Exhibition in Prague

‘The Crucified Kosovo (1999-2001)’

by Rajko Doleek, M.D.Dsc.(*), Professor of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic

During December 2001 a very interesting—and sad—exhibition took place in Prague. It was about the desecration and destruction of over 100 Serbian churches, monasteries and various sacral monuments in Kosovo-Metohija, by the Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA, UÇK) terrorists, perpetrated after the arrival of the multinational KFOR ‘peace’ forces in June 1999, when the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia had ended. The KFOR main task was to safeguard the peace and security for all the inhabitants of that province. During the last 2 years over 250,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians (Romanies, Gorans, ethnic Turcs, Slav Muslims, even some pro-Yugoslav Albanians may be included here) were expelled or just ran away to save their lives, as a consequence of terror by the Albanian extremists. Over 3,000 Serbs and non-Albanians were murdered or kidnapped (none of them returned), over 40,000 Serb homes were burned down, blown up, literally under the auspices of 40,000 elite NATO forces, of the UN civil administration, while the KLA terrorists were transformed, including their leaders, to the so-called Kosovo Protection Corps (TMK), in autumn 1999, led by a former general of the KLA, Mr. Agim Ceku. Nobody did argue that he had been a leading factor in mass murder of Serbs in 1993 and 1995, as an officer (colonel to become a general) of the Croatian army.

The exhibition was organized, as a symbol, in the Prague Orthodox Cathedral of the Saint Brothers Cyril and Method, in its underground premises, where the Czechoslovak paratroopers, after killing in 1942 the bloody SS general R. Heydrich, the acting German Reichsprotector in Bohemia and Moravia, fought their last battle, before committing suicide. This place is now a Czech national monument.

The exhibition was opened by the orthodox Lord Archbishop Kryštof of Prague and Bohemia, followed by Vladyka (Lord Bishop) Artemie of Raška and Prizren (Kosovo and Metohija), by the Reverend Dean of the Cathedral, Dr. J. Šuvarský, and by the Yugoslav Ambassador to Prague, professor A. Ili.

The Lord Archbishop Kryštof was the first high-ranking foreing orthodox dignitary to visit Kosovo, and the Lord Bishop Artemie (end of 2000), travelling there, not to be assassinated by the trigger-happy Albanian terrorists, mostly in armored cars, under the KFOR protection. The Lord Bishop Artemie talked about the life of the Kosovo non-Albanians, comparing it with the life in a concentration camp. But, nevertheless, some non-Albanians, mainly Serbs, started to return to their, mostly destroyed, homes in areas with a relatively good protection. The world-famous Graanica monastery (UNESCO!) is protected by the KFOR troops, behind barbed wire fences. Much of the western media still consider the Albanian response (murder and destruction) to be a just revenge, completely omitting the fact that it was the KLA terrorists who had started the bloodshed there at the beginning of 1998 (at that time even the Americans considered them to be terrorists). The western media still speak about an alleged genocide committed by the Serbs, which did not happen, most of them still somehow ignore the incredible disinformation and overt lies about the Albanian casualties during 1998-99.

The exhibition included three topics:

1.) the most sacred orthodox sanctuaries (temples and monasteries) of Kosovo and Metohija, many of them dating back to the XIII-XIVth century,

2.) the demolished, even levelled, and desecrated churches, monasteries, and various religious sites (e.g. graveyards), with pictures before and after their destruction—some of them showed an unbelievable cruelty, savagery of the perpetrators, against the European (Serbian) heritage there, in Kosovo and Metohija,

3.) the immortal angelic beauty of the ancient frescoes from the Graanica monastery (built by the powerful Serbian king Milutin at the beginning of the XIVth century), copied by the mother superior of the monastery, Makaria.

Among many (over 100!) destroyed monasteries and churches, three may be mentioned as examples. In the German KFOR sector, the ancient monastery of the St. Cosmas and Damian, with many monumental frescoes from the XIV th century, with many invaluable manuscripts, near the town Orahovac, was blown up in September 1999. The St. Archangel monastery (XIVth century), at Gornje Nerodimlje, in the US sector of KFOR, had been destroyed by the Turks, to be rebuilt in the XVIIth century, and to be blown up in autumn 1999. Even a very old pine tree, allegedly planted by the famous Serbian emperor Dušan in 1336, was destroyed together with the monastery. In the Italian KFOR sector, the church of St. Dimitry near Pe, was levelled in July 1999. It was originally built in the XIVth century, renewed in 1937. It was demolished by the Albanian Kosovo fascists in 1941, at that time the allies of the fascist Italy and nazi Germany, during the period of the ‘Great’ Albania. And so many sad stories were present on the walls of the underground premises.

The Czech state television TV 1 filmed the opening ceremony and reported about it during the evening news bulletin. The next day (Dec. 5) a TV special (4 minutes) was broadcast, showing the destroyed churches and monasteries after the arrival of KFOR, describing the KLA perpetrators as terrorists. It was prepared by Mr. Martin Dorazin, one of not too many Czech journalists who did not hesitate to tell the truth about the events in Yugoslavia when the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia started. At that time about 2/3 of the Czechs were against that NATO action on March 24, 1999, as the polls showed it. The NATO organization behaved in a criminal way at that time.

(*) Professor Doleek is the president of the Czech Foundation of Friends of the Serbs and Montenegrins.