In Mostar, populated by Croats and Muslims, a Serbian temple was robbed for the tenth time
Unidentified people robbed the restored Holy Trinity Church of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the city of Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH), populated mainly by Croats and Muslims.
Cables were stolen and electrical wiring was destroyed, and the walls of the shrine were damaged, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
As the head of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Dusko Kojic, told the media, the consequences of the robbery were discovered on the morning of December 7.
“Robbers, thieves, bandits, vandals, I don’t know what to call them, stole electrical wiring and power cables, damaged the walls through which the cables passed and the distribution boxes that provided the electricity,” Kojic said.
He noted that the temple was connected to the Mostar city power grid only a month ago.
“These cables also led to the bell tower of the church and ensured the operation of the bells, as well as the three tower clocks, which are the symbol of this temple, because they were donated by three friends - a Catholic, an Orthodox and a Muslim by religion. Now these clocks don’t work, the bells don’t ring, and there is no more lighting in the temple, and this worries us more than the material damage caused,” said the temple elder.
He also said that the Serbian community in Mostar is devastated by the scene and is in fear.
“This is already the tenth robbery of the temple, but now the strongest blow has been dealt. Previously, we did not want to make these robberies public, believing that they were the work of thieves or individuals who are everywhere, and that this was not a targeted attack on the Serbian community. But after what happened this morning, we really don’t know how to survive this,” said a frustrated Dusko Kojic.
The attack on the Serbian shrine was condemned by the President of Republika Srpska (one of the two entities of BiH) Milorad Dodik and member of the Presidium of BiH from the Serbian people Zeljka Cvijanovic. Bishop Dimitrie of Zahumi-Herzegovina of the Serbian Orthodox Church will conduct a special bishop's liturgy at the Church of the Holy Trinity on Friday, December 9.
The Holy Trinity Church in Mostar was built in 1873, towards the end of Ottoman rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At that time it was one of the largest Orthodox churches in the Balkans. It was one of the landmarks of Mostar that shaped the appearance of the city, but in 1992 it was burned by Croatian militants. The revival of the temple began in 2010, and with the help of Serbia it is nearing completion.
Mostar is one of the oldest and most picturesque cities in BiH. Despite the fact that it is secretly considered the capital of the Croatian community of this patchwork state, the city is actually divided into two parts - Bosniak and Croatian. The border between them runs along the legendary Old Bridge over the Neretva River, which gave the city its name. Before the war, Serbs made up 23% of the population of Mostar, now they make up just over 4%.
Как reported “PolitNavigator”, a family of Muslim Bosniaks from Mostar donated to the revived Church of the Holy Trinity the icons it saved after the cathedral was burned down by Croatian militants in 1992.
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