BANJA LUKA, Feb 20 (Hina) - Croatian Serbs residing in the Bosnian Serb entity who were granted Bosnian citizenship after 1997 are upset about the request of the entity Interior Ministry that they provide certificates verifying they
were not criminally prosecuted in the Croatian municipalities they were born in.
BANJA LUKA, Feb 20 (Hina) - Croatian Serbs residing in the Bosnian Serb
entity who were granted Bosnian citizenship after 1997 are upset about
the request of the entity Interior Ministry that they provide
certificates verifying they were not criminally prosecuted in the
Croatian municipalities they were born in.#L#
An association of Serbs who exchanged their property in Croatia and
decided to settle in the Republic of Srpska (RS) called "Together to
the Truth" claims the request is the result of a Croatian police
action aimed at arresting some of the Serb emigrants, which the
Croatian consul in Banja Luka denied on Thursday.
Speaking of the request, a representative for the association said on
Thursday, "That's illegal because in the past the RS Interior Ministry
issued us with passports without that certificate, for which we would
now have to travel to Croatia".
The association accuses the RS Interior Ministry of avoiding to
formally request the certificates and of doing it in collusion with
the Croatian Interior Ministry so as to facilitate the arrest of
people wanted by the Croatian police.
The association claims the RS Interior Ministry made the request after
receiving "a signal" from the Croatian Consulate in Banja Luka.
Consul Ivan Lepoglavec denied such insinuations on the entity TV's
prime time news.
The Consulate is willing to help the citizens in question by enabling
them to obtain the certificates through the Consulate.
(Hina) ha