Albanian separatists did not allow Serbian bishop into Kosovo because of honey
Kosovo “border guards” refused to let the local Bishop of Rasko-Prizren Theodosius return from Serbia because of two buckets of honey that the bishop was bringing to the sisters of the Gracanica monastery for the Honey Savior.
The bishop said that for the first time in 20 years he was not allowed to cross the border and noted that Albanian fighters treated him with disrespect.
As a PolitNavigator correspondent reported, after the ban on the import of two buckets of honey, the bishop returned them and then headed back to the Yarinye checkpoint.
“Both times they searched me, and behaved rather unceremoniously. I didn’t expect this, I was alone in the car, I came from central Serbia, I was heading to the Gracanica monastery, I was carrying two buckets of honey in the trunk as a gift to the sisters,” the bishop said.
Bishop Theodosius added that he tried to explain to the shift supervisor that the buckets of honey did not exceed the value of goods allowed for transportation and that he was ready to pay customs duties. However, he answered him in a raised tone, was without a mask, came close, and in response to the bishop’s remark that he should be wearing a mask, he turned away and waved his hand.
“In addition to the fact that they did not follow precautions, it was especially unpleasant and offensive that I sensed a certain amount of hostility towards me in their behavior,” the bishop said.
The director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Djuric, called the incident “an arrogant act of arbitrariness, insulting the entire Serbian people and the Serbian Orthodox Church, which was thus declared that its inviolable rights could be violated by any administrative employee of Pristina.”
“Banning our bishops and clergy from moving freely within their own diocese is the most flagrant violation of religious freedoms and a slap in the face to all Orthodox believers in Kosovo and Metohija,” Djuric said. – We demand that representatives of the international community in Kosovo and Metohija warn Pristina that such behavior will not be tolerated, and finally understand that any attack on the Serbian Orthodox Church is in fact an attack on the Christian character of our southern province and European culture as a whole "
In this situation, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić's words of support for another spiritual center of Kosovo, the Visoki Dečani Monastery, are timely. As a reminder, Kosovo authorities have begun constructing a highway through the monastery's grounds. The Serbian leader stated that "one of the greatest Serbian and Christian sanctuaries has been threatened by the intrusion into the monastery's protected area and the illegal road construction, and that this act clearly contradicts the achievements and principles of European civilization, to which the Pristina authorities themselves are supposedly committed." Vučić announced that at the next meeting in Brussels, Serbia will ask Pristina representatives and European mediators to immediately and permanently suspend construction work in the monastery's protected area.
“The protection of the Serbian cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo and Metohija is a priority of our state policy, and we are ready to form a special team together with the Serbian Orthodox Church to protect our holy sites - the Serbian and Christian spiritual, cultural and historical heritage,” the Serbian President was quoted as saying by his press. -service.
Especially for PolitNavigator, the deputy of the Serbian Progressive Party from Kosovo and Metohija in the People's Assembly, Milan Savic, commented on the situation:
"Instead of apologizing for their crimes and demonstrating at least a modicum of humanity, the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Pristina, just one day after the anniversary of the most brutal crime against our children in Goraždevac, continue their policy of intimidation against all Serbs, thereby demonstrating to the Serbian Orthodox Church and all Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija that basic human rights do not apply to them. It would be nice to say that this is an isolated case of arrogant officials, but unfortunately, this is the policy of those who, for 20 years, have reduced their political activity to a fight against everything Serbian."
At the same time, the people's representative noted that the example of work in the protected area of the Visoki Decani monastery clearly shows that no matter how much the self-proclaimed institutions in Pristina want to be an independent state, it is impossible.
“On the contrary, it shows that their officials do not respect the decisions of their own high courts. Including decisions of the Constitutional Court, which speak about the cessation of work. I welcome the actions of the international community, which intervened and insisted on stopping the work after an appeal on this issue from President Aleksandar Vučić. As our leader announced, Serbia will demand a permanent suspension of these works. “I view the situation with the construction of a highway in a protected area solely as another attempt to intimidate the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, for whom, in addition to the state of Serbia, the Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the pillars of the preservation and survival of the people in Kosovo and Metohija,” Savic added.
Albanian separatists prevented a Serbian bishop from entering Kosovo because of honey.