Report DAS for Religious Freedoms in Kosovo: Attention on Decani Monastery Land Decision

The US State Department, has released the 15-page report concerning International Religious Freedoms, and the Kosovo case, has also been published in Albanian at the American Embassy's widow in Pristina.

The report sums up events that took place during the year 2021 in terms of religion as well as actions that were taken in front of them.

In this report, an important part has been dedicated to the issue of the Decani Manchester property, writes Periscopi and the same, we bring in portions below:

“municipal officials of Decani and the central government continued to reject the implementation of a decision by the 2016 Constitutional Court that upheld the 2012 Supreme Court ruling, which was familiar with the Decani Monastery's ownership of approximately 24 hectares of land in the vicinity of the monastery. There was no progress during the year, despite repeated calls by the KOS and the international community to the Kosovo Cadastral Agency and, more broadly, the government, to register ownership of KOS Land”, Periscopi says on the seventh page of this report.

The report further sums up the statement of the event as follows:

“In September, the Constitutional Court declared that all government institutions were obliged to implement its decisions and referred the case to the state prosecutor. By the end of the year, the prosecutor had not begun criminal proceedings against responsible officials who had refused to comply. In September, the mayor of the Decani municipality, Bashkim Ramosaj, publicly reaffirmed that he had no intention of implementing the Court's decision. NATO troops continued to provide security at the Decani Monastery. In October, Violet von Cromon, European Parliament rapporteur for Kosovo, posted to Titter, “Tolerance and mutual respect are the essence of a multiethnic society. The legacy of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo must be protected and enjoy full rights. Therefore, I call on the Government of Kosovo to implement Tuesday's delayed decision. Consistent] as rule of the law implies equal treatment for all. ”

The report concludes with description of the chronology of US ambassador's commitment to the implementation issue Decani Manchester Decision, in the section entitled U.S. government policy and engagement

“Ambassador and other embassy officials urged central and local government officials, including the prime minister, to respect the ZVME law, especially in the case of the road near the Decani Monastery. Embassy officials talked to all levels of government in implementing the 2016 Constitutional Court's decision ordering land ownership registration on behalf of the Decani Monastery, encouraging the government and judiciary to hold local officials accountable.

Ambassador and other embassy officials called for increased dialogue between ethnic Albanian members of the government and KOS members. They conveyed this message to both private meetings and public statements, calling for co-operation between local governments and KOS on issues such as property ownership, human rights, religious freedom and general security. In May and November, Ambassador and Labour Charger joined the chiefs of diplomatic missions of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom in statements supporting implementation of the Constitutional Court's decision on land disputes in Decani. In September, the embassy joined the chiefs of missions of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom in a statement with which they welcomed the Constitutional Court's reference to failing to comply with the government's decision to the state prosecutor.

The embassy often published messages in written media and social media in support of religious freedom. For example, the ambassador wrote an article in January that was published in the media in Albanian and Serbian, entitled “Respecting the Court's decisions is vital to Kosovo's democratic future”, saying that the case of the Decani Monastery “has nothing to do with ethnic affiliation, politics or religion; it concerns property rights and respect for the constitutional law, the report further says. /Total THESE Report/ Periscopi/