BELGRADE STRONGLY CONDEMNED ATTACK ON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM NOVI SAD IN SARAJEVO

BELGRADE, MARCH 29 /SRNA/ - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia strongly condemned the ethnically motivated attack on a group of high school students from Novi Sad, who are staying in Sarajevo as part of the student exchange program, and expects those responsible to be punished.

"We expect that all attackers will be identified, brought to justice and punished most severely, in order to send a clear message to all radical elements in BiH," the announcement of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs states. According to the testimony of eyewitnesses, the attack was undoubtedly ethnically motivated, since the attackers insulted the victim on a national basis. In the announcement of this ministry, it is stated that the seriously injured high school students from Novi Sad were visited by the Serbian consul in Sarajevo and they and their parents were offered legal and other assistance. "We are particularly concerned by the fact that the attack was apparently not spontaneous, but rather a planned lynching, since the attackers were masked and armed with batons," the statement said. It is estimated that such an outpouring of inter-ethnic hatred is not surprising, if one takes into account the heightened political tensions in BiH and the aggressive rhetoric of certain politicians of that country towards Serbia and the Serbian people. "There is no doubt that the responsibility for this attack rests with those who incited it, that is, with political extremists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, because they created a social climate in which such unfortunate events are possible," the Ministry points out. The attack on the students from Novi Sad confirms that, when hatred is poured into the public space, it rarely remains only verbal, but tends to grow into physical aggression and violence. That is why, according to the Ministry, it is necessary that in relations between Serbia and BiH, political communication should be returned to normal civilized frameworks, and that all possible disagreements should be resolved in the spirit of good neighborly cooperation and without harsh words and ill-considered messages. "We wish our high school students a speedy recovery, and we are convinced that the desire of young people in Serbia and BiH to cooperate and create friendships is stronger than the hatred of radicalized individuals," the statement said. Last night in Sarajevo, high school students from Novi Sad, including a girl, were attacked with baseball bats, said the president of the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Serbs in the Federation of BiH, Đorđe Radanović.