The idea of the Republic of Srpska must remain pure, the truth is inevitable, and Srpska is not fighting for its truth, but for an objective approach to facts, said the Serb member and Chairman of the Presidency of BiH, Milorad Dodik, at the forum: Deconstructing the myths about Sarajevo coexistence and Srebrenica genocide, held in Belgrade.

The event, which introduced Serbian public to the report of independent international commissions saw participation of political analysts and lawyers, in addition to commission members. It was assessed that their formation was one of the most important steps towards establishing the truth about the war in BiH.

The Republic of Srpska is committed to the fight for truth and objective approach to facts. That is why the imposed report on Srebrenica was rejected by the international community three years ago, and two commissions were formed to determine the suffering of all peoples in the area of Sarajevo and Srebrenica, said the Serb member and Chairman of BiH Presidency, Milorad Dodik.

– They determined that naturally it was a crime that had taken place in Srebrenica, but committed against both Serbs and Bosniaks, and that the word genocide could not stand in front of the events related to 1995, as they wanted to present it, and that it could not correspond to international classification of such events and that it could not be historically verified, and they clearly said so in that report – Dodik emphasized.

The reports of the independent international commissions for investigating the suffering of Serbs in Sarajevo and suffering of all peoples in the Srebrenica region were the occasion for the forum in Belgrade.

– I am convinced that the idea of the Republic of Srpska must remain pure, must be impeccable, and that we must reject any kind of satanization and tarnishing of that name and that process. A war certainly brings all sorts of things including those that are naturally outside the law and outside the morals and, as I said a while ago, we are ready to talk about it, but we cannot accept that they should use the story they are doing about the story of the alleged genocide in Srebrenica to present us as a genocidal people – Dodik added.

The obligation of the Serbian people is to tell only the truth, and thus contribute to reconciliation and peace, says the host. The event, which was supported by the Representative Office of Srpska, was organized by the information and political portals Sve o Srpskoj and Fakta. It was also heard from the gathering that a requirement for the report to become fundamental for shaping an objective picture of the war events was its promotion at international level.

– There have been and will be attempts to call into question the unquestionability of the report of the independent international commissions by the same means and ways as those used to hinder and dispute the path to historical truth – said Mlađen Cicović, head of the Republic of Srpska Representation in Serbia.

Darko Tanasković, a member of the Independent International Commission for Investigating Serbs in Sarajevo during the period 1991-1995, points out that the truth is slowly coming to light.

– It will not be able to suddenly change the overall picture that has been created over the years about the war in BiH and Serbian guilt, but it will be a starting point for those who are ready to call the alleged truth into question – Cicović emphasizes.

The Republic Center for War Crimes Research recorded 35,042 victims of the Defense and Patriotic War. More than 2,600 Serbs died in Podrinje.

– What is important is that the International Independent Commission for investigating the suffering of all peoples in the Srebrenica region had made a comprehensive report which the Government took note of, and that the Commission for investigating the suffering of Serbs in Sarajevo, I repeat, an international independent commission, also had made a comprehensive report giving character to what was happening in the Serb community in Sarajevo, i.e. the Serb community being completely cleansed in Sarajevo – said Milorad Kojić, director of the Republic Center for Research of War, War Crimes and Search for Missing Persons.

As a reminder, in August 2018, the National Assembly annulled the 2004 Report of the Commission about the events in the area of Srebrenica from 10 to 19 July 1995, which, as stated in the conclusions at the time, was made under pressure from the High Representative in BiH. Then, in 2019, two independent commissions were formed and made, first, the report on the suffering of Serbs in Sarajevo, completed last year, and then the report on the suffering of all peoples in the Srebrenica region. International experts have determined: There was no genocide!

Source and photo: RTRS