“After exposing the existence of Russian military camps in the Bosnian and Herzegovinian (BiH) entity Republika Srpska (RS) a year ago, I cannot recall any official being subjected to such public and brutal attacks and insults by various representatives of the government, especially those from RS, ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH from RS, self-proclaimed security and political experts, media outlets identifying as pro-BiH, and other public and political figures in BiH,” Zukan Helez stated yesterday, the Minister of Defense of BiH.
“In this effort to demean and insult me as the Minister of Defense of BiH and as an individual, RS government representatives and pro-BiH media acted in complete coordination.
“After Moldovan police detained individuals over a month ago who were conducting ‘advanced training’ in guerrilla camps held in BiH and Serbia and informed BiH security institutions about it, self-proclaimed experts, media, and institutions in BiH began acknowledging that I was right, that these camps existed, but they continue to downplay their role and significance, claiming that ‘some form of theoretical training’ occurred there,” Minister Helez emphasized.
He continued two days ago that “information emerged that individuals conducting training in camps within RS are wanted in other European Union (EU) countries for terrorism-related crimes.”
“Given that RS authorities and ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH from RS still deny the existence of Russian military camps in RS, the question arises: Did they bring them in, and with what purpose? Are RS authorities, through their actions, supporting terrorism in Europe? We must not delude ourselves or downplay the malign Russian influence in BiH. It exists; it is real. It manifests through RS authorities and representatives in the BiH Council of Ministers. The BiH entity of RS represents Russia’s westernmost influence in Europe.
“BiH institutions, especially those focused on safeguarding our country’s security, must take their work more seriously. I call on RS authorities and their representatives in the BiH Council of Ministers to genuinely and sincerely commit to Euro-Atlantic integration for our country and stop acting as agents of Russian interests. The will of all citizens in our country is Euro-Atlantic integration. Nobody from BiH is moving to Russia but to the EU. Let us finally take our entire country and all its citizens into the EU,” concluded Minister Zukan Helez.
