The Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raška and Prizren has strongly condemned what it described as an act of desecration and an “open nationalist provocation” in Lipljan, where two ethnic Albanians allegedly placed flags of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and Albania on the fence surrounding an Orthodox church compound.
The compound contains the 14th-century Church of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Church of the Holy Martyrs Florus and Laurus.
In a lengthy statement, the Diocese warned that recent assessments pointing to an improved security situation in Kosovo do not, in its view, reflect the reality experienced by the Serbian Orthodox Church and the remaining Serbian population.
Two suspects detained by Kosovo Police
According to information cited by the Diocese, the incident occurred on the evening of August 10. A Kosovo Police patrol reportedly encountered two individuals as they were placing the flags on the church fence. The two were detained and the flags were removed.
The Diocese acknowledged the police response but said that the authorities’ handling of the case would ultimately be judged by the subsequent investigation, its legal classification and the willingness of prosecutors and courts to establish the motives and responsibility of those involved.
The Diocese stressed that the incident should not be treated merely as a public-order offence, inappropriate behavior or a minor act of vandalism.
It said it possesses surveillance footage and intends to file a criminal complaint against the two individuals once their identities are officially provided by the Kosovo Police.
“We will demand an objective investigation into whether this act contains elements of incitement to ethnic and religious hatred, intimidation of the remaining Orthodox Serbs, and deliberate desecration of a protected medieval religious and cultural site,” the Diocese said.
Diocese: KLA flag constitutes an act of intimidation
According to the Diocese, displaying a KLA flag on the fence of a Serbian Orthodox church cannot be regarded as the neutral display of a political symbol.
It argued that KLA symbols are associated, in the lived experience of Kosovo Serbs and particularly those remaining in Lipljan, with armed violence, abductions, killings, displacement, destruction of homes and attacks on Orthodox religious sites.
The Diocese therefore described the placement of the flag at the 14th-century church as a deliberate act of intimidation and a symbolic assertion of control over Serbian Orthodox Church property.
It similarly rejected the suggestion that displaying Albanian and KLA flags at the site could be dismissed as accidental or thoughtless, describing it instead as an attempt to mark an ancient Orthodox site with symbols of Albanian nationalism and the KLA.
The Diocese also drew attention to the vulnerable position of the remaining Serbian population in Lipljan, saying that only several hundred Serbs now live in the town, compared with several thousand in the past.
For that community, it said, the two churches constitute both a spiritual center and one of the last visible testimonies to the centuries-old Serbian Orthodox presence in the area.
Diocese points to previous incidents
The Diocese said the August 10 incident was not isolated. It recalled that in December last year, a masked individual forcibly removed a Serbian Orthodox Church flag from the same church complex during its patronal feast, while a similar incident reportedly occurred in June 2023.
According to the statement, the failure to identify and appropriately punish those responsible for previous incidents has contributed to a sense of impunity and created conditions for further provocations.
The Diocese also linked the incident to other recent developments that it said have caused concern among the Serbian Orthodox Church and Serbian communities.
It referred, among other things, to the detention of 37 Serbs following a memorial service at Gazimestan, allegations by some detainees of physical and psychological mistreatment and ethnic insults, and the treatment of pilgrims during celebrations at the Monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren.
It also expressed concern over proposed regulations affecting pilgrimage groups and renewed roadworks within the Special Protective Zone surrounding the Visoki Dečani Monastery.
Concerns over KFOR security changes at Visoki Dečani
Particular concern was expressed over an announcement by KFOR that, citing an “improved security situation in Kosovo,” it would begin gradually incorporating Kosovo Police personnel into the security arrangements around the Visoki Dečani Monastery as part of a broader optimization of its presence.
The Diocese said the timing was especially troubling because the announcement came only hours before the Lipljan incident.
“Precisely because the Diocese highly appreciates KFOR’s role to date in protecting our holy sites and our people, we are obliged to state clearly that the assessment of an improved security situation does not reflect the reality in which Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church live,” the statement said.
The Diocese argued that an assessment based mainly on the absence of major armed incidents fails to take into account other forms of pressure, including arrests, searches, restrictions on entry, administrative obstacles, desecration of religious sites and intimidating displays of symbols.
It therefore maintained that current conditions do not provide sufficient grounds for reducing direct international protection of Visoki Dečani or transferring primary responsibility for its security to the Kosovo Police.
Any greater involvement of Kosovo Police around the monastery, it said, should depend on demonstrable improvements in the authorities’ approach toward the monastery, compliance with existing agreements concerning the protected zone and full coordination with KFOR, the Diocese and the monastic community.
Appeal to international organizations
The Diocese also criticized what it described as insufficiently clear and timely reactions from international representatives to recent incidents involving Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church.
It called on the competent prosecutor’s office to urgently investigate the Lipljan case, determine the motives of those detained and classify the alleged offence according to its seriousness.
The Kosovo Police, it added, should provide official information concerning those detained and ensure that all available evidence is preserved.
The Diocese also called on KFOR, EULEX, the OSCE, the European Union and diplomatic missions to publicly condemn the incident, closely monitor the proceedings and take concrete measures to prevent similar incidents.
“We will not respond to hatred with hatred”
At the same time, the Diocese urged Orthodox believers, particularly the remaining Serbs in Lipljan and the surrounding area, to remain calm and not allow themselves to be drawn into provocations.
“We will defend our homes, holy sites and graves through peaceful and persistent presence, lawful means, witness to the truth and unwavering faith in Christ,” the Diocese said.
“We will not respond to hatred with hatred, but neither will we remain silent in the face of injustice,” it added, stressing that Christian patience should not be interpreted as acceptance of humiliation.
Concluding its statement, the Diocese reaffirmed that the Serbian Orthodox Church would remain alongside its faithful in Kosovo and Metohija and continue seeking accountability for attacks and provocations.
“Our holy sites are not abandoned monuments upon which our centuries-old history and identity can be denied. They are living houses of God and places where our people have prayed for centuries,” the Diocese said.
“True peace is not built by concealing danger, but by recognizing it and resolutely opposing every form of hatred, discrimination and violence.”
Source: kosovo-online.com
