STOP SEIZING PROPERTY OF CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES AND RETURN IT TO ITS OWNERS

SARAJEVO, JULY 23 /SRNA/ – The Interreligious Council of BiH said, following an attempt to seize property belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church /SOC/ in Bugojno, that it has recently been receiving an increasing number of reports from churches and religious communities about the transfer of their property registrations under the pretext of so-called harmonisation, and appealed for this practice to be stopped.

An appeal was sent to all levels of government to return the property to its rightful owners, and to courts to speed up already initiated proceedings. In response to SRNA's inquiry regarding the attempted seizure of SOC property in Bugojno, the Interreligious Council in BiH pointed to increasingly frequent reports from churches and religious communities that certain administrative bodies have been making changes to land registry records. As it was explained, it was pointed to re-registration of the property belonging to churches and religious communities to so-called users, meaning legal and private individuals who, under the previous system, and unfortunately still today, are partial or full users of that property. "While declaratively advocating the inviolability of private property ownership, and in practice doing exactly the opposite, it is not uncommon for even places of worship to be registered to a certain administrative body or another legal entity, under the explanation of so-called harmonisation," the Council said. The Council appealed to courts handling ongoing cases to accelerate the resolution of disputed matters and, through their decisions and rulings, protect the rightful owners of unlawfully alienated property belonging to churches, religious communities, and other individuals and legal entities in similar situations. Bugojno parish priest Slaviša Đurić confirmed that an attempt is underway in Bugojno to seize the last remaining property of the Serbian Orthodox Church in this case by local power holders who are using institutional superiority, and said that he had received a decision ordering a freeze on the property.