PATRIARCH PORFIRIJE: A DECISION THAT JEOPARDIZES DECADES-LONG EFFORTS TOWARD RECONCILIATION OF PEOPLES

BELGRADE, FEBRUARY 26 /SRNA/ - His Holiness, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, said that he received with deep concern the news of the decision of the Court of BiH, by which the legally elected President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, was sentenced to one year in prison and banned from political activity for six years, against any legal framework.

Patriarch Porfirije emphasized that this verdict is, without any doubt, unconstitutional and contrary to the Dayton Agreement. It has the potential to endanger everything that has been done over the past thirty years to heal the wounds of war and reconcile the peoples of BiH, making it extremely dangerous. "Offering prayers to the Lord, the giver of peace, to grant us the spirit of peace in these difficult times and inspire us to build it together, I appeal to all parties involved in this unfortunate situation to do everything in their power to halt and prevent the rise of tensions in BiH. Such tensions, God forbid, could destabilize the Balkans and the wider region, and could plunge the fragile and painstakingly built process of interethnic reconciliation into the abyss of yet another unnecessary and undesired tragedy," said Patriarch Porfirije regarding the shameful verdict against the President of Srpska, Milorad Dodik.