Sigh, Serbia

premiss: --noun; 1. Logic. a proposition supporting or helping to support a conclusion

Get ready and . . .

1) "Patriarch Irinej said the Church's first duty was to help recover the breakaway province"

2) "The 80-year-old is considered a moderate who is open to modernisation"

Maybe it's just the weather (or clear CONTRADICTORY statements), but those first two sentences of a BBC article do not jive well together.

The man in question is the new Serbian Orthodox patriarch; the province--Kosovo. He was enthroned in the first of two special ceremonies earlier this week. The first was held in Serbia's capital Belgrade and the next is to be in (where else?) Pec, Kosovo.

Patriarch Irinej's "moderate" streak involves not opposing a visit from Pope Benedict XVI to the motherland, Serbia. A possible (not probable) rapprochement with the arch-rival denomination may be in order.

However, the Patriarch also stated,

"Kosovo is our holy land, our Jerusalem . . . Without them [religious relics located only in Kosovo], Serbia is not Serbia, without Kosovo it is deprived of its heart and soul."

If recent history of the past decade hasn't faded from national memory yet, this ought to be a warning; not only for Crotia but any southern Slav for that matter (well, unless one is Serbian; then again . . .). This only adds to building tension between the two states. Although, it seems much is instigated, with Croatia defending its peaceful policy within the region.

It's starting in Kosovo . . . but doesn't it always?

by: Calaya