PRESS RELEASE

Condemnation of the attack on Orthodox priest

The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BiH condemns the barbaric attack on the Orthodox priest Zoran Kalajdžić and his assitant Milenko Vujić. This is yet another attack on Serbs and Croats and their religious representatives and buildings that has taken place in Sarajevo since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement.

We consider this attack to be an expression of ethnic and religious intolerance, and we see it as a direct threat to the equality of all citizens, regardless of their ethnic and religious belonging. Furthermore, this act presents an attack on the multiethnic character of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Helsinki Committee welcomes the swift reaction by the police, and asks that the judicial organs take appropriate action to punish the perpetrators of this horrible act. Moreover, we appeal with the political parties, religious leaders, and the media to contribute to the building of tolerance among different ethnic and religious groups, and to condemn all human rights violations based on ethnic or religous hatred.