RADANOVIĆ: THREATS TO SERBS CONFIRM THAT TUZLA IS MUSLIM CITY

SARAJEVO, OCTOBER 2 /SRNA/ – The President of the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Serbs in the BiH Federation /FBiH/ Đorđe Radanović told SRNA that the latest threats against Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church /SOC/ in Tuzla confirm that this is a Muslim city which has always been and remains intolerant toward everything Serbian.

"Nothing new for the Muslim city of Tuzla. The prejudice that Tuzla is multiethnic still exists, but precisely in that city and the Tuzla region, both during the war and after it, and even to this day, the most attacks on Serbs and the SOC have occurred," Radanović told SRNA.

He said that he is therefore not surprised by the threatening letter sent to Serbs and the SOC from the Tuzla prison by a certain Dževad Hasić.

From the Tuzla prison, Dževad Hasić sent a threatening letter to the Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church, stating that they are not welcome in that city, and that the Orthodox priest would be converted to Islam, while the cross would be replaced with the crescent and star.

His Eminence, Metropolitan of Zvornik-Tuzla Fotije, reacted yesterday to the threats against Orthodox Serbs in the FBiH and the desecration of the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God in Tuzla, stressing that this is not an isolated incident, but for some time now has been part of a continuous process of attacks on the Orthodox community in the FBiH.

The Bishop noted that the threats came from an individual who, several months ago, desecrated the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God in Tuzla and who has demonstrated a propensity for violent acts.

The Islamic religious community has not condemned these threats.

This is not the first time that Hasić, who has a police record, has attacked the SOC in Tuzla, since in July he was arrested for theft from the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God.