Serbian businessman attacked

Serbian businessman attacked
B92 - August 3, 2004

KARIN DONJI -- Tuesday – Several individuals demolished a store and café, attacking the Serbian owner of the two establishments in the process in Karin Donji, Croatia.

The Croatian police arrested the two attackers, but threats continued being made to Serbs in the town afterwards.

The Serbian business owner’s sister, Anka Ugrica, told B92 that the two attackers destroyed everything in the cafe and the store, including windows and any inventory they could get their hands on. They were alone at first “but help arrived soon," Ugrica said.

The attackers made threats, pointing a knife at the owner, telling the man that Serbs are not welcome to return to Croatia.

Ugrica said that the police arrived ten minutes later and arrested the two vandals who started the incident, but the others who were participating continued to destroy things in the cafe and store for another ten minutes, despite the presence of the police officers.

The police left around 2 pm, but Ugrica said that the threats continued throughout the afternoon, with random passers-by yelling threats at them and threatening to kill them if they stayed in Croatia.

“One man, who was selling products in front of the store, was threatened with a gun. Police came, but just as a formality. They came and took our reports, but nothing has come of that." she said.

She said that no one was injured in the incidents, and those who were threatened did not respond to the taunting and provocation.

According to a report from the Zadar police department, the two suspects arrested, age 46 and 32, will be charged for making threats, property damage and assault, according to Radio 101 in Zagreb.

Asked for a comment on the situation of nationalistic intolerance and the security of Serbian minorities in Croatia, Zadar police representative Dragana Kamber would not confirm that the crime was motivated by intolerance towards a certain nationality.

“I cannot comment on that. We do not know what motivated the attack, regardless of the fact that the victims of the crime were of Serbian nationality." Kamber said.

17 percent of the population of Karin Donji is made up of Serbs that have returned to their homes after the war.