Dear Sirs,

We hereby address you with the desire to draw your attention to the dramatic situation in Kosovo and Metohija, a province of the Republic of Serbia.

To the Serbs, wherever they live, Kosovo and Metohija is not only the Kosovo myth, it is the holy land and the cradle of their culture and religion. In Kosovo and Metohija there is Prizren, the emperor’s capital dating back to the 14th century, to the time when the Serbian medieval state was under the rule of Czar Dušan who founded higher schools in Peć and Djakovica, soon after the establishment of the first universities in Europe. The Patriarchate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which has been active on and off for six centuries now, is also situated in Kosovo and Metohija.

After the NATO aggression in 1999, over 230,000 Serbs and other non-Albanian population have been expelled from Kosovo and Metohija. Since then until last March 17, the Serbs have disappeared from 889 settlements in Kosovo and Metohija. According to the 1991 census, there were 48,884 Serbs living in Priština, and there is no one left today. Prior to the arrival of KFOR and UNMIK, there were 3,000 Serbs in Obilić, 4,000 in Kosovo Polje, and 9,500 in Prizren, and there are none of them there now. Within the same time period, 6,618 attacks against the Serbs and other non-Albanian population were registered. Out of the above figure, in 6,209 cases the Serbs and Montenegrins have been attacked. Their apartments have been occupied and their land, which represents 34% of the square area of the Province, seized. In the past five years, 115 churches and monasteries have been torched or demolished in Kosovo and Metohija, out of which many are a part of the Serbian and even the world cultural heritage. Not a single perpetrator of the crime against people (and 999 of them have been killed and 961 Serbs and Montenegrins have been abducted) or against sacral buildings has been identified, hence not punished either.

During the latest pogrom and terrorizing of the Serbian population, which started on March 17, 2004, 24 persons were killed, 851 persons were wounded, around 350 houses, several schools, and medical centers were torched, 30 Orthodox churches and monasteries were torched and damaged, and 3,600 Serbs were evacuated and expelled from their homes.

Among those killed and wounded by the Albanian terrorists there were also the members of the international forces.

The events of March 17, 2004 and the terror in Kosovo and Metohija represent the continuation of a years-long planned ethnic cleansing of the Serbs and other non-Albanian inhabitants in that Province.

Was it necessary for the Serbs to suffer so much in order for the world to understand what is happening on the spot (under the protection of the United Nations, NATO, and the European Union)?

According to the project of the international community, Kosovo and Metohija should be a multiethnic society in which there is peace and security. However, even after five years since the intervention in Kosovo and Metohija, the international community has not managed to ensure protection of the basic human rights for the Serbian and other non-Albanian population in the southern Serbian province, and those are the right to life and the property right.

We demand protection of human lives and property of the Serbian and other non-Albanian inhabitants in Kosovo and Metohija from the KFOR and UNMIK forces, as well as their active engagement in prevention of the humanitarian catastrophe of the expelled Serbs, Montenegrins, Roma, and other non-Albanian inhabitants from Kosovo and Metohija.

In the interest of a prompt putting a stop to the tragedy in the Balkans and of channeling of the situation into the frameworks set forth by the decisions of the United Nations, we call for a consistent observance and implementation of the Resolution 1244 of the Security Council of the United Nations. At the same time, we point out that the gravity of the situation demands that the UN Security Council also adopts a new resolution on Kosovo and Metohija.

We appeal for prevention of any further devastation and for ensuring protection of the remaining monuments of the Serbian culture in Kosovo and Metohija, which represent an integral part of the world cultural heritage.

We hereby emphasize our commitment to build up a permanent peace, stability, and prosperity in the entire region and express our interest in its joining in the European integration processes, for the purpose of strengthening of the international position of our country and resolution of all open issues.

Please familiarize the members of your Parliament and your public with the above facts and, subject to your capacity, we urge you to give your contribution to calming down of the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, to offering of perspectives for permanent return of all exiled inhabitants of Kosovo and Metohija and exercising of their right to life in accordance with the European standards.

We attach to this letter the Resolution on Kosovo and Metohija unanimously adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia at its session on March 26, 2004.

You may look up for additional information at the following Internet addresses:

www.kc.gov.yu
www.kosovo.net
www.eudelyug.org/en/index.htm
www.mup.sr.gov.yu/domino/teror.nsf/napadi
www.spc.org
www.kosovo.com/destruction.html

CHAIRPERSON OF THE COMMITTEE
Gordana Comic

Appendix: Resolution on Kosovo & Metohija (click here to download)