Moscow Condemned Murder of Serbian Politician in Kosovo

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Editor:

I’d bet that the Americans had a hand in this. They’re “making America great again”… please, do spare me…

BMD

On Tuesday, the MID RF said:

We resolutely condemn this cowardly act. Attempts to settle political scores using such methods are fraught with exacerbation of atmosphere of terror and recurrence of the interethnic conflict in the region. We call on all international missions in Kosovo to use their mandates to take exhaustive measures to prevent possible incidents in the region. We hope that corresponding structures will conduct a thorough investigation of what happened to expose those responsible and duly punish them.

On Tuesday, Oliver Ivanović, 64, the leader of the Kosovo Serb party Freedom, Democracy, and Justice, was shot dead as he entered his party’s headquarters in Kosovska Mitrovica. A fellow party member said no one heard any sounds of shooting and a neighbour who was returning from shopping found the wounded politician. Police later found a burnt car without an identification number, which the killers allegedly used. Ivanović was taken to hospital with five gunshot wounds to his chest. Doctors tried to save his life but to no avail.

Earlier, Ivanović served as the State Secretary of the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija in the Serb government. In January 2016, he was sentenced to nine years in jail for alleged war crimes against Albanians in 1999. In February 2017, the first-instance court’s verdict was overturned and a new trial began. Ivanović was under house arrest and in April 2017, he was allowed to defend himself in court at liberty.

16 January 2018

TASS

http://tass.com/politics/985331

See also:

Serbian president calls murder of top Kosovo Serb politician “‘terrorist attack”

Leading Kosovo Serb politician killed in drive-by shooting, prosecutor says

Belgrade suspends dialogue with Kosovo in EU due to Serbian politician’s murder

Serbian party leader killed in Kosovo: reports

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State and Church Share “Close Views” on Kosovo

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On Thursday, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić met with Serbian Patriarch Irinej Gavrilović “to discuss his proposal for a final settlement for Kosovo”. Nikolić, who often meets with the SPC head, said that his recently announced platform “would go towards what Serbia can accept as a final solution, without threatening its sovereignty and territorial integrity”. After a meeting that lasted almost two hours, President Nikolić told reporters that he and the Holy Synod have “very close views” about the issue, saying, “We talked about Kosovo and Metohija, the fate of our nation, our territory, the SPC, security in Kosovo and Metohija, and about how I see a solution”.

He noted that these are still “only discussions and consultations” and that there’s no “formal document” to present to the President of the Government, and, then, to the public. Nikolić said, “I presented some of my thoughts and I didn’t meet disapproval or disagreement from the Holy Synod. So, we’re very close in our thinking about what it should look like in the end”. Asked when the public would see the document, he said that he’d work “closely and intensively” to agree on this with President of the Government Aleksandar Vučić, “because such a document requires general agreement, or at least consent from the assembly, for what the government would propose on behalf of the President. It isn’t something that we should argue about, it’s a document in which we must find solutions that the government would support, as the body that needs to implement it and that’s negotiating in Brussels”. He called for patience, saying that we must wait for the meeting between Belgrade and Priština in Brussels, scheduled for 9 February, “to attempt to continue where (the dialogue) came to a halt a while ago. It seems to me that in that time we’ve all had time to think about what’s happening and what awaits us, and I think that we understand that procrastination and wasting time isn’t working in favour of Serbia”.

Nikolić said the other topics covered today included problems in the functioning of the Church, its relationship with state authorities, and the issue of restitution, saying, “The church has concerns about developments in Kosovo and Metohija, and I think it’s proper for His Holiness and the Synod to want to be informed about what’s being done, how far we’ve come”. Nikolić added that, as a member of the SPC, he’s anxious to know the views of the Synod, whilst exchanging thoughts with the Patriarch “helps make many things clearer. Now, I think that the need to meet more often is very manifest, at a time when we might face great temptations in solving major Serbian issues”.

22 January 2015

B92

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/society.php?yyyy=2015&mm=01&dd=22&nav_id=92956

Patriarch Irinej Slams Proposed Gay Pride March in Belgrade

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On Tuesday, Patriarch Irinej Gavrilović, the head of the influential Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), denounced a gay pride march planned for the weekend, adding to tensions over the event, which faced threats from extremists. He issued a statement that the “shameless” event casts a moral shadow on Serbia… a conservative Balkan country whose gay population faces harassment. Officials suggested that they could allow Sunday’s event despite fears of a repeat of the violence in 2010 when rightwing groups attacked a gay march in Belgrade, triggering clashes with police that left more than 100 people injured. Authorities banned gay marches planned for the following three years, citing security reasons. Some see that holding the march is a test of Serbia’s pledge to respect human rights as it seeks EU membership. Irinej said that the gay organisers “and their mentors from Europe” haven’t learned the lesson from past marches, adding that “a great majority” of Serbs are against holding the event, saying, “Thousands of policemen will have to be brought to Belgrade”, adding that they face the threat of injury and death. Several far-right groups, which include soccer hooligans, announced anti-gay marches in the capital a day before the gay event. On Tuesday, police said that they have filed charges against eight people who made threats against gays on social media. Milorad Todorović, a police officer in charge of cybercrime, said, “Police are here to secure the safety of all citizens. I hope that the gay event will be held on Sunday”.

