to have been destroyed, he said, with 80 churches burned since 1999.

A spokeswoman for the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg confirmed that the bishop had filed a complaint against the four nations.

It invokes articles including the right to respect for human rights and freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

She told the BBC it was too early to tell whether there would be a hearing in the case, or when the court might reach a judgement.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: balkans; christian; christianpersecution; civilrights; freedomofreligion; humanrights; islam; islamofascism; islamonazism; kfor; kla; kosovo; muslims; nato; orthodox; orthodoxchristian; religion; religiousintolerance; terrorism; un; wot
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1 posted on 12/09/2004 9:50:51 AM PST by Jane_N
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To: Lion in Winter; Destro; Honorary Serb; RussianConservative; Incorrigible; DTA; ma bell; joan; ...

A "Ronly Bonly Jones hates Serbs" Commemorative Ping!


2 posted on 12/09/2004 9:59:19 AM PST by FormerLib (Kosova: "land stolen from Serbs and given to terrorist killers in a futile attempt to appease them.")
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To: Jane_N

3 posted on 12/09/2004 10:00:36 AM PST by Andy from Beaverton (I only vote Republican to stop the Democrats)
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To: Jane_N
I can sum it up better and in fewer words:

Bill Clinton unilaterally attacked Bosnia in order to help a bunch of terrorists who want to turn the entire Balkans into Greater Albania take the first step in getting their wish. With the backing of the US and our allies, Muslim terrorists claiming to be "ethnic Albanians" (they meant GREATER ALBANIA, the territory they PLAN to conquer later) murdered and pilliaged at will, displacing thousands of native Serbs, while we bombed Serb civilians and searched for mass graves which never existed.

Bill Clinton claimed our troops would be in and out of there in a year. He claimed victory in 1998 and the Collective still dutifully crows that Kosovo was The War that Clinton Won ® They never asked when Clinton would bring our troops home.

It's been 8 years and our troops are still there. The mass graves are still missing. The Serbs are still being oppressed.

The Muslim terrorists claiming to be "ethnic Albanians" are STILL running amok with UN backing. Soon they will be running amok with EUrotrooper backing. The mass graves are still missing. The Serbs are still being oppressed.

4 posted on 12/09/2004 10:06:03 AM PST by cake_crumb (Goal of the Left="One Wing to Rule Them all and to the Dark Side Bind Them")
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To: cake_crumb

Sad, but true.


5 posted on 12/09/2004 10:07:54 AM PST by BayouCoyote (The 1st victim of islam is the person who practices the lie.)
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To: Andy from Beaverton; joan; Jane_N; Balkans
Andy, the key point is not that 150 ancient Christian churches and Monasteries are destroyed or heavilly damaged during NATO occupation.

The point is that there are only SEVERAL CHRISTIAN CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES LEFT INTACT. In March 2004, it was less than 10. If new pogrom starts ALL OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES WILL BE DESTROYED AND ALL SERBIAN HERITAGE GONE.

6 posted on 12/09/2004 11:33:24 AM PST by DTA (proud pajamista)
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To: DTA
['If new pogrom starts ALL OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES WILL BE DESTROYED AND ALL SERBIAN HERITAGE GONE.]

Not if we do something about it.
I think Bishop Artemije is starting by taking the right action to grab the attention of the Germany and France for being incompetent last March.
7 posted on 12/09/2004 12:00:17 PM PST by LjubivojeRadosavljevic
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To: Andy from Beaverton; DTA

Wasn't there some famous 14th century painting destroyed in one of these churces?


8 posted on 12/09/2004 12:03:40 PM PST by MattinNJ (Only Arnold would have the stones to say Nixon was the reason he was a Republican.)
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To: MattinNJ; NYer
>>>>>Wasn't there some famous 14th century painting destroyed in one of these churces?<<<<

Yes, historically most important are the frescoes of Christ and The Mother of God with Christ in The Holy Mother of God Ljeviska Cathedral.

Painted around 1310/12 they are imprtant for understanding the roots of La Renaissance.

Destruction of this work of art is great loss for Western civilisation. I am afraid This is a preview of comming attractions. The Holy Mother of God Ljeviska today, Notre Dame tomorrow.

