LINTA: CEMETERY ATTACK PART OF CHAUVINIST CAMPAIGN

BELGRADE, NOVEMBER 4 /SRNA/ – The destruction of a shelter at the Orthodox cemetery of Gradina in the village of Lozna near Banovići was one of a series of chauvinist attacks on Serb cemeteries in the Federation of BiH aimed at insulting Serb victims and their descendants, said Miodrag Linta, president of the Union of Serbs from the Region.

Linta said the relevant institutions in the Federation of BiH and Tuzla Canton had a duty to urgently investigate this chauvinist act, find and punish those responsible and take concrete measures to prevent further attacks on the cemetery.

"It is their duty to rebuild the destroyed shelter and ensure the permanent protection of the Orthodox cemetery. Silence and impunity for such attacks embolden extremists and send the message that Serb cemeteries and the property of Serb returnees and expelled families have been left to fend for themselves," Linta said in a statement.

Linta said Orthodox cemeteries must be places of peace, piety and respect, not targets for individuals and groups spreading hatred and intolerance.

He pointed to the distressing fact that Lozna had 1,018 Serb residents according to the 1991 census, while the official 2013 census recorded not a single Serb in the village.

"Instead of at least being allowed to preserve the memory of their dead with dignity, they are now seeing the destruction of a structure they built themselves to keep their ties to their native land," Linta said.

The Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Serbs in the Federation of BiH said earlier today that the shelter in Lozna had been torn down, in a renewed attack on the Serb Orthodox cemetery.