BUDIMIR: SARAJEVO IS TRYING TO FALSIFY HISTORY

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 25 /SRNA/ - Historical revisionism and revanchism coming from political Sarajevo are constantly pushing the situation in BiH back into darkness, said Republika Srpska Minister of the Interior Željko Budimir.

"Interpretations of historical events from World War II that can be heard from Sarajevo represent an attempt to revise the facts," Budimir told reporters in Banja Luka, commenting on statements made in Washington by the Chairman of the Presidency of BiH Denis Bećirović and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Council of Ministers Elmedin Konaković, who, without the knowledge of the National Museum, claimed that the Sarajevo Haggadah was saved by Muslims from ‘Greater Serbian aggression’ and the Nazis. Budimir emphasized that such statements are unacceptable, as they represent a relativization of the suffering of the Serbian and Jewish peoples, who were victims of genocide and mass crimes during the Second World War. According to him, there should be at least a minimum of decency toward those victims, considering that the largest concentration camps, as well as the genocide carried out in villages and other settlements, took place precisely in the areas of present-day BiH. "We remind that the Jewish people survived the Holocaust, while the Serbian people in the territory of the NDH, which also included present-day BiH, were subjected to systematic persecution, mass killings, and genocide. Historical data clearly indicate the existence of numerous concentration camps, as well as crimes committed against civilian populations in villages and towns across that area," Budimir stressed. According to him, various formations took part in these crimes, including Ustashe units, Home Guard forces, and Muslim militia units. "It is important to point out that both anti-fascist resistance movements in the territory of the former Yugoslavia - the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Partisan movement - were, in 90 percent of cases, composed of members of the Serbian people," Budimir said. He believes that this kind of falsification of history contributes to further division among the peoples in BiH.