Bosnian Serbs Commemorate 1992-1995 Victims

On yesterday's feast of Sts. Peter and Paul Bosnia's Serbs, led by Bishop Vasilije (Kacavenda) of Zvornik, commemorated over 3,000 Serb civilians killed between 1992 and 1995 by Bosnian Muslim forces attempting to ethnically cleanse northeastern Bosnia of its Serb population. The leader of this campaign, Naser Oric, was given a 2-year jail term by the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, but was later acquitted. More here and (in Serbian) here.

Montenegrin Metropolitan Calls on Flock to Freely Identify in Census

Metropolitan Amfilohije (Radovich) of Cetinje, Montenegro, and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church has issued a press release exhorting his flock and all Montenegrins to participate in the upcoming national census "without fear and prejudice, without any ideological burdens...according to conscience and [their] responsibility before God, the people, and their descendants - to express their religious, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds." Orthodox Christians, however, were called upon to identify their faith. More here.

The press release comes after remarks by Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) of Pech encouraging Montenegro's ethnic Serb majority to identify as Serb and by Muslim leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia for Montenegro's Muslim minority to identify as ethnic Bosnians.

Serbian Orthodox and Yugoslav Muslim Leaders Call on Montenegrins to Identify in Census

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) of Pech of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Mustafa Ceric, head Bosnia-Herzegovina's Muslims, and Muamer Zukorlić, grand mufti of Serbia's Muslims, have all called on Montenegrins to freely identify their ethnicity and faith in the upcoming national census in Montenegro. Nationalists in Montenegro are pushing for the republic's citizens to identify as ethnic Montenegrins regardless of their actual ethnicity. More here.

Sandzhak Mufti Calls for Regional Autonomy

The Grand Mufti of Novi Pazar, Muamer Zukorlić, and leader of Serbia's Muslim minority in the Sandzhak region called on Muslims in Serbia to boycott school and national St. Sava celebrations on his feast day, calling the celebrations attempts at forced conversion. He is leading a push to have Sandzhak granted autonomy, saying that autonomy would protect the region's Muslim minority from the Orthodox majority while also not infringing on the rights of the region's Serbian Orthodox residents. Given recent events in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo there is an understandable reluctance on the part of Serbia to grant the region autonomy. More here.

EU Urges Census in Bosnia-Herzegovina

The European Union (EU) is pressuring Bosnia-Herzegovina to form a new coalition government and to prioritize the enactment of census legislation to speed the process of the country's entrance into the EU. Bosnia-Herzegovina's last census was in 1991, at which time 43% of the country was Bosnian Muslim, 31% Serbian Orthodox, and 17% Croatian Catholic. More here.

"Bosnia's 'Patient' Fight for Religious Tolerance"

An interesting survey of issues surrounding religious tolerance in modern-day Bosnia-Herzegovina by Rusmir Smajilhodzic can be found here.