EIGHT TOMBSTONES DESECRATED AT ORTHODOX CEMETERY IN KOVAČIĆI

EAST SARAJEVO, MAY 8 /SRNA/ - Eight tombstones were desecrated at the Orthodox village cemetery in Kovačići, the municipality of Kladanj, the head of the Committee protecting Serbs' rights in FBiH Đorđe Radanović confirmed to SRNA.

Referring to information from Serbs who fled Kladanj municipality, Radanović says the incident happened a few days ago and that the tombstones of the Miletić, Aleksić and Savić families were desecrated. According to him, tombstones in all former Serb villages were massively desecrated, while parish priest Darko Kujundžić, who covers this municipality, confirmed that more than 60 percent of the tombstones were demolished. "In the village of Vitanj, Bosniaks are destroying the fence around the church for grazing the cattle. In the village of Olovci, Serbs gather once a year and place a cross at the entrance to the cemetery, but it always ends up cut or broken," said Radanović. He recalled a large Orthodox church used to stand in the center of Kladnje before 1941, but was demolished and never rebuilt, and the land was usurped; a market is planned to be built on that site now. "The municipal authorities do not plan to return the land to the Serbian Orthodox Church. One of the former mayors said – `if we wanted the church, we would not have demolished it in 1941`," Radanović stated. In places where Serbs used to live, there were also memorials to the victims of the World War II, but they were also demolished. "It is obvious that all these incidents are part of the synchronized activity of a group of people against everything with Serb prefix," stated Radanović. Radanović stated that before 1991, 83 Serbs lived in Kovačići, and 3,299 Serbs used to live in the municipality of Kladanj, and were the majority people in 15 villages.