14.09.2000 OHR / OSCE / UNMiBH / UNHCR

International Community condemns Car Bomb Attack Against OMI

The Office of the High Representative, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Nations Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees strongly condemn the car bomb attack on the vehicle of the Head of the OMI Banja Luka (Municipal Section of the RS Ministry of Refugees and Displaced Persons), Ljiljana Oreskovic, this week.

This cowardly act is viewed as direct interference with the processes of property law implementation and return of refugees and displaced persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is an attempt to undermine rights to property and return guranteed by the Dayton Peace Agreement. Such terrorism and other acts of intimidation will not stop property repossession and the work of the OMI, which the International Community is determined to support. Last week’s removal of 15 officials violating the property laws are a vivid example of the International Community’s determination to ensure that citizen’s rights are enforced in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina calls for a thorough police investigation into this incident immediately and expects the authorities in Republika Srpska to do everything in their power to identify and arrest the criminals responsible.