Violence at protest in Novi Pazar

5 September 2010 | 09:52 | Source: Tanjug

NOVI PAZAR -- Several people were injured as Bosniak protesters in Novi Pazar through stones at police officers securing the 1,500 strong protest on Saturday. Muamer Zukorlić (Beta) The general council of the Islamic Community in Serbia, led by Muamer Zukorlić, announced Saturday that the confiscation of a plot of land in Novi Pazar, southwestern Serbia, which was supposedly received as endowment represented a "culmination of violence, discrimination and disrespect for basic Muslim rights," and demanded a police withdrawal. The community opposes the city decision to build a daycare center on the disputed land. The announcement states the council demands an immediate withdrawal of police forces from Novi Pazar and Sandžak, a mainly Bosniak populated region in southwestern Serbia. The council concluded that a "strike against Islamic religious teachings" was the finishing stage in the alleged preparations to "assimilate and convert Muslims, which is a continuation of a genocidal policy towards Bosniaks." The council calls on all of Sandžak's residents to employ civil disobedience against the government and all parties who support it. The community asked the Bosniak Ethnic Council to hasten the preparations to restore Sandžak's autonomy, according to the announcement signed by Chairman Hajro Tutić. Around 1,500 people protested as officials of the Islamic Community in Serbia met with city representatives near the disputed plot. There was a strong police presence at the protest. Three officers and a number of protesters were during the protest.