DODIK: SARAJEVO’S INFLUENCE WILL NOT TAKE ROOT IN BANJA LUKA

ČELINAC, FEBRUARY 19 /SRNA/ – SNSD leader Milorad Dodik said that Sarajevo cannot establish its influence in Banja Luka, where what he called "insignificant, trivial political figures" arrived earlier in the day.

“We are two worlds, two continents, two civilizations - that’s it. That is why BiH will never be a real country,” Dodik told reporters in Čelinac. He pointed out that the political elite in Sarajevo missed the chance to build a viable BiH and instead created an illusory state, which they continuously pushed uphill. Now, Dodik said, when the illusion rolls downhill, it will crash. Dodik described the Sarajevo delegation that met in Banja Luka today as "insignificant, trivial political figures" who came to provoke someone. He also addressed the concert of Croatian singer Marko Perković Thompson, saying it is unacceptable that HDZ leader Dragan Čović met and took a photo with Thompson, whom Dodik described as an embodiment of Ustasha ideology, the same ideology responsible for the deaths of over 800,000 Serbs during World War II, including 500,000 in Jasenovac. Dodik noted that Thompson’s concerts are controversial even in Croatia, where they face considerable opposition, and that in some EU countries, including Austria and Germany, they have been banned. Yet, he said, the singer was allowed to perform in Široki Brijeg, accompanied by Ustasha salutes, which cause outrage among Serbs. “We cannot overlook this. These are certainly not European values, despite the claims of some, and it sends us a clear message that we must focus on ourselves,” Dodik said.