The State Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo has called on the relevant authorities to react after two people were seen roasting a whole pig on a spit on Sunday, as reported by Slobodna Dalmacija.
The museum confirmed that the incident is part of a long-standing dispute with the family of the former caretaker, which, it claims, uses part of the museum's premises and the botanical garden. According to the museum, the family still resides in the museum building itself, and in addition to the flat, they use the botanical garden.
The museum states that it is involved in multiple legal disputes with the family, which has been causing problems for years. It is claimed that the family is continuously encroaching on the botanical garden and constantly creating incidents for staff, visitors, and workers.
The museum highlighted that it had invested in the southern part of the botanical garden to prepare it for visitors, but instead, it is witnessing scenes such as the roasting of ajvar or a whole pig next to the wall of the national monument.
The museum called on the relevant inspectorates and law enforcement agencies, as well as the authorities responsible for the protection of cultural heritage, to react and sanction the offenders. It requested that the Canton of Sarajevo and the Municipality of Centar resolve the housing issue for the family, stating that the family in question is endangering the monument.
The case has raised the broader question of the long-standing dispute between the museum and the family of the former caretaker, as well as the use of the space of the botanical garden, which covers 14.270 square meters. As noted by the museum, without a precise understanding of the boundaries of the garden, it is not possible to determine with certainty whether the specific location in question belongs to the garden's area.
