After the Ministry of Interior of the Republika Srpska banned the celebration of BiH Statehood Day in Banja Luka, members of the veterans’ organization of the RS held a rally today due to the announced event of the academy on the occasion of BiH Statehood Day at the Marriot Hotel. The Academy was banned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RS. The former fighters said that “they will not allow humiliation and that day means nothing to them”.
The former fighters initially gathered in front of the m:tel building in Banja Luka, after which they walked to the Marriot hotel. They stayed there for a short time and headed towards Borik settlement, where the headquarters of the SDP in Banja Luka is located.
They carried RS flags, and while they were walking through the city, you could hear the songs “March on the Drina”, “Rejoice, the Serbian people” and shouts of “This is Serbia”.
The president of the Republika Srpska Veterans Organization, Radan Ostojić, says that in this way they want to show their dissatisfaction with the attempt to celebrate BiH Statehood Day in Banja Luka.
“When we found out that it would be commemorated, we sent a letter to the MoI of the RS. Although it is forbidden, they have announced that they will gather and we want to say in a democratic way that we are against it. This is an insult to us fighters who fought for the RS. The police say that there is no one in the hotel, but we heard that three ministers from Sarajevo will come to Banjaluka and we will meet them to tell them that they can walk freely, that everyone is welcome. They just can’t celebrate this day or the ZAVNOBHI that they destroyed with their actions. They sacrificed peace and we fought for RS with weapons. RS and Dejeton Bosnia and Herzegovina have nothing to do with ZAVNOBiH. They propagate brotherhood and unity where Serbs will be majorized. BiH can only rest on Dayton. They come with the intention of provoking us and that will not bring anything good to anyone. For the Serbian people, peace is imperative and the RS has no alternative, and we will fight for that idea. We will send a clear message and we will certainly not create an incident that would destabilize the situation. We have a special tolerance, but we perceive what has been happening lately as a humiliation. It is not excluded that we will fight with some other methods, if this continues,” he said.
When asked by journalists if they had asked for approval for their rally, he stated that they had not, but that they had decided to hold it due to the large number of calls from ex-combatants.
The Banjaluka and Mrkonjić Grad police departments have banned the holding of public gatherings announced for November 25 on the occasion of BiH Statehood Day and the anniversary of ZAVNOBIH. At the same time, a public gathering organized by the Municipal Veterans Organization Mrkonjić Grad planned for the same day has also been banned.
The Statehood Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina was established on November 25, 1943, at the first session of ZAVNOBiH in Mrkonjić Grad. Then the Resolution of ZAVNOBiH was adopted, in which it was stated that “Bosnia and Herzegovina is neither Serbian, nor Croatian, nor Muslim, but equally Croatian, Muslim and Serbian, a fraternal community of all equal peoples”.
Statehood Day is celebrated only in FBiH, N1 reports.
