Kosovo Serb Priest Under Fire For Opposing Partition

Prominent Kosovo-based Serbian Orthodox priest Sava Janjic has come under intense criticism from the Belgrade authorities and pro-government media for opposing a territory swap between Serbia and Kosovo.

The abbot of the Decani monastery, Sava Janjic, has been facing daily criticism from Serbian officials and tabloids close to the government for his opposition to Belgrade’s idea of partitioning Kosovo as part of a deal with Pristina.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, a proponent of partition, accused Janjic on Tuesday of supporting Kosovo’s independence.

“They are advocating for an independent, Albanian Kosovo,” Vucic told media in Belgrade, referring to Janjic and the Serbian human rights advocate Sonja Biserko.

Janjic again warned on Tuesday that partition could be dangerous.

“For the Serbian people… the danger is not only in the ethnic and territorial partitioning between Serbs and Albanians, but also in any recognition of an independent Kosovo that would lead to an ethnically-clean Albanian society,” he wrote on Twitter.

За српски народ и према саопштењу Сабора СПЦ у мају 2018 опасна је не само етничко-територијална подела Срба и Албанаца, већ и сваки вид признања независног Косова које иде у правцу етнички чистог албанског друштва. Потребна је шира демократизација свести, озбиљан дијалог и мир.

— Fr. Sava, Dečani Monastery (@SavaJanjic) August 14, 2018

The attacks on Janjic, who is known for his social media presence, intensified in early August, as Serbian officials started actively advocating a territorial exchange with Kosovo along ethnic lines.

Serbian tabloid media close to the government have followed the lead of Vucic and other officials, publishing articless against Janjic and other opponents of partition, mostly Serbian and Kosovo opposition politicians.

For more read the full of article at The Balkaninsight