Two internationally renowned Bosnian artists were refused permission by the Department of Justice to attend a major exhibition in Dublin, it emerged today.
Enes Sivac and Dzevad Hadarevic had applied for visas so they could show their work at an exhibition in Temple Bar to mark Bosnia's national holiday yesterday.
The Bosnian Community Project (BCP), which works with the refugees resettled in Ireland since the brutal ethnic conflict, said yesterday's exhibition had to be cancelled as a result.
Bosnian artist Enes Sivac
"We are very disappointed. Basically we want to inform the Irish public that we haven't been allowed to celebrate April 6th, which is a very significant day in Bosnian history," said community development officer Zdenko Stanar.
April 6th is the anniversary of the bombing of Sarajevo by the Nazis in 1941, the day the city was liberated in 1945, the day the first victims of the civil war were killed in 1992 and the day when the UN and the EU first officially recognised Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992.
Mr Stanar said the art exhibition had been funded by a €2,000 grant from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
"It's very funny when one Irish department gives you the money to do something and another refuses," he said.
The BCP was informed by the Department of Justice that the visas were refused due to concerns that the two artists might not return to Bosnia.
"In the past we organised at least ten different events where we brought people from Bosnia to perform and we never experienced any difficulty obtaining visas or permits for the musicians to perform," said Mr Stanar.
The Bosnian artist Enes Sivac said in a statement that he was disappointed by the decision. "I am disheartened that in light of the great things Ireland has done for the people of Bosnia both during the war and after, there could still be such trouble in securing the right to visit Ireland; to share our art and our appreciation for all they have done, with the Irish people."
The Bosnian Ambassador to Britain and Ireland, Tanja Milasinovic, will be visiting Dublin to protest to the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Justice about the decision.
Around 1,500 Bosnian people have been granted refugee status in Ireland since the brutal civil war that led to the break up of the Yugoslavia.
PA