Wrote: Festim Rizanaj
On April 8, it was published in the French media Frontliners A interview, by Arnaud Gouillon, Director of the Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy in Serbia. During the conversation, he presented a number of claims about the situation of the Serbian community in Kosovo, including demographic changes in different time periods, the status and condition of Serbian monasteries, as well as recent political developments related to the position of Serbs in Kosovo.
The hibrid.info platform has identified several inaccurate and unfounded claims, which have been denied with concrete facts and reliable international sources.
Claim 1: “The March 2004 riots led to the expulsion of 10,000 people and the destruction of 150 Orthodox churches.”
One of Arnaud Gouillon's main claims in the interview with the French media Frontliners is that, according to him, “the riots of 17 and 18 March 2004 caused the displacement of 10 thousand people and the destruction of 150 churches and monasteries”. This statement is related to the events known as the March 2004 riots in Kosovo, which have been the subject of international debate due to their consequences and the different narratives that have been built around them.
According to reports from international cultural heritage organizations, including the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), during the riots of 17 and 18 March 2004, approximately 35 Serbian Orthodox religious sites in seventeen municipalities of Kosovo were damaged or destroyed. (here)
However, official data published by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo shows a clearer and more quantifiable picture of the damage during the riots of 17 and 18 March 2004. According to this report, a total of 27 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries were burned, while 182 houses and two other religious buildings were damaged. (here) According to the Report of the UN Secretary-General for the UN Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), 36 Serbian Orthodox churches, monasteries and other religious and cultural sites were damaged or destroyed. (here)
This data contradicts Arnaud Gouillon's claim that 150 churches and monasteries were destroyed during the March 2004 riots.
Kosovo has allocated millions of euros for the restoration of Serbian churches damaged during the March 2004 riots. Representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo claimed that Kosovo authorities have made considerable efforts to restore Serbian Orthodox shrines that were destroyed or damaged after the war. However, they emphasize that the situation is still not entirely satisfactory. (here)
According to data documented by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, the riots of 17 and 18 March 2004 were part of a three-day campaign of ethnic violence. This wave of violence left 19 dead, 954 injured, and 4100 people displaced from their homes. In addition, 550 houses and 27 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries were burned, while 182 houses and two other religious buildings were damaged.
According to the Report of the Secretary-General of the UN Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), during the March 2004 riots, 19 people were killed, of whom 11 were Kosovo Albanians and 8 were Kosovo Serbs. A total of 954 people were injured, including 65 international police officers, 58 members of the Kosovo Police, and 61 KFOR soldiers. The violence caused extensive material damage: some 730 houses of minority communities, mainly Kosovo Serbs, were damaged or destroyed. In addition, 36 Serbian Orthodox churches, monasteries, and other religious and cultural sites were damaged or destroyed in attacks on the cultural heritage of the Serbian community. (here)
As for the claim of damage to 150 churches, according to the data of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren, and referring to the report of the Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights, since 1999, around 150 churches, monasteries and other objects of Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo have been destroyed, damaged or marked. Of these, 61 objects enjoy the status of cultural monuments, while 18 of them are of special importance for the Serbian state. This data is often used by Serbian authorities and Orthodox clergy to illustrate the danger that, according to them, threatens Serbian cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo. (here)
Claim 2: “Since 1999, over 250,000 Serbs have been forced to leave under pressure from Muslim Albanians.”
It is true that a large number of Serbs (and other minorities) were displaced from Kosovo after the war. The UNHCR and OSCE put the figure at between 200,000 and 250,000 people, most of them in 1999–2000, due to the post-war situation and lack of security. This number includes not only Serbs, but also members of other non-Albanian communities, such as Gorani, Roma, Turks, Ashkali and Egyptians.
Edward Tawil, in his study “Property Rights in Kosovo: A Haunting Legacy of a Society in Transition” (2009), points out that, in just over a year after the arrival of international forces and the establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), some 230,000 Serbs, Roma, Gorani and other groups had fled to Serbia and Montenegro. (here)
According to August 2006 statistics from UNHCR, 207,069 displaced persons from Kosovo were in Serbia, 16,284 in Montenegro, and 22,000 within Kosovo. Although the majority of the displaced are Serbs, these figures also include Roma, Egyptians, Ashkali, Gorani, Bosniaks, Turks, and other smaller groups. (here)
But this did not happen through an organized campaign by "Muslim Albanians", as Gouillon claims.
Claim 3: “A century ago, Serbs made up 60% of Kosovo’s population”
Gouillon claims that today, Orthodox Serbs represent about 100,000 people, or 5% of the population, whereas they were the majority a century ago (about 60%).
According to historian Noel Malcolm, the colonization of Kosovo by Serbs and Montenegrins began a century ago and had a major impact on the demographic structure of the territory. He writes that the total number of settlers who came to Kosovo consisted of about 13,000 families, or approximately 70,000 people in total, which constituted more than 10 percent of the total population of Kosovo at that time. (here)
Writing in 1928, Serbian official Đorđe Krstić described the colonization program as a “great demographic success,” noting that while in 1919 Serbs made up only 24 percent of Kosovo’s population, this number had increased to 38 percent a few years later. This increase was considered a direct result of the colonization policies undertaken by the authorities of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. (here)
According to Milovan Obradović (book: Agrarian reform and colonization in Kosovo 1918-1941), after 1920, the colonization of Kosovo by Serbs, Montenegrins and others from the regions of the former Yugoslavia began. By 1939, 11.383 colonist families with about 54.000 members had settled, most of them Serbs and Montenegrins. This wave of colonization aimed not only at agrarian reform, but also at the displacement of Albanians and the Serbification of Kosovo. (here)
So, according to data at the beginning of the 20th century, about 82% of the population of Kosovo was of Albanian nationality. However, as a result of Serbian and Montenegrin colonization and Albanian emigration, the percentage of Albanians in the population dropped significantly, dropping to about 65% according to the censuses of 1921 and 1931.
