CONCERN THAT POLICE FAILED TO PREVENT TUZLA INCIDENT

BANJA LUKA, JANUARY 26 /SRNA/ – Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Savo Minić said, commenting on the incident in Tuzla involving fans of Red Star and Hajduk, that he is outraged by the fact that foreign nationals can come and beat someone simply because he supports a certain football club and because he is a Serb, stressing that he is particularly concerned that police structures and services failed to prevent and anticipate the incident.

Minić said he condemns the incident in Tuzla and called on everyone to act with maximum reason and restraint in these turbulent times, noting that heightened national tensions have once again emerged. He called on his counterparts in the Federation of BiH /FBiH/, Serbia and Croatia to condemn something that is by no means harmless. "Someone's child, someone's son, someone's brother was beaten for reasons I do not understand, with a bat. For what reason? We must come to our senses, because God forbid, incidents like this can cause undesirable consequences in the wider social community," Minić told reporters in Banja Luka. The Prime Minister of Republika Srpska said he had heard that the injuries sustained by the fans were serious, which certainly does not contribute to the sense of security of the Serb population in the FBiH. Minić said that had such a situation occurred in Republika Srpska, he would have reacted in the same way. According to him, police structures in Republika Srpska have prevented countless clashes between fan groups through operational work. In the clash between fans of Red Star Belgrade and the Croatian supporters' group Torcida in front of the Tuzla International Airport, 23 people were injured, including a police officer, the Ministry of Interior /MoI/ of Tuzla Canton announced.