Monastery wants barbed wire for protection after incident

Monastery wants barbed wire for protection after incident

BELGRADE -- Visoki Dečani monastery's Archdeacon Sava Janjić has rejected claims that the threatening graffiti on the monastery facilities was the work of "several minors."

"This is a concerted action," he told B92, adding that the authorities were asked to secure this 14th century Serbian Orthodox monastery "also with barbed wire."

"This has gone so far that the latest graffiti was written only 50 meters from where the Kosovo police is located. Police officers with whom I spoke conveyed to me that they had no indication as to who did it. I have a feeling that someone is trying to minimize the danger that exists here.."

"The monastery has so far come under armed attack four times, and that was no done by children, but by extremists. Bishop Teodosije has asked KFOR to place barbed wire around the monastery. If KFOR cannot do it, we will find a way to do it ourselves," Janjić explained.

He rejected the claims made by Kosovo Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi that "minors" were behind the incident.

"Three Kosovo youths have been detained at the police - not in connection with the graffiti, but because they were shouting KLA slogans in front of the monastery. After all - who then once again wrote the slogans and not far from the KFOR checkpoint? Such statements offend common sense and serve to conceal real problems on the ground," Janjić said of Rexhepi's statement.

Rexhepi earlier condemned the offensive graffiti, said that they were written by "juveniles" and that he would "talk with their parents to ensure that such nonsense does not happen again."

Chairman of the Serbian Parliament Committee on Kosovo Milovan Drecun commented...