The Serbian Orthodox Church announced that Patriarch Porfirije has sent letters to several world leaders, including those of the United States, Russia, France, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, as well as the head of the Vatican, raising concerns about two new laws set to be implemented in Kosovo on March 15.
According to the statement, the Serbian patriarch expressed objections to the new laws on vehicles and foreigners, calling on international leaders to intervene and prevent their implementation.
Porfirije argued that the laws could negatively affect individuals working in the parallel Serbian-run University of Mitrovica, as well as employees in lower-level schools and the healthcare system operating within Serbian structures.
“The implementation of this law would mean that Serbs would lose the opportunity to receive education and treatment, and employees in education and healthcare would lose their jobs,” the letter states. It further warns that this could lead to an even larger, possibly final, exodus of Orthodox Serbs from what the letter describes as a historic Christian region.
The patriarch also referenced the presence of around 1,300 Orthodox churches, monasteries, and other religious sites in the region, many of which he claimed had been previously destroyed.
