Serbian patriarch urges president

Serbian patriarch urges president, premier not to urge Kosovo Serbs to vote
FoNet - October 3, 2004, Sunday

Belgrade, 3 October: Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Pavle todaysent a letter to Serbian President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, appealing to them not to urge the Serbs to take part in the parliamentary elections in Kosovo-Metohija.

"I urge both of you personally, as the head of the Church, that is, as the chairman of the Church Congress and the Synod: for God's sake, do not invite the remaining persecuted and suffering Serb people in Kosovo-Metohija to take part in the elections for institutions of authority there," the patriarch said in the letter.

"The Serbs should not be urged to take part in the elections regardless of the advice and pressure by the international community because in a state in which the people have been stripped of their elementary security and basic human rights, their right to exercise freedom of movement, and the very right to live, one cannot advocate unconditional participation in a scheduled poll," the letter said.

Patriarch Pavle emphasized that "up to this moment there have been no international institutional guarantees that the participation of the Serbs in the elections and their involvement in the institutions of authority will ensure security for the Serb people, as well as for the other non-Albanians in the province. There are also no guarantees that the return of those exiled will be ensured and the integrity of the state territory preserved".

"Mr President, Prime Minister, you know that we urged the Serbs to take part in the elections earlier on, and then the March 2004 pogrom ensued. You know how many Serbs have been murdered, abducted and exiled since the beginning of the international administration in Kosovo-Metohija. You know how many homes and places of worship have been set ablaze and destroyed," Patriarch Pavle said in the letter.

The Patriarch recalled that "nobody is repairing the damaged homes and places of worship, and almost all perpetrators are still at large", noting that Kosovo Albanians "while living in much better conditions several years ago, used to boycott all Serbian and Yugoslav institutions, and the whole of the state and legal order".

"Nobody blackmailed them, and nobody exerted pressure on their political leaders. Comparisons and conclusions are now being made and drawn on their own ellipsis as received I am addressing myself to you through this public appeal, Mr President, Prime Minister, exclusively out of spiritual and pastoral concern, and because of the existential troubles of my flock, my people and my spiritual children," Patriarch Pavle assessed, adding that his letter did not have any political motivations.

"I respect both of you equally and your responsible public service. I have never done anything in my life acting on political motivations, nor have I ever spoken with political motivations, and surely, after my 90 years, I will not begin doing it now," the patriarch said.

"At this crucial moment, I invite you to show responsibility and brotherly unity over this crucial issue, unity which has been already shown in the Serbian Assembly, and before that unity which has been shown in the soul of the whole of the Orthodox Serb people," Patriarch Pavle concluded.

SOURCE: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1507 gmt 3 Oct 04

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