Serbian Government Official: UNESCO Offers Objective Assessment of the Endangerment of Serbian Monasteries in Kosovo

Visoki Decani monastery (BETAPHOTO/ARMENIJA ZAJMI BESEVIC)

The Serbian government’s Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, said on July 31 that a decision by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to keep four Serbian monasteries in Kosovo and Metohija on the list of World Heritage in Danger was based on an objective assessment of the political and security situation on the ground.

Petkovic said in an interview with the Kurir newspaper that as long as the Serbian Orthodox Church’s monasteries remained  high on UNESCO's agenda, it provided "additional protection from destruction, damage, or usurpation." "The Patriarchate of Pec, Visoki Decani, Gracanica and Our Lady of Ljevis are the four most beautiful Serbian Orthodox monuments and active  places of worship in Kosovo and Metohija. However, despite UNESCO's diligent concern for their fate, almost daily attacks on other Serbian holy sites and the property of the Church in Kosovo and Metohija go unnoticed by the world," he stated.

According to Petkovic, the fact that UNESCO sees the political situation on the ground as a reason to continue providing protection for these monuments "speaks volumes about where the source of the problem lies." "The existence of solid guarantees for the safety of Serbian cultural heritage and the unimpeded functioning of Serbian places of worship will continue to be one of our key demands in the process of normalizing relations with Pristina," Petkovic said in the interview.