Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)
Yellow represents Serbian Republic
That part of BiH that was ethnically cleansed By Serbs
Today 9 January the political entity called Serbian Republic (Republika Srpska) is pushing ahead with celebrating its Day – the 21st anniversary of its own proclamation! This is also the 21st anniversary of the beginning of genocide and ethnic cleansing of all non-Serb nationals from the areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina where Serbs were in majority. Serb police, soldiers, and irregulars attacked Muslims and Croats, and burned and looted their homes. Some were killed on the spot; others were rounded up and killed elsewhere, or forced to flee. The genocide culminated in Srebrenica massacre of more than 8,000 Muslim (Bosniak) men and boys in July 1995. Then in November 1995 came the Dayton Agreement which ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina effectively dividing it into two political/administrative entities: Serbian Republic (Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Federations of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosniaks and Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Ahead of the anniversary of the Republika Srpska (RS) Bosnian entity, members of 25 associations, which represent Bosnian war victims, held a press conference on Monday 6 January aiming to raise public awareness for the crimes and foundations of that entity.
A postcard with a photo of exhumed body remains found in Tomasica, the largest mass grave in Bosnia after World War II discovered at the end of 2013, was prepared for the occasion.
The postcards of the remains unearthed 18 years after the end of the Bosnian war were sent to the addresses of RS authorities ahead of January 9, the Day of Republika Srpska.
“If you mark the Day of Republika Srpska, do not forget that these are its foundations,” wrote the post card.
Postcard sent to Serbian Republic,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6 January 2014
Today, 9 January, the president of Serbian Republic, Milorad Dodik, celebrated Serbian Republic Day, marking it publicly perhaps for the first time for what it truly was intended to be from the very start: an independent state, which will then easily pin itself as part of Greater Serbia. He sent a message to the world that the Serbian will continue existing and be increasingly stronger and that its independence needs to be placed as a government and political goal.
Commenting on the Postcard from victims (referred to above) Dodig said that it arrived from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and not from Serbian (Republic) and that Serbian (Republic) is not governed by politics of ethnic hatred.
“If someone does not want reconciliation, they can only increase our convictions that we are on the right tracks of fighting for our status. Are they going to continue behaving negatively towards Serbian (Republic)? Of course they will. Many of them have suffered and lost their loved ones, but the Serbian side also had many who suffered”, said Dodik.
He said that the crimes were not committed in the name of Serbian Republic and that it never had plans of such kind, and that none of its leadership set such goals.
Oh yes they did Mr Dodik! The goal was to achieve an ethnically pure region (Serb) and in order to achieve that goal genocide, rape and forced deportation were employed as means to achieve that goal.
We must not allow that attempts that seek justice for perpetrators of genocide be labelled ethnic hatred.
During his visit to Sarajevo in 2010 Croatia’s president Ivo Josipovic urged Bosnian and regional leaders to put the past behind and work towards a shared, prosperous future in the European Union. He is been pushing the same agenda in Croatia: forget the Serb, or any other, crimes committed during the war of brutal aggression, move forward…
Wrong, wrong, wrong!
Victims do not forget, victims cannot forget! Victims must have justice! We owe the victims the dignity of ensuring that genocide does not win its targeted prize: freedom/independence. Just imagine what would happen if someone came up to the Jews and told them to forget the Holocaust, to stop hunting down the Nazis who killed. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A.,M.A.Ps. (Syd)