The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, rejected the claims of BiH Defense Minister Zukan Helez about his recent visit to Bugojno, calling them lies, while Helez retaliated with a message that the competent services followed Vučić’s every step during his stay in BiH and accused him of pursuing a policy that produces divisions and emigration.
The reason for the exchange of harsh messages was Helez’s earlier claims that members of the MUP of the Central Bosnia Canton removed a group of armed men who were allegedly not part of the reported security of the President of Serbia.
Vučić denied these allegations, stressing that he was not accompanied by security personnel from Serbia, but by the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republika Srpska.
“Do you know what a lie that is, not a single person is from Serbia?! Those with the quads were members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, that is their relationship of jurisdiction. He lied about everything he wrote. It was hard for him to bear that I came to his, but also my, Bugojno, that I did not ask him for permission, because I do not want to ask anyone for permission to come to my hearth,” said Vučić.
Referring to Helez, Vučić said that the Minister of Defense of BiH, as he claims, has been telling lies for years, recalling his previous statements about the “Sarajevo Safari”.
“Why don’t you arrest me, you liar? You have been lying for two years and it was hard for you that my door was open to everyone. I came to your feet, why didn’t you arrest me? I had a few people from Kobra?! And those were members of the SAJ from RS,” said the President of Serbia.
BiH Minister of Defense Zukan Helez reacted to Vučić’s statements, saying that BiH institutions followed his visit and that, if there had been an arrest warrant, it would have been executed.
“Let the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, know that we followed his every move during his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. If there had been a request for his arrest, he would have been arrested. He would not have been protected by party beaters or any security,” stated Helez.
He added that the authorities were familiar with the organization of the reception during Vučić’s visit, and asserted that it was a carefully directed political performance.
Helez then invited Vučić to walk together in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš, claiming that the Serbian president cannot visit his own cities freely without an organized reception.
“If you are allowed, let’s walk together through Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš – me as the Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and you as the President of Serbia. Everyone is aware today that wherever you have pursued your policy under the pretext of defending Serbs and Serbianness, there are fewer Serbs today – from Gazivode, through Glina, to Čipuljić. It is the Great Serbian policy that you have been promoting for years that has left behind divisions, emigration and empty hearths. If you continue to defend Serbs and Serbia, you will achieve the goal of ‘all Serbs in one country’ – but that country will only be Serbia.”
In the end, he emphasized that his criticisms are not directed against the Serbian people, but against, as he stated, the policy of Greater Serbia, which does not recognize the crimes committed and advocates division instead of peace and cooperation, Klix.ba writes.
