The metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hrizostom Jevic, has left the Interreligious Council of BiH, alleging that the Council failed to react to “serious criminal acts” committed against the Serbs in the country.

The Metropolitan argued that Serbs in Sarajevo today feel like they did in 1991 in Croatia where they were exposed to attacks by “neo-Nazis”.

He informed the members of the Assembly of the BiH Interreligious Council that his membership in the organisation is ending on January 31st.

“We believe that the Interreligious Council's passivity is indirectly supporting all the manifest deviations of our society,” he said in his letter.

“If the Interreligious Council in Bosnia and Herzegovina returns to its original principles and becomes an active driver of unity and dialogue and a moral coordinator of good and neighbourly relations, we will certainly consider the possibility of our return,” he said.

The latest incident which prompted the religious leader to make the decision was when the tires of two cars with license plates from Serbia had been punctured in the centre of Sarajevo. The Sarajevo police quickly identified and detained the perpetrator, who was found to be a mentally ill person who had just been released from treatment.

However, the Metropolitan said this represents a “horrific” act and compared it with “neo-Nazi terror” which he said was carried out against Serbs in Croatia before.