The High Representative Carlos Westendorp strongly condemns the weekend violence in Foca, in which five IPTF monitors were injured, two of them seriously. The IPTF station was badly damaged and UN equipment destroyed.
The attack against representatives of the International Community in Foca is the third act of such violence in the RS since June 1998 in relation to action to detain an individual indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
The High Representative expects the RS authorities at all levels to take full measures to ensure that acts of violence against representatives of the International Community cease immediately and those responsible are brought to justice.
The High Representative welcomes the decision of the RS Minister of the Interior to establish an investigation team to fully examine the circumstances of the attacks on IPTF monitors and the damage to IPTF station. Appropriate measures must be taken against those individuals responsible for inciting or committing violent acts against the International Community
While affirming the right to demonstrate, the High Representative stresses that all demonstrations must be held in a peaceful and law-abiding manner. Any individual act of violence against members of the international community must be subject to prosecution.