KOSOVO: ROBBERY OF SERB CENTRE
AIMED AT THWARTING SERB RETURN - RADIO
Radio Belgrade - April 13, 2003
The break-in and robbery of the St Sava Centre in Kosovo Polje , which houses
two Serbian language primary schools and one secondary school, took place in two
stages, yesterday afternoon and last night.
Nine classrooms were broken into. The window glass was broken, textbooks and
pupil documentation destroyed, and several computers stolen. Furthermore,
according to the initial results of the investigation conducted by the Kosovo
police service, the office of the displaced former municipality of Kosovo Polje
and its births and marriages bureau were also broken into. According to
Svetislav Grujic, this is the third time that the St Sava Centre has been broken
into in the past month.
As he says, this new wave of pressure coincides with the demands of the Albanian
municipal leadership that the St Sava Centre, which was built with the funds of
the former federal government, in the coming academic year be transformed into a
multi-ethnic educational facility. The parents of the pupils have recently come
out against this, knowing that Serbs have been expelled from the three schools
in Kosovo Polje, which used to be attended by more than 2,500 Serb pupils.
The St Sava Centre was given to the Serbs to use for a year, as it is written in
the decree, to study words indistinct . In this facility measuring about 2,000
square metres, the Red Cross and the former municipal administration have also
found a temporary home, following their expulsion.
The aim of this robbery is to thwart the announced organized return of the
Serbs, after the local reconstruction committee has received several dozen
return applications. The bulk of these were filed by the people from the centre
of Kosovo Polje, surrounding the St Sava Centre.
Source: Radio Belgrade in Serbian
1300 gmt 13 Apr 03
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