Residents of MZ Osatica wrote to OHR, Embassies, EU: Radical monk Babić in Srebrenica is damaging relations between Bosniaks and Serbs

(Patria) - Residents of the Osatica Local Community sent a public proclamation and warning to multiple addresses including the OHR, EUSR, Embassies of the USA and Great Britain, Serbian Orthodox Church in Serbia, Dabrobosanska Metropolitanate, Rijaset of the Islamic Community in BiH, and the Municipality of Srebrenica.

They attached more than 90 signatures of residents from the Osatica Local Community to the letter sent to these institutions. They note that Osatica had about thirty villages before the war, with a population of over 6,000 inhabitants, the majority being Bosniaks.

"In the Osatica Local Community, there was also a church in the village of Karno before the war, which was not demolished to the ground during the war, as was the case with all mosques in this area. After the war, the church was renovated and proclaimed a monastery. With the arrival of the extremely radical monk Luka Babić, who does not hide his hatred towards Bosniaks (as evidenced by a series of media reports about his radical actions and bringing radical groups from Serbia, Russia, and other places from the RS entity, which even the few local Serbs are outraged by), the deliberate damaging of relations between Bosniaks and Serbs in this area began," states the local Bosniak population.

They say that with the help of entity institutions and the Mayor of Srebrenica, Mladen Grujičić, monk Babić requested and, under unknown circumstances, obtained possession of the former "Pošta Srpske" (Serbian Post) building in Kragljivoda, which he is reconstructing into an Orthodox church.

"The building is located next to the Bosniak martyrs' memorial in Kragljivoda and about fifty meters from the house of the Bosniak Nukić family."

They state that with this proclamation, they want to inform the public, state and entity institutions, the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the mayor about the activities carried out by the priest.

"We have nothing against the construction of religious buildings, but we oppose the construction of a church in a place where there are no Orthodox believers. Luka Babić's intention is to damage our good relations, as he showed on January 6th, on Christmas Eve, when he held a liturgy at this location, with the playing of nationalist songs and all-day shooting. Because of this, we will file a criminal complaint, as the police (who arrived after our report) witnessed the event but took no action," the letter states.

The signatories of this letter and the residents of the Osatica Local Community are asking the municipal authorities to explain how Babić obtained the building, started the construction of an Orthodox church in a Bosniak village, and who gave the construction permit.

"We appeal to the respected Serbian Orthodox Church to stop, with its authority, the hateful attitude of the clergyman, who, with his behavior, damages the reputation of both the church and the Serbian people. We call on the respected Rijaset of the Islamic Community in BiH to try to resolve this problem at the level of religious communities through the Interreligious Council.

We call on the international community to, if the Municipality of Srebrenica issued a construction permit, annul it, just as the former High Representative did when the construction of a church was initiated on Bosniak land in Potočari," the letter states.