UNMIK/PR/1451
PRISTINA – SRSG Søren Jessen-Petersen today visited the Decani Monastery on the occasion of St. Stefan’s Day. He stressed the importance of the Decani Monastery as a world cultural heritage site and said: “This is a site which is the common heritage of mankind, of all of us, and therefore all of us have the responsibility to preserve and protect this and all other such sites for the future.”
In the afternoon the SRSG visited churches that are under reconstruction in Prizren, including the St. Ljeviska’s Church, St. George’s Church and St. Nicolas Chapel.
Addressing the media at the St. Ljeviska’s Church, the SRSG said, “I think that it is extremely important that this reconstruction now proceeds. We are working together to build a new Kosovo where every citizen will be safe irrespective of ethnicity, but also every site is safe whichever community it may belong to.”
The SRSG regretted the recent theft of the lead roofing from St. Ljeviska’s Church, at a time when, with the Council of Europe, the rebuilding of all the destroyed churches has begun. At the same time, he congratulated the Municipal Assembly President for condemning the criminal act and the police for having caught the perpetrators immediately after the crime was reported.
“It is obvious that a Kosovo that wants to move into Europe is a Kosovo where these things will not happen again. Therefore it is good that we are moving ahead,” the SRSG said.
While in the municipalities, the SRSG also paid courtesy visits to the President of the Municipality of Decan/Decani and the President of the Municipality of Prizren.