ĐOGO: SEIZING SOC PROPERTY IN FBiH DECEITFUL PROJECT

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, FEBRUARY 1 /SRNA/ – Dean of the Orthodox Theological Faculty "Saint Basil of Ostrog" in Foča, Darko Đogo, says that seizing Orthodox cemeteries and holy sites in the FBiH is part of a political process, and that a deceitful and carefully planned project is underway to first register them as "state" property and then allow someone else to dispose of them.

Đogo says that all those engaged in the dishonest and unlawful seizure of centuries-old holy sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church /SOC/ should know that the Church will not give up protecting them by all available legal means. "Everyone should know that the SOC is older than any political formation, any so-called state, or anything else here, that we have endured for centuries and that we will outlast those who today are trying to take our property away in a very perfidious manner," Đogo told SRNA. He pointed out that this is being done away from the public eye, in order to register SOC holy sites and cemeteries as so-called “state property.” "Legal protection proceedings will certainly be initiated. It is more than obvious that these actions are an integral part of a political process," Đogo said. He added that the example of Montenegro has already proven that the SOC cannot be defeated. "These are not just church property, these are church sanctities. Cemeteries are our holy sites, which are being shifted to so-called `state property,`" Đogo said. According to him, this can also be viewed as an attempt to create precedents through which property would be seized from Serbs in areas where they have been reduced to ethnic minorities and second-class citizens. "It is sad that we are witnessing this, but this is an excellent example of what kind of fate would await Serbs everywhere if there were no Republika Srpska, if there were no state framework within which Serbs live today," Đogo believes. He emphasized that the entire Serb people are embodied in the Serbian Orthodox Church and that it is important for anyone who has information or indications that something similar is happening or has already happened to inform their parish priest or the competent bishop. Đogo says this began when some believed that the faithful Serb people would not notice changes in the property status of holy sites in the FBiH. "Our people are known for regarding their holy sites as their own responsibility - cemeteries are maintained, graves are visited. It is important that the entire Orthodox people, regardless of how many of us there are in any part of the FBiH, take care of their cemeteries, both their physical condition and their legal status," Đogo said. The Municipal Court Mostar registered two cemeteries in the Vrapčići settlement, along with an Orthodox church and chapel, as state-owned property. Although it was obliged to do so under the Law on Land Registers of the FBiH, the court did not notify the Serbian Orthodox Church Municipality of Mostar, which is the holder and a party to the proceedings, about property registration. The Cathedral Church of the Most Holy Mother of God in Zenica and the land surrounding the church have been registered as "state property." Part of the property of the Zavala Monastery near Trebinje was unlawfully and without notification transferred to the Municipality of Ravno, the monastery’s abbot Vasilije previously told SRNA, announcing that they would pursue legal action and court proceedings to defend the property for which they have evidence proving it belongs to the monastery.