[Sent by a friend in England. Has anyone seen anything by a Serb leader
expressing regret for the Serb atrocities against Kosovars? Sure, we
should be evenhanded and pray for all sides in this conflict, but such
‘evenhandedness’ doesn’t seem to be evident over there, eh?]

ITEM 1.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENTS, GOVERNMENTS AND PARLIAMENTS,
TO THE DIPLOMATS AND AMBASSADORS OF THE USA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am writing this OPEN LETTER, although I’m not sure how it is
going to get through to you, since all telephone and other forms of
communications with Kosovo are dead, that being one of the many
“successes” of your NATO intervention on my homeland, my innocent
people and myself.

During the 16 days of continuous bombing by your alliance you have
really achieved stellar results, stellar from your perspective. You have
destroyed military barracks and other military facilities, factories and
civilian residential areas, bridges and radio transmitters; you have
sown
death and wounds, pain and sorrow to many homes and villages; you have
forced a whole nation to go underground. And you do all this for
“humanitarian reasons”? We’d be grateful if you would explain how
your inhumanity to us would be expressed.

Naturally all this causes us great pain, mostly because of the knowledge
that we did nothing to deserve this. You say that by doing this you
wish to punish Mr. Milosevic. Did you really not have other ways and
means to punish him personally without punishing God’s poor
people in Aleksinac, Pristina, Belgrade, Velika Hoca and who knows where
else you’re going to strike?

According to accepted international conventions, as well as the laws of
God, if someone punishes or kills children because of the crimes and
misdeeds of their parents, he himself becomes a transgressor and
criminal. If it is done on a massive scale and in the context of war,
then they
are war criminals and should be tried at the Hague Tribunal. What is the
difference between such criminals and you, under whose orders
thousands of tons of destructive explosives are being showered upon the
heads of innocent people and children, because of the crimes of one
man, Mr. Milosevic? Do you not also belong in front of the Hague
Tribunal? Perhaps you comfort yourselves with the thought that there is
no
one who can take you there. I think that is little comfort if you have a
conscience and believe in God (as you present yourselves). No one can
escape the judgement of the Eternal and Righteous Judge, not even you
with all of your military and economic might. Think about that.

In addition, I would like to emphasise something else. The greatest
victim of your NATO bombs is not what is demolished and broken or killed
and wounded (however great that number may be), but rather something
which you stopped from developing, something which was conceived
and was supposed to bring about the integration of Serbia, Yugoslavia
and the Balkans into the European and International mainstream. That
something is DEMOCRACY! Before your bombs democratic forces existed
here, open and with potential; there existed a democratic process,
however embryonic. There existed a hope with these people, that with
your support the process of democratisation would come to life and
prevail. All of that is gone now. Destroying those democratic forces,
those democratic processes, the hope and faith of this people for a
better
tomorrow, is the greatest crime of your bombs.

The Serbian Orthodox Church (I as Bishop of Ras-Prizren) along with the
representatives of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, gathered
together in a movement of Serbian Resistance, a democratic movement
headed by Mr. Momcilo Trajkovic, a symbol of the Assemblage of the
Church and people, have travelled for the last two years throughout
Europe, America and Russia, declaring everywhere the truth about the
problems of Kosovo and Metohija, its ancestry, the acute situation in
which it finds itself, and ways in which the problems could be solved to
the satisfaction of all those who live in Kosovo and Metohija and who
desire to live as honourable and good citizens in their homeland.

With this peace mission we visited the USA five times in one year, from
February 1998 to February 1999. Wherever we went, we stressed that
the problems of Kosovo cannot be resolved by using force, irrespective
of which side it came (including the forces of NATO). We advocated
our conviction that solutions be sought by political means, by way of
the democratisation of Serbia, Yugoslavia, as well as the greater Balkan
region, through dialogue and agreement. We promoted a multi ethnic,
multi cultural and multi religious Kosovo, where all residents would
enjoy
the same privileges according to the world’s highest standards.

With satisfaction and gratitude we can truthfully say that we were
exceptionally well received and heard everywhere we went, and 90% of the
time we were supported in our position. This made us hopeful that the
problems of Kosovo would be resolved peacefully to everyone’s
satisfaction. Our listeners expressed joy in learning that another
Serbia existed, different from the one represented by Mr. Milosevic and
his
regime, that an alternative exists. All this pointed to a better future
for everyone. All that has now been destroyed.

Not a trace of those beautiful possibilities survived NATO’s
bombs. Instead we have precisely that which we (Mr. Trajkovic and I)
predicted during our last visit to France and the USA in February of
this year. We specifically stressed to Mrs. Albright, in person and in
writing, what would happen if NATO intervened militarily in Serbia and
Yugoslavia. Here is a brief reminder:

1. NATO intervention would only strengthen Mr. Milosevic’s regime.

2. It would be a big blow to the democratic opposition in Serbia and
would postpone the necessary process of democratisation in Serbia.

