Medžlis of the Islamic Community on Kordić's Statements: Sketches Found in the Vienna Archive Showing Markings of the Lakišića Cemetery

(Patria) - The latest reaction of the Mayor of Mostar, Mario Kordić, to the views of the Mostar Mufti Office and the Mufti of Mostar, Dr. Salem-ef. Dedović, is yet another example of classic political one-time populism and a total absence of clear perception and real facts regarding the Lakišića cemetery site and the legal and legitimate request of the Islamic Community in Mostar to build the Intercultural Center "Mevlana" on that area, in accordance with historical right, the right to preserve the continuity of the sacred space, the proclaimed principles of the international community and domestic political entities that objects and spaces of interest to all citizens and peoples in Mostar should feature in the Central Zone of the city of Mostar, announced the Medžlis of the Islamic Community (MIZ) Mostar.

As stated, Kordić's reaction, such as it is, does not deserve attention in any way, but due to the function he performs and for the sake of the public, the Medžlis Mostar considers it its duty to warn about the incorrect claims made in that reaction.

"Kordić claims that the mufti is 'harassing city and judicial institutions'. What nonsense. What kind of harassment could the mufti possibly exert over Kordić's employees or over judicial bodies? He obviously used the wrong word. Kordić accused the mufti of advocating for a social order from the period of the Ottoman state, when, as Kordić believes, the state and the Islamic Community were one. Instead of dealing with fabricated historical facts and accusations against the mufti of raising inter-ethnic tensions, which is in no way true, Kordić should focus on analyzing the work of his services, city departments, and the consistent application of legal norms," they stated from the Medžlis.

On this occasion, they reminded him that as mayor, the executive authority, he should have implemented the Decision on initiating the development of the Regulatory Plan Center I City Area, Number: 01-02-1020/23, which the City Council of the City of Mostar adopted on August 31 last year, and which set the deadline for the development of the Regulatory Plan as May 31, 2024.

Also, they reminded him that the City Council of the City of Mostar appointed an expert commission which, in the absence of the Regulatory Plan, provides expert assessments in accordance with the provision of Article 49 of the Law on Spatial Planning, and clearly stated that the courts will, in any case, address the manner of (non)issuing permits in the Central Zone of the City of Mostar.

The claim that the mufti's views on the Lakišića cemetery were expressed for the purpose of a political election campaign, in the interest of one political entity, is merely a cheap attempt to discredit the legitimate request of the Islamic Community for the construction of the Intercultural Center "Mevlana" building in the eyes of the domestic public and the international community.

"Futile, because on this issue, Mufti Dedović, as well as his predecessor Mufti Seid-ef. Smajkić and the Islamic Community as a whole, have spoken for years earlier, and will continue to speak in the years ahead, because it is obvious that Kordić is exclusively using political efforts to prevent the issue of the Central Zone from being regulated in a law-based manner. And the fact that one, or another, or a third political entity decided to support the efforts of the Islamic Community is their choice. Support for the rule of law and legality is always welcome. The Islamic Community is a companion to any political party that insists on this, as long as it insists," they stated in the press release.

The Medžlis adds that in this way they want to remind the public that Mayor Kordić's claims that there was never a cemetery there are completely distorted, and states that the prominent Mostar researcher and writer Ahmet Kurt found in the Vienna Archive authentic sketches of the Austro-Hungarian administration showing clear markings of the Lakišića cemetery.

"Furthermore, we once again remind our public that during the excavation of channels for collectors and the arrangement of the roadway not so long ago, construction workers came across skeletal remains of Mostar residents buried at that site, that the Sanitary Inspection of the City of Mostar, on that occasion, visited the site on several occasions and issued a decision on the transfer of skeletal remains to the city morgue Sutina, where they are still kept today. Kordić persistently ignores the fact that these remains are still in the city morgue Sutina. We remind our public, not Kordić because he is not interested in that, of the indisputable historical documents that the Lakišića cemetery site was forcibly taken from the Islamic Community so that the then authorities could build a railway line there. On that occasion, the Bosniaks of Mostar protested before Emperor Franz Joseph, before the Provincial Government, and in Vienna and Sarajevo. That protest was intense until the beginning of the First World War. And then, instead of democratic regimes, totalitarian ones came to power. The real question is what form of government the Mayor of Mostar, Mario Kordić, advocates for. A democratic one in which law and order prevail, or … ??," they ask in MIZ Mostar.