Yugoslavia : 1) Treatment of Roman Catholic Church by Yugoslav authorities; 2) Relations between Serbs and Croats in the republic of Bosnia; 3) Treatment of Albanians in the Serbian city of Nis; 4) Death of Mr. Kurtic Sebastijan in Nis
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | YUG0986 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Yugoslavia : 1) Treatment of Roman Catholic Church by Yugoslav authorities; 2) Relations between Serbs and Croats in the republic of Bosnia; 3) Treatment of Albanians in the Serbian city of Nis; 4) Death of Mr. Kurtic Sebastijan in Nis, 1 May 1989, YUG0986, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac9b10.html [accessed 2 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
1) Restrictions on religious practice vary greatly from republic to republic in Yugoslavia. [U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on: Human Rights Practices for 1988 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989), p. 1260.] Roman Catholicism is one of the largest faiths and its adherents are not subject to overt persecution, according to the U.S. Department of State. [Ibid.] Open practice, however, can bar access to high level official positions and Party members taking part in religious sacraments risk disciplinary action or expulsion from the Party. [Ibid.] The Catholic church has been accused of supporting Croatian nationalism and in the Republic of Croatia, the government perceives Catholicism as a threat to the Communist monopoly of power. [Fergus M. Bordewich, "Yugoslavia since Tito", The New York Times Magazine, April 13, 1986.] Similarly, the Serbian Orthodox Church has been accused by authorities of spawning nationalist sentiment among the Serbian community of Yugoslavia. [Ibid.] From all appearances, however, the government is relatively tolerant of the practice of the Catholic Church. [Ibid.] However, an Amnesty International publication on Yugoslav prisoners of conscience mentions that members and officials of the Roman Catholic church have been charged and detained for "hostile propaganda" or "incitement to national or religious hatred". [Amnesty International, Yugoslavia: Prisoners of Conscience (London: Amnesty International, 1985), p. 15.] The World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties claims that unlike the Orthodox Christian and Muslim religions, the Roman Catholic hierarchy has been at odds with the Party and state since the beginning of the Communist period and has consistently collided with the authorities. [George E. Delury, World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties Vol II (New York: Facts on File Publications, 1987), p. 1291.]
Bibles are readily available and contacts with coreligionists abroad are extensive. [Op. cit., U.S. Department of State.] The Catholic Church maintains eight secondary schools, two theological faculties, and five seminaries in Yugoslavia. [Ibid., p. 1261.]
2) The attached report in the Economist mentions that non-Serbs, including the Slovenes, Croats and Bosnian Muslims, fear a return to the time when Serbian authorities dominated what is now Yugoslavia. Amnesty International reports that during the 1984 trial of Dragan Stepkovic on charges of "hostile propaganda", the prosecution alleged that he made statements to the effect that the Serbian Orthodox Church and Serbs in general had been and still were being discriminated against by the Muslims and Roman Catholics in Bosnia-Hercegovina. [Op. cit., Yugoslavia: Prisoners of Conscience, p. 26.]
3) The city of Nis is mentioned in a report carried by Reuters as the site of a large anti-Albanian rally on September 25, 1988. An estimated 150,000 people participated in what has been called the largest political protest in Yugoslavia since World War II. ["150,000 Yugoslavs rally against ethnic Albanians", The Toronto Star 25 September 1988.] No further information is available to the IRBDC regarding relations between Albanians and other ethnic groups in the city of Nis.
4) No information is available to the IRBDC at the present time regarding the death of Mr. Kurtic Sebastijan.
ATTACHMENTS
Amnesty International. Yugoslavia: Prisoners of Conscience. London: Amnesty International Publications, 1985, 15, 25, 26-27.
Bordewich, Fergus M. "Yugoslavia Since Tito", The New York Times Magazine. 13 April 1986.
Delury, George E., ed. World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1987, 1291.
U.S. Department of State. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989, 1259-1260.
"Yugoslavia: No joke, really", The Economist. No date given.
