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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Project of reconstruction of house of Xhafer Deva should not be implemented

Belgrade, 7 February 2022

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and Information Maja Gojkovic sent letters to EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Mariya Gabriel and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner, in which she expressed worry over the project of reconstruction of the house of Xhafer Deva in Kosovska Mitrovica and called for the cancellation of the disputed project.

In the letters, Gojkovic wrote that the facts regarding this case are well known – it is about a notorious Nazi collaborator who was actively involved in the formation of the SS division “Skender-beg”, known for preparing and committing crimes against Serbs and Jews. He was the Mayor of Mitrovica during the Second World War, the Minister of the Interior of Albania during the occupation in the Second World War and was decorated by Adolf Hitler in 1944.

She added that for these reasons, she was surprised to receive the news that this activity is being realised as part of the European Union project “Cultural heritage as a driver for intercommunity dialogue and social cohesion contributing to stability and peace”, with the support of the UNDP.

The Deputy Prime Minister underlined that the given project is a cause of deep anxiety among Serbs and Jews and the entire public of this region and that it grossly threatens not only the dignity of the victims of crimes committed during the Second World War and the cherishing of the culture of remembrance, but also the efforts that are being made today in order to establish dialogue.