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Bosnia and Herzegovina: protest against anti-Muslim violence held without incident

Bosnia and Herzegovina: protest against anti-Muslim violence held without incident

A protest against recent Serb violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina has concluded "without incident," a United Nations spokesman reported today.

The demonstration took place in Sarajevo, where more than 1,000 people, mostly Bosnian Muslims, marched peacefully through the streets to protest the recent violence by Bosnian Serbs near mosques in the towns of Banja Luka and Trebinje, according to spokesman Fred Eckhard.

During the march, which lasted until the early hours of this morning, local police "performed their duties effectively," Mr. Eckhard said, adding that Bosnia and Herzegovina has been quieter over the past 24 hours, despite some isolated incidents of tensions between Serbs and Muslims.

Mr. Eckhard also announced that the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Judge Claude Jorda, plans to address a conference in Sarajevo on Saturday concerning proposals to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Bosnia and Herzegovina. "He is expected to say that the Tribunal could encourage such a body, provided that its work will be complementary to the Tribunal's mandate," Mr. Eckhard said.

The Tribunal was set up in 1993 to prosecute persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991. This week marked the fifth anniversary of the court's first trial -- the case against Dusan Tadic, which began on 7 May 1996. Since his trial, 21 other individuals have been tried, and 10 more trials are currently under way.