Vladan Vukosavljevic, Serbia’s Minister of Culture and Information, warned UNESCO on Wednesday about the state of Serbia’s cultural heritage in Kosovo, following “the forgery of the historical facts about the Serb Orthodox St. Nikola’s church in Novo Brdo,” the FoNet news agency reported.
In a letter to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, Vukosavljevic listed “a permanent” attacks on Serb monuments and the forgery of history, especially since the declaration of Kosovo’s independence in 2008.
That, Vukosavljevic said, “now escalated in capturing and usurpation of Serbs’ cultural and religious heritage there,” last being “the forgery of the historical facts about the Serb Orthodox St. Nikola’s church in Novo Brdo (in Pristina’s district in eastern Kosovo).”
“That is a flagrant violation of all international codes,” the minister wrote.
He added the latest target, “the archaeological remains of the medieval town of Novo Brdo (Novobërda in Albanian) and the monumental cathedral of the Serb Orthodox church St. Nikola from the 14th century, was under the reconstruction as the Roman Catholic cathedral.”
Vukosavljevic said that local media and Albanian politicians reported that Kosovo’s Archaeological Institute, supported by the German embassy in Pristina, started the works.
“In spite of the serious damage that had already been done, I kindly ask you to look again into all the facts and to protect this important cultural heritage and react in line with principles and recommendations by the institution you lead. And especially having in mind the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which Serbia has signed,” Vukosavljevic wrote.
