NATO TRIES TO NAB KARADZIC BUT SERIOUSLY WOUNDS A PRIEST AND HIS SON INSTEAD Tanjug

NATO TRIES TO NAB KARADZIC BUT SERIOUSLY WOUNDS A PRIEST AND HIS SON INSTEAD
Tanjug - April 1, 2004

Serbian Ministry of Religion says SFOR's operation is impermissible, barbaric act

19:55 BELGRADE , April 1 (Tanjug) - The Serbian Ministry of Religion on Thursday strongly condemned the operation SFOR had carried out in Pale late on Wednesday, very seriously injuring Serbian Orthodox priest Jeremija Starovlah and his son Aleksandar, who were presently in critical condition.

"The raid of the Church of Ascension of the Holy Mother of God and the parish house, whose door was shattered by explosives, is an impermissible barbaric act," the Ministry said in a statement.
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Several thousand Pale citizens protest against SFOR operation

19:48 BANJA LUKA , April 1 (Tanjug) - Several thousand citizens of Pale protested outside the Church of Ascension of the Holy Mother of God on Thursday against SFOR's Wednesday operation in which the local priest and his son were seriously injured, and Serb member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Borisav Paravac said he would demand that the Presidency hold a special session.

Addressing the protesters and calling on them to express their protest in a peaceful and dignified way, Paravac said he would call on the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency to condemn the Wednesday operation and send an official protest note to SFOR "against the demonstration of force against Serbian Orthodox dignitaries at Pale," injured priest Jeremija Starovlah and his 18-year-old son Aleksandar.
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Non-cooperation with ICTY caused Pale incident, says Ashdown

17:51 SARAJEVO , April 1 (Tanjug) - High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina Paddy Ashdown said in Sarajevo on Thursday that he regrets an Orthodox priest and his son were seriously injured in an action by the international forces SFOR in Pale late Wednesday.

This incident would not have occurred had the Bosnia-Herzegovina authorities met their international obligations fully to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, Ashdown said.
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SFOR denies using firearms in Pale

15:49 SARAJEVO , April 1 (Tanjug) - The stabilization force in Bosnia-Herzegovina (SFOR) did not use firearms or grenades during last night's operation in Pale, SFOR spokesman Dave Sullivan told a press conference in Sarajevo on Thursday.
SFOR has video films that show everything was done professionally and in keeping with its mandate, he said.
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