Dušan Šehovac, the founder of the Democratic Initiative of Sarajevo Serbs, has declared that the draft urban plan of Sarajevo Canton represents a new attempt to seize Serb property, which is likely to succeed due to the lack of vigilance among the Serbs.
Following a public discussion on the draft urban plan of Sarajevo Canton, Šehovac stated that it is unacceptable for land owned by living individuals to be declared as green space.
He added that Serbs from Vogošća, Ilidža, and Novi Grad might wait up to 70 years to be financially compensated for their usurped property in the name of social interest, emphasizing that private property is sacrosanct.
“As we heard in Vogošća, it seems that only in the 22nd century will the Serbs be compensated for the land that the Federation plans to use for parks, memorials, cemeteries, and new elite weekend settlements on Serb territories on the slopes of Sarajevo,” Šehovac explained.
He expressed little hope that the Serbs would be able to reclaim their property. “We are not vigilant enough, not organized and ready, trained, brave, nor do we seek support where it is needed to preserve our land,” said Šehovac.
He pointed out that Serb land is not only located in Serbia and Republika Srpska but across all territories of the former Yugoslavia.
“If we continue this way, this land will become Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Kosovan, and it will all be slowly destroyed just like the Orthodox cemetery in Buća Potok, which no longer exists,” emphasized Šehovac.
He stated that this is all part of a path towards the destruction of Serb property in order to erase traces of the centuries-old presence of Orthodox Serbs in these regions.
The public discussion on the draft urban plan of Sarajevo Canton for the period 2016 to 2036 only slightly opened the door to a multitude of problems faced by Serbs in the municipality of Vogošća, who claim that their property is being brazenly seized without any compensation, with local councilors saying that “Serb land can be taken away on their shoes.”
Gordana Pajdaković, one of the few Serb women who returned to her property in Vogošća, stated that Bosniak nobles from Sarajevo are attempting to seize her family property, which has been owned by her parents and great-grandparents since the Ottoman Empire. She vowed that they would not succeed.
Pajdaković mentioned that she owns a lot of land in Vogošća, split into two parcels, totaling 80 dunams.
Branimir Trifković also spoke about the seizure of Serb land. “It concerns our private land located in the territories of Novi Grad, Vogošća, Ilidža. As for me, my private property is in the area of Žuč, and it is designated as a green area where they want to prohibit any construction, be it buildings, houses, or anything else,” Trifković told reporters after the public discussion.
Source: RTRS
