Kosovo’s Minister of Environment, Dardan Gashi, says Serbian church built in Pristina in the 1990s had no planning permit and must be pulled down.
BIRN
Pristina
Minister Gashi told the media on Sunday that a controversial Serbian Orthodox church, built in the capital, Pristina, was erected “illegally” and must go.
“It’s a sensitive issue but the legal basis has to be the same as for every building. This building had no planning permission and will therefore be treated like every other building with no permission,” he said.
The Serbian authorities in the era of Slobodan Milosevic started to build the Sveti Nikola Church in 1995, but work was interrupted by the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict.
The unfinished building, close to the University of Pristina, has remained in the same half-finished state ever since.
In September 2012, the University of Pristina sued the Serbian Orthodox Church, accusing it of illegally occupying more than four hectares of land where the church was built.
But no final court verdict has been issued on the case and, in spite of the minister’s words, it remains unclear how authorities will proceed.
A number of Serbian Orthodox monuments in Kosovo have been placed under the protection of international missions in Kosovo.
