The Director of the Research and Documentation Center of the IDC Mirsad Tokača was detained today at the Police Station in Rogatica, because he had the flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the antenna of his vehicle.
“At the exit from Rogatica, while I was driving, a traffic light suddenly appeared behind me, the police stopped me. I assumed why, because I had a small flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina attached to the antenna. After a short conversation, they took me to the Police Station in Rogatica, to give a statement and to issue me a misdemeanor warrant for violating public order and peace, because I displayed that flag,” said Tokaca to Fena.
The police took the flag away from him and handed him a misdemeanor warrant of 100 BAM.
“I had to explain to them repeatedly that it was not a banned flag and that I had the right to display it, just like any other flag that is not banned. They only stated in the minutes that I did not want to make any statement and that I wanted legal proceedings. So we will see each other in court. I warned them to take good care of that flag because they have to return it to me,” said Tokača.
He emphasized that a process is now opening “in which we need to show that what they have been doing in the last 20 days or so is a classic example of violence against people, both returnees and those who are transiting through a smaller BiH entity, that it is a violation of basic human rights to express their beliefs, freedom of speech”.
“This is a type of gendarme behavior. They think that this is the old Yugoslavia, and they are behaving like gendarmes who only did not tie me up, that was the only thing that was correct. The guys did not use it because I did not offer any resistance. I voluntarily went to the police station and now we are moving on. This will not end this way,” said Tokača.
As he pointed out, this is not just about him, it is about hundreds – thousands of people, people who have the right to preserve the continuity of the state of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Tokaca said that this today was not a provocation or a disturbance of people, or a violation of public order and peace.
Because waving a flag on a car antenna cannot disturb anyone. Besides, I was on the move, I did not stop anywhere, I was moving – said Tokaca
He added that the police officers at the Police Station were correct.
These are children who are carrying out someone’s order, and the order comes from the top of the police of the Republika Srpska entity. This is a systematic attempt to violate the human rights of citizens who legally wear the symbols of their internationally recognized state, without offending anyone – said Tokaca.
According to him, attempts to legalize some things in RS entity are actually a type of violence that must be stopped because it can cause major problems, Fena writes.
