Bishop Artimije's remarks were made at an Institute Current Issues Briefing on September 15, 1998 in Washington D.C.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
I am especially honored to be invited by the United States Institute of Peace to address the situation in Kosovo-Metohija, the problems which are happening there, and the possibilities of finding a solution.

I will start my presentation with a very wise saying by Eleanor Roosevelt: "For it isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it." The Lord Jesus Christ is our peace, which is said in the Gospel. He is the Lord and Prince of Peace. His peaceful mission was announced by the angelic song about Bethlehem, and His mission was finished by His greeting to His disciples, "Peace be unto you." His preaching from His birth to His resurrection was preaching about peace. He came to do the work of God. And I, as Bishop of the church, speak about peace, believe in it, and work at it. The best proof of that intention is my presence here at the United States Institute of Peace.

In order to work at the achievement of lasting peace in Kosovo- Metohija, I and members of my delegation from Kosovo are here for the third time. The first time, we were here in February, with the intention to prevent the escalation of the conflict in Kosovo. The second time, we were here in March at the hearing at the United States Congress, to explain how the conflict had already started at that time, how it appeared, and how we could stop the violence. And now we are here a third time, to help stop the conflict and achieve lasting peace.

Topics of Discussion

The most important subjects we are going to speak on today are:

• possibilities for the peaceful resolution of the Kosovo crisis;

• the prospects for development of democracy in Serbia and the region; and

• the role of religion in building peace and confidence in Kosovo and the Balkans.

We are not going to speak now about historical elements which brought about the problems of Kosovo-Metohija. We talked about that during our first visit, and we believe that you are acquainted with the historical background of the problem. Now we have to face the reality which we have on the ground. There are armed conflicts that have been there for several months between and among the Albanian separatists in Kosovo, which actually appears as a terrorist organization, and the Serbian regime, which is trying in its way to suppress that terrorism. I think the problem in Kosovo is not between the Serbian and Albanian people, but that the Serbs and Albanians are the victims of this conflict -- of these two extremes. Now, it is most important to find a way to stop this conflict and find a lasting and peaceful solution. According to our opinion, which we have been supporting for years, we think that the Kosovo issue must be resolved peacefully. There is no solution by weapons, of course. At the moment it is impossible to reach a lasting solution until the armed conflict has been stopped. The weapons must be silenced in order that people may speak. We supported the idea that there should be negotiations before the war, but unfortunately our words of reason did not find an appropriate response from the leaders who decide about the destiny of the people. It is most important at the moment to stop the violence and terror in Kosovo and Metohija. It is impossible to ask for the unilateral retreat of the Serbian police without the cessation of the separatist and terrorist activities of the KLA. Only after the cessation of all military activities and disarmament is it possible to establish unconditional dialogue on all levels. The most important idea in that dialogue is to find the common future for all the peoples who live in the Kosovo area. I want to say the problem in Kosovo-Metohija is not only the problem of Albanians, but also of Serbs who are living there. Very often the Serbs in Kosovo are referred to only as members of police and army. The Serbian people that have been living there for 1,000 years are absolutely forgotten.

Kosovo Dialogue

In order to reach a lasting and just solution through the dialogue, we think that in that dialogue, the following parties should take part:

• The authorities of Serbia and Yugoslavia;

• The representatives of Kosovo Albanians; and

• The reps of Kosovo and Metohija Serbs.

Because without the participation of Kosovo Metohija Serbs in a dialogue, there cannot be a just and lasting solution. If we overlook that element in search of either a temporary or lasting solution, a real solution cannot be reached, because any kind of solution must be such that it will help all the people who live there to live normally and to stay there. If there is any solution which doesn't take into account the interests of the Serbs who live in Kosovo, that solution will be one-sided and will cause the mass exodus of Serbs from the region. And then we will get an ethnically cleansed Albanian Kosovo, and unfortunately we will not have the multiethnic Kosovo which we would like to see. We would like that all the people who live in Kosovo at the moment should stay there. That's why we do not support any action which is directed towards ethnic cleansing or displacement of the population from any side. We are afraid that the political leaders in the Balkans, especially Kosovo, do not take that into account. That is why we now have many thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons, both Serbs and Albanians.

