The National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NSRS) has rejected the results of the Population Census of BiH from 2013 and has announced to publish their own census results only for region of RS. About hundred thousand Bosniaks, which these authorities consider as non-residents, will be erased from the results.
Even though the country-wide census results have been declared as invalid by Government and the National Assembly of the RS, they were used in past several days as arguments for Serbian politicians and some intellectuals, as proof that the RS is multiethnic and that FBiH is not. That statement has been aggressively placed by even some journalists from Sarajevo with clear tendency to declare regions where Bosniaks are majority as rigid religious and nationalist environment where Serbs cannot have peace, security and freedom – which gives them right and historic duty to separate from such dangerous regions.
First, Serbs have to formalize their version of census from which tens of thousands of Bosniaks will be erased. How truly multiethnic the RS is, how its multiethnicity was developed and is it multiethnic at all?
I witnessed on the 7th of April 1992 that Serbs left Zvornik during the night and went to Serbia. They got information from war and civil authorities that Zelene beretke are preparing the attack on Zvornik (to remind that key people of both war and civil authorities in this city were convicted in Beograd for war crimes against Bosniaks). Next morning JNA and paramilitary formations occupied the city and bodies of hundreds of civilians were left on the streets.
Bosniaks were banished almost until the last one, and their houses were robbed, all mosques were burned or demolished. Only those who found salvation on free territory of Kamenica or Sapna managed to survive. Only after JNA, Serb Territorial defense and paramilitary formation from Serbia took over Zvornik, Serbian population returned. Killed civilians were buried in mass graves and those who were alive ended up in concentration camps. Blood from streets has been washed for days! Only on the 1st of June, around 700 men were captured and killed after torture in camps in only one day.
I was going to villages with Fadil Banjanovic several years after the war in the places where Bosniaks are returning. The process of return was difficult, followed by attacks, murders were happening, and in the process of prevention and stopping of return of Bosniaks whole society was involved: politicians, intellectuals, media… Cases of murders of Meliha Duric and some other civilians have not been solved, after which the process of return was almost stopped.
Authorities were formally giving properties of Bosniaks and were letting it to be plundered. For 750 demolished mosques and masjids, as much is known to public, none criminal charge was made. That was the policy and strategy of RS authorities. It was the way of creating Serbian multienthnicity! In last year’s prevention of return to multiethnic RS is being done through adoption of law of residence, cadaster, police, etc. Only the name of entity suggest that it is completely multiethnic – Srpska!
I learned that the fastest way to see the level of multiethnicity of one region is by watching the endings of shows of some public service. On RTRS and other media in the RS are indeed multiethnic – absolutely Serbian.
(Source: faktor.ba)