9 posted on 12/09/2004 12:44:15 PM PST by DTA (proud pajamista)
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To: DTA; Kolokotronis; MarMema; Pyro7480
Thank you for posting those icons; they are simply magnificent.

The Muslims are grabbing and destroying to many christian churches. Someone noted that this happens every 700 years. Do you have any information on this?

10 posted on 12/09/2004 12:56:24 PM PST by NYer ("Blessed be He who by His love has given life to all." - final prayer of St. Charbel)
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To: NYer

Islam has only been around for 1,400 years or so, so I don't know it that is conclusive. I see the current situation with Islam as the end of a long lull in the long battle with them. The last major battle was in Vienna in the 1600s, and then they have been gradually been in decay politically-speaking. Now, they are fighting again.


11 posted on 12/09/2004 1:02:53 PM PST by Pyro7480 (Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, sancta Dei Genitrix.... sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper...)
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To: NYer; DTA; MarMema; Pyro7480; kosta50

The Turks did the same thing all over Greece during the Turkokratia and are doing it to this day in Cyprus. Their basic and heretical iconoclasm compels them to do this. In my family's village in Greece they whitewashed over all the icons painted on the walls of the various churches in the village. The irony of it all is that the whitewash preserved them for the 400+ years the Turks were around in southern Greece so we have them now. In some instances in the past, and quite commonly now in Cyprus, the icons were actually disfigured or completely destroyed. The communists committed similar desecrations during the civil war in Greece in the late 1940s.

Bishop Artemije, by the way, is an articulate and formidible hierarch who is very well respected in the Orthodox world. That he has filed this suit lends great credibility to the cause of the Serbian Church in this matter.


12 posted on 12/09/2004 1:24:25 PM PST by Kolokotronis (Nuke the Cube!)
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To: Kolokotronis

I hope that someday the Divine Liturgy will again be chanted in Hagia Sophia.


13 posted on 12/09/2004 1:29:28 PM PST by Pyro7480 (Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, sancta Dei Genitrix.... sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper...)
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To: Pyro7480

"I hope that someday the Divine Liturgy will again be chanted in Hagia Sophia."

So do I, my friend, but if it were to be chanted only in my small parish church, nevertheless the Church would exist as fully as in the days of Justinian!


14 posted on 12/09/2004 1:34:15 PM PST by Kolokotronis (Nuke the Cube!)
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To: Kolokotronis
So do I, my friend, but if it were to be chanted only in my small parish church, nevertheless the Church would exist as fully as in the days of Justinian!

Indeed, for as long as two can gather in the Lord's name, there the Church is.

15 posted on 12/09/2004 1:36:34 PM PST by Pyro7480 (Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, sancta Dei Genitrix.... sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper...)
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To: DTA; katnip
This makes me absolutely ill. I can hardly bear to think of the destruction there.

Ping to Katnip.

16 posted on 12/09/2004 1:41:01 PM PST by MarMema
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To: MarMema

I will never forget the pictures from last year showing the Albanians urinating in a church they had gleefully destroyed.


17 posted on 12/09/2004 3:08:24 PM PST by katnip (Defeating John Kerry is like giving Vietnam Veterans the Homecoming they never had)
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To: Agrarian; The_Reader_David

Ping in case you were not yet pinged.


18 posted on 12/09/2004 3:38:42 PM PST by MarMema
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To: DTA

I don't think the soldiers sent over there have any respect for others' culture, nor any artistic sense, so they don't care. They are there to choose sides, destroy, subjugate, and occupy.


19 posted on 12/09/2004 4:41:11 PM PST by joan
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To: joan
joan, i beg to differ. The US Army and Marines there on the NCO on down level are not that way as a whole. There is a culture within the military everyone adheres to. The majority of the personnel do respect and are in awe of the historical power and magnitude of the region. While on duty/patrol, they are professionals and do their job.

If put in that position, if ordered to arrest a Serb (including Karadzic), I would. If it means demolishing or searching that includes damaging with no other alternative if means the safety of my troops, so be it.

What you see many times is the aforementioned. They have a job to do and that job is to return home safely.

20 posted on 12/09/2004 8:31:09 PM PST by ma bell ("Goddamn it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!" - Captain Henry P. ")
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