ESCALATING RADICALISM NEAR BIHAĆ GOES UNPUNISHED

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, FEBRUARY 8 /SRNA/ – Representatives of veterans’ organizations from Istočno Novo Sarajevo and Pale strongly condemned the escalation of radicalism in the Federation of BiH /FBiH/, particularly the gathering at Hasin Vrh near Bihać, where Bosniak extremists disturbed residents of nearby Serb returnee villages with war cries and gunfire.

Dragiša Tuševljak, president of the Istočno Novo Sarajevo Veterans’ Organization, told SRNA that it is especially concerning that the judiciary and relevant police agencies in BiH remain silent in the face of these provocations and incidents, which are far from harmless and yet go unpunished. "We cannot accept the one-sided approach and practice of judicial and prosecutorial bodies in BiH, which remain silent on the rise of nationalist outbursts in the Federation of BiH, yet are extremely dilligent when punishing the Serb patriot Miodrag Malić with three years in prison for 'raising three fingers'," Tuševljak said. Jasna Lazarević Gavrilović, president of the Pale Municipal Veterans’ Organization, warned that the gunfire and shouts heard near Bihać are further proof that perspectives on the future in BiH remain deeply divided. "We want to see peace and prosperity for all, a peaceful future for our children, while in our neighborhood, gunfire, waving of war flags, and war cries continue to dig into our still-unhealed wounds," Gavrilović said. She called on everyone, particularly the reasonable voices among Bosniaks, to exercise restraint and not repeat mistakes that have already proven extremely costly.