Agence France Presse December 13, 2005 Tuesday
UNESCO to restore 13 Kosovo churches, mosques
DATELINE: PARIS Dec 13
Restoration work is to begin next year in Kosovo on seven Serbian Orthodox
and six Islamic heritage sites, damaged during years of inter-ethnic violence in
the province, UNESCO announced on Tuesday.
The sites -- five churches, a cathedral and a monastery, three mosques and
three hammams -- were chosen earlier this month by a UNESCO expert committee,
among a list of 75 buildings.
The restoration work, to be carried out in 2006-7, is to be funded with
pledges secured at an international donors conference in May.
"This meeting certainly represents an essential step in the protection of an
invaluable cultural heritage," UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura said in
a statement.
He stressed that Kosovo's diverse cultural heritage could also be "a factor
of reconciliation" between Serbs and ethnic Albanians.
The Serbian province has been under UN administration since 1999, after a
NATO bombing campaign ended an offensive by Belgrade against ethnic Albanian
rebels.
Ethnic tensions remain high as ethnic Albanians want to break away from
Belgrade which sees the province as a cradle of Serbian culture and history.
The United Nations is currently mediating between Belgrade and Pristina ahead
of talks on Kosovo's final status.
International donors in May pledged a total of 10 million dollars ( 8.3
million euros) for the restoration of religious and secular buildings in the
province, of which some three million dollars have been confirmed.
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