ALBANIAN SEPARATISM HAS ANTI-ORTHODOX COMPONENT AT ITS CORE

BELGRADE, MARCH 16 /SRNA/ – The Director of the Serbia's parliamentary Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petković assessed that Albanian separatism at its core contains an anti-Serb and anti-Orthodox component.

Petković recalled that today in 1981, during destructive demonstrations by Albanian separatists in Kosovo and Metohija, the residential quarters of the Patriarchate of Peć were burned. He has emphasized that it is one of the most significant monuments of Serb culture, faith and spirituality, and a historical landmark that to this day testifies that the area of Kosovo and Metohija has for centuries been, in political and value terms, a Serb state and national centre. "In the 45 years that followed, we have witnessed continuous attacks on Serb holy sites in Kosovo and Metohija, confirming what was already indicated in 1981 – that Albanian separatism at its very core contains an anti-Serb and anti-Orthodox component," Petković posted on Instagram. He pointed out that the ideologues of Albanian separatism in Kosovo and Metohija are aware that monasteries preserve, both materially and symbolically, Serb property title to Kosovo and Metohija, which is why the physical destruction of traces of the continuous national presence of the Serb people in that area has become their primary task. "The distant year of 1981 was an introduction to many evils that later befell the Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church in the years and decades that followed, and the pattern of burning, demolition and destruction has remained to this day an essential part of the ideology and practice of extreme Albanian political structures in Kosovo and Metohija," Petković assessed. He stressed that the Patriarchate of Peć had for centuries been a spiritual source that nourished the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija, adding that it has outlived every evil, including that of 2004. "Today, this gem of Serb culture and one of our national sources is on UNESCO's World Heritage List. As such, it is a powerful witness to the greatness of Serb culture, as well as to our historical suffering," Petković stated.