SERBIAN CHURCH DIOCESE PROTESTS AGAINST PRO

SERBIAN CHURCH DIOCESE PROTESTS AGAINST PRO-TERRORIST CHANTS AT FOOTBALL MATCH
SRNA - August 18, 2003

Belgrade, 18 August: The Raska-Prizren diocese has issued an official protest following nationalist excesses during the football match between Novi Pazar and Rad, when supporters shouted slogans which unambiguously and directly supported the murders of Serbian children in Gorazdevac, the information service of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) said in its statement today.

The statement further reads that the supporters shouted "Hashim Taci" (Kosovo Albanian party leader), "UCK, UCK" (Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA), "Kill, kill the Serb", "Kosovo republic", "This is Turkey", "We will not give you Kosovo", "People of Novi Pazar join us in our song, Usamah bin Ladin is on you side". The Raska-Prizren diocese has appealed to Serbian state institutions to take urgent steps in starting criminal proceedings against those responsible for the incidents.

(Passage omitted)

The statement also adds that representatives of local self-rule and the municipal authority attended the football match and that this begs the question "whose country is this and is it normal that on a day of national grief over the murdered children, citizens of a Serbian town chant, sing and celebrate the killers".

Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 1400 gmt 18 Aug 03

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The Diocese of Raska and Prizren has received shocking news from Novi Pazar from the Raska District Human Rights Committee. We enclose the communiqué of the Committee in our newsletter, expressing our horror at the inhumane behavior of fans at the Novi Pazar-Rad football match. Keeping in mind yesterday's news that Novi Pazar radio stations were broadcasting an entertainment program despite the proclamation of a national day of mourning throughout Serbia, the Diocese of Raska and Prizren is lodging a public protest because of these nationalistic provocations, and appealing to the state organs of Serbia to urgently undertake measures in order to file criminal charges against those responsible for them.

The fanning of nationalistic hatred in a multi-confessional environment such as Novi Pazar represents a serious indication that the violence and terrorism in Kosovo and Metohija may very easily move to Raska District. The glorification of terrorists and anachronistic historical concepts in a democratic society cannot be observed with indifference.

The Diocese of Raska and Prizren is especially concerned by the fact that Novi Pazar municipal officials are not only failing to take appropriate measures against such occurrences but actually appear to be fostering them and participating in an inhuman taunting of the victims of Albanian terrorism and extremism. Therefore, the Diocese demands that key officials of the municipality of Novi Pazar be held morally and politically accountable for tolerating nationalistic provocations.

Raska District Human Rights Committee
Public communiqué no. 27-08 2003
August 16, 2003

After yesterday's violation of the Serbian government's decree of an official day of mourning for the children murdered in the village of Gorazdevac, a new incident occurred today in Novi Pazar. At the Novi Pazar-Rad football match fans of the Novi Pazar team shouted slogans clearly and directly supporting the act of terrorism by Albanian terrorists a few days ago. The fans shouted "Hashim Thaci," "KLA, KLA", "Kill the Serb, kill the Serb," "Independent Kosovo", "This is Turkey," "We will not give you Kosovo" and many other abusive slogans and songs.

We ask the Republic of Serbia Government what state we live in and whether decrees issued for the entire state are valid here, too. Is it normal that a time when the entire nation is grieving the deaths of two youths, citizens of a city in the Republic of Serbia are cheering, singing and chanting about their killers?

Since representatives of the local and municipal government were present at the football match, we ask them the same questions. This is not the first nor probably the last incident of this type. How much longer must we wait before our compatriots understand where they live and to which state they belong? We insist on a minimum of human conscience among the local authorities to influence their compatriots to at least refrain from praising and celebrating the murderers of Serb children. We remain hopeful that the appropriate organs of the Republic of Serbia will react appropriately and sanction the provocateurs and violators of the decree on the official day of mourning.