Religious Communities-Sarajevo, BiH-November 04, 2010

Regional Consultation on the Initiative for RECOM with Representatives of Religious Communities and Churches

A regional consultation on the initiative for RECOM with representatives of religious communities and churches was organized by the BH Journalists Association and the Legal Assistance and Information Center from BiH, both members of the Coalition for RECOM from BiH. The consultation was attended by 51 participants, including high religious officials and representatives of religious communities, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions. The event was observed by representatives of Macedonian and Croatian embassies in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as representatives of international organizations based in the country, such as the UNDP, the OSCE Mission to BiH, and the Delegation of the European Commission in BiH.

Unfortunately, though invited, representatives from Kosovo, representatives of the Orthodox Church from Serbia and from Kosovo, and representatives of the Catholic Church from Croatia did not attend the consultation. Further, due to an organizational oversight, organizers of the event had to ask the representative of the Montenegro Orthodox Church, Bishop Mihajlo to leave the consultation as his presence was not approved by the representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church who were in attendance. The consultation was dominated by discussion on the establishment of RECOM. The discussion was exceptionally tolerant and created a positive, constructive atmosphere, which resulted in a conclusion that it was truly necessary for churches and religious communities to cooperate in this process. The media showed a huge interest in this consultation, which was reported on by over 20 journalists from the region. Serbian RTS TV station and Blic daily newspaper sent their teams from Belgrade and Križ Života (the Cross of Life) sent their journalist from Croatia.

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