Europa Nostra: Monastery of Deçan, “endangered monument”

A year ago, the Europa Nostra organization included the Monastery of Deçan in the list of the 7 most endangered monuments in Europe. This week a delegation of “Europa Nostra” visited Kosovo and held meetings with representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, ministers of the Kosovo government and international representatives.

There is still no final solution

For “Europa Nostra”, there are several reasons why the Monastery of Deçan continues to be a “Monument in Danger”. “First, it has not yet been agreed upon by all parties for a final solution regarding the consequences caused by the plans to increase traffic in and around the Special Protection Zone of Deçan Monastery, as well as regarding other interventions by warned, such as the riverside project, that may negatively affect the natural environment of the Monastery which will be considered as an integral part of its outstanding heritage value”, says a Europa Nostra communiqué.

Among its arguments, “Europa Nostra” also mentions the non-implementation by the Kosovo authorities of the 2016 decision of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo confirming the ownership of the Deçani Monastery in 24 hectares of land around the Monastery, considering that “this violates the rule of the law and the legal security of this Monastery”. According to Europa Nostra, “The monastery should continue to be guarded 24/7 by KFOR peacekeeping troops.

Reactions from Kosovo: Unprofessional approach

But the Kosovo authorities do not agree with the arguments of “Europa Nostra”. According to the Ministry of Culture of the Kosovo government, “the inclusion of the Deçan Monastery in the list of the 7 most endangered localities in Europe is not fair, as it is not based on professional arguments and does not reflect the real picture of the Monastery”.

Two ministers of the Kosovo government, the Minister of Infrastructure Liburn Aliu and the Minister of Culture Hajrullah Çeku, declared that “the lack of assessment of the danger that threatens the Novobërda Castle, and the insistence on the “danger” to the Monastery of Deçan, is also a testimony to the unprofessional, politically influenced approach of the Europa Nostra organization”. They emphasized once again that “Europa Nostra owes Kosovo an apology and compensation for the damage caused to the reputation of Kosovo Institutions”.

According to them, the security situation in cultural heritage objects, especially religious ones, has improved, and this fact is argued by the reports of the security bodies, the Kosovo Police and the KFOR Mission in Kosovo.

“From 2014-2021, 537 cases in religious buildings (most cases of theft) were reported to the Kosovo police, of which 61% in Muslim religious buildings, 31% in Catholic buildings and 6% in Orthodox buildings. Most of them are cases of theft, while no case has been classified as a case with religious motives”, the announcement of the Ministry of Culture states.

QUINT reminded the Kosovo government of the implementation of the decision

The matter of the Monastery of Deçan continues to be a topic of debate even within the international presence in Kosovo. The heads of missions of the most industrialized QUINT countries, for the umpteenth time in a row, have asked the government of Kosovo to implement a decision of the Constitutional Court to transfer ownership of about 24 hectares of land around the Monastery of Deçan. The Government of Kosovo and the municipality of Deçan, where the Monastery is located, are reluctant to implement the decision of the Constitutional Court. According to them, the lands around the monastery were the property of social enterprises, while they express surprise “how the right of the party in the procedure was recognized to the Monastery”. However, QUINT reminds the government of Kosovo that the implementation of the decision is an obligation.

“In May 2016, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo confirmed the ownership of Deçan Monastery over several hectares of land. Despite this legal decision and subsequent requests, the Court’s decision has not yet been implemented. Enforcing the law and respecting the independence of the judiciary are obligations of all democratically elected governments. Likewise, they are prerequisites for the democratic consolidation of Kosovo and its integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions”, says a recent QUINT statement.

The statement further states that “the heads of missions of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States of America are united in their support for the democratic and European future of Kosovo. QUINT’s call was joined by the Serbian Orthodox Church, through the hegumen of the Deçan Monastery, Sava Janjiq, expressing her concern about, as she says, “the violation of the property rights of the Serbian Orthodox Church by the institutions of Kosovo”.

Can the issue of Deçan Monastery hinder Kosovo?

The Government of Kosovo, for its part, says that it will be committed to the maximum to preserve the legitimate rights of the Monastery of Deçan, but at the same time, the religious leaders of the Monastery are called to do their part by seeking a solution through dialogue of agreements with the local population. “We are aware that the decisions of the Constitutional Court must be respected, but we must also take into account the contradictions that have followed the issues of the lands around the Monastery in the historical and legal aspects. First, everything has its source in the decision of the Government of Serbia in 1997 when the lands were given to Manastir in a discriminatory manner because they were the property of two public enterprises. Secondly, the Monastery of Deçan does not have an independent legal identity because it legally belongs to the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is a little surprising how Manastir has been recognized as a party to the proceedings. As much as the involvement of the Constitutional Court in this process, giving the right to the Monastery”, says the reaction of the Kosovo government.

The non-implementation of the decision of the Constitutional Court on the properties of the Monastery of Deçan may hinder Kosovo in its journey towards membership in international organizations, analysts say. Even according to them, the first obstacle that can be presented to Kosovo after the official application is membership in the Council of Europe, due to the fact that democracy, human rights and the rule of law are the three basic values ​​on which the Council of Europe is based.

top channel