LINTA: TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CRIMINAL COMPLAINTS - BRUTAL ATTACK ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 4 /SRNA/ - President of the Alliance of Serbs from the Region Miodrag Linta said that paying tribute cannot be equated with incitement to national, religious or racial hatred or with glorification of crimes, and that the filing of tens of thousands of criminal complaints over comments related to General Ratko Mladić constitutes a brutal attack on freedom of expression.

"This is an attempt to impose, through fear, pressure and persecution, the only permissible interpretation of the wartime past as defined by the Hague Tribunal," Linta said.

He stressed that it was unacceptable for Serbs to have to remain silent about their victims, their suffering and the people who symbolize the struggle for freedom and survival of their people.

Linta described as particularly scandalous the conduct of Croatia, where, he said, ethnic Serb citizens of BiH are being fined, stripped of their residence and work permits, deported and banned from entering Croatia for a certain period of time over posts in which they paid tribute to General Ratko Mladić.

"If Europe is truly founded on the rule of law, freedom of expression and equal standards, then it must clearly condemn the practice in Croatia and the Federation of BiH of persecuting Serbs for their opinions and views, while at the same time turning a blind eye to the truth about the mass suffering of the Serb people," Linta stressed.

Linta said that double standards cannot serve as the foundation for genuine peace and reconciliation, the Alliance of Serbs from the Region said in a statement.