Bukovica engleski.qxd - Fond za humanitarno pravo

Bukovica engleski.qxd 15.3.2003 13:54 Page 83
Humanitarian Law Center
In an interview with Monitor, Jakub Durgut spoke of
why Bukovica villagers have not been able to return to
their homes. Like some others, Durgut’s house was
repaired with donations from foreign humanitarian
organizations and he was handed the keys in 1996:
Only two weeks after our houses were repaired,
‘unknown perpetrators’ destroyed them again. The
state, the Army, and the police were all present. It has
become an illusion to expect the people of Bukovica to
return to their homes. This is our third pogrom in this
century. We see the biggest extremists, men who have
committed atrocities, walking freely in Pljevlja and the
state is not doing anything to catch and punish them. 100
The majority of the some 170 displaced Bukovica villagers
continue living in Bosnia-Herzegovina or west
European countries. Only a few families that sought
refuge in Pljevlja have tried, without success, to return
to their homes. The only exception is Osman Tahirbegović
who, after two failed attempts, was finally able to
return to his property. With the assistance of Swiss Disaster
Relief, the Muslim charity Merhamet was able to
repair six houses.
The attitude of the Montenegrin state authorities
towards the people of Bukovica is amply illustrated by a
decision of the Office of the Commissioner for Displaced
Persons that people forced to move to other
places in their own municipality, as is the case of the
Bukovica villagers now in Pljevlja, are not entitled to displaced
person status. Commenting on this decision,
Monitor wrote: ”Like all other displaced, these people
need humanitarian relief, health care and other living
100 ”Ethnic Cleansing by Neighbors,“ Monitor, Podgorica, 29 December
2000/5 January 2002.
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