KOŠARAC: BURNS' PRESENCE IN BRATUNAC MESSAGE THAT POLICY OF IGNORING SERB VICTIMS IS CHANGING

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, JULY 4 /SRNA/ – The attendance of Pastor Mark Burns, spiritual adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, at commemorating the suffering of the Serb people in Bratunac sends an important political signal that the United States has recognised the credible efforts of President Milorad Dodik and the Republika Srpska institutions to ensure that the Serbs’ voice is heard and that the truth about the tragic events of the past war becomes known, Council of Ministers Deputy Chair Staša Ko

Košarac told SRNA that Burns' visit sends the message that no innocent victim should be forgotten and that respect for the victims must rise above political narratives and double standards. "It is a civilizational obligation to pay tribute to all innocent victims, and the fact that a representative of the new U.S. administration attended the memorial service in Bratunac shows there is a willingness to hear the other side, which had been marginalized for decades," Košarac emphasized. After years in which there was readiness to hear almost exclusively the Bosniak side, he pointed out, space is now opening up for the truth about the suffering of the Serb people as well. "This is the result of the consistent, responsible, and statesmanlike policy of President Dodik and the institutions of Republika Srpska, which, despite numerous pressures, insisted that the truth about the suffering f Serbs be presented and that Serb victims must not be ignored. At the same time, it sends the message that the policy of one-sided interpretations, selective sympathy, and disregard for Serb victims is giving way to a more objective approach. This is an important step toward a more realistic understanding of the events of the past war," Košarac said. He added that Republika Srpska had for years waged a difficult political struggle against attempts to impose collective guilt on the Serb people, while sites of Serb suffering remained outside the focus of the international community. "Today, when international officials are coming precisely to the places where Serbs suffered, it is clear that this perception is changing," Košarac concluded. The U.S. president's adviser today attended the memorial service at the Bratunac cemetery for the 3,267 Serbs of Central Podrinje and Birač region who were killed by members of Muslim military units. Earlier, Burns took part in the religious procession from the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos to the cemetery in Bratunac, led by His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia.