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from the Decani Monastery in Kosovo/a
The abridged version of the interview in Serbian was
published by "Blic"
The peace and harmony. The sun shines while the monks are working in the fields of Decani Monastery. The church bell calls for communal meal in the refectory. This is a scene which someone could hardly expect only a mile from the town of Decani where serious clashes between the Serbian security forces and the KLA occurred just a month ago. The love and peace which shine on the faces of the abbot and his monks give an impression of an oasis of true peace and Christian blessing. "I would rather devote myself to monastic life, silence
and prayer. But I simply cannot close my eyes in front of
what is going on before us. Our brotherhood is helping all
the people in need here as much as we can. I know that we
cannot stop the war and make all the evils in the world
disappear. But it is our Christian duty to help all in need
when the situation requires", says Hieromonk Sava, one of
the senior monks in the monastery. BLIC: Can you describe to us the present situation in
Decani? FR. SAVA: In this moment the situation is very
complicated and serious because we are having a real war
here, with front lines, road blocks, check-points, ruined
houses and many refugees. The Pec - Djakovica road and the
town of Decani are under control of the Government security
forces while the surrounding villages are more or less in
hands of the Albanian KLA. Two months ago before everything
started the first Serbian refugees came here from the nearby
villages of Dasinovac, Donji Ratis, Glodjane, Drenovac and
Dubrava. They settled in a refugee camp near the
monastery. BLIC: How many refugee families arrived? FR. SAVA: In the first wave about 40. Some found refuge
in the nearby refugee camp but those who had somewhere to go
went to their relatives in Pec or Montenegro. We opened our
monastery stables for their cattle which they brought with
them. That is the only thing they have now. Some families
wanted to stay in their villages till the last moment when
they were finally forced to leave their homes. They say that
they were not only frighthened but were openly threatened as
well. Some were even arrested and and later set free. We do
not know anything about the eight elderly Serbs who remained
in their villages and were reportedly arrested by the KLA.
In some cases I heard that the Albanian families granted
security to their neighbors but they would soon come to them
crying and saying that they had to leave because it was not
safe any longer for them there. Of course it is better to
talk to these people. Their stories are very painful as well
as are the stories of all refugees. BLIC: On the other hand the brotherhood is helping the
Albanian families which remained in Decani after the police
action... FR. SAVA: Yes, because in this tragedy we cannot make any
difference between the people, especially when they need
help. At the moment there are several Albanian families in
Decani which remained in the town after the heavy fights. We
visit them and help them regularly. We bring them food,
medicines and often drive their elderly people to Pec
hospital. In case of renewed fighting we are ready to
receive both Serbs and Albanian civilians in our monastery.
The humanitarian situation in the area is generally speaking
extremely difficult. We hope that both Albanian and Serbs
who left Decani will come soon and that the situation will
normalize soon. BLIC: Have you received any threats by the Albanian
extremists and do you know any cases in which religious
objects were attacked? FR. SAVA: No, as long as we are here (from 1992) we have
not received any threats, thank God. In Devic convent which
is completely surrounded by Albanian villages, the nuns have
remained in their place although they live in fear. In the
beginning there were certain threats and intimidations but
they are left alone though the KLA patrols are all
around.The local priest is allowed by their patrols to come
freely to the convent and serve them. As far as I know
neither of our churches and monasteries in Kosovo have so
far been attacked. Of course in the past there were
unpleasant cases but the life continued and there were no
major problems. Until the situation deteriorated the local
Albanians used to visit our monastery. One Albanian from
Decani told me that he would not leave Decani because he
could not take the monastery with him.As far as I have heard
the KLA does not intend to attack our churches and
monasteries. This is good, I think, because such attacks
would show Albanians in very negative picture before the
world because everyone admires the spiritual and artistic
heritage of Kosovo and Metohija. If both sides are fighting
they must spare innocent civilians, women and children as
well as the cultural and religious objects. We stressed that
in our appeal and expressed our regret for the damage made
on several mosques and old "kulas". We must not allow that
now disappears what even the invaders of the past spared.
The cultural heritage of Kosovo and Metohija is the treasure
which does not only belong to the Serbs or Albanians but to
the whole civilized world. BLIC: What is your understanding of the present
situation? FR. SAVA: Objectively speaking I think that we have now
the clash between two irreconilable national ideologies
which defined its national goals and strategies mostly in
the 19th century, in the period of the European Romanticism.
The Albanian national awakening started at the end of the
19th century and their national state first appeared in
1912. The Serbs had their state in this region from the
12-15th centuries although the modern national consciousness
appeared in the recent period. Before that there was not a
clear difference between Orthodoxy and Serbdom and the
people had more religious self-consciousness than the
present secular one. Until the 19th century the Serbs and
Albanians did not have global national conflicts. Of course
there were individual cases of revenges and quarrels but
they nevertheless kept living together sharing both good and
evil together. In the Ottoman time the life of the Serbs and
Catholic Albanians was especially difficult because they did
not have the privileges which the Moslem citizens
enjoyed. BLIC: How in fact appeared the confrontation between
these two national ideologies? FR. SAVA: With foundation of their national ideology, which found its expression in the goals of the „Prizren League" formed in 1878, the Albanians wanted to make their own state after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. That state had to encompass all the territories inhabited by the Albanians. On the other hand the young Serbian state in the 19th century built its national identity on the rich Serbian medieval tradition in which Kosovo played a very important role. It was inconceivable for the Serbs that their „Holy Land" remained out of the Serbian borders. When Serbs finally liberated Kosovo and Metohija in the Balkan wars 1912-1913, both peoples faced the reality which was not favorable for neither of the two. There were too few Serbs in Kosovo while the Albanians remained divided into two states which they understood as historical injustice. In fact not all the Serbs were in Serbia at the time too, which also later generated problems. In fact almost all borders in the Balkans did not correspod to the demographic and cultural realities. I think that it is very important to understand that historical period well because it is in fact the key for understanding of what is going on now. Therefore, this event was a great liberation for the
Serbs who had been oppressed by the Turks for 5 centuries.
For the Albanians, on the other hand, especially the Moslem
Albanians who lived a more privileged life under the
Ottomans, it was a defeat and an occupation. The main
problems in fact appeared in that time. The Albanians could
not accept the new state as their own and sought any good
opportunity to secede from Serbia, while on the other hand
the Serbs made great efforts to integrate this area more
into Serbia which was very difficult due to rather
unfavorable demographic situation in the area. The Albanians
remember with great grief the expulsions in 1877-1878 as
well as the events in 1913, while the Serbs cannot forget
their "Albanian Golgotha" in 1914 as well as the Second
World War pogroms. These were very painful experiences which
made a great impact on the relations between these two
peoples. BLIC: For the Serbs Kosovo was their land on which they
lived for centuries where there were almost all their
monuments, monasteries and shrines.... FR. SAVA: Absolutely. Kosovo and Metohija is a Serbian
Jerusalem with the most important shrines. However, we must
not forget that it is also important for the Albanian people
and that we are both living in this land. We must face the
reality. In the last 80 years the situation changed many
times and a lot of people suffered and left Kosovo.
Especially many Serbs have left during this century and now
are a minority on their ancestral land. The monasteries and
churches have played an important role in the history of the
Serbs because they helped the Serbian people to preserve
their identity, the language and their customs. BLIC: The situation nevertheless became worse in the last
several years... FR. SAVA: Yes. In his attempt to prevent the secession of Kosovo Mr. Milosevi reduced considerably the autonomy to the pre-1974 Constitution level which caused the great dissatisfaction among the Albanians. They felt occupied and deprived of their political rights. We must be aware that it was not this act which launched the ideas of secession, which as I said had existed from the 19th century, but played a crucial role in further radicalization of the problem. In the beginning the Albanian movement was completely non-violent but from 1996 there began the first armed attacks. It was a great mistake that in this period Mr. Milosevic did not introduce more democracy and opened Serbia to the West like other countries in the neighborhood. That could have calmed down the tensions considerably and perhaps prevent the large scale conflict which ensued. Instead of that the Belgrade regime ghettoized the country in order to preserve its political power. The situation in Kosovo became unbearable with coexistence of the two parallel states. The Albanians consider these last few years as the period of heavy repression while the Kosovo Serbs felt a of relief after the years of pressures and strong albanization in the period of the Albanian autonomy in Kosovo. True in these years the Albanians made a considerable economic progres despite all difficulties and organized a parallel educational system based on their own curriculums unrecognized by the Serbian authorities. In fact from 1989 Kosovo was only a wound in bandages but the wound that was not healed and had to get inflamed one day. Neither Belgrade nor the international community seemed to be aware of that. The majority of Albanians are now supporting the idea of
independent Kosovo which could be later possibly united with
Albania and West Macedonia. On the other hand the Serbs are
only ready to redefine the autonomous status of Kosovo
within Serbia (or possibly FRY) and are aware that the loss
of Kosovo would practically mean the loss of their national
identity and the sovereignty of their state. In fact it
could lead to large scale exodus of the Serbian population
from the province. If this happened it is a question whether
our Church and monastic communities could remain here. I
think that in the long run the Kosovo Serbs are in most
difficult position. BLIC: What is actually the present position of the Kosovo
and Metohija Serbs? FR. SAVA: The world media speak about Kosovo and Metohija
as the territory where Serbs are almost only present as
policemen and soldiers, as if our people is not living here,
as if we have not been here for centuries. And the local
Serbs here are in extremely difficult position. From 1945 to
1989, as I said, they lived in rather unfavorable conditions
and felt that they were left alone by their state and their
people in Serbia. They felt as second rate citizens and
often lived under great pressures. Therefore you can
understand why there was so many sympathies for Mr.
Milosevic and his reforms. Nevertheless, the regime in
Belgrade misused the tragedy and misfortune of this people
and kept them as hostages all these years. The ruling regime
built its existence on the fear of Kosovo Serbs who feared
that they would be left alone at the end. They were taken to
„rallies of truth" or „counter-rallies" against
the Belgrade students like actors. It was a great
humiliation. On the other hand Kosovo was ruled mostly by
the local Socialist party officials who often used their
position for their personal benefits. Bribes, rackets, even
open business schemes with Albanian businessmen who
supported the secession made the life of both ordinary Serbs
and Albanians very difficult. These Kosovo Serbs and
Albanians are actually squeezed now between the two opposite
sides, the Belgrade regime and its robust policy and the
Albanian millitant national ideology and are forced to fight
the war which neither of them wants. This stands especially
for the Kosovo Serbs who still do not have proper
representatives in the peace talks and are heavily
manipulated and radicalized which makes their present
position in Kosovo extremely difficult. The extremists, like
Mr. Seselj, are openly thrusting guns into their hands to
make them responsible for the war which they cannot win. It
is very important that someone hears the true voice of
Kosovo Serbs. That is why Bishop Artemije and Mr. Trajkovic
went all over the world to give the message that there are
living Serbs in Kosovo, that we have not occupied this area
in which we live for centuries and that we really want to
live in peace in this land of God with all the peoples of
good will. Unfortunately, their voice of reason is not
easily heard beside the loud trumpets of the state
media. BLIC: What is your perception of the recent escalation of
violence? FR. SAVA: We as members of the Church oppose to any kind of violence. The best defense of the state and national interests lies in right time diplomacy and the political wisdom. In our Public Statement the brotherhood of our Monastery condemned any kind of violence on both sides. Unfortunately, very few people are ready to make the compromise at the moment because there are individuals who think that they can still achieve their goals by force and enforce the solution according to the millitary situation on the ground. Of course, first there must stop any violence and a certain peace agreement should be achieved. But it will be only the first aid. Bishop Artemije and us all see the only possible lasting resolution of the problem in the process of democratic transformation of our country and the entire Balkans. The Public Statement by Decani Monastery BLIC: Do you think that xenophobia in our people can be
