VETERANS OF SO-CALLED ARMY OF BiH CHANT WAR CRIES IN KLJUČ; COMMITTEE SEEKS RESPONSE FROM EUROPEAN OFFICIALS

SARAJEVO, SEPTEMBER 17 /SRNA/ - A parade in Ključ by veterans of the so-called Army of BiH, accompanied by chants of "Takbir, Allahu Akbar" and wartime imagery, on the day when, in 1995, around 60 Serb civilians were killed in the municipality, 1,400 Serb homes in 45 villages and hamlets were burned down, and 14 Orthodox churches and parish homes were destroyed, has alarmed the few remaining Serbs in the area, the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Serbs in the FBiH warned.

The committee said that, because the Day of the Municipality of Ključ is marked with a religious celebration on the anniversary of crimes committed against Serbs in 1995, the few remaining elderly Serbs are locking themselves in their homes out of fear. "Harassing Serbs with wartime chants is, for Europeans, yet another example of the new civilizational differences that should be respected," the committee pointed out. "Marta Kos is not disturbed when 'Takbir, Allahu Akbar' is shouted every day in Bosnia," the statement said. The committee added that it was only when Serbs commemorate events that are important to them that everyone becomes disturbed. "The whole of Sarajevo becomes disturbed, the ambassadors of all European countries become disturbed, all the people working for television, radio and websites become disturbed whenever Serbs commemorate something. Psychiatrists measure a high level of disturbance and then have to file criminal complaints," the statement added. However, as they stated, when former members of the Fifth Corps of the so-called Army of BiH mark their own anniversaries with Islamic chants, foreigners have no problem with it. The committee used the occasion to ask European ambassadors in BiH whether they considered such behavior normal. "If they support it, then let them join the parade and chant 'Takbir' alongside them. If that is normal to them, fine - we understand the message," the committee concluded. The committee also told the ambassadors of European countries: "Don’t make fools of Serbs with messages that Europeans are neutral and support multiculturalism and tolerance, while they have not moved beyond the center of Sarajevo." The Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Serbs in the FBiH backed its claims with photographs from the celebration of the Day of the Municipality of Ključ on September 15.