JOVIĆ: ATTACKERS MUST BE PUNISHED, RETURNEES AND THEIR PROPERTY PROTECTED

BANJA LUKA, JULY 21 /SRNA/ - Acting Director of the Republic Secretariat for Displaced Persons and Migration Slađan Jović stressed that the attackers of Serb returnees Mika Davidović and her husband Željko Matić in Lušci Palanka near Sanski Most must be punished, and that returnees and their property must be protected.

Jović told SRNA that it is devastating that such incidents are still occurring so many years after the war and that a swift response from all institutions is necessary to prevent them from happening again.

He stressed that the Secretariat, together with the Government of Republika Srpska, continuously takes care of Serb returnees in the FBiH, but that in such situations protection from federal institutions is also needed, as well as continuous efforts to improve relations and promote tolerance in the areas where this population lives.

"The Federation of BiH /FBiH/ has no understanding for the problems of Serb returnees, and there are few places where good neighbourly relations prevail," Jović pointed out.

He added that such unfortunate incidents must be stopped as soon as possible, which will be achieved when all previous cases of attacks are resolved, the perpetrators are punished, and when the FBiH stops protecting attackers and sweeping this long-standing problem under the carpet.

The Secretariat stated that Jović plans to visit Mika Davidović and Željko Matić tomorrow.

Serb returnees in Lušci Palanka near Sanski Most, Mika Davidović and her husband Željko Matić, were physically attacked by Suvad and Muharem Bašić, and Hasan Rekić from Fajtovci near Sanski Most.