KFOR commander visits Visoki Decani monastery

KFOR commander German Major General Volker Halbauer on Saturday visited the Visoki Decani monastery in the company of Italian Brigadier General Salvatore Carta and several high-ranking officers, where he discussed latest events with head of the monastery Sava Janjic.

(kosovocompromisestuff) Saturday, February 09, 2013

General Halbauer assured the head of the monastery that KFOR would remain up to the task and prevent any attempts of violence aimed against the monastery, the Diocese of Raska-Prizren said in a release.

Archimandrite Sava expressed concern over Friday's statement by the protest organizers that they will soon usurp the monastery's land, even though the Supreme Court of Kosovo confirmed it is property of the Church.
"This will be a great challenge to all and we sincerely hope that the seizure of any part of the monastery's land will be prevented, because the monastery is not just the church building, but every piece of land the monastery has owned and used for years," said Sava.

He informed General Halbaurer about the court proceedings over the land starting back in 2009, when the monastery's rights were first challenged by two socially-owned enterprises, while it is now claimed it is privately-owned Albanian land.