The ABA League basketball game between Igokea and Crvena Zvezda in Laktasi was turned into a political performance, where sports were grossly misused to send provocative and offensive messages.
The president of Basketball Club Igokea and vice president of SNSD, Igor Dodik, had been announcing a “surprise” at the match against Zvezda for days, and two days ago it became clear what had been prepared.
In the stands, a massive banner was unfurled featuring the image of the United States (U.S.) ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina(BiH), Michael Murphy, depicted with Hitler’s mustache and a swastika on his arm. Next to the image was the message:
“You’re leaving, you’re leaving, you’re destroying everything for them, in your heart there is painful emptiness, Srpska survived, Mile survived, what now, mother’s son?”
The match was also attended by the president of Republika Srpska(RS), Milorad Dodik, and the president of the National Assembly of RS (NARS), Nenad Stevandic, further indicating the political background of the entire event. It is clear who orchestrated this provocation and who used Igokea’s supporters to display and hold the banner.
The display of a swastika and the allusion to Nazi symbolism at any location in BiH is unacceptable and provokes serious reactions. It remains to be seen how the relevant institutions, as well as the U.S. embassy, Western diplomats, and the international community, will respond to this direct provocation and new insult to the U.S.ambassador.
In the context of Dodik’s long-standing relations with Western diplomats, this incident comes as yet another move aimed at provoking political conflict and escalating tensions with the international community. The question is whether this time the reactions will be more concrete or if, as before, everything will end with verbal condemnations, Klix.ba writes.
