Bihać, December 16, 1998 (IKA) – A trilateral meeting among representatives of three religious communities in the territory of Bosanska Krajina: Catholic, Serbian Orthodox and Muslim, was held on December 14 in Bihać under the auspices of the World Conference of Religions for Peace. The Catholic Church was represented by Bishop Franjo Komarica of Banja Luka, the Muslim community by Mufti Hasan ef. Makić of Bihać, and the Serbian Orthodox Church by Episcope Hrizostom Jović of Bihać-Petrovac. According to the statement issued, the topics discussed at this meeting included the return of the members of the various religious communities and their religious officials to their homes and places of service as well as the return of property. Expressing solidarity with the other parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the meeting participants issued an appeal in which they asked “all the officials of our religious communities to work extensively with believers on forgiveness, reconciliation, tolerance and love, and in mutual assistance and solidarity.” Representatives of the civil authorities “on the level of the municipalities, cantons, entities and republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina” are called upon “to more decisively and credibly protect the fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms, including the right to freedom of religion.” Representatives of the international community in Bosnia-Herzegovina are called upon “to use their authority and competence to contribute to a more rapid and decisive creation of a legal state throughout all the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina.” At the meeting, “it was noted with sorrow that on the terrain there are still many examples of imperiled religious freedom and danger to the lives of religious officials.” As an example, they cited the disappearance of two Catholic priests, the Rev. Tomislav Matanović and the Rev. Ratko Grgić, who had served in Prijedor, were abducted, and whose fate is unknown. Other examples cited were that the burial of Mufti ef. Ibrahim Halilović was not permitted in the harem of former Ferhad-Pasha Mosque in Banja Luka; and the burning of part of the Serbian Orthodox monastery in Glamoč, which endangered the monks living there. Despite these and other difficulties, it was concluded that “it is necessary to work on overcoming hatred and creating conditions for the return of religious officials and the faithful to the places where they previously lived and served.” Among the priorities emphasized were “the return of imams to Prijedor, Kozarac, Bosanski Novi, Banja Luka and other places from which they were expelled; the return of Orthodox priests to Bihać, Bosanski Petrovac, Drvar, Livno, Bosansko Grahovo and Glamoč; and the return of Catholic priests to Prijedor, Bosanski Novi, Bosanska Kostajnica and to the Banja Luka region.” An essential condition for meeting these demands and their work is “the return of the intact properties of the religious communities, that are presently being used for other purposes, and the possibility of allocating other adequate facilities for religious ceremonies, and to prevent the further confiscation of property and the continued illegal construction work on the properties belonging to the religious communities.” The appeal also asks the international community to accelerate the return of properties confiscated from religious communities during the Second World War.