In solution of the problem of Kosovo and Metohija, we must also incorporate the issue of these refugees and displaced persons. We must find a way that these internally displaced persons are returned to their homes. During the fights, many homes were destroyed. So it is necessary to make great efforts to help all the people return to their homes. We must repair the damaged houses, and organize the temporary accommodation of the people -- especially with winter approaching. We think it is totally unacceptable to use a humanitarian crises for any political purpose from any side. So, seeking the solution for Kosovo and Metohija, we must look to the future. With all due respect to our mutual traditions and history, we must first look to the future and try to find a common interest in the future. It is crucially important to work in confidence building between the populations living there, especially among Serbs and Albanians. Parallel to that, it is necessary to continue the building of democratic institutions in Serbia, which would guarantee the respect of all human rights for all citizens, no matter which religion or nationality.

A Necessary Democracy

These points can be summarized by the following conclusion. The issue of Kosovo and Metohija is not a question of territory, but a question of development of democracy and human rights, and it is necessary that the programs should be resolved without the change in internationally accepted borders within the Republic of Serbia and the federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This brings us to the other thesis: that is democratization of the Republic of Serbia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the whole Balkan region is necessary. The Serbian Orthodox Church and the democratic Serbian Resistance Movement, headed by Mr. Momcilo Trajkovic have been working together for years. Today in Serbia, especially with Mr. Milosevic and his regime, there cannot be a solution for Kosovo or any other problem -- because the undemocratic regime of Mr. Milosevic is not only violating the human rights of Kosovo Albanians, but it is also violating the human rights of the Serbian population, no matter which part of Serbia they live. With democratic Serbia and a democratic regime, it is very easy to find a solution for all the problems. That's why we say that the problem of Kosovo is not a geographical or territorial problem, but a problem of human rights and democracy. And the problem of Albanians in Kosovo is not restricted to the Kosovo area. There is a very serious Albanian question in Macedonia, in Montenegro, and even in Greece. So, it is very important to have a wider approach towards this problem, and not restrict the vision and dialogue to Kosovo. It is necessary to have democratization of the entire Balkans, only as democratic countries may they take part in integrational processes within Europe. We have been working quite a lot on this issue. We formed a group of experts which worked three months on the proposal of democratic solutions of the Kosovo and Metohija problem. It is probably the only paper which has been proposed as a democratic proposal so far. We don't want to say that it would resolve all the problems, but it represents a very good basis for the resolution of all programs. But unfortunately on the other hand, we have not seen the readiness to accept truly democratic approach, which would help. Through the democratization, the whole region would be oriented towards the processes of economic, political and military integration within Europe. That's why we think and we expect that the United States and the international community should support the democratic alternative in Serbia, which exists and which is gaining more and more support. It's true. Because only with that alternative is it possible to make the progress of democracy which will be the only source and guarantee of lasting stability in the region. With Mr. Milosevic, there is not stability, and there cannot be any kind of stability in the region.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I am going to say something about the third topic, and that is the role of religion in building peace and confidence in Kosovo and the Balkans. Very boldly I say that the conflict in Kosovo and Metohija is not a religious war. I think that war cannot be the program of any religion, and especially not of the Christian religion. That's why I think that religious communities can play a very constructive role in resolving this issue -- the Serbian Orthodox Church especially -- and the diocese of Kosovo. We have tried many times to make contact between the representatives of the three religious communities which live there -- Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Muslim. Three months ago, we made a draft version of a declaration, and offered this text to the religious community with the idea that we meet together in this effort, add new elements, subscribe to this document and present it to our believers. The good will on our side, unfortunately, did not find a proper response from the two other groups. About ten days ago, when Mr. John Shattuck was in Kosovo, we tried to gather representatives of these three religious communities so that we could talk together. Only me, as representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church came there, and the Secretary of the Roman Catholic Bishop was there. But the representatives of the Muslim community did not attend the meeting, nor did they give any explanation why they didn't come. It was a bit of an embarrassing situation for all of us, but it didn't discourage us. We are going to continue in our efforts to establish contact with representatives of other religious communities, and we shall continue trying to calm the conflict as much as we can. Together with Decani Monastery and Father Sava, I prepared a text. The topic is what religious communities could do to calm down this conflict. And we have ten proposals, the draft version of the text is translated into English, and you will find these papers available at the end of the presentation.

We think that we all have to do what we can. Neither God nor the people expect from us what we cannot do. But it is expected from us only as much as we are capable of doing.