Government gives in to pressure, expects Decani municipality to implement decision on monastery land

Kosovo's government expects the local self-government in Decani é municipality in the western part of the country to implement the Kosovo Constitutional Court's 2016 decision on the land of the Decani Monastery, while the Decani municipality, which has, throughout the years rejected the implementation of this decision, says it has not changed its stance.

This municipality is led by opposition party officials from Ramush Haradinaj, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo.

The implementation of the Constitutional Court's decision, which requires the transfer of 24 hectares of land to the Decani Monastery, would be crucial to Kosovo's application for membership in the Council of Europe during the general Assembly of this institution, to be held in April.

Central and local government officials, including the head of the Decani municipality, the Ramosaj Union, reiterated on several occasions that the Constitutional Court, with its decision in 2016, legalised a 1997 decision by former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, through which “tokë estate was granted to the Monastery”.

The Decani municipality and relevant directors, including Cadastra, claim that this area belongs to social companies “Apico” and “Ilia” and that it has never met the Decani Monastery.

Even though the Prime Minister's Government Albin Kurti He continues to consider that decision unfair, Radio Free Europe agrees that it is holding talks with local self-government and relevant actors, with the aim of implementing it, before the session of the Council of Europe General Assembly. This is justified with “respect for rule of law in the entire territory of Kosovo”.

As it turns out, the Government is willing to publicly invite the municipality to implement “painful decision” in order to prove that “Kosovo is legal state”.

Although “does not want to impose the municipality” to implement the decision, in the hope that this will be achieved “independently and without pressure”, the Government believes it is going “in the right direction”.

In a proposal for Radio Free Europe March 6th, Decani Mayor Ramosaj said his statements on the issue are public and that he wants nothing more.

Asked what would happen if the Kosovo government wants to implement the decision, he said “does not believe the Government will ask for such a thing”.

Radio Free Europe also asked the Diocese of Raska-Prizren of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo whether the return of property to the Decani Monastery is being discussed and what it expects, but, until the publication of this article, there was no response.

The Decani Monastery told the REL earlier that they refused to contact Kosovo authorities, because of their <x0-retoric political sparking”, and that Prime Minister Kurti could visit them “only if he brings with him an extract from the monastery property cadastra, in which it would clearly be seen that the land was registered according to the Constitutional Court's decision”.

The QUINT states have repeatedly called on the Government of Kosovo to implement the Constitutional Court's decision to own the Decani Monastery for 24 hectares of land. The QUINT states belong to the United States, Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.

If Kosovo gets the green light at the General Assembly, then the final word should be given by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe which the Government expects to happen in May.

Kosovo has applied for membership in the Council of Europe on 12 May 2022.

The Council of Europe is an international human rights organisation, democracy and rule of law in Europe, headquartered in Strasbourg, France.

It was founded in 1949.

Every member of the Council of Europe must accept the principles of rule of law and implement basic human rights and freedoms for all persons within that state's jurisdiction. /Radio Free Europe/