The attack on Serb returnees in Vogošća represents a continuation of what he described as the long-term ethnic cleansing of Serbs in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, carried out by the Federation authorities, President of the Association of Patriots of Republika Srpska Slobodan Župljanin told SRNA.
“Amid unprecedented hysteria and expressions of hatred toward the Serbian people in the public sphere, attacks on the lives and property of the small number of Serbs who remain in Sarajevo Canton are continuing. What threat could a 92-year-old man and his 68-year-old son possibly represent? It is clear that the attack on them serves the purpose of driving the last remaining Serbs from this area,” Župljanin said.
He argued that the incident demonstrates what he described as the hypocrisy of political rhetoric coming from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where political representatives advocate a common Bosnia and Herzegovina while, in his view, making life increasingly difficult for the remaining Serbs and forcing them from their ancestral homes.
“This is the democracy that supposedly intends to take Bosnia and Herzegovina into the EU. That is about as realistic as the prospect of Serbs being able to remain and survive in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Župljanin said.
He described it as deeply troubling that people in the 21st century are still fighting for basic human rights, including the right to live safely on their own property, while, according to him, relevant institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina remain silent and fail to take sufficient action to improve the situation.
Župljanin said the incident had further alarmed the small number of Serbs who had hoped to spend the rest of their lives in their homes. He also criticized the competent authorities for providing limited information and, in his assessment, taking insufficient measures to protect returnees and prosecute those responsible.
“It is obvious that there is an attempt to minimize the entire case through an excessively lenient legal classification of the offense. This creates additional fear and distrust and indicates that this is part of a previously conceived and prepared project aimed at forcibly removing Serbs and seizing their property,” Župljanin claimed.
According to him, the incident has further worsened the already fragile security situation of the Serb returnee population, while he accused the Federation authorities of continuing to ignore the problem.
“It is impossible to preserve even a Bosnia and Herzegovina that could be acceptable to everyone living in it in this way. It is even more troubling that the so-called international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains silent about all of this, thereby indirectly demonstrating complicity in everything bad that is happening to the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Župljanin said.
He stressed that criminal proceedings in such cases must be swift and effective and that perpetrators must receive appropriate punishment.
“Unfortunately, we have not seen that happen in this case or in previous similar cases,” Župljanin concluded.
The Sarajevo Canton Ministry of Internal Affairs told SRNA that police had arrested two men from Sarajevo in connection with the attack, which occurred during the night of August 25–26, and that they are suspected of attempted robbery.
Source: RTRS
