Post by Duke John on Nov 11, 2008 14:24:00 GMT -5
11 November 2008 Sarajevo _ A Roman Catholic priest in the northern Bosnian town of Derventa has written a letter to the government criticising Bosnian Serb police for inappropriate behavior, saying it is one of the key issues which is preventing the return of refugees to that area.
In the letter to the interior minister of the Serb-dominated entity of Republika Srpska, Stanislav Cadjo, pastor of a Roman Catholic Church in Derventa, Filip Marsic, complained that local police have not only repeatedly failed to protect his church from vandals but have also mistreated him when he has called them up, local media reported on Tuesday.
In the same area another two attacks on Bosnian Croats and their property were registered in the last half year.
Some 13 years after the end of Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, ethnically or religiously-motivated incidents are not that frequent in the country. Yet they still occasionally happen, indicating that tensions still linger in some areas and among some people. This is one of the main reasons why the process of the return of some 2 million people – displaced within the country and abroad during the war – has not been fully completed. It is estimated that so far around one million of refugees and internally displaced people have returned to their pre-war homes.
Professional and unbiased police is a crucial part of providing security for ethnic minorities across the country, which is why the international community over the past decade has carried out a thorough audit and reform of the local police forces.
However, pastor Marsic said that local police in Derventa have repeatedly failed to protect his church from frequent attacks by vandals. In addition, Marsic said that over the weekend he came to visit a family of Bosnian Croat returnees, when he was verbally assaulted by a Bosnian Serb.
In his letter, Marsic said he has called local police asking for protection but they have never come. When he once called the police a local policeman told him that this “was not his state” and that “he was fed up” with his calls.
On this particular occasion, a police patrol appeared only some 40 minutes later, after Marsic called the head of local police directly.
“It is no wonder that people do not return to these areas when those who should protect me, assault me in this way,” Marsic said in his letter.
www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/14701/
In the letter to the interior minister of the Serb-dominated entity of Republika Srpska, Stanislav Cadjo, pastor of a Roman Catholic Church in Derventa, Filip Marsic, complained that local police have not only repeatedly failed to protect his church from vandals but have also mistreated him when he has called them up, local media reported on Tuesday.
In the same area another two attacks on Bosnian Croats and their property were registered in the last half year.
Some 13 years after the end of Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, ethnically or religiously-motivated incidents are not that frequent in the country. Yet they still occasionally happen, indicating that tensions still linger in some areas and among some people. This is one of the main reasons why the process of the return of some 2 million people – displaced within the country and abroad during the war – has not been fully completed. It is estimated that so far around one million of refugees and internally displaced people have returned to their pre-war homes.
Professional and unbiased police is a crucial part of providing security for ethnic minorities across the country, which is why the international community over the past decade has carried out a thorough audit and reform of the local police forces.
However, pastor Marsic said that local police in Derventa have repeatedly failed to protect his church from frequent attacks by vandals. In addition, Marsic said that over the weekend he came to visit a family of Bosnian Croat returnees, when he was verbally assaulted by a Bosnian Serb.
In his letter, Marsic said he has called local police asking for protection but they have never come. When he once called the police a local policeman told him that this “was not his state” and that “he was fed up” with his calls.
On this particular occasion, a police patrol appeared only some 40 minutes later, after Marsic called the head of local police directly.
“It is no wonder that people do not return to these areas when those who should protect me, assault me in this way,” Marsic said in his letter.
www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/14701/