 |
|
|
|
Deēan
|
|
|
Deēan Deēan/Dečani municipality is a rural area in western Kosovo, known for its historical roots. Its location is at thecrossroads of Gjakovė/Đakovica and Pejė/Peć. From a religious point of view, it has played an important role for theKosovo Serb community. The Orthodox Monastery, Visoki Dečani, dates back to the 13thcentury and is seen as anemblem of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo, and is a traditional pilgrimage site. The territory of the municipality comprises of 180 square kilometers, running along the Strellc/Streoc Mountains on the border with Albania. The plain of Deēan/Dečani is the largest part, where most of the 42 villages in the municipality lie.The rest of the villages are in the mountain areas, with difficult access in the winter. During the 1999 conflict, Deēan/Dečani was one of the strongholds of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA/UCK). By thetime the NATO bombing campaign started, most of the villages in the municipality had already been heavily affected bythe conflict and most of the inhabitants had already fled to Pejė/Peć or abroad. Deēan/Dečani had one of the highestrates of house destruction in Kosovo with more than 65 percent being totally destroyed. Much reconstruction has takenplace but continues with support from the Kosovo Albanian diaspora and the international community. During 2005, Deēan/Dečani municipality was directly affected by the reform of local government project, which may definitely change its municipal boundaries during 2006. Pursuant to Administrative Direction No. 2005/11 on PilotProjects issued on 22 July 2005 and within the Framework Document for the Reform of Local GovernmentAdministration endorsed by the Kosovo PISG on 23 July 2004, Junik/Junik is the Municipal Pilot Unit withinDeēan/Dečani Pilot Municipality. The project is currently on-going and if its implementation is successful, Junik will beestablished as a regular municipality after the Municipal Elections foreseen to take place at the second half of 2006. The vast majority of the population of Deēan/Dečane is Kosovo Albanian, with small minority groups: 24 Orthodox monks in Visoki Dečani Monastery; and Egyptians and Roma communities in the villages of Baballoq/Babaloć, Gramaqel/Gramoćelj, Dubovik, Pozhar/Požar, Shaptej/Šaptej, Izniq/Irznić; several Bosniak families live inPrapaqan/Prapačane and Rastavicė/Rastavica. The vast majority, nearly 99 percent of the population in the municipality is Muslim, some 40 Catholic families live in Ratish/Ratiš, Pepaj/Papić. Fotos aus Decan - September 2000
Weblinks
|
