FEDERATION AUTHORITIES SHOULD SPEAK OUT ON FREQUENT ATTACKS AGAINST SERBS

SARAJEVO, JULY 21 /SRNA/ - The Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Serbs in the Federation of BiH /FBiH/ has called on the Federation authorities to state their position on the very frequent attacks against Serbs in the FBiH, their property, churches and cemeteries, and to say whether the perpetrators have been identified and prosecuted.

The Committee recalled that over the past four years, the cross at a Christian Orthodox prayer site in the village of Brijesnica near Lukavac has been broken twice, most recently in March 2024. As they stated, three days ago, shots were fired from an unknown weapon at the lighting installed at the Christian prayer site near the cross erected by Serbs from Brijesnica, while in December 2024 the City of Lukavac banned the construction of a parish house at the Christian prayer site in Brijesnica. "It is obvious that these acts aim to remove the cross and the prayer site and make Serbs give up their constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of religion," the Committee said. They are asking the relevant police agencies in the FBiH to announce, due to the public concern among the Serbian Orthodox Christian population, whether they have identified the persons who broke the cross in Brijesnica for the first time. "Have you identified the persons who broke the cross in Brijesnica for the second time? Have you identified the persons who destroyed the lighting at the prayer site in Brijesnica by firing shots at it?" the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Serbs in the Federation of BiH asked.