DODIK: SERBS HAVE SUFFERED WHENEVER GERMANY REARMED

BANJA LUKA, JUNE 12 /SRNA/ – President Milorad Dodik said that the European Union's increasing militarization, particularly in Germany, is not good news for Serbs, arguing that Serbs have historically suffered whenever Berlin rearmed.

Speaking in a podcast with American journalist Lara Logan, Dodik said the EU had once been a promising project but now carries a more threatening character. "I see increasing discussion in Europe about European armed forces. Germany is militarizing, and that is certainly not good news for us Serbs, because Serbs have suffered whenever Germany has rearmed", Dodik stated. According to him, the EU has largely lost its former appeal after years of promoting human rights and freedom of movement during a period when Europe was presented as a success story, with promises of open internal borders and respect for differing opinions. Dodik noted that the arrival of migrants led to the reintroduction of border controls and argued that the EU had accepted too many migrants who, in his view, are not working to preserve Western values and society. "We see that many mayors, heads of regional institutions and officials in numerous other services in France and Germany who are Muslims remain committed to their own values. They have not been assimilated; they are concentrated and exert influence on social life", Dodik stressed. He added that within the next 20 years, Muslim political influence could become dominant in Europe and argued that, under such circumstances, Serbs in BiH would face additional challenges because local Muslims would have support from those centers of power. "Viktor Orban was one of the leaders who warned about this. Unfortunately, he did not prevail in the most recent parliamentary elections in Hungary, and now we have a person who is closer to Brussels values", Dodik concluded.