Dečani Monastery
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Visoki Dečani Monastery, Serbian Orthodox Church, official account in English, covering Church life, human and religious rights. Serbian Account @DecaniManastir
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Kosovo - Demolition of Serb houses in North Kosovo continue Rezala: demolition larger than first reported - nine houses in a Serbian village and the village hall gone Source: KoSSev on-site reporting, 4–5 September 2026. On-site reporting on 5 September established that the 4 September operation in Rezala, on Lake Gazivode in the municipality of Zubin Potok, demolished at least nine houses and the Holy Trinity community hall, not the six structures first cited by Kosovo Police. Heavy machinery and police were still in the village the next day. No further demolition was observed then. OSCE representatives visited; EULEX personnel were also seen at the site. The difference in numbers is not a detail. It is the scale of what was taken from a small Serb village in a single day. The hall was not a holiday cottage. Villagers built it themselves and used it for almost two decades for the village slava and communal gatherings. Before the excavators arrived they removed the inventory and left an icon, a candle and a photograph of Rezala on the table. Councillor Marko Jakšić said the hall stood on his great-grandfather’s land and that a long-standing Christian community was being erased. That is the social cost: not only walls, but the one indoor place where the village still assembled. The operation sits in a longer sequence around Gazivode. In June, Ibar-Lepenac took over the Rezala summer camp with police assistance; owners said they were not notified and were shown no court order. In July, residents of about 20 houses were given seven days to prove ownership of homes they say predate the artificial lake itself. August deadlines then expired for objects in Kovače and Rezala. At least one family, the Đurićs, sought an interim court measure to stop demolition and were refused. On 4 September the machines came. Police confirmed they were assisting environmental inspectors. Access for journalists was blocked. Kosovo authorities describe the buildings as unauthorized structures on public land administered by Ibar-Lepenac. Owners and local reporting describe homes and a communal hall in a Serb village, demolished after a short paper trail and without an effective halt while disputes were still live. What cannot be disputed is the result on the ground: more houses gone than first announced, and the village’s gathering place destroyed. For the Serbian community the impact is cumulative. Property is removed faster than courts can protect it. A communal building used for religious and social life is treated as just another object. A village already thinned by emigration loses both shelter and the place that held it together. Earlier EU calls to suspend such actions until ownership is settled did not stop this round. If remaining structures are demolished before appealable decisions and interim protection are in place, the loss becomes irreversible. The EU Office in Kosovo and the German Embassy in Pristina had called for an immediate halt to any demolition of houses near Lake Gazivode. According to the EU Office, irreversible enforcement measures in the context of ongoing proceedings and contested property claims raise serious concerns for the rule of law. The 5 September count is based on KoSSev’s physical inspection, not a revised official inventory. OSCE and EULEX have not yet published findings from their visit. That is the opening that still exists: a complete list of each demolished structure and the legal instrument for it; confirmation of what the missions observed on notice, remedies and police role; and a halt on further demolition until affected families have a real chance to challenge what is being done to their homes. #Kosovo #HumanRights
Dečani Monastery17,569 views • 1 month ago
Serb Returnee Ranko Janaćković’s house in Novo Selo Madjunsko near Vučitrn set on fire again  The Office for Kosovo and Metohija has stated that the returnee house of the host Ranko Janackovic in Novo Selo Madjunsko near Vucitrn had been set on fire again. The Office has addressed the international community, requesting that they ensure the safety of the Janaćković family and take the difficulties faced by Serbian families in Kosovo seriously. "This Serbian village was completely burned down in 1999, and all Serbs were expelled from there. The Janaćković family, which moved to Prilužje, managed to obtain a returnee house on their ancestral land, but it was set on fire for the second time shortly after construction. Yesterday's fire is the third time that the honorable family, which does not want to sell its property to Albanians, has had their house set on fire, the house they wanted to return to," the statement reads. The Office states that behind this incident lies an intention to expel the Janaćković family from their native land. "There is no doubt that behind this barbaric and uncivilized act lies the intention of extremists to expel the Janackovic family from their native land, which they do not want to abandon. On the contrary, as a hospitable family, they want to work, build, and live on their land, which they still cultivate and make a living from," the Office for Kosovo and Metohija points out. The Office for Kosovo and Metohija and the president of the Provisional Authority are in contact with the Janaćković family, which consists of seven members, and are helping them get back on their feet. They have also requested that the international community ensure the safety of the Janaćković family and take the difficulties faced by Serbian families in Kosovo seriously. "Furthermore, we demand that the international community ensure the safety of the Janaćković family and that the attack on them is not just a mere footnote in their reports but that they take all the hardship and misfortunes faced by this and other primarily Serbian returnee families seriously and actively engage to ensure their survival," the Office states. They remind that at the beginning of July, the returnee house of Svetislav Jozić in the village of Verice in the Istok municipality was also set on fire, which, as they emphasize, indicates a planned and systematic attack by Albanian extremists on Serbian returnees, who are still the most sensitive, endangered, and vulnerable category
Dečani Monastery126,098 views • 3 years ago
