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SERBIAN
TREASURES ON THE BLACK MARKET
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Before churches and monasteries were torched and destroyed, all precious
treasures that could be removed were looted and they are already available
on the illegal world antiquities market • |
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During the five year-long "peace" under the
rule of the international military and civil protectorate, approximately
150 Serbian Orthodox holy shrines - churches, chapels and monasteries -
have been destroyed or desecrated, 20 percent of them originating in the
13th and 14th centuries and part of the world cultural heritage. Destroyed
with them were more than 10,000 icons, church art and liturgical objects.
On the other hand, immediately prior to torching or dynamiting by Albanian
hordes, all precious treasures of value to the world's heritage were
looted from many church treasuries and are already being sold on the
illegal world market of antiquities and works of art, old manuscripts and
other rarities.
"Unfortunately even after the
horrible pogrom against the Serb population from March 17-20, the
vandalism and looting of remaining Orthodox buildings continued. We have
also learned that the same Albanians who participated in the torching and
destruction of Orthodox holy shrines first stole a large number of
valuable icons, icon lamps, manuscripts and other valuable church
articles. We assume that these stolen works of art will also be sold on
the black market, as has previously been the case," noted the Information
Service of Diocese of Raska-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija. |
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No one is guarding the
border |
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A Serb from UNMIK's
multiethnic Kosovo police told "Vesti" that "the thieves of
Serbian art are from among the ranks of criminal groups in
Kosovo and Metohija, which are numerous because the high
degree of criminal activity in Kosovo society is a given fact,
beginning with illegal trade in drugs, tobacco, white slaves
and heritage artifacts". Thus, the remaining Orthodox churches
in the province which are located outside the Serb enclaves,
he says, "are exposed to the mercilessness of these groups
despite the physical protection of KFOR". Another serious
problem, our source said, is "the highly porous borders with
the Republic of Albania and Macedonia which no one is
seriously
guarding". | |
The Information Service adds
that the Diocese has appealed to UNMIK and KFOR to prevent the looting of
Orthodox Christian church and cultural treasures. This is confirmed by a
recent UNMIK police report stating that "three stolen bells and the main
door from one of the torched Orthodox churches have been recovered near
Pristina" and would be returned to the Diocese of Raska and
Prizren.
In Podujevo Czech KFOR soldiers confiscated the stolen
bell from St. Elijah Church in Podujevo from an Albanian family. Albanian
representatives came to the KFOR base no less then three times asking that
the bell be returned to them, claiming that it belonged to the
municipality of Podujevo. The Czech battalion, however, refused and
delivered the bell, a gift to the Podujevo church from Serbian King
Alexander I Karadjordjevic in 1932, to Gracanica Monastery.
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Serbian Patriarch's
appeal |
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Serbian Orthodox
Church leader Patriarch Pavle addressed the KFOR commander and
the UNMIK chief at that time to undertake measures within
their power "to stop the theft of icons, liturgical books and
other exceptionally valuable church artifacts from Kosovo and
Metohija", pointing out that the treasures had been found "on
the so-called black market of antiquities and art objects in
several European countries".
"Experience tells us that
these cases are just the tip of the iceberg, i.e., that many
more church artifacts have been removed from the region due to
the impossibility of a normal and safe life for clergy and the
people than is known to us. Therefore, I appeal to you to
undertake all necessary measures in accordance with the powers
of KFOR and UNMIK to protect the remaining property of the
Serbian Orthodox Church, both real and removable, because its
destruction and dislocation represents a loss not only to
ourselves but to European culture as a whole. At the same time
from the land of Kosovo and Metohija, the cradle of our
people, in the presence of strong international military and
police forces, many traces of the existence of the Serbian
people and its martyred Church are disappearing," reminded the
Serbian Patriarch Kyr
Pavle. | |
During the March violence by
rampaging Albanian mobs, thieves also targeted the bell of the church of
St. George in Prizren. According to Wolfgang Zillinger, the regional
commander of UNMIK police, three Albanian suspects were
arrested.
The first alarming reports
regarding the theft of church treasures, said sources in the Diocese of
Raska and Prizren, appeared immediately following the end of the NATO
bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the deployment of
international peacekeeping forces in Kosovo and Metohija in mid-June 1999.
British journalist Tim Judah took photographs at that time of Albanians
looting the church of St. Elijah in Vucitrn. He informed Bishop Artemije
of this and gave him several icons that he had managed to save.
The Bishop of Raska and Prizren
then received word that the church bells from the destroyed Serbian church
in Djakovica had been stolen despite the protection of UNMIK police. In
Prizren a German junior officer from KFOR responsible for the protection
of Serbian Orthodox Church property in the city stole a valuable icon, a
300 year-old diptych, some liturgical books and several smaller church
articles. He was later sentenced in Germany to a year-long sentence, which
was suspended.
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Other churches
concerned |
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The World Council
of Churches and the Conference of European Churches have also
expressed concern for the Orthodox heritage in Kosovo and
Metohija, whose unquestionable jeopardy has thus far not
gained the appropriate concern of the global cultural
community, asking that "a peaceful life for the residents of
this province finally be provided, as well as protection for
their cultural and spiritual heritage". In letters to the
UNMIK chief these ecumenical organizations expressed their
serious concern "due to the continued violence with which the
faithful of the Serbian Orthodox Church and its heritage in
Kosovo and Metohija are confronted". Attacks on Serbian
churches in the presence of international military forces are
described as "scandalous indicators of extremism and
instability". | |
In the south of Europe, in
Greece, according to a report by local police, "four smugglers dealing in
Serbian religious and art objects" were also arrested in Thessaloniki. In
the possession of the group leader and his wife were 17 stolen books from
the 19th century, stolen engravings and icons from the 18th century and
other valuables dating back to Roman times. The criminals confessed that
they had purchased everything in Albania from local dealers and that the
items all originated from Kosovo and Metohija.
The next criminal
act of this sort, as the Serbian Orthodox Church had informed the public
at that time, was discovered in Slovenia when local police arrested
several Albanians who had in their possession dozens of icons which the
arrested persons admitted originated from Serbian churches in Kosovo and
Metohija. The Slovenian state police informed Interpol, which informed the
Serbian state police.
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German soldier also
stole |
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"Instead of
performing the task entrusted to him and guarding the Orthodox
Bishop's residence and the Orthodox Cathedral in Prizren, as
well as church valuables entrusted to him, a professional
German soldier betrayed the trust of KFOR international
peacekeeping forces and showed himself to be a common
criminal," wrote the "Berliner Morgen Post" two years ago in
an article entitled "Professional soldier as church
thief". | | |
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R. Loncar |
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