LINTA: FBiH DOES NOT PROSECUTE HATE CRIMES AGAINST SERB RETURNEES

BELGRADE, NOVEMBER 19 /SRNA/ – The President of the Association of Serbs from the Region Miodrag Linta told SRNA that hate crimes against Serb returnees are not being prosecuted in the FBiH, which sends the message of them not being welcome and that them urgently leaving their centuries-old homes would be best.

Commenting on the latest incidents caused by extremists in Bosanski Petrovac, Linta stressed that the key problem lies with the institutions, above all the police and the judiciary, as well as Bosniak politicians and religious dignitaries who do not condemn those who spread hatred and violence against Serb returnees, which is tragic.

He pointed out that incitement to hatred and violence against Serb returnees is not present only in Bosanski Petrovac, but throughout the Una-Sana Canton and the entire FBiH, and that this is not about isolated incidents but a recurring pattern.

"What is very bad is that we have virtually no reaction from the relevant authorities, no prosecution of hate crimes. We also have no reaction whatsoever from international officials. Naturally, such events spread an atmosphere of fear, anxiety, and pressure among returnees, sending them the ominous message that they are not welcome and that it would be best for them to leave urgently," Linta said.

He has added that it is necessary for the Serbian Embassy in BiH and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia to always respond appropriately to such chauvinistic events and to insist that those who ordered and committed them be punished in accordance with the law.

Linta assessed that the fact that Serbs in the FBiH are marking the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement in an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear is partly the result of double standards applied by Western centres of power, where there still exists a narrative that Serbs are the bad guys, while Bosniaks and Croats are the good guys who supposedly fought a defensive and liberating war.

"Based on that, we also have double standards when it comes to war crimes and attitudes toward victims, and unfortunately, such a double standards policy is evident in these events as well, especially toward Serb returnees in the FBiH," Linta concluded.

Through Bosanski Petrovac, a predominantly Serb-populated municipality in the FBiH, wartime flags of the so-called Army of BiH, which were carried during numerous crimes committed against Serbs, were once again paraded.

The convoy consisted mostly of young people who marched, with provocations, specifically through Serb villages, led by a police patrol.