3. It would provoke Mr. Milosevic’s regime to undertake drastic
measures against those who think differently in Serbia.

4. It would cause a radicalisation of certain factions of the KLA, which
would in turn cause the radicalisation amongst the Serbs in Kosovo and
Serbs in general.

5. All of this would put eventual NATO units in Kosovo in a very
delicate situation as they would be viewed as an occupation force.

We ask you, ladies and gentlemen, which of the things we predicted and
pointed out to you (hopefully in a timely manner) did not come true
upon NATO intervention?

We expressed at that time our fear that such a flow of events would be
counterproductive and harmful in many ways. In its place we offered an
alternative, an ADDENDUM on how to make cantons in Kosovo, which would
not change the Rambouillet Agreement, but would only
supplement it so that both the Serb and Albanian sides would have equal
right to autonomy, making the Agreement acceptable to both.

To our great sorrow you chose to intervene militarily with NATO air
strikes on our homeland. What will this accomplish? Whom are you really
going to help? Think this through for yourselves. Bombs neither conclude
nor reduce a “humanitarian catastrophe,” but rather compound it
exponentially. Perhaps this has become evident in the last 16 days of
your “peace mission.” Good for you!

Our hopes in you, your democracy, your love of justice, your
humanitarianism, are now buried deep in craters produced by your bombs
and
tomahawks. Will they ever be resurrected? That’s the question now.

Christ, whose Holy Friday we celebrate today, suffered and was crucified
by the same people whom He came to save out of His love. They
unjustly killed and buried Him. They sealed His tomb and set a guard
over it in order to prevent His glorious and saving resurrection. But
all of
their measures failed. Christ has risen. And to us, who suffer from your
bombs today, without fault or blame, He gave us hope that there is
resurrection for us, too, no matter what you do to us.

We Orthodox Serbs, although persecuted by you, have genuine pity for
you. Your downfall is even greater than ours because it longer lasting.
It is longer lasting because you are incapable of repentance for the
evil you inflict upon us. Therefore, we pray for you to the Crucified
and
Resurrected Lord, repeating with humility and love His words from the
Cross: “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do”

Christ Is Risen

Indeed He Is Risen

April 9, 1999, in Prizren,

The Bishop of Ras and Prizren,

+ ARTEMIJE

ITEM 2:

Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox Church

PRAVOSLAVLJE PRESS STATEMENT

Belgrade, June 16, 1999

The afflictions of the Serbian Orthodox believers, clergymen and
monastics, as well as the damages caused to the churches and monasteries
on
Kosovo and Metohia have been aggravated to the extent of tragedy.

Rt. Rev. Artemije, the Bishop of Raska and Prizren, together with local
clergymen, monastics, and 250 Serbs who remained in Prizren, lived for
several days in the churchyard, surounded by the Albanians, and exposed
to the perils of Albanian terrorists. Today, in the afternoon, the
prisoners have managed to move to the free territory, owing to the great
efforts made by Rt. Rev. Atanasije, the Bishop of Zahumlje and
Herzegovina, who has been on Kosovo and Metohia for several days
already. Two clergymen have stayed in Prizren.

The monastic Hariton from the monastery of the Saint Archangels, near
Prizren, was kidnapped yesterday by the Albanians, and nothing has
been known about him since. The rest of the monastics managed to find
refuge in the Gracanica monastery, near Pristina.

The monastery of the Holy Trinity, near Suva Reka (its church and
residential part) has been burned to the ground. The nuns from the
monastery managed to leave in time, and, temporarily, to find refuge in
the Gracanica monastery.

The monastery Devic, abode of nuns, has been exposed to the severe
attacks of the Albanians for couple of days, since it has been left
without
military protection. The efforts of the clergymen from Pristina to free
the nuns, have not resulted in success yet.

There is no clergymen, and not a single Serb in Djakovica.

The situation is very difficult for the Serbs living in Pec and in other
places on Kosovo and Metohia as well. The nuns of the Patriarchate of
Pec monastery, and two clergymen from Pec, have stayed there with the
people.

Rt. Rev. Amfilohije, the Archbishop of Crna Gora and Primorje has
arrived this afternoon in the Patriarchate of Pec monastery. Tomorrow,
on
June 17, 1999, His Holiness Pavle, the Serbian Patriarch, and his
auxilliary bishop, Atanasije Rakita, the Bishop of Hvosno, will come to
the
Patriarchate of Pec.

About 35.000 of Orthodox Serbs have been driven out of Kosovo and
Metohia. They have abandoned their hearths after signing of the Peace
agreement.

We hope that this tragedy will be stopped with the help of God.

Translated by

Ivana Milicic

But I think we will both agre that the Serbian Church needs a great deal
of prayer and support. The churches have prayed very much for the
Albanians in their plight – and quite rightly – but they are not praying
for the Serbs now in a similar ssituation. Nor is there much sign of
repentance at our callous bombing of innocent people.