Skopje and Belgrade are struggling to prevent a religious dispute from spilling over into the public and political arena.
Macedonia: religious dispute escalates
Kosovo: Serb church concerns
Serb clerics have mixed feelings about KFOR efforts to protect vulnerable churches. The international community’s decision to keep protective checkpoints around Serb places of worship may not be enough to appease the clergy.
Tatjana Matic is IWPR associate from Pristina and correspondent of Radio Deutche Welle from Kosovo.
This article was originally published by the IWPR (Institute for War Peace Reporting), London, in its Balkan Crisis Report (BCR No 401, 28 January 2003). The Institute for War & Peace Reporting strengthens local journalism in areas of conflict. Religioscope has been allowed by the IWPR to repost its articles.
Website: http://www.iwpr.net/
© 2003 Institute for War & Peace Reporting
The “last anchor” of Serb presence: Serbian orthodox sites in Kosovo
Since the arrival of NATO forces in Kosovo in mid-June 1999, some 108 Serbian Orthodox churches in the province have been destroyed or vandalised; the work, according to the Serbian Orthodox Church, of Albanian extremists. At present, these churches are under the protection of KFOR, the international Kosovo Force, but there are worrying signs that […]
Source: Keston Institute <http://www.keston.org>