BROĆETA: GUNFIRE AT ORTHODOX PRAYER SITE IS ACT OF HATRED AGAINST SERBS

DRVAR, JULY 18 /SRNA/ – Goran Broćeta, Serb delegate to the House of Peoples of the Federation of BiH Parliament, said that the shooting at an Orthodox prayer site in the Serb returnee village of Gornja Brijesnica near Lukavac was an act of hatred directed against Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox faith in the Federation.

Broćeta told SRNA that it was alarming how widespread hatred towards Serbs remained across the Federation, but even more concerning was the fact that, as a matter of routine, the competent institutions failed to solve almost any such case. "The latest incident near Lukavac, namely the shooting at an Orthodox prayer site, is nothing but the sick hatred of fanatics towards everything that is Serbian and Orthodox in the Federation of BiH. What is particularly worrying is that the competent authorities fail to solve such cases, thereby giving vandals additional encouragement to spread fear among Serbs," Broćeta said. He believes that the aim of such incidents is to intimidate the Serb population and destroy their property in order to make their continued existence in the Federation even more difficult. "The goal is to destroy Serb property through increasingly frequent attacks and create fear and panic, so that eventually Serbs in the Federation will be spoken of only in the past tense. We will not allow that," Broćeta said. Condemning what he described as an act of vandalism, Broćeta stressed that Serbs would remain on their ancestral land despite all pressures. "My message to those behind such attacks is this: whatever you try, we are staying on our land," Broćeta said. The prayer site in the Serb returnee village of Gornja Brijesnica is a centuries-old gathering place and a symbol of return and renewal. After years of neglect, local residents restored the site and erected and consecrated a cross there. The site holds great spiritual significance for the displaced Serb population from the Ozren region.