PRESS RELEASE

The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina most strongly condemns the vandal attack against the Bishop of Bihac and Petrovac Hrizostom. This criminal act is, among other things, an attack against inter-ethnic relations and a harsh threat to the process of return, not only in Bosanski Petrovac, but Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole.

We express special concern with regard to the attitude of law enforcement bodies towards security of the diocese of Bosanski Petrovac and Bishop Hrizostom. Prior to this assault, the Bishop's Office had been a target of robbers three times over a short period of time, and they robbed the main office of the Serb Orthodox Church in the Bihac-Petrovac region. None of these cases was resolved, nor were the perpetrators prosecuted! The Helsinki Committee has, on a number of occasions, requested the police to dedicate more attention to security of this religious institution, stressing all possible consequences of neglect of this issue.

Upon our continuous insistence, the Una-Sana Canton Ministry of Interior tried to play down the problem, denying any links between these criminal acts with the overall situation in Bosanski Petrovac and, specifically, the state of inter-ethnic relations.

We urge the authorities of the Una-Sana Canton to most seriously review the work of police in this concrete case and punish those who are found responsible for the deteriorated state of relations between ethnic groups and citizens living in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We also request efficient action of prosecution bodies and final resolving of this unfortunate event.

Srdjan Dizdarevic,
Chairman of the Helsinki Committee in Bosnia and Herzegovina

No: 07-07/2007
Sarajevo, 17 July 2007

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