HEADSTONES SMASHED AT ORTHODOX CEMETERY IN KOVAČIĆI VILLAGE

SARAJEVO, JUNE 24 /SRNA/ – Several tombstones have been vandalized at the Orthodox cemetery in the Serb village of Kovačići near Kladanj.

The local parish priest, Darko Kujundžić, told SRNA that this Orthodox cemetery has been desecrated for the second time in a short period. He added that the families of those whose graves were damaged are outraged, as the same cemetery had previously been targeted by acts of vandalism, and the perpetrators were never identified. Đorđe Radanović, the President of the Committee for the Protection of Serb Rights in the Federation of BiH, stated that there are currently no Serbs living in the Serb villages in Kladanj Municipality, and that there is an atmosphere in which Serbs are not welcome. "Kladanj was known even during World War II as a Ustasha stronghold in that region. There were 14 Serb villages in Kladanj, and all of them were destroyed and burned," said Radanović, adding that the municipal authorities have not allowed the reconstruction of the Orthodox church destroyed in 1941. He emphasized that the Serbs were expelled from Kladanj in 1992, and that their homes and properties were burned and destroyed. "Water pipes were ripped out, bricks were taken from the houses, and electric poles were removed. Serbs have repeatedly requested the reconstruction of their villages, but there has been no response from either the Federation authorities or the international community," Radanović said.