Statement by Bishop Teodosije on occasion of the protests held in Kosovo Mitrovica
June – July 2014 – Church of Serbia
22/6/14: On the occasion of today’s Kosovo Albanian protests at the bridge towards North Mitrovica the Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Raška and Prizren Teodosije made a following statement:
With deep concern and worry we have been following the latest developments in Kosovska Mitrovica and would like to take this opportunity to issue our appeal on all people of good will in Kosovo to do all they can to resolve the existing problems peacefully and with dialog. The current protest at the Mitrovica bridge showed that more efforts and time are needed to establish confidence between Serbs and Albanians in this divided city.
We pray to the Lord of Peace to enlighten the hearts of all people in this region and call uponthe local political leaders to overcome existing misunderstandings with responsible and moderate messages in the spirit of sincere dialog. We would particularly like to thank to the members of KFOR, EULEX and Kosovo police who made great efforts to prevent the escalation of violence.
The peace and common life of all communities in Kosovo regardless of their ethnicity and religion has no alternative. In order to achieve that goal it is essential that we do all in our power to prevent further acts of violence and establishmore mutual confidence by continuation of the political dialog.
Bishop Teodosije has also expressed his wishes for the speedy recovery of all who have been injured in today’s protests.