justified? FR. SAVA: I am sure that the world does not want an annihilation of the Serbian people. This is an absurd idea. The international community simply wants us to find our proper place in the family of peoples to which we geographically and culturally belong. We must be aware that xenophobia and the paranoiac ideas that everyone hates us serve in fact the selfish and personal political interests of those who in the true rule of law could not keep the positions they have at the moment. Last year almost all the people of Serbia showed their strong determination to become a modern democratic society and enter into the world. If by chance Serbia had found its way to Europe and democracy in time and buried once for ever its dark communist heritage the situation would have never taken this course. Of course, there would have been extremists but they could not have found any support by the world because there would have existed the proper democratic mechanisms which could have calmed down the existing problems so that they could have been resolved in the Parliament and not in the streets, by law and not by fighting. The best ground for any extremism is the absence of proper democracy and that is the problem we have. If we want that all citizens were to accept this country as their own, or at least were offered that opportunity, we definitely must be good hosts. I always keep saying that the problem of Kosovo and Metohija is in fact the problem of democratization and not of territory, war, blood and myths. In resolution of this issue we must look into the future and not go back into the past. Of course, I do not support the extinction of national
identities in the New World Order „melting pot". Each
people has to preserve its identity but in that effort must
not act destructively against other peoples. The national
consciousness of both Serbs and Albanians needs to be freed
and purged from the aggressive elements which may generate
destructive ideas, movements and individuals. BLIC: Who are today the greatest extremists? FR. SAVA: Today many accuse our Church for supporting the extremist nationalism, but it is not true. The greatest nationalists today are those who know very little about their faith and have no real contact with the Church and Orthodoxy. They often abuse our symbols and talk about the „Kosovo Covenant" but fail to understand the true spiritual message of St. Prince Lazar. Some of them are even mixed up in criminal acts but they evade their personal responsibility by creating the idea of collective responsibility of the whole people. If there were any support of the extremist nationalism within the Church this was not a general trend and it was favorized by certain individuals who could not read between the lines. Our Orthodox faith has always encouraged peace and
forgiveness. The Church teaches us that the greatest patriot
is the one who can show human love not only towards his
neighbor but also towards his enemy especially when he is
disabled and unarmed. I must say that the modern nationalist
ideas among the Serbs were not formed under the influence of
the Church. They were in fact generated in certain
intellectual and liberal circles which reinterpreted our
history and tradition in a new way according to the existing
romanticized trends of 19th century Europe. The major
European nations have already gone through this process and
now there is a new self consciousness in Europe which is
characterized in the feeling of unity and cooperation. The
Germans and the French who were fighting against one another
for centuries are cooperating as good neighbors and allies.
Therefore both Serbs and Albanians must understand that we
are not in the Middle Ages but at the threshold of the 21st
century and that all problems must be resolved in the
peaceful and civilized way. We both do need a
„historical catharsis" in which the ideas and myths of
the past will be finally left behind where they belong. In
fact we must both support the idea of our common life in
peace and tolerance. Tomorrow almost all the borders in
Europe will become insignificant and purely symbolic. The
ethnic and cultural differences in Europe are not any longer
the cause of wars but these varieties enrich the
civilizational mosaic of the world even more. Therefore
instead of fighting for the changing of the borders we must
work on the transformation of the society in which we live.
We shall never find our place in Europe as long as we base
our policies on unrealistic ideas, selfish ambitions, in
short, as long as we do not face the reality as it is. That
is why this time is the time of the general exam for both
Serbs and Albanians as well as the whole world. Whether the
aggressive policy of blood and myths will prevail or the
policy of integration, democratization and peaceful life,
depends on us all now. I think that we must all support the
second option because it is the only one which opens the
prospects for the peaceful future of all the citizens of
this region. I am sure the Church can play an important role
in this process. BLIC: At the end, what is your message as an Orthodox
monk and priest? FR. SAVA: So far I have spoken more about the affairs of this world but we as monks and Christians now very well that we cannot have the true peace in the world as long as there are people who do not have good will for that. But nevertheless it is ours to do all we can in our temporary earthly life to inspire the world with the ideas of love and forgiveness. St. Prince Lazar knew that the heavenly kingdom is everlasting and more important than his early kingdom and mother Euphrosyne, from our epic poetry, teaches us that it is better to loose one's head than one's soul. In order to achieve peace we must have it first in our souls by repentance, love and forgiveness. This is the way of Christ, the way of our holy forefathers but also the way leading us into the future and eternity.
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