DODIK: BOSNIAK POLITICAL PROJECT TO SETTLE SRPSKA IN ORDER TO ABOLISH IT WILL NOT SUCCEED

KOZARSKA DUBICA, DECEMBER 30 /SRNA/ - SNSD president Milorad Dodik stated today that the Bosniak political project to settle Republika Srpska with the aim of abolishing it will not succeed.

"Mustafa Cerić suggests that Muslims should settle in Republika Srpska to alter its /demographic/ configuration. I want to tell him that Republika Srpska is not his country, nor will it ever be, and that BiH is not as he imagines it," Dodik told reporters. Regarding Muslims living in Republika Srpska, Dodik stated that they deserve to live a calm and peaceful life, and to pursue their work and faith. "However, the political project of settlement aimed at eliminating, or abolishing, Republika Srpska will not succeed," Dodik emphasized. He pointed out that Serbs in the Federation of BiH /FBiH/ live under far worse conditions than Muslims in Republika Srpska. "We must ensure that our people also live decently. It is very sad today to go anywhere in the FBiH where Serbs live. This is not the case in settlements where Muslims live, because Republika Srpska has breadth. However, this does not mean it is naive or that it will allow the intentions of people like the passionate ideologue Mustafa Cerić, who during the war was the spiritual mentor of Alija Izetbegović," Dodik said. He emphasized that Serbs must be aware of what Republika Srpska represents. "Republika Srpska must demonstrate its unity. The Serb people have always done so when attacked. We are continuously under attack from various aspirations aimed at our disappearance, and this is best illustrated by what Mustafa Cerić is now announcing," Dodik said. He stated that this is a common stance among Bosniak politicians in Sarajevo, but that "the unruly Cerić has now rushed ahead to say it openly". "They all think the same. They believe that Republika Srpska should be settled by their people, that it should be subdued, and that it should disappear. None of this is new, but if we do not rally around our Church, around our name and surname, and around Republika Srpska, that is exactly what will happen to us," Dodik warned. The SNSD president emphasized that Republika Srpska is a symbol of freedom and can be dedicated to all those who have suffered throughout history and gave their lives for the Serb name and heritage.