MPs condemn daubing of ISIS, "Caliphate is coming" graffiti

BELGRADE - Serbian MPs on Tuesday condemned the daubing of graffiti on the buildings and the gate of the Orthodox monastery of Decani that promote the creation of an Islamic state and a worldwide caliphate, which they said reflects the instability in Kosovo-Metohija.

The first graffiti - "ISIS" (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and "The caliphate is coming" - were found on Sunday, October 12, on the buildings of the UNESCO-protected 14th-century monastery, as were the acronyms of former ethnic-Albanian paramilitary formations, the KLA and the ANA, while new graffiti referring to the KLA and ISIS were found early Monday on the gate of the monastery compound.

"We think that the daubing of the graffiti does not contribute to trust building and a normalisation of relations," said Djordje Milicevic, an MP of the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS).

"We expect that the international community protect the Serbian holy sites in Kosovo-Metohija and that those responsible be brought to justice," Milicevic noted in a statement to reporters in the Serbian parliament.

The daubing of the graffiti was also vehemently condemned by the Democratic Party (DS), the strongest opposition party in the Serbian parliament.

"This is another outburst of hatred and an attack against the Decani monastery, which confirms that, essentially, terrorism and extremism have never vanished from Kosovo-Metohija and that the international community must remain there and develop its authority, rather than reduce it," DS whip Borislav Stefanovic said.

He said that KFOR should boost protection of the Decani monastery and that the Kosovo police should find the perpetrators immediately.

"The daubing of the graffiti is a cause...