ANTI-SERB RHETORIC IN BOSNIAK SARAJEVO IS ATTEMPT TO AVOID TRUTHS

BEOGRAD, MAY 4 /SRNA/ – President of the Association of Serbs from the Region Miodrag Linta said that messages of hatred toward Serbs voiced during a football match, as well as the belittling of killed members of the JNA 34 years after the massacre in Dobrovoljačka Street, are a consequence of the fact that political elites in Sarajevo are avoiding the truth about the last war and have not abandoned the goal of creating a unitary, Muslim BiH.

Linta stated that the latest outbursts of anti-Serb sentiment from Sarajevo stem from the continued promotion by political elites of hostile narratives about Republika Srpska and Serbia. "They simply cannot move beyond that dark past; they cannot stop promoting these anti-Serb narratives and continue to spread hatred everywhere," he said. Linta noted that there is no willingness among Sarajevo politicians to face the truth and acknowledge that crimes were committed on all sides, that perpetrators should be held accountable, and that all victims should be respected. "In the case of Dobrovoljačka, we once again saw that Serb victims are belittled, denied and dismissed, while only Bosniak victims are discussed. These young fans at sporting events are, unfortunately, a reflection of the overall anti-Serb atmosphere prevailing in political Sarajevo," Linta said. He added that through such expressions of hatred, Bosniak Sarajevo is also sending a message that it does not accept the Dayton framework, nor Republika Srpska and continues to insist on the creation of a unitary, Muslim BiH. "That is a policy that constantly raises tensions, deepens divisions and brings nothing good," Linta said. He emphasized that it is therefore very important for Serbs to remain persistent in the fight for the truth about what actually happened, to insist that all victims be respected regardless of national or religious affiliation, to demand accountability for perpetrators, and not to respond to hate messages in kind. Banja Luka's Borac football club last night won the Premier League title after defeating Sarajevo away. During the match, home fans chanted "kill the Chetniks," and offensive graffiti reading "Chetniks, darkness awaits you" appeared at Koševo Stadium. White roses and candles laid yesterday in Dobrovoljačka Street in Sarajevo by families of those killed in the JNA column were soon thrown into trash containers after the commemoration and their departure. Federal portals reported that "hardworking municipal workers, after the Serbs left, cleaned the street, threw the roses and candles into containers, and the city returned to normal".