The construction of the bridge was strongly desired by General Figliuolo, to allow the patrols of KFOR that protect the monastery to cross the river that runs alongside it in safety, reducing the time of intervention. The Orthodox monastery of Visoki Dečani, in fact, is the only place in Kosovo where KFOR is still the first responsible for security. The bridge has a total length of 24 meters and its opening will facilitate the fruition and economic development of the natural area adjacent to the monastery.
In the inauguration speech, General Figliuolo reaffirmed as "the construction of the bridge witnessed the close relationship that binds Italy and the Italian Army to the Deçan / Dečani monastery, but also the role of KFOR in normalizing the relations between the Serbian religious community and the citizens of Deçan / Dečani, in the majority of ethnic Albanians. "
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In the margins of the ceremony, meeting the journalists, the commander of KFOR recalled how "the normalization of relations and the social economic development are fundamental factors of stability and can help prevent the birth of all kinds of extremism".
At the inauguration ceremony, as well as the commander of KFOR and the ambassador Farid Zarif participated head of the UN mission in Kosovo who financed some ancillary works, Haki Demolli minister of Kosovo Security Forces, who built the bridge under the guidance of a team specialized in the 6 ° Genio Pioneers Regiment of Rome, representatives from the municipality of Deçan / Dečani and the monastery.
In the morning General Figliuolo presided over a touching ceremony in memory of Major MAVM Stefano Rugge, when 8 fell in May 2002 due to a mine explosion during the Amber Fox operation in FYROM. Major Rugge was named after a newly built stone fountain at Casa Italia.
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Source: KFOR PAO Chief - ten.col. Andrea Martellotti
