BOSNIAN INTER-RELIGIOUS COUNCIL SUPPORTS "FREEDOM OF FAITH RIGHTS MONITORING PROJECT"

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (March 19,2008) – Members of the Bosnian Inter-religious Council Assembly supported the Freedom of Faith Rights Monitoring project in Bosnia.

The Council’s Assembly already expects the written proposals and amendments to the Report on Monitoring by March 31 the latest, after which the Report’s text would be finalized and prepared for publishing.

They also expressed concerns over the slowness of adoption of the law on return of the nationalized property. They also stated that passing of the Law on Denationalization and Restitution is inadequate, which would be based on the principle of natural restitution wherever possible.

If the natural restitution is not possible, the natural compensation principle or financial compensation principle should be applied. Use of securities is certainly out of the question. The Council emphasized the importance of a fast passing of the law, for various manipulations are made in reality with the property, and that is something that will be difficult to correct in future.

The Orthodox Christian Church representative again emphasized the need of return of the Seminary building in Sarajevo, so that an orthodox theological faculty is active in the city, together with Islamic and Catholic.

The Inter-Religious Council’s Assembly supported the attitude and emphasized that it is necessary to return all the property to all religious communities in Bosnia.

The Council firmly supported the stand that the freedom of faith also means the right to organize religious classes for children. In that sense, the Council’s members called all the department organs to respect the rights of parents to provide their children with religious teaching in primary and pre-school institutions. That has been defined by the Act 4 of the Law on Freedom of Faith and Legal status of Churches and Religious Communities in Bosnia.

Session of the Bosnian Inter-Religious Council was presided by the leader of the Bosnian Islamic Community Reis-Ul-Ulema Mustafa Ef. Ceric. The meeting was also attended by Catholic Archbishop of Vrhbosna Cardinal Vinko Puljic ,Orthodox Bishop of Zvornik and Tuzla Vasilije Kacavenda,and Head of the Bosnian Jewish Community Jakob Finci.
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