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‼️Kosovo Serb citizen claims he was brutally beaten by Kosovo Police officers‼️ (A Summary based on reports by Kosovo Online) (Sensitive content photos) Nenad Rašković, a Serb from the village of Dren (Zubin Potok) claims he was severely beaten by Kosovo Police officers late yesterday afternoon. According to his testimony (recorded at the hospital and published by Kosovo Online) and a statement from the Serb List: • Three police officers entered his family home, knocked him down, and beat him with a wooden stick. • They demanded a rifle he says he does not own. • They then took him into a nearby forest, tied him to a beech tree, covered his mouth with a cloth, and beat him with a water hose. • While assaulting him, they allegedly pressured him to confess to a war crime against Albanians during the war. • He was left tied to the tree until friends freed him. • Upon returning home, he says officers continued intimidating his son and harassing his wife (who is Albanian), telling him they would return the next day and pressuring him to leave for Albania. Rašković was taken to the health centre in Zubin Potok and then to the Clinical Hospital Centre in Kosovska Mitrovica, where he is under medical observation. Preliminary reports mention multiple injuries and possible fractured ribs. Local residents describe him as an honest man with no prior criminal record. Kosovo Police have stated they have no information that any of their officers beat anyone and that the case has been referred to the Police Inspectorate. The Serb List has strongly condemned the alleged treatment and called for an urgent, independent investigation, urging KFOR and EULEX to examine the claims. This remains an allegation under investigation. Full transparency and a thorough, impartial probe are essential. Petar Petković, Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija (Republic of Serbia), condemned "the savage beating" of Rašković and called for an urgent international response and investigation into the brutal attack on Nenad, as well as punishment for all those responsible. He added that for weeks, months, and years, Belgrade had been warning the entire international community about what he described as the Kurti regime's abuse of Serbs, which had led to this. "When there are no sanctions against those responsible and no adequate protection, these are the consequences. What was done to Nenad must not go unpunished," The situation in Kosovo has been deteriorating recently, especially after a series of reported abuses by Kosovo Police against Serbs. Sources: Photos: sensitive contents (source Kosovo Online) #Kosovo #ZubinPotok #HumanRights
Dečani Monastery12,270 views • 2 months ago
Summary of the latest developments in Kosovo (from several media sources): Imminent Danger of Escalation in #Kosovo Following Series of Arrests and Kosovo’s Armed Forces Build-up in Mitrovica In the wake of continued arrests by Kosovo police today in North Mitrovica where one more Serb was arrested, coupled with the build-up of armed Kosovo security forces in South Mitrovica from the early morning, seemingly ready to suppress the Serbian-inhabited North, there is a mounting threat of dramatic escalation in Kosovo. (See video clips) The Chief of Staff of the Serbian army, General Mojsilović, in an extraordinary public address this afternoon, called upon KFOR to take immediate, urgent measures to avert potential violence that could lead to unpredictable outcomes. Belgrade has previously expressed that it would be difficult to passively overlook another assault on Kosovo Serbs akin to the 2004 K/Albanian riots in Kosovo. That violent outbreak resulted in the death of 17 individuals, displacement of 4,000 Serbs, and destruction of 35 Serbian Orthodox churches. Analysts argue that the Kosovo Police have demonstrated an inability to secure a safe environment for citizens of all ethnicities and have lost the trust of the Serbian population in Kosovo, who now view them more as an occupying force rather than a law enforcement agency. Their strategy to pressure Kosovo Serbs into submission through police crackdowns and arbitrary arrests seems to be pushing the situation towards direct conflict, rendering the prospect of the political dialogue continuation unattainable. With the latest police and armed forces build up, it is evident that the Kosovo government remains also unwilling to withdraw its special police and relocate Kosovo Albanian mayors from northern municipal buildings as requested by both the EU and the US. Commenting on this international request, the Foreign Minister of Kosovo made a statement to Austrian newspaper Der Standard, declaring, “Kosovo cannot commit political suicide, even for its closest friends." This further deterioration of the situation, marked by new provocative measures implemented by the Kosovo Government, comes just a day after high-ranking EU officials in Brussels urged both sides to take steps towards de-escalation. Peaceful Serb Protests Against Arbitrary Arrests Across Kosovo Today, peaceful protests by Serbs took place in the northern, central, and eastern parts of Kosovo in response to the arbitrary arrests of Kosovo Serbs. These demonstrations of discontent come at a time when the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security expressed his particular concern about the ongoing arbitrary arrests, marking their cessation as an essential step towards de-escalation.
Dečani Monastery41,721 views • 3 years ago
Famous actor and director #MelGibson has recently arrived at Mount #Athos, also known as the Holy Mountain, a thousand-year-old monastic community in northern #Greece and one of the most significant centers of Eastern Orthodox #Christianity. Home to nearly 2,000 monks from all over the world, Mount Athos is a place of prayer, silence, and spiritual discipline, dedicated entirely to the worship of God. Gibson is currently being hosted at Hilandar Monastery, one of the 20 historic monasteries of the peninsula, founded by Serbian saints in the 12th century. The video features several photos with the #Serbian #Orthodox monks at #Hilandar #Monastery including the Abbot Fr. Metodije and his monks. Mel Gibson is expected to stay for several days, seeking spiritual retreat and inner stillness. Mel Gibson is beloved by millions worldwide for his powerful films, and especially respected among Christians for directing The Passion of the Christ. He is reported to have said: "I've never felt such deep connection with God as I do here". Source: TikTok
Dečani Monastery14,921 views • 1 year ago
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