Croatian historian Goran Šarić stated that the trial against the president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, is a trial against the Serbs west of the Drina and Republika Srpska.
Here is the full text of Šarić’s piece for the Banja Luka Net portal:
“I love Bosnia and often return to it. I have been visiting regularly for over twenty years. I love all three of its peoples.
In my life, ‘Bosnians’ of all three faiths have perhaps been my dearest people, friends, comrades, and colleagues. That is why it pains me that my beloved Bosnia, even 30 years after that unfortunate fratricidal war, remains under colonial rule, that Meho, Dragan, and Ante cannot reach an agreement themselves to build and preserve this beautiful land.
But how can Bosnia and Herzegovina be built if not on the Dayton Agreement?
I came to Bosnia the day before yesterday, not for a pleasant reason. Instead of visiting sites in Visoko, the stone spheres near Teočak or Zavidovići, the medieval stećak above Pale, or the medieval Bobovac, I went to the BiH Court building—a building that served as a camp for Serbs during the war. The symbolism is strong. In this former prison for Serbs, Dodik is supposedly on trial, but in reality, it is a trial against Serbs and Republika Srpska, conducted by a former member of the so-called BiH army and a member of Alija’s SDA party.
I interrupted my archaeological expedition in the Middle East. Properly speaking, that is the Near East; the Balkans is the Near East for Westerners. But the spectacle I witnessed would be hard to imagine even in the Middle East. This trial, which is actually a travesty orchestrated by the colonial administrator, private citizen Christian Schmidt, who falsely claims to be the High Representative, violates all principles of law and justice. Even if Schmidt had the UN mandate to be the High Representative, his role would be to oversee the implementation of Annex 10, specifically monitoring the execution of all civil aspects of the Dayton Agreement.
No High Representative has any connection to Annex 4 or the constitutional aspects of the Dayton Agreement, and yet it is precisely for this that Dodik is being tried. If this were just a trial against Dodik, I would not have interrupted my journey, as I am not interested in the personal problems of any politician. But this is a trial against the Serbs west of the Drina and against Republika Srpska, where the few remaining Serbs live after the genocide in the NDH (Independent State of Croatia).
That’s why I came, to help, as much as I can, this suffering people. I will always advocate for reconciliation and coexistence among ‘Bosnians’ of all three faiths, but coexistence cannot be built on the dismantling of Republika Srpska, the only guarantee of the survival of Serbs in BiH. Croats, and even Bosniaks, in particular, should solve their problems without ‘high representatives.’
If Westerners attempt to mediate peace for you, the conflict will be permanent. Serbs in BiH remember 1941 well and know what happened when they didn’t have their own state. No one can dismantle Republika Srpska without committing another genocide against the Serbs. That is why we all need to stand together and firmly resist any attempts to dismantle Republika Srpska. Or, as Croatian President Milanović would say: ‘Keep your hands off Dodik!'”
Source: RTRS
