GALIJAŠEVIĆ: CERIĆ'S CALL ON BOSNIAKS TO BUY APARTMENTS IN SRPSKA IS DANGEROUS

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, DECEMBER 29 /SRNA/ – Counterterrorism expert Dževad Galijašević told SRNA that the call by former head of the Islamic Community in BiH Mustafa Cerić urging Bosniaks to buy real estate in Republika Srpska is not surprising, as everyone wants to live in Republika Srpska, which is legally regulated and safe, but that it is a signal that all aspects of such a policy by radical and Islamist elements should be carefully examined.

"Both Cerić and SDA Vice President Haris Zahiragić are showing that they are lying when they describe Republika Srpska as a bad or dysfunctional community, because if that were the case, why would they want to move there?" Galijašević asked. In his view, this is a completely different process from what is taking place in areas where Bosniaks live, "where no one wants to come". "Serbs and Croats are permanently leaving those areas and never returning. Not a single Serb or Croat would even consider buying apartments in Travnik, Zenica, Tuzla, Bihać, or even that part of Sarajevo," Galijašević stressed. He believes that this is therefore a priority security issue. Galijašević recalled that in early 1992, while serving as imam of the Zagreb mosque, Cerić gathered Muslim brethren and global terrorists at an international conference in Zagreb, where he promoted radicalism. He noted that after Cerić's return to Sarajevo, a direct assassination took place against Efendi Jakub Selimovski, the last head of the Islamic Community of the former SFR Yugoslavia. "They did not force Selimovski out immediately, but managed to remove him in June of the following year through a Sarajevo court ruling that abolished the Islamic Community of Yugoslavia, enabling Cerić to take over the position of reis," Galijašević said. He assessed that Cerić is prepared to do anything. "This is a man followed by Wahhabi elements, by his soldiers. This is the man who fabricated shameful books on Islamophobia and published them under the auspices of the Islamic Community of BiH. Many Muslims were also listed among the so-called Islamophobes," Galijašević warned. Therefore, he added, when such a person comes and says, "I will buy an apartment," it is as if he is saying, "I am coming to cause disorder." "That is why this is a security issue, not merely a question of living conditions, which are better in Republika Srpska, a more orderly state and legal entity," Galijašević said. According to him, life and multireligious dialogue are far removed from the FBiH, while Republika Srpska has no incidents or terrorist acts. "All of this is a security and political issue, and also a message to Republika Srpska to seriously consider all aspects of the policies of radical and Islamist elements," Galijašević concluded. Cerić has called on Bosniaks to buy as many apartments as possible in Republika Srpska, in Banja Luka and Bijeljina, across all territories. "We are the ones who will preserve the territorial integrity and sovereignty of BiH by not renouncing a single inch of land," the former head of the Islamic Community in BiH said.