Sunday protest organisers will probably face lawsuits worth millions of marks, said Banja Luka city Mayor Igor Radojicic after the several concerts and the New Year celebration in this city were cancelled due to the protest organised by the ‘Justice for David’ group.
“The city authorities received numerous complaints from restaurants and hotel owners because they too received cancellations of stays and reservations. Millions of marks in damages were made, and right now we’re planning to sue the protest organisers for the millions in damages,” Radojicic said.
He noted that the official organisers of the rally that gathered some 3,000 protesters to the Banja Luka centre were not the main people from the ‘Justice for Davit’ or some lawmakers, opposition leaders, and party leaders, but several Banja Luka youths who will now face lawsuits worth millions of marks.
The Sunday protest was said to be banned at first, but then news broke that the protest was registered with the police and that it was approved in the end. The protesters gathered on Sunday evening demanding the truth about the controversial death of David Dragicevic, who was killed in March 2018, but the case has not yet been resolved.
VEZANE VIJESTI
The performers who were supposed to play in Banja Luka over the three-day New-Year celebration were paid in advance, and the city administration will now try to negotiate their performance at some other date, the Mayor said.
Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity President Zeljka Cvijanovic expressed regret over the loss of Dragicevic family but added that due to the protests that followed over the young man’s death, Banja Luka a take years to recover its image and to recover from economic losses that were the result of drop in tourism.
She reiterated that only the prosecution must say what happened that night, not the RS President, or any minister, lawmaker, police or anybody else outside the judicial system.
“We are all equal before the law, regardless of who we are and what we do,” Cvijanovic said.
She said she regrets that Banja Luka had to suffer economically and that its image has been tarnished as a result of the protest that took place on Sunday, when members of the ‘Justice for David’ forced the cancellation of a concert in the city centre and the New Year celebration.
“It may even take several years to recover the good image of Banja Luka,” Cvijanovic said, adding that what happened on Sunday was neither fair to other Banja Luka residents nor the tourists.
“I want the Dragicevic family as well as everyone else to get to the truth and justice, but that doesn't mean ruining the image of our cities and police,” she noted.
David Dragicevic was murdered in March 2018, and initially, police said that he had taken drugs and drowned in a nearby river. This explanation sparked public outrage and angered the young man’s father who swore he would pursue justice no matter what.
Davor Dragicevic, the father of the 21-year-old David never believed this explanation and always claimed that the very top of the Serb dominated RS entity was covering up for his son’s murderers.