Since 1933, there have been serious discussions between the governments of Yugoslavia and Turkey regarding the deportation to Turkey of large numbers of Muslim Albanians. These plans were part of state policies to change the ethnic structure of Kosovo and other areas with Albanian populations.
Throughout the period 1918–1941, according to historical sources, the number of Albanians and other Muslims who emigrated from Kosovo is estimated to have been between 90,000 and 150,000 people. This form of emigration was not always voluntary, as it was often accompanied by political, economic pressures and sometimes even direct violence, aimed at reducing the Albanian population in the territory of Kosovo. (here)
Claim 4: “Serbs live in isolated enclaves and face strict police control, arbitrary arrests and detention.”
Serbs in Kosovo live in several Serb-majority regions (such as north of Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposaviq, Shtërpcë, Graçanicë, etc.), with guaranteed access to their education system, health care, and political representation through the political entity “Serbian List”. Yes, within the system of political representation in Kosovo, Serbs are guaranteed 10 seats in the Assembly of Kosovo. This guaranteed representation system is part of the Ahtisaari Plan agreements and aims to ensure the participation of the Serb community in Kosovo’s institutions, enabling them to play an important role in the country’s legislative and decision-making processes.
Police checks and arrests occur in the context of criminal investigations – including for smuggling, money laundering or attacks on police, not for ethnicity.
The European Commission report highlights that tensions in northern Kosovo have continued as a result of the violent attack on the Kosovo Police by armed Serbian attackers on 24 September 2023. The attack in Banjska has been described in the Progress Report as “the most serious escalation in recent years”. (here)
Claim 5: “Serbs are barred from receiving aid from Serbia and face disruption of institutions.”
Kosovo has begun a process of integrating illegal Serbian institutions into its constitutional system, including in healthcare and education – as part of the implementation of the Brussels Agreement (2013, 2015).
Serbia has funded parallel institutions that do not report to Kosovo authorities, which is contrary to the constitutional order.
This process is not "repression", but institutional integration according to international agreements. (here)
Claim 6: "Kosovo is losing its Christian heritage. Churches are being destroyed."
There has been damage to Orthodox religious sites, particularly in 1999 and 2004. But since 2008, Kosovo institutions have taken steps to protect Serbian cultural heritage.
The Deçan Monastery, the Patriarchate of Peja and the Graçanica Monastery are protected by special law with the support of UNESCO and KFOR. (here)
The Constitution stipulates that Kosovo’s institutions “ensure the preservation and protection of its cultural and religious heritage”. Furthermore, the Government Programme 2015-2018 has foreseen the protection of cultural heritage through several plans and concepts. With the adoption of the National Strategy for Cultural Heritage 2017-2027 in December 2016, the Government has provided a strategic policy document for the protection, preservation and promotion of cultural heritage. (here)
Claim 7: “An ethnic cleansing of Serbs is taking place in Kosovo.”
The term “ethnic cleansing” is inappropriate and inaccurate to describe the current reality in Kosovo. This term has a specific meaning in international law, related to the massive and systematic forced displacement with the aim of eradicating an ethnic population from a territory – as happened in Bosnia during the 90s or during Milosevic’s campaign in Kosovo in 1998–1999.
Today in Kosovo, Serbs live in protected communities, with local autonomy in some areas, with guaranteed representation in the government, parliament, police, and judiciary.
Agreements between Kosovo and Serbia (Brussels 2013, Ohrid 2023) foresee the creation of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities, which will further increase self-management.(here)
Claim 8: “The goal of Albanian and Kosovar political leaders is a Kosovo without Serbs.”
This claim is dangerous and unsubstantiated by any document or political statement from Kosovo institutions. On the contrary:
The Constitution of Kosovo defines the country as a multiethnic society with guaranteed rights for minorities. (here)
The Serbian List, as the largest Serb entity, has been consistently part of previous governments, and Serbs have 10 guaranteed seats in the Kosovo Assembly.
International agreements aim to guarantee the rights of the Serbian community, not their disappearance.
There is no evidence that the Kosovo leadership is pursuing any plan to remove Serbs. These statements are pro-Russian and pro-Serbian propaganda rhetoric, intended to tarnish Kosovo's statehood.
Claim 9: "For the first time in 1500 years, a Christian territory is in danger of disappearing from Europe."
"For the first time in 1500 years, a Christian territory risks disappearing from Europe" - according to Gouillon, this is due to Muslim Albanians persecuting Serbian Christians, presenting the situation as a civilizational clash between Muslims and Christians.
This claim is manipulative, ideological, and dangerous, as it builds a divisive narrative between Islam and Christianity, presenting Kosovo as a front for the “extinction of Christianity by Albanian Muslims.” This is not a religious confrontation, but a propaganda distortion of the reality of a secular and multiethnic society.
Kosovo is a secular and multiethnic state according to the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion and equality of citizens, regardless of religion or ethnicity.
Article 8, Constitution of Kosovo: "The Republic of Kosovo is a secular state and neutral in matters of religious belief."
While Article 9 states: "The Republic of Kosovo ensures the preservation and protection of its cultural and religious heritage."
Orthodox religious sites are protected by special law and under the supervision of KFOR, including world heritage monuments such as the Deçan Monastery, the Patriarchate of Peja and Graçanica.
The Serb community has freedom of religion and guaranteed political representation, including 10 seats in the Assembly, representatives in the government, and the right to use its own language and symbols in municipalities where it constitutes a majority.