Chairman-in-Office condemns violent riots in Bosnia and Herzegovina

BUCHAREST, 7 May 2001 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Romanian Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana, strongly condemns the violent riots in the Serb entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina directed against the reconstruction of destroyed mosques.

"It is intolerable that such events can be allowed to take place," said Mr. Geoana. The OSCE Chairman-in-Office pointed out that freedom of religion has been guaranteed by the Constitution of the Bosnian Serb Republic and that it is the responsibility of the police to ensure unhindered exercise of this fundamental freedom, as well as to guarantee the safety of all citizens.

"This apparently orchestrated violence in Banja Luka and Trebinje is directed against the very ideals of ethnic tolerance and peaceful coexistence - ideals that the international community has been working so hard to foster in this country," said Mr. Geoana. "The perpetrators and the instigators of this mob violence must be apprehended and brought to justice. Not only the violence against the symbolic revival of Islamic faith, but also the fact that representatives of the international community were targeted and threatened is an insult to all decent citizens of the Bosnian Serb Republic. But the extremists will not be able to turn back the clocks. Such violence belongs to the past and will not prevail in the new Bosnia and Herzegovina."

For further information contact the Press and Public Information Section of the OSCE Secretariat, tel.: (+ 43-1) 514 36 180 or e-mail: info@osce.org