Bosniak Council wants intl. observers in Sandžak

7 September 2010 | 09:47 | Source: Tanjug

NOVI PAZAR -- The Bosniak National Council requested that international observers be sent to Sandžak, the mostly Bosniak populated region of southwest Serbia. The Bosniak Council in question is the one that the Serbian Ministry for Human and Minority Rights does not recognize. According to a statement issued by the council's press office, the Council sent its request to EU Security and Foreign Policies Chief Catherine Ashton, who was informed in a letter about the frequent cases of discrimination and the violation of rights on religious and ethnic grounds in the region. The letter stresses that the recent events in Novi Pazar show that tension is boiling over in Sandžak, and that an excessively large number of police officers present in the region are not helping calm the situation. The Islamic Community in Serbia, headed by Chief Mufti Muamer Zukorlić, staged a rally in Novi Pazar on Saturday because the city administration usurped land where a kindergarten was planned to be built. Several persons were arrested for violating public order and security and attacking police officers during the Saturday rally. The Bosniak National Council was formed by the Bosniak Cultural Community and two Bosniak Renaissance members. The Bosniak Cultural Community, led by Zukorlić, won 17 of the 35 seats on the council in the June elections. The Serbian Ministry for Human and Minority Rights does not recognize the council because a two-thirds majority was not present to verify the mandates of all three electoral lists.