THREE TIMES IN THE 20TH CENTURY SERBS RESISTED ATTEMPTS AT BIOLOGICAL ANNIHILATION, THEY WILL DO SO NOW AS WELL

BELGRADE, AUGUST 30 /SRNA/ - Historian Miloš Ković told SRNA that the latest decisions coming from Sarajevo are a continuation of the effort to strip the Serb people in BiH of all sovereignty and the right to decide their own fate, stressing that the survival of Republika Srpska and Serbs in BiH is the priority of all priorities.

"This was defended from 1992 to 1995, and it must not be given up at any cost! People must be aware of what is most important, and not be led astray by this or that issue which is, at this moment, of lesser importance," Ković emphasized. He pointed out that priorities must be set in our minds – what is most important, what is less important, and what is irrelevant. "The survival of Republika Srpska and the Serb people must come first. The survival of the state and the people is priceless, and only after that come other issues," Ković said. He does not dispute the importance of other issues, noting that there have always been and will always be political differences, which is a good thing. However, he emphasized that all Serbs must now be united, because this is about defending the rights of Republika Srpska and the survival of the Serb people. Ković pointed out that the current actions from Sarajevo are yet another attempt at the biological annihilation of the Serbs in BiH, something that was attempted three times during the 20th century. He said that pressure on Serbs in BiH to lose their individuality has existed since the time of Islamization, including attempts to convert them to Catholicism, which was particularly evident during Austro-Hungarian rule from 1878 to 1918. "At that time, the regime of Benjamin Kallay sought to deny them the very right to exist. You could still be Serbs in private — to identify as such, to play the gusle, and to wear toke /decorative metal clasps from the traditional male folk costume/ on your chest — but in public life, Serbs did not exist. The Serbian language and Serbian symbols were abolished, and any opposition to this was punished with utmost severity," Ković said. He noted that the real genocide against the Serbs in BiH began during the First World War, when tens of thousands of them were killed in camps, and gallows were erected for them from Bijeljina to Trebinje. Ković pointed out that the Serb people in BiH lived in relative peace during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, but that in 1941, a horrific genocide was carried out against them. "Tito’s regime aimed to separate the Serbs in BiH from Serbia and Montenegro, and thus an artificial state was created within the Yugoslav federation – BiH, whose foundation was supposed to be the Muslims. This was precisely how the separation of the Serbs from Serbia was attempted. Still, the fact that this did not leave long-term consequences can be seen in the heroic struggle during the Defense Patriotic War, where the Serb people once again demonstrated the national solidarity they had shown for centuries," Ković emphasized. With the breakup of socialist Yugoslavia, the Serbs in BiH once again faced pressures, followed by aggression against them. "Unfortunately, it was confirmed that the peoples living in BiH, together with or alongside the Serbs, are very often ready to serve foreign interests, and just as they once served Turkey, Austro-Hungary, Hitler’s Germany, Mussolini’s fascist Italy, and Pavelić’s NDH, they are now serving the NATO countries," Ković said. He pointed out that the Serb people have a long memory and know very well that nothing lasts forever. "So we will endure these trials and this pressure, and we will continue to live in freedom and to fight for freedom. Of that I am completely certain," Ković said.