Serbian Culture Minister Nebojsa Bradic said that so far 22 monastic complexes of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosmet, of the 35 destroyed or damaged in the Albanian violence against Serbs in Kosmet on 17 March 2004, have been renewed.

On the eve of the sixth anniversary of the Albanian devastation of Serb property and cultural heritage in Kosmet, Bradić told Tanjug that, within the 22 monastic complexes, churches, monastic precincts, the Faculty of Theology and the Bishops’ Residency in Prizren have been restored.

Work on five buildings are currently under way and three are in the public purchase process, he said.

He expects the cooperation between the Serbian Institute for the Protection of Monuments and UNESCO will be good in this year as well and that the renewal of the Pec Patriachate and the monastery of Decani will start.

Bradic took the opportunity to condemn attempts by the authorities in Pristina to claim possession of Serbian artistic and cultural heritage historically present in Kosovo, dubbing them "falsifications".

"The Albanians have sought to use Serbia's cultural heritage in Kosovo towards a policy creating a new identity, a new history and a new art history. This is all falsification", he said.

In the violent clashes in Kosovo between Albanians and Serbs six years ago, 20 people were killed and over 900 injured.