SERBS IN LUKAVAC AND OZREN, TROUBLE SPOTS IN FBiH, FACE INCREASING INTIMIDATION

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, JULY 18 /SRNA/ - The President of the Committee for the Protection of Serb Rights in the Federation of BiH /FBiH/ Đorđe Radanović told SRNA that Lukavac and Ozren are black spots in FBiH when it comes to Serb returnees, pointing out that in the past three years the area has seen killings and beatings of Serbs, robberies and the destruction of Orthodox monuments.

Radanović said that hunters from Lukavac had attacked people at an Orthodox cemetery during the memorial service, and that this municipality banned the construction of a parish home two years ago. "It is important to say that the institutions of FBiH, the cantons and the state administration system controlled by the Bosniak majority are trying to ensure that nothing Serbian survives, or that everything reminding people of the cross, the church and Serbs disappears," Radanović said, commenting on the latest incident in which unknown persons fired shots at solar lighting at a prayer site in the Serb returnee settlement of Gornja Brijesnica near Lukavac. The Serb Local Association of Residents of Gornja Brijesnica said in a statement to SRNA that this was one of a series of negative messages directed at Serbs, adding that despite obstacles to sustainable return, former residents would not give up on rebuilding their centuries-old properties. Association member Lazo Tripunović said they were forced to install solar lighting at the prayer site because, even after more than three decades, the authorities in the Federation had not provided electricity to this Serb area. The prayer site in the Serb returnee settlement of Gornja Brijesnica is a centuries-old gathering place and a symbol of return and renewal. After years of neglect, residents restored the area, and a cross was erected and consecrated at the site. The location holds great spiritual significance for the displaced Serb population from the Ozren region.