The Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Irinej argues that membership of self-declared Kosovo in UNESCO would present a cultural genocide, and that support to this membership would be a shame for Europe.

In the eve of the UNESCO General Conference which is due to convene in couple days and where decision will be made on Kosovo’s membership, Irinej said that he expect truth to win and that ‘lies with be put under the carpet’. “If Europe has the conscience and if people of Europe and America have a slight conscience, they know how they should vote,” said Irinej at the international book fair in Belgrade. He further said that UNESCO used to be the guardian of heritage and assessed that if this motion gets the green light it would actually expose heritage to danger.

UNESCO Executive Council last week supported by simple majority of vote the proposal for Kosovo’s membership in that organization. Final decision is due to be made at UNESCO General Conference in Paris on 3-18 November.