DODIK: FBiH CELEBRATING DAY OF KILLING AND WAR OUTBREAK SHOWS WHAT KIND OF COUNTRY BiH IS

BANJA LUKA, FEBRUARY 28 /SRNA/ – SNSD leader Milorad Dodik has stressed in a statement to SRNA that March 1 is not any so-called Independence Day of BiH for the Serb people and Republika Srpska, but the day when one people were outvoted, a wedding was turned into a funeral, and when it became clear that a period of tragic suffering in BiH was ahead.

Dodik stressed that Serbs then realized the grim truth that the political crisis was turning into a security threat, the rhetoric of division into the language of weapons, and that difficult times were once again ahead for them. The SNSD leader said that day marked the tragic outcome of a deep political crisis, as an illegitimate referendum on BiH’s secession from the former Yugoslavia was held without the consent of Serbs, one of the three constituent peoples, thereby violating the principle of equality and consensus on which the former Yugoslav republic had been based. Dodik emphasized that it became clear to Serbs that the political process was moving forward without them and against their will, and that decisions were being made through outvoting. He told SRNA that this was not only the day of the illegitimate referendum on the so-called independence of BiH, but a day carrying a much heavier and more painful meaning, that tensions escalated into open violence in the streets, in front of a religious building. "On that day, in front of the Old Orthodox Church in Sarajevo’s Baščaršija, Serb wedding guest Nikola Gardović was killed simply because he was a Serb and because he carried a Serb flag at a wedding celebration. Many consider this killing of an innocent man to be the symbolic beginning of the war in BiH," Dodik pointed out. The memory of Nikola Gardović, Dodik said, is not only a family tragedy but also a warning that every bullet fired at a man because of his name and flag destroys the foundations of joint life in BiH. He stressed that this killing was not an "incident", as it had been presented for years by Muslim Sarajevo, but a clear, brutal, and intimidating message to Serbs in Sarajevo and throughout BiH that they were no longer equal, that they were unwanted, and that their symbols, identity, and tradition could only be targets, not rights. "That day, not only a man was struck, but also a family, the Serb flag, joy, a church wedding, and life itself. At a place where a family gathers to celebrate love, the heart of an entire people was targeted with a monstrous message: 'There is no longer a place for Serbs here'"! Dodik said. He stated that it is especially concerning that this crime remained unpunished in a way that would bring a sense of justice and reconciliation, and instead of condemnation and a clear message that it was an attack on peace and coexistence, there was relativization of the crime, which he said amounts to another shot at life. "And that is why Muslims have celebrated the killing for years, while the Serb people light candles, which speaks volumes about what kind of country BiH is. Without truth about March 1, there can be no sincere dialogue about the past, and without acknowledging that peace in BiH was killed that day, it is difficult to build a shared future. I remind you that then-Muslim president Alija Izetbegović himself admitted he was ready to sacrifice peace in BiH to achieve his dream of `Islamic state`. That is the reason why March 1 cannot be a shared holiday, because it symbolizes division, the beginning of distrust, and the introduction to a war that claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Without sincere acknowledgment that the principles of agreement, constituent equality, and parity were violated that day, and that innocent Serb blood was shed, there can be no genuine dialogue about the past, and without truth about the beginning of the war, there can be no lasting peace," SNSD leader Milorad Dodik said. In parts of the Federation of BiH with a Bosniak majority, March 1 is marked as the so-called Independence Day of BiH, as an illegal referendum on independence and secession from the former Yugoslavia was held on that date 34 years ago. Serbs in Republika Srpska remember March 1 for the killing of Serb wedding guest Nikola Gardović in Sarajevo, which was the trigger for the eruption of war. The Government of Republika Srpska declared March 1 a Day of Mourning due to the tragic events that took place on that date in 1992, which led to the outbreak of the tragic conflict in BiH.