Friday, May 13, 2005

U.S. pledges $1,000,000 to UNESCO conference on preserving Kosovo's cultural heritage

The United States today pledged one million dollars to the United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Donors Conference for the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Kosovo. The conference, which is being held in Paris, was organized jointly by UNESCO, the UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo, the Council of Europe, and the European Commission.

Surveys carried out by UNESCO and the Council of Europe have designated several monuments in Kosovo for preservation and reconstruction projects. These projects span the religious, ethnic and historical spectrum, including historical sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Islamic facilities from the Ottoman period, and secular sites of historical and cultural significance. The United States hopes that its contribution to this international effort to repair damage caused by ethnic conflict and the passage of time will help the people of Kosovo overcome internal divisions and move toward greater integration into Europe with confidence and optimism.

This pledge represents a large increase in U.S. assistance and reflects a continued commitment to cultural preservation in Kosovo. Since 2000, the U.S. Mission in Pristina has contributed nearly $100,000 to various cultural heritage projects, including monument preservation, restoration of historic manuscripts, and a joint project with the Kosovo Ministry of Culture to develop an inventory system for the management of cultural heritage sites.

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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Many thanks United States! We appreciate your support. From a Kosovar

Anonymous said...

Yey those churches are our churches too...a kosovar orthodox albanian...

Anonymous said...

#2
Absolutely right, the kosovar orthodox community should be allowed to thrive and be lead by an albanian orthodox priest. They should be welcomed by father Sava in the Decani monastery and the Peja monastery as well. The churches are part of our culture too.

a pagan albanian

Anonymous said...

question from an Atheist serb, do you guys also burn down albanian orthodox churches like you do to serbian churches?

Anonymous said...

martyr,

no we don't. that shows you that the burnings were done by high school huligans (kosovo.com has the videos) who should have learned their national history better. orthodox churches in kosova have been converted into serbian ones becuase of the deals your church made with what you know like to call the "despicable ottomans." remember how your clergy used to collect and deliver taxes in return for free reign in serbia and kosova.
so yeah, while albanians converted to islam but kept uprising, you "defendenders of european christendom," kept feeding istambul with money.
i'll let the economists decide now.

Anonymous said...

I highly doubt that an atheist serb even exists. Your church penatrates your brain faster than your blood.
Most orthodox churches in Kosovo can be linked to Catholic albanian builders prior to being converted to serb orthodox churches, as it was stated prior to this posting.
Morover, the Decani monestery was built by an Albanian and used by the Catholic Albanian community prior to it being forcefully serbicized.
In addition, for your knowledge, Albanians do not waste time on religion, it is a foreign subject for them (with oriental roots, something serbs should know about). I would not be surprised if in the near future mosques will be totally abandoned by Albanians.

Thanks for your attention

Anonymous said...

God bless you my Orthodox Serb/Albanian brothers, you have kept the true faith going. It is the Albanian Muslim fanatics and the Serb atheists who have caused so much damage.

If you are a Serb an Albanian first before you are a Christian then you are worshipping your nation and not your God. God comes before nation and family because he holds all of us in the palm of his hand.

God bless

Orthodox Serb

Anonymous said...

Nation comes before religion. We as a nation have had many religions before becoming christians and then later some converting to Islam. Our nation has survived many religions that have long passed and dissapeared. Religion is private, it serves the purpose of spiritual healing. Nation is what unites all Albanians. The Religion of Albanians is Albanianism. This is what we have always chanted when defending our country from foreign barbar invasions. Greets to all my Albanian brothers, muslims, catholics, orthodox, bektashi, pagans, atheists and all other religions.

As for the muslims in Albanian they're a lot more moderate than the orthodox in our neighboring countries. They've never killed in the name of God. This cant be said for our neighbors. I remember a certain orthodox preist called Pavle kissing the hands of murdurers of children.

Anonymous said...

You guys are so full of crap. This is the thing about Albanians that never seize to amaze me. In lack of their identity, they tend to personalize everything that comes from other cultures, and in such way build their own identity.
And most of the times, Albanians just go on and blab, without supporting their statements with any evidence or whatsoever.
Just an educational bit on Decani Monastery, and claim that it was build by Albanian.


"Visoki Decani Monastery is situated in the western part of the Yugoslav Province of Kosovo and Metohia. It was built between1327 and 1335 by the Serbian medieval king St. Stephen of Decani and was dedicated to the Ascension of the Lord. The monastery is settled in the picturesque valley of the Bistrica river surrounded by the mountains and forests of the Prokletije mountain range It is the largest and best preserved medieval monastery in Serbia. During its turbulent history the Monastery was an important spiritual centre with developed artistic and intellectual activities. Although the monastery buildings suffered damage from the Turkish occupation, the church has been completely preserved with beautiful 14th century fresco paintings. Today a young brotherhood of 30 brethren lives in the monastery continuing the centuries old tradition of the past. The brotherhood has developed various activities: wood carving, icon painting, book publishing and is also active in the missionary work. The beautiful monastic services are served according to the typicon of Mount Athos.."