Newsroom
Skopje Mission strongly condemns destruction of Lesok Monastery
SKOPJE 21 August 2001
SKOPJE, 21 August 2001 (OSCE) - The OSCE Mission to Skopje strongly condemns the destruction of the Lesok Monastery in the early hours of today.
According to first findings, the destruction seems to be a deliberate and premeditated act of violence against a monument of religious and cultural of eminent importance for both the country and the whole region. This kind of attack cannot be justified by any military necessity and is a gross violation of international law.
This act of violence is also clearly aimed at undermining the implementation of the Framework Agreement. The OSCE Mission to Skopje expresses the hope that the investigation to be carried out by the Macedonian legal authorities will be able to shed full light on this case, and those responsible will be brought to justice.
Despite the gravity of the incident, the OSCE Mission to Skopje calls upon all responsible citizens of this country, irrespective of ethnicity, to refrain from acts which would bring about further escalation, in order to allow the implementation of the Framework Agreement to continue.
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For further information please contact the OSCE Spillover Monitoring Mission to Skopje, tel: +389 91 111-143, fax: +389 91 111-267, e-mail: [email protected].
According to first findings, the destruction seems to be a deliberate and premeditated act of violence against a monument of religious and cultural of eminent importance for both the country and the whole region. This kind of attack cannot be justified by any military necessity and is a gross violation of international law.
This act of violence is also clearly aimed at undermining the implementation of the Framework Agreement. The OSCE Mission to Skopje expresses the hope that the investigation to be carried out by the Macedonian legal authorities will be able to shed full light on this case, and those responsible will be brought to justice.
Despite the gravity of the incident, the OSCE Mission to Skopje calls upon all responsible citizens of this country, irrespective of ethnicity, to refrain from acts which would bring about further escalation, in order to allow the implementation of the Framework Agreement to continue.
--
For further information please contact the OSCE Spillover Monitoring Mission to Skopje, tel: +389 91 111-143, fax: +389 91 111-267, e-mail: [email protected].