PRISTINA -- Kosovo’s culture minister says he expects work to continue on the renovation of a historic building in the town of Mitrovica despite moves by the European Union and United Nations to pull their support because of the site’s links to the Nazi era.
"We understand the concerns of our international partners,” Hajrulla Ceku, the Balkan nation’s culture, youth, and sports minister, said on February 9.
“I am in daily communication with everyone, including Germany's respected ambassador to Kosovo. We have all given additional, detailed clarifications for our project, and are willing to offer them whatever they need,” he said. “We think that the work started with our international partners should continue, and I invite everyone to reflect rationally.”
The EU and UN Development Program said in a joint statement on February 8 that they were withdrawing support for the renovation work on the historic Deva building, about 40 kilometers north of the capital.
The house was set to be renovated and developed into a cultural and community center.
However, opposition surfaced by international contributors to the project after it was learned that a former owner of the house -- the late politician Xhafer Deva -- was linked to Nazi occupiers during World War II.
On February 7, Joern Rohde, Germany’s ambassador to Kosovo, said he was “very concerned” about a project related to the former house of a “known Nazi collaborator.”
Ceku said the project is aimed at restoring the monument and not to "rehabilitate the history" of the house, adding that Kosovo is willing to face the past.
Ceku said the criticism could be traced back to "unnecessary noise" out of neighboring Serbia, which does not recognize the state of Kosovo.
Deva was an Albanian politician during World War II. In 1944, he was appointed minister of home affairs in the Albanian government, which was formed with support from Nazi Germany. He died in 1978.
Flori Zevi, a Jewish activist in Pristina, told AP that he would tell the international partners that “the restoration should go ahead.” He said the project should include a portion that relates the story of the dozens of Jews who were taken from Mitrovica and executed in Serbia by the Nazis.
The house is believed to have been built in 1930 by Austrian architects and workers and is on the temporary list of protected cultural heritage monuments in Kosovo.