Relocation of Pristina Monument to Serbian WW1 Soldiers an Attempt to Rewrite History, Says Freedom and Justice Party Official

Borko Stefanovic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

On Nov. 15, Freedom and Justice Party vice president Borko Stefanovic stated that relocation of the Pristina cemetery monument to Serbian Balkan and Great War soldiers is “a shameful attempt to rewrite history and an insult to all the descendants of the victims of the First World War.”

“Attacking graves, which used to be the hallmark of anonymous extremists who desecrated headstones in the dead of night, has recently become the official policy of the Pristina government, supported by the ambassadors of their allies. Years ago, the representatives of the French people, our brothers and allies, provided ships and ammunition which saved the Serbian people and army,” Stefanovic said in his statement.

The relocation of the monument was discovered by the public thanks to photographs of the German and French ambassadors attending a Remembrance Day event at Pristina’s Orthodox Christian Cemetery. Following public outcry, the Bishopric of Raska and Prizren confirmed that the memorial had been moved and that no one had consulted them on the matter.

The French and German embassies have since stated that the monument to Serbian soldiers in the military section of Pristina’s Orthodox cemetery was moved because it had caused a controversy among Kosovo media. Relocating the memorial several meters from its initial position was done “with the utmost respect” they said, insisting that none of the remains of fallen Serb servicemen were disturbed. The embassies further expressed their disappointment that the act was “misinterpreted” and “politically exploited.”

In his Nov. 15 press release, Stefanovic lambasted the French ambassador for “being ashamed of his own history for fear of official Pristina’s potential hatred.” “It is particularly tragic that the French ambassador made the decision himself to move the monument to the fallen Serbian heroes of the wars between 1912 and 1918 in a shameful act of self-censorship and fear of Pristina’s possible unfavorable reaction. One cannot hide great history, as much as one may try to push it aside. The grand Monument of Gratitude to France at [Belgrade’s] Kalemegdan [park] would cry if it could,” Stefanovic wrote.

An online petition signed by over 1,000 citizens is requesting that the Embassies of France and Germany in Kosovo return the memorial to its original place. Launched by a group of Serb intellectuals from Kosovo and written in Serbian, Albanian, English, German and French, the petition is also demanding a public apology from both foreign dignitaries.