Sarajevans Stand Up to Hate Attacks

The activist group Citizens of Sarajevo is taking a stand against increasing violence aimed at sexual and gender minorities in the Bosnian capital -- particularly attacks perpetrated at last week's Queer Festival -- and calling on the international community to do the same.

"The threats issued against the organizers of the first Queer Sarajevo Festivala (QSF) over the last month or so culminated and materialized last night, during the opening ceremony," reported OneWorld Southeast Europe's Sanjin Buzo after Festival participants were attacked.

"Human rights issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina are dominated by the attempts of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY), established in 1993 in The Hague, to establish accountability for the most serious crimes committed during the war," states OneWorld UK.

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From: Citizens for Sarajevo

We, the citizens of Sarajevo, call upon the representatives of the International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina to raise their
voices against the escalation of violence in the Capital, especially with regards to the recent events that increased the feeling of insecurity among law-abiding people. Namely, the events that followed he opening of the Queer Festival in the night of the 24th September, when eight people were injured and other participants and visitors verbally and physically harassed in the very heart of the city, are only the continuation of violent crimes that we have been witnessing over the past year, the most horrific one being the brutal murder of a young boy, Denis Mrnjavac back in February. We believe that the failure of the authorities to take responsibility for prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators in an efficient manner led to this shocking surge of crime.

This inefficiency was clearly demonstrated at the opening of the Queer Festival, when a group of Wahabis and young hooligans expressed their disapproval of sexual and gender minorities through physical violence. The Sarajevo Canton Police did not manage to prevent the attacks although the event was assessed in advance as a high-risk one, nor did they show enthusiasm in apprehending the perpetrators. Prior to the event, the leading political parties in power and the representatives of religious institutions further stirred up the negative atmosphere with their discriminatory and homophobic speeches. Religious and political leaders should be made aware that
the violence which occurred is a direct result of their homophobic speeches.

The tacit - or otherwise - political approval of violence is supported by the fact that the inflammatory speeches that preceded the Festival
were used as a means for mobilising the electoral body. What is even more frightening is the fact that not one of the main political parties in power condemned the violence after it occurred, which additionally proves their indirect support to the perpetrators of crimes. All these facts clearly illustrate that the representatives of authorities do not comply with the BiH legislative: The rights to peaceful assembly and to freedom of expression are recognized and protected by a number of international treaties to which Bosnia and Herzegovina is a party, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

This is why we ask you to demand from the representatives of the authorities to condemn the violence that occurred on 24th September and to apprehend and punish the perpetrators. If they fail to do so, we fear that the promotion of fascism and homophobia will spread to the other spheres of social life of the wider community. We, the citizens of Sarajevo, have the right to freedom, without fear of persecution because of our personal beliefs or sexual orientation.