Office condemns usurpation of monastery in Zociste

The Office for Kosovo strongly condemned on Tuesday the usurpation of the land belonging to the Monastery of Saints Cosmas and Damian in Zociste, in the western part of the province, by one Albanian family and insults against monks at the monastery.

(kosovocompromisestuff) Tuesday, March 18, 2014

"We condemn the last night's trespass by unknown perpetrators on the church land in the village of Mogila, in the municipality of Kosovska Vitina, which caused damage to the garden in which vegetables are grown for soup kitchens and the Diocese of Raska and Prizren," the statement reads.The office warned that the unlawful usurpation and confiscation of the Serb property in Kosovo continues, as well as the trespass on the Serb land."We demand from the relevant bodies and international community to take measures in the shortest possible time frame so as to prevent the usurpation of the Serb church and any other property, which is of vital importance for Serbs' survival in Kosovo," the release notes.The Office urged that those who destroyed the vegetables in the garden on the church land in the village of Mogila, because of which the users of soup kitchens will be left without a single sure daily meal, should be found immediately."We call for an end to provocations targeting monks of the Monastery of Saints Cosmas and Damian in Zociste, and that offenders be brought to justice as soon as possible, as well as the usurpers of the church property," the release notes.