Banning the prayer and applause

Note: This text was created on May 14, 2024. year, i.e. on the day when the Kosovo authorities banned the delivery of equipment for the “Zvezdara Theater” performance.

As Kosovo aspires to become a member of the Council of Europe, the oldest organization dedicated to the protection of human rights, it in parallel almost daily goes on violating those rights of its citizens – Kosovo Serbs.

Even though certain Kosovo officials purport that Serbs enjoy the broadest possible host of rights in all Europe, the situation on the ground often negates their claims. Discrimination is present in multiple spheres of Kosovo society, starting from the institutions – which do not adhere to the legally mandated quota of Serbian employees, through violation of the rights to use of one’s language, property – all the way to the finances, having in mind the recent decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo to ban the use of dinars. Over the past months, Serbs have been struggling with the decision banning the circulation of their honestly earned money. They are forced to travel to and from dozens of kilometers, to collect salaries, pensions, welfare benefits and other allowances from mobile ATMs or the Postal Savings Bank facilities in Central Serbia.

The representatives of the Kosovo authorities are not concerned, neither in terms of politics or human-wise, of hardships affecting the disabled, the seriously ill and the vulnerable ones when trying to collect their hard-earned money. Can those in wheelchairs queue, or get to queue in those lines in the first place? How much will a socially disadvantaged person, with up to 20,000 dinars of welfare benefits, have to spend on transportation?

There is almost no criticism coming from the ranks of Kosovo Albanians for this decision affecting the subsistence of one or more nations financed from the budget of Serbia. Almost the entire Priština-based civil society, even the segment collaborating with their Serbian colleagues, remains silent on this matter.

Kosovo is no stranger to various sorts of bans, when it comes to Serbs. There is almost a year-long ban on import of Serbian goods, on distribution of medicines,

ban on Serbian dinar, bans on visits by Serbian officials, athletes, humanitarian activists. The latest in the ring of bans, although not issues for the first time, was the recent decision of the Kosovo Police to not to allow the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije to enter Kosovo. Without much reasoning, the decision banned him and seven bishops from coming to the Seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Patriarchate of Peć, where they intended to serve the liturgy marking the beginning of the regular May session of the SOC Assembly.

Even though the Patriarchate of Peć is the seat of Serbian patriarchs, Porfirije was not planning to hold the SOC Assembly in this medieval UNESCO-protected monastery. He merely intended to hold there a religious ceremony, the liturgy, after which the Church dignitaries would return to Belgrade and hold this Assembly during the days to come. In other words, they would have only spent a few hours in Kosovo.

However, even if they had planned to stay in the Patriarchate for days, the question is why would such a plan bother Kosovo authorities, and in which way would the Orthodox priests, religious leaders, threaten them?

Beyond the point of taking sides, Patriarch Porfirije is one of few Serbian church dignitaries who openly advocated for peace and cooperation between the Kosovo communities, and especially Albanian and Serbian. Whenever he was in Kosovo, as well as during his addresses in other places, he emphasized the need for reconciliation, for coexistence and love, using a very choice words when speaking of Albanians, unlike his predecessor who was not shy about insulting. However, the representatives of Kosovo institutions either do not hear or choose not to hear, the Patriarch’s messages of peace. Not even good relations between the Serbian Patriarch and Gazmend Muhaxheri, Mayor of Peć, and their common meetings during the holidays in the Patriarchate, cannot sway the representatives of Kosovo’s central institutions to show a good will and allow an unimpeded visit of Patriarch.

In the reasoning of the decision, the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs states the ban will remain for so long as Serbia violates the Brussels Agreement.

Interestingly enough, by this and its other bans, it is Kosovo that actually violates the same Agreement.

The ambassadors of the Quint countries, as well as the EU as the facilitator of the Pristina-Belgrade talks, also point out that the decision is not in line with Kosovo’s obligations under the Dialogue.

In addition to violating the Brussels Agreement, this decision also goes against the provisions of the Ahtisaari Plan which Kosovo has copied into its Constitution.

The Plan itself presumes the observance of the rights of, and privileges and immunity for, the clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

By such actions, Kosovo fails to meet the standards of human rights under its own legal framework.

Regretfully, this is not the only ban of this week. Immediately after the ban for the Patriarch was announced, the new one followed suit. The Kosovo authorities banned the delivery of scenography and related equipment needed for the performances of the Belgrade-based “Zvezdara Theater” in North Mitrovica and Leposavic. This, again, begs the question who and why is irritated by a theater play or delivery of equipment? How is a play capable of threatening sovereignty of Kosovo, and what does it have to do with the politics at all?

This new ban failed to elicit an outcry from Albanian civil society and even less from the cultural professionals in Kosovo. The silence of Kosovo-based theater directors and management is intriguing, given that Kosovo remembers some beautiful instances of mutual cooperation with colleagues from Belgrade. We may recall “Romeo and Juliet” play, jointly performed some ten years ago by Radionica za integraciju from Belgrade and Qendra Multimedia from Pristina, namely, by Predrag Miki Manojlović and Jeton Neziraj. In addition to its performances both in Pristina and Belgrade, a theater troupe of Kosovo and Serbian actors has performed this play in the region, and the exercise itself was well received and needed by both nations. Sure enough, there were criticisms, but they did not overshadow either the play or the concept of mutual collaboration.

One cannot help wondering, what has happened after ten years? Far from having been great then, when Kosovo was headed by the former KLA leaders, but that time did not see so many obstructions and pointless bans for Serbs in Kosovo and those coming from Serbia. What happened with the civil society and reactions? What became of the free-thinking Albanians in Kosovo? Why such a loud silence? Is it possible that no one has an opinion of the Patriarch being banned from visiting? How can it be that artists in Kosovo do not have a stand on banning performance of a theater play? What happened to freedom of thought?

Perhaps such an opinion would not reach the decision makers in Pristina, but I believe ordinary citizens would take a note of it and, maybe, think of how inappropriate and unnecessary it is to ban a priest from praying in a church, or an actor from making the audience laugh or provoking any other emotion, including the applause in a hall of a local cultural center.

This content was funded by a grant from the U.S. Embassy in Pristina. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the State Department.

New Social Initiative in partnership with Alternativna