PERPETRATORS WHO DESECRATED ORTHODOX TOMBSTONES NEAR ZENICA MUST BE URGENTLY FOUND

SARAJEVO, SEPTEMBER 12 /SRNA/ - The Inter-Religious Council of BiH assessed that the desecration of tombstones at the Orthodox cemetery in Pečuj near Zenica is an act of vandalism and a deep humiliation for the families whose loved ones are buried there, and called on the competent authorities to urgently identify and punish the perpetrators, thereby sending a message that there is no place in this society for violence, intolerance, and hatred.

"We, as believers and citizens, have a duty to protect and respect one another, to defend the holy sites of every person, and to jointly build a society in which everyone will feel secure in their faith, tradition, and identity," the Inter-Religious Council of BiH said in a statement. The statement further notes that any desecration of holy sites, regardless of the religion or community to which they belong, undermines trust within society. Sixty tombstones were destroyed at the Orthodox cemetery in the village of Pečuj, two kilometers from downtown Zenica. The president of the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Serbs in the Federation of BiH, Đorđe Radanović, told SRNA that he was informed about the destruction of tombstones by a priest, and that the photographs published by SRNA show that the vandalism involved the use of physical force. "The problem is that the cemetery is only two kilometers from downtown Zenica, where the police have access, yet no one noticed anything except Father /Marko/ Maleš," Radanović said.