Church say UN envoys for Kosovo biased against Serbs

BELGRADE, Serbia-The Serbian Orthodox Church on Monday accused the United Nations' top two envoys for Kosovo of siding with Kosovo's ethnic Albanians in negotiations over the province's future status.

The church, which wields considerable influence among Serbs, sharply criticized Joachim Ruecker, Kosovo's U.N. administrator, and Martti Ahtisaari, the U.N.'s chief envoy, saying they "have openly declared their pro-Albanian stances."

They "have joined a media campaign for (Kosovo) Albanian interests and wishes. Their recent statements have triggered surprise, worry and bitterness among the Serbian people," it said in a statement.

Later Monday, the Serbian government also accused Ahtisaari of bias, and said it is "taking diplomatic and other steps to resolve the situation over his statements, without jeopardizing the negotiation process." It did not elaborate.

The statements are the latest in a series of recent Serb criticism of U.N. officials, particularly veteran diplomat Ahtisaari, for comments he made on the legacy of the Milosevic regime.

"While today's democratic regime in Belgrade cannot be held responsible for the policies and actions of the Milosevic regime, leaders in Belgrade must come to terms with its legacy and have important responsibilities in this sense," Ahtisaari said last week.

"The historic legacy cannot simply be ignored, but must be taken into account in a search for a solution of the status question," he said in comments that enraged many Serbs.

U.N. officials in Kosovo refused Monday to respond to the allegations. "We do not comment on comments," said Remi Dourlot, a spokesman for Ahtisaari's office.

Gyorgy Kakuk, the spokesman for the U.N.'s mission in Kosovo, also refused to comment.

The U.N.-brokered negotiations on Kosovo's future status began earlier this year, with international mediators hoping to complete the process by the end of the year.

Ruecker, a German diplomat, was recently quoted saying he thought Kosovo would one day be an independent state.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanians, who are predominantly Muslim, want independence for the province while its Serbs, who are mostly Christian Orthodox, insist that the region, which they consider the cradle of their statehood and religion, remain part of Serbia.

The U.N. has administered Kosovo and NATO has guarded it since a 1999 NATO air war to halt the Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists, leaving Serbia with no authority over the region.

Kosovo's future status remains the last outstanding issue from the violent breakup of former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Below is a translation of Patriarch Pavle's Press Release, posted on an Orthodox website at:

https://listserv.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/wa-iub.exe?A2=ind0608e&L=orthodox&P=541

The Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church

August 26, 2006

Belgrade

PRESS RELEASE following Ahtisaari's statement directed against theSerbian people

Serbian Patriarch Pavle

The Scriptures teach us about the Holy Truth of Salvation, that the one and only just Judgment is that passed by the Lord, as every man personally will be given a chance to explain all his deeds and misdeeds. Therefore, there is no collective responsibility, and, especially, there is no collective guilt in any shape or form. If someone blames an entire people as guilty of being evil, then he disregards the Christian teaching about Man and the basic postulate of democratic functioning of the human society. It is not unknown that the Jewish people had paid a price for their alleged collective guilt, not so long ago, when more than 6 million innocent human lives perished. Add to this the terrifying number of the victims among the Russian, Polish and other Slavic nations (and among them Serbs), and the victims of other peoples in Europe and the world, of that dark period, and one can truly feel the mystic horror of ideological misconceptions and political violence.

The Serbian Orthodox Church would be deeply saddened and worried if anyone called any people guilty, and especially when the Serbian people have been branded as guilty. The Serbian people are the largest flock of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Even more bitterness is caused by the fact that this statement was given by Mr. Ahtisaari, the UN special envoy, who is supposed to facilitate the Serbian-Albanian talks, in an impartial and constructive manner, with a goal to reach a reasonable compromise about the future status of Kosovo & Metohia. This arrangement would morally, legally and in terms of a sustainable life, be acceptable to both sides.

But, obviously not caring about the neutral objectivity, and forgetting that there are, hopefully, no colonies and colonial governors in modern-day Europe, Mr. Ahtisaari said what he said, with an explanation that Serbia should be confiscated of its spiritual and historic core, Kosovo & Metohia. In all fairness, he has not been the first one to say this, but has added himself on the long list of the advocates of such an idea. Do we need to mention with how many innocent lives the Serbian people have paid in countless places of perish in the recent and more distant history of the Serbian people?

We believed that such words will never again be heard in Europe - neither in war nor in peace, coming from a UN official sent in a mission of peace and confidence building. Those who reach for those theories prove that force and law are irreconciable differences.

This is where the words of a Serbian saint from Cetinje (Montenegro) apply perfectly:

"A wolf claims his right on the sheep, just as a tyrant claims his right on a weak man, but stepping down on the throat of tyranny, that is the most sacred duty of Mankind".

Similarly, a Russian saying teaches us that God is not seen in Force, but in Justice and Truth.

Let us not forget: Christ defeated lies and death with the Cross. The victory of Good, of Light and of Love was sealed with the Ressurection - of Our Lord and of Ourselves.

The Archbishop of Pec, the Metropolit of Belgrade-Karlovci and

The Serbian Patriarch Pavle (signed)

Chairman of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church

Serbian President Boris Tadic kissing the hand of the Patriarch Text translated, prepared and written by Alex

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