Minister Milicevic says attack on Serbian church in Zagreb is mindless act, "holy places belong to everyone"

Photo: YouTube/Printscreen: Razgovori sa Zlojutrom

The minister without portfolio in charge of Serbia's relations with the diaspora, Djordje Milicevic, today strongly condemned the attack on a Serbian Orthodox church (Crkva Preobrazenja Gospodnjeg) in Zagreb, Croatia, and stressed that such incidents are not in line with the modern European values, while a narrative directed against Serbia, the Serb people and the Serbian Orthodox Church has been present in Croatia for a long time.

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Milicevic assessed that an attack on a religious building, a shrine that represents spiritual, cultural and historical value, is not only an act of vandalism, but also a mindless act and one of profound disrespect for basic civilizational values.

"Holy places must not be a target, because they belong to everyone who respects religion, tradition and human dignity," Milicevic said in a statement.

He added that the fact that such incidents are not happening in isolation is particularly worrying and noted that in Croatia, there has been a long-standing narrative directed against Serbia, the Serb people and the Serbian Orthodox Church.

"Certain media outlets and political groups encourage such an atmosphere, which inevitably has its consequences," stated Milicevic.

According to him, the reaction from official institutions in Croatia do not instill enough confidence that there is a clear and unambiguous distancing from such events.

"We saw support for gatherings that turned into outbursts of extreme nationalism, as well as constant attempts to relativize and justify unacceptable actions," the minister said.

He added that such events are not line with modern European values which ​​include "respect for diversity, protection of religious freedom and zero tolerance towards hatred".

"I expect the competent authorities in Croatia to sanction this attack clearly, decisively and without relativizing it, but also to take concrete steps to stop the creation of an environment in which such incidents are possible. Respect for religion, holy places and people must be the foundation of every society that considers itself democratic and civilized," said Milicevic.

The door of the Orthodox church, located in Zagreb's Cvetni Trg (square) was attacked last night, with chairs and other objects from nearby cafes thrown at it. One person has been detained.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)