KARAN: OUR VICTIMS GIVE US STRENGTH TO FIGHT FOR TRUTH AND TO PURSUE AUTONOMOUS POLICY

BRATUNAC, JULY 4 /SRNA/ – Serb victims, not only from Podrinje and Birač but from the entire Republika Srpska, are nowadays the strength for the republican institutions to fight for the truth, pursue own autonomous policy, and present the truth to the world, said Republika Srpska President Siniša Karan.

"This truth that occurred during the Defensive-Patriotic War is the foundation of our present and our secure future," Karan told the press in Bratunac, where he attended the central commemoration for 3,267 Serbs killed in the Central Podrinje and Birač region between 1992 and 1995. Karan stressed that the truth about Serb victims is a guarantee that such events will never happen again in the future. "It was precisely the concealment of the truth from the First and Second World Wars that led to tragedies experienced by the Serb people, to an almost genocide against the Serb people in the Second World War, and to the near existential and identity destruction of the nation," Karan said, adding that based on the suffering during the Second World War and the revelation of the truth about Jasenovac, Republika Srpska was created. He said that the Serbs’ voice is now heard in very powerful places, and that the entire state leadership and the Serb people came to Bratunac today to pay respects to the innocent victims in Central Podrinje and Birač. "This is also important for their families, so that we can share their pain at least to some extent," Karan said. He noted that Republika Srpska has been under attack for 30 years and that there are ongoing attempts to undermine its constitutional strength and position, thereby the position of the Serb people. He pointed out this is being done in various ways, but what hurts the Serb people most is the narrative related to war time period and war crimes, which occurred individually on all sides. "For 30 years, primarily through the Hague Tribunal and later through the establishment of the War Crimes Department within the Prosecutor’s Office and Court of BiH, the narrative has been shaped in such a way that only one side – the Serbs, were portrayed as aggressors, while the others were presented as victims. Thus, these 3,267 innocent victims, civilians, women, including 47 children, were turned into aggressors," Karan said. He stated that this was important for Bosniaks because their policy is the policy of domination; in order to dominate and achieve long-term damage to Republika Srpska and the Serb people, it was necessary to create a narrative of victims and aggressors in BiH. "Out of the total number of all criminal cases, 70 percent relate to Serbs. Through these untruths, the judiciary sought to create a narrative about what happened here, which would be permanently harmful to the Serb people and Republika Srpska. That is why the value of these and all such events is to present the truth and show the world what happened here, and we are doing that every year more strongly and more forcefully," Karan said. A tribute is being paid today in Bratunac for all Serb victims from the Central Podrinje and Birač region who were killed during the Defensive-Patriotic War. The commemoration marks the 34th anniversary of the large-scale suffering of Serbs on St. Peter's Day in 1992 in villages around Srebrenica and Bratunac, when 69 soldiers and civilians were killed and 22 people were taken captive, none of whom survived. Muslim units from Srebrenica frequently attacked Serb-populated villages during the Defensive-Patriotic War on major Orthodox religious holidays. On St. Peter's Day in 1992, they attacked the villages of Zalazje, Biljača, Sase and Zagoni, killing everyone they encountered while looting and burning Serb-owned property. This year`s commemorative programme`s moto is "One Is Not Invited to Bratunac – One Goes to Bratunac".