Northern Kosovars Reject Government Authority

In a recent referendum criticized by both the European Union and the Serbian government northern Kosovo's ethnic Serb majority has overwhelmingly rejected the authority of the independent Kosovar government. The Kosovar Parliament downplayed the referendum's results, which saw 99.7% of northern Kosovo's 40,000 Serbs voting against the Albanian-dominated Kosovar government in Pristina, whilst the Serbian government criticized them as harmful to Serbian interests, which under the leadership of Serbian President Boris Tadic have been focused on developing a dialogue with the Kosovar government aimed to allowing for Serbian membership in the EU. More here.

Kosovo's Cemeteries in Poor State

The Kosovo-Metohija mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has released a report on the state of the breakaway region's Serb cemeteries, which receive little to no attention from local authorities and are in an increasingly poor condition. Of the 392 cemeteries in central and southern Kosovo surveyed in the report 229 were listed as being in a poor or bad condition. More here.

Serb Men Marry Albanian Women

As tensions remain high between Serbian and Kosovar authorities an increasing number of men from the southern Serbian region of Raska have begun arranging marriages for themselves with women from neighboring Albania as the ongoing exodus from the Serbian countryside to the cities leaves men in rural areas with fewer marriage options. Roughly 1,000 marriages have already been contracted between the region's Serbian farmers and Albanian women while another 8,000 immigration applications for Albanian fiancees are currently being processed by the Serbian government. More here.

Macedonia Refuses to Prosecute War Crimes Cases

The Macedonian Parliament has decided not to prosecute four war crimes cases dating from the past conflict between the Macedonian central government and largely Albanian areas in the northwest of the country. One of the four cases shelved by Parliament involves the kidnapping, torture, and murder of ethnic Macedonians by members of the Albanian-backed National Liberation Army. The cases are being overlooked in an effort at national reconciliation between the country's Macedonians and Albanians. More here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Opposes Partition of Kosovo

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) has rejected calls for the partition of Kosovo between an independent Albanian-controlled state and the Serb enclave in northern Kosovo, which would remain part of Serbia. The patriarch's opposition was not based on the hope of guaranteeing the freedoms and security of Serbs in an independent Kosovo, but rather on the reincorporation of all of Kosovo into Serbia. More here.

New Skopje Church Relocated

Plans to build a large Macedonian Orthodox church on the central square in Skopje as part of the Macedonian capital's ongoing renovation have been changed in response to Albanian Muslim demands that a mosque also be built on the square. Although the church will not be built on the Skopje's central square it will be built at another location in the center of the city. More here.

Serbia, Kosovo Tensions Rise

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo rose to new levels overnight as Kosovar police launched attacks intended to seize control of border posts in northern territories still controlled by the surviving remnants of Kosovo's Serb minority. More here.

Serbia Protests Reclassification of Kosovar Monuments as 'Byzantine Albanian'

The Serbian government is blocking a Kosovar initiative in UNESCO to reclassify historic Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches in Kosovo as 'Byzantine Albanian' monuments. The move comes as the Kosovar regime has undertaken a sweeping rewrite of its history, recasting the founder of the Serbian Empire and the nobleman who killed Ottoman Padishah Murat during the Battle of Kosovo Polje (among others) as ethnic Albanians. More here.

Foundations of 14th Century Kosovar Church Damaged

The Eparchy of Raska and Prizren of the Serbian Orthodox Church has reported that the historic 14th Church of St. Cyriaca in Potkaljaja, a suburb of Prizren, has had its foundations damaged by new construction in its vicinity. More here.

Northern Kosovar Church Desecrated

A Serbian Orthodox church in the northern Kosovar village of Samodreza has been broken into by local Kosovar Albanians and used as a toilet and garbage dump. The church had been vandalized in the past, but so far no one has been caught or prosecuted for the damages. More here.

Kosovar Churches Suffer from Frequent Vandalism

Kosovo's Serbian Orthodox parishes continue to suffer frequent vandalism and looting, with the Kosovar police generally unable to catch the culprits. More here.

Mine Defused in Kosovo Cemetery

A mine planted at a Serbian Orthodox cemetery in Staro Gracko, Kosovo, has been defused by Kosovar police. It is believed the mine was intended to kill Orthodox Christians visiting the cemetery on the upcoming Day of Rejoicing (the Tuesday after St. Thomas' Sunday), on which Orthodox visit cemeteries to leave Paschal eggs on the graves of their loved ones. More here.

Profile of Roman Catholicism Rises in Kosovo

Since Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in 2008 the profile of the Roman Catholic Church in the region has grown significantly, as evidenced by the construction of a large cathedral in Pristina dedicated to Mother Teresa Bojaxhiu of Calcutta. More here.

EU Arrests Albanian War Crimes Suspects

The European Union has arrested nine war crimes suspects in Kosovo after a 2-hour standoff with Kosovar police. One of the nine arrested was the police commander in the southern Kosovar city of Prizren. All were members of the Kosovar Liberation Army. More here.

Albanians, Turks Boycott Macedonian Census?

Albanian and Turkish citizens of Macedonia appear to be boycotting the government's recruitment efforts for its upcoming national census. More here.

Macedonian Orthodox Holy Synod Calls for an End to Skopje Violence

At its meeting this week the Holy Synod of the independent Macedonian Orthodox Church has called for an end to conflict between the Macedonian and Albanian residents of the country over the construction of a church and museum in the Skopje Fortress, pointing out that the authorities responsible for the construction did not obtain the blessing of the Archbishop of Ohrid, who serves as Metropolitan of Skopje, and thus are not building a church for the use of the Macedonian Orthodox faithful. More here.

Impact of Upcoming KFOR Troop Reduction

As of 1 March the international Kosovo Force (KFOR) will only protect four of Kosovo's monasteries, transferring the other properties under its protection to the Kosovo Police Service. More here.

Clashes Over New Church in Skopje

Eight were injured yesterday in clashes between Macedonians and Albanians in Skopje over the planned construction of a church and museum on the site of the Skopje Fortress. The site is in a predominantly Albanian district of the Macedonian capital and since the construction plans were announced the district's Albanian residents have been demanding that a mosque also be included in the new complex. The Macedonian government has so far refused the plans as the new church is being built on the foundations of a preexisting 14th century church and the fortress was never home to a mosque. More here.

Illegal Organ Trafficking in Kosovo

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilović) of the Serbian Orthodox Church has accused former UN and NATO officials in Kosovo of covering up the trade in human organs out of the region, which targeted Kosovo's non-Albanian minorities and took place with the collusion of elements in neighboring Albania. More here.