SARAJEVO, March 27 (News Agencies) - The international community, overseeing Bosnia's peace process, welcomed Tuesday a recent decision by Bosnian Serb authorities to allow one of the country's most famous mosques to be rebuilt.
Bosnian Serb authorities last Friday issued a first permit for rebuilding the 16th century Ferhadija mosque, destroyed during the Bosnian war in 1993 by Bosnian Serbs.
The decision "long overdue and coming almost two years after initial order by the [Bosnian] Human Rights Chamber, marks the end of a prolonged period of obstruction ... and opens the door for renewed efforts at reconciliation," said a statement by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The Bosnian Human Rights Chamber ordered Bosnian Serb authorities in June 1999 "to swiftly grant ... necessary permits" to the Islamic community of Banja Luka, which requested the rebuilding of the mosque.
"We now expect the Banja Luka officials to grant the necessary building permit so that ground may be broken for the reconstruction without any further delays," the statement added.
Stressing that the permit was only the first step in the process, the office of the top international mediator in Bosnia, Wolfgang Petritsch, voiced hope Tuesday that there would be no delay in issuing a building permit.
Petritsch's office also said it considered the facilitation of the rebuilding "a litmus test for the authorities to demonstrate their commitment to the Dayton peace accord, reconciliation, return and mutual respect."
Ferhadija is one of seven mosques to be rebuilt in Banja Luka, according to the Human Rights Chamber.
