BISHOP SERGIJE: AUTHORITIES MUST NOT TURN A BLIND EYE TO INTIMIDATION AND PHYSICAL ATTACKS ON SERB RETURNEES

BOSANSKI PETROVAC, JULY 19 /SRNA/ - His Grace Bishop Sergije of Bihać and Petrovac said that the attack on Serb returnees in Lušci Palanka near Sanski Most, carried out by individuals from the neighboring village of Fajtovci, has caused distress among the small number of Serbs who are clearly a source of discomfort to their neighbors because they continue to live where they and their ancestors have always lived.

The bishop stressed that this incident has caused unrest among the entire returnee population in the Sanski Most area, which, even 30 years after the end of the war, still does not feel safe in their own homes, villages, and town. "It is frightening to learn that, out of fear of their neighbors' anger, Serbs retreat into their homes whenever any newly established anniversary or event is being marked, regardless of whether it is a BiH football match or the commemoration of the Srebrenica suffering," Bishop Sergije said. The bishop pointed out that the people who decided decades ago to return and live at their pre-war addresses certainly did not have blood on their hands, and that they should therefore be protected by those who today provide them with little or insufficient protection, above all, the Una-Sana Canton Ministry of the Interior. He stressed that the cantonal Ministry of the Interior must act more quickly and more decisively to stop such and similar activities by groups or individuals whose aim is to intimidate returnees and force them to leave. Bishop Sergije said it is important that the competent authorities do not turn a blind eye to intimidation and physical attacks against Serb returnees, as well as all other returnees in this country, because if institutions did their job, such incidents would not occur in the first place. He said that he expects a strong and swift response from the Ministry of the Interior of the Federation of BiH, as well as a strong condemnation from the Mayor of Sanski Most, because what is happening does not encourage the Serb community in this municipality. "We also call on the authorities of Republika Srpska to pay much more attention to Lušci Palanka and the surrounding villages, because it was precisely here, on the feast day of Ognjena Marija in 1392, that King Stefan Dabiša issued a charter to the people of Dubrovnik. There is no need to spend words on how much this part of Podgrmeč contributed to the liberation of occupied Yugoslavia, while the dishonored monument at Korčanica bears witness to how unjustly forgotten this has become today," Bishop Sergije said. He recalled that Lušci Palanka was once a district, then a municipality, and today is an insecure refuge for around a hundred Serbs who are not allowed to live and work in peace. "To the returnees in Lušci Palanka, I say that the Serbian Orthodox Church remains with its people. In both good times and bad!" Bishop Sergije concluded. Republika Srpska Justice Minister Goran Selak said that three Bosniaks physically attacked Serb returnees Mika Davidović and her husband Željko Matić in Lušci Palanka near Sanski Most. Selak posted a video of the attack on X and identified the attackers as Suvad Bašić, Muharem Bašić, and Hasan Rekić from Fajtovci near Sanski Most.