Associated Press

http://news.yahoo.com/head-serb-church-denounces-gay-pride-march-105151087.html

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An official SPC statement, signed by Patriarch Irinej condemned an announced gay parade, “You have the right to make a parade, but only at your own cost and expense of your principals, no matter how they’re called; that is, both the cost for the organisation of the parade, and for security, but not at the expense of Serbia… bombed, destroyed, morally and economically crippled, impoverished, flooded, nailed to the pillory. It’s absurd grandstanding that the state should spend millions in its current poverty to secure a handful of citizens and their guests for a parade of several hundred metres in the centre of Belgrade. These days, we’re seeing an unbelievable gay parade again imposed on Belgrade and Serbia. The organisers of this grandstanding and their mentors from Europe don’t want to learn from the events of the last parade”. Patriarch Irinej warned of the dangers that a parade could cause to both sides. The statement also pointed up that previous parades provoked resistance from the majority of citizens, unleashing rioting and aggression, awakening chaos and destructiveness in some sections of society, especially amongst younger people. The SPC asked the organisers and participants of the parade if they can and must exercise their rights to privacy by causing “humiliation and oppression of the moral sentiments of the majority of mankind. If the gay sexual orientation is justified and we should propagate it, then, why isn’t it true for paedophilia too, widespread in the Western world, as well as incest? Why are their rights less important than the so-called right of your sexual (dis)orientation? Are you so blinded by your lust and selfishness that you don’t mind putting the whole state apparatus in your service and imposing it to high and unjustifiable costs for organising your parade?”

23 September 2014

B92

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/society.php?yyyy=2014&mm=09&dd=23&nav_id=91690

Editor:

HH put it clearly… “We respect all human choices, including those of sexual orientation, but we reserve the right to call sin ‘sin’”. HH, Patriarch Ilie of Georgia, and now Patriarch Irinej of Serbia have spoken of the inadmissibility of gay rights initiatives on the Western model in their countries. The societies involved won’t have it. One of the reasons for their strong stance is that such gay actions would be counterproductive. They don’t want to empower schmidiots like K Yu Dushenov, who’d use the turmoil around such events to twist them to the ends of far-right creeps. Yes, we still have some of the Old School anti-Semite haters amongst us, I’m afraid… Dushenov did three years in an IK for anti-Semitic agitation… he’s just as anti-gay as he’s anti-Semitic.

That is, the motive isn’t hatred of gays, as one sees amongst American konvertsy… the motive is two-fold… firstly, to forestall gnarly elements within the Church that’d cause untoward kafuffle, not only in gay matters, but in other things as well (as one can see with the American konvertsy obsession with the questionable notion of the toll houses). Secondly, it’s to protect the majority of gay people who do NOT march in such parades… who do NOT push themselves into people’s faces… who do NOT wish to upset the larger society about them. The Church DOES stand for those hated by the “respectable”… it does its best to further their interests. Gay parades are counterproductive in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. The Church understands this, so, it opposes them forcefully.

The Church, most of all, is a bastion of Good Sense… it knows that a small fraction of people are homosexual, and it wishes to see that they don’t suffer. It does NOT bless homosexuality (just as it doesn’t bless abortion)… but just as it tolerates abortion in some limited cases (the Church has a prayer for a woman who’s aborted a child), it doesn’t persecute the homosexual people in its midst. The Church does NOT bless abortion or homosexuality… but it has mercy on those enmeshed in them. That’s a subtle point, which most loudmouthed konvertsy miss. I know that some loudmouthed Anglo konverts are going to accuse me of saying that the Church blesses abortion and homosexuality… it does NOT. However, I believe that the Church follows the lead of its Founder… who was a solid good-sense workingman who “judged not”… we’d do well to follow His lead (that’s a lifelong pursuit, I’ve found)…

BMD

SPC Denied that the RCs Invited Patriarch Irinej to Vatican

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In a statement released late on Tuesday on the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) official website, Bishop Irinej Bulović of Bačka said they’re only publicly discussing this topic “because (Catholic) Bishop of Zrenjanin Ladislav Nemet in his statement in the Novi Sad daily Dnevnik misrepresented a meeting between a delegation of the SPC and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican secretary for relations with other countries”. Bishop Irinej said that the government invited Mamberti to Serbia, and that, “as a sign of respect towards the majority (Orthodox) Church and its head, Mamberti’s visit included a courtesy meeting with Serbian Patriarch Irinej and the Holy Synod, on 30 June, at the Patriarchate in Belgrade. In a friendly informal discussion, both sides emphasised the need for further improvement of relations and coöperation between the two churches. They also discussed the need and usefulness of bilateral meetings on high and highest levels, but Mamberti didn’t deliver any historic invitation from Pope Francisco to the Patriarch and members of the Holy Synod to visit the Vatican”.

He added, “Only the bishop of Zrenjanin knows how it is that Patriarch Irinej and members of the Holy Synod agreed to visit the Vatican… and what kind of diplomatic negotiations on ways to organise this visit” are now going on… something that Nemet also spoke about. According to Bishop Irinej, Nemet consistently demonstrates “his obsessive need to deal with the SPC and lecture it”. He added that the likely real purpose of Nemet’s “excursion” was to inflict yet another insult to the SPC, its leader, and the entire Serb nation… “by comparing us to kindergarten children that do everything out of spite. In any case, dialogue and cooperation amongst the churches won’t be called into question because of the sensationalist public statements of Bishop Nemet, that are counterproductive exactly to what he verbally and formally stands for. At the same time, he’s obviously not aware of the danger of excluding himself for a long time, perhaps permanently, from the dialogue that is ongoing despite the many challenges and obstacles”.

13 August 2014

B92

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2014&mm=08&dd=13&nav_id=91279