Ethnic Tensions ‘Persist’ in Serbian Region

Novi Pazar _ Ethnic tensions remain in Serbia’s Muslim-dominated Sandzak region although the situation has improved, says the President of the Sandzak Committee for Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms, Semiha Kacar.

She presented the results of a survey on inter-ethnic relations in Novi Pazar at a press conference saying the situation has improved since the early 1990s.

"We are encouraged by the fact that the interviewees, 80 Bosniaks and 20 Serbs, which is representative of the town's ethnic make-up, expressed a high degree of tolerance towards members of the other religion and nation," said Kacar.

She said that 65 per cent of the interviewed Bosniaks (Muslims) would like to live in a multinational environment, while the majority of Serbs would prefer to live in a single ethnic one.

"Asked whether they would like to change their current place of residence, the majority of Bosniaks replied negatively, while the majority of Serbs replied positively. A certain number of Serbs had nothing against mixed marriages, while all Bosniaks were against it. Asked how much they knew about the culture and customs of other ethnic communities, the majority of Bosniaks replied 'little', while Serbs replied 'quite a lot'," said Kacar.

She said that interviewees of different age, gender and social structure showed a considerable degree of tolerance towards the construction of religious objects and display of religious signs.

Kacar emphasised that all these answers should be considered from a perspective of all those experiences from the war-torn 1990s which will influence inter-ethnic relations for a long time to come.