Foča: They seized Sarač's property, will build a building on it, and the owners get not a single mark in compensation

The dispute between Kenan Sarač and the authorities of Foča has been ongoing for several years. Local authorities demolished his devastated house in an attractive location in the city center, and a new residential building will now rise on part of his plot, while Sarač will receive no compensation for any of this.

- I asked them to give me some compensation, to pay me money or to give me an apartment in that building that is to be built on part of my plot, but the authorities refused – Sarač told the Bosnian news agency Patria.

- They offer me that on the remaining part of my plot I can build a smaller facility with my own funds – added Sarač.

But, he says, that is no favor at all. The authorities in Foča are giving him something that is rightfully his anyway.

Experts dealing with the protection of Bosniak returnees in the Bosnian entity Republika Srpska say that Sarač's case is just a continuation of the ethnic cleansing of Bosniaks from the RS, which, unfortunately, is not an isolated case.

During the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995, the entire Bosniak population was expelled from the Foča area, and their homes were demolished or confiscated. The Research and Documentation Center reported that 2,805 people went missing or were executed during the expulsion of the Bosniak population from Foča between 1992 and 1995.

The Hague Tribunal for crimes in Foča against the Bosniak population sentenced criminals Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovač, Zoran Vuković, Milorad Krnojelac, and Dragan Zelenović to multi-year prison terms.

For crimes in Foča, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced criminals Radovan Stanković, Neđo Samardžić, and Gojko Janković. Before domestic and international courts for crimes in Foča against Bosniaks, another fifteen former members of the Army of Republika Srpska are being tried.

In addition to his own house, which was destroyed during the last conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Sarač, along with the rest of the Bosniak population, was expelled from Foča, he is now a tenant in Sarajevo, where he lives with his minor daughter.

He says he tried to reach an agreement with the local authorities in Foča, but that he was manipulated throughout the case. Previously, he gave consent for the Foča authorities to remove his dilapidated building and construct a building on part of his attractive plot, but in return he asked for compensation. However, the compensation did not materialize, and Sarač cannot obtain it even after several years of legal struggle.

Sarač explains to Patria that he sought protection from several addresses in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as from the Ombudsman for Human Rights, but the problem has not yet been resolved. He has no money for further legal battles with the authorities in Foča.