Wall around planned cemetery in Stolac will be one meter high, EUFOR members arrived at the location

(Patria) - EUFOR members arrived with one vehicle in Stolac, to the place where Bosniaks from this town started building a wall around the future cemetery this morning at the Poprati – Popržen location near the world-famous stećak (medieval tombstone) site - Radimlja, reports Politicki.ba.

As journalists from Politicki.ba saw for themselves, they spoke with Bosniak representatives and inquired about the situation in this local community.

Three members of the German EUFOR contingent, one of whom spoke Bosnian, spoke for a long time with Bosniak representatives.

About a hundred Bosniaks started building a wall around the cemetery this morning. It will be 1 m high.

The new cemetery covers an area of one hectare. Part of the cemetery is on former state land. As are all facilities that have been built since the end of the war, with the approval of the Stolac authorities. Thus, on the stretch from the location of the future cemetery to the entrance of Stolac, on the left side of the road alone, at least 10 business premises have been built. And all on alleged state land.

The Mayor of Stolac, Stjepan Bošković (HDZ BiH), annulled the Decision for the construction of the cemetery.

However, the decision to allocate this plot to the Islamic Community has not been annulled.

Bosniaks of Stolac immediately filed an appeal against the mayor's decision, which prevented it from taking effect.

Therefore, today's action by the Bosniaks is not in conflict with the law, given that legal procedures stipulate that higher instances, primarily the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, will have to decide on everything.

Bosniaks of Stolac have been pointing out the problem with burying their loved ones for a decade and a half, as the city cemeteries Poplašići and Djetelina have long been full.

Bosniaks of Stolac emphasize that they have been discriminated against in this city for years, and the latest in a series of problems is the annulment of the permit for the construction of a new cemetery.

Last week, the Stolac City Council, by an absolute majority vote overriding the Bosniaks, without a single vote from councilors of Bosniak nationality in a city where Bosniaks make up 40 percent of the population, adopted the Spatial Plan for the period 2024-2034.