Lozna near Banovici: canopy cut down at Gradina cemetery
Displaced Serbs built the canopy in Banovici municipality after the war, and a Serb rights committee calls the incident a repeat attack on the cemetery.
A canopy built by Serbs who fled the village of Lozna was cut down at the Orthodox cemetery Gradina in Banovici municipality, in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the Committee for the Protection of Serb Rights in the Federation of BiH. The story matters to readers in Serbia because it concerns people who left the village after the war and return only to visit the graves of their ancestors, which is exactly what the canopy was built for.
What happened at Gradina cemetery?
According to the Committee’s statement, the attack took place a few days ago. The exact date was not given. The Committee describes it as a repeat attack on a Serb Orthodox cemetery in the area, but the available reports do not show when the earlier incident happened or what was damaged then.
Sources differ on the extent of the damage. Radio-Television of Republika Srpska and the portal Zvornik Danas report that the canopy was cut, while Newsmax Balkans says it was torn down and cut. No more precise information on the damage is available.
Why was there a canopy at the cemetery?
The canopy was built by former residents who left Lozna after the war. The purpose was simple: to have somewhere to gather for memorial services and the village patron saint’s day when they come to the cemetery of their ancestors. The canopy was, in other words, a gathering place for people who no longer live in the village.
What do the censuses say about Lozna?
Census figures show how much the village has changed:
- in the 1991 census, Lozna had 1,018 residents of Serb ethnicity
- in the official 2013 census, not a single Serb was recorded in the village
A drop from 1,018 people to zero across two censuses explains why the cemetery, not the village, is now the place where this community still gathers.
What is still unknown?
The available reports leave more open questions than answers:
- none of them gives the exact day of the attack
- there is no information about suspects
- there is no reaction from the police or the Banovici municipality
- it is not explained what the earlier attack on the same cemetery, which the Committee refers to, involved
Until that information arrives, the only thing known for certain is what the Committee for the Protection of Serb Rights in the FBiH has stated: that the canopy at Gradina cemetery was cut down and that, in its assessment, this is a repeat attack on the same place.
