SNSD leader Milorad Dodik stated in an op-ed for Glas Srpske that Republika Srpska has once again prevailed over opponents who believed that force alone would break it, failing to understand that its strength comes from a people “who have never known how to kneel.”
Dodik emphasized that Republika Srpska is not a political project, but a legacy — an ancestral homeland and a commitment to future generations — and that its defense is a duty, not a choice.
SRNA conveys Dodik’s op-ed in full:
Republika Srpska has won. Again.
And it did not win because it was louder, harsher, or larger — it won because it was stronger, wiser, and more consistent than all those who wished to bring it down. It won by rules that were not ours, in a contest we did not choose, against opponents who believed that one strong blow would be enough to break us.
They did not understand the most important thing: the strength of Republika Srpska comes from the people, not from positions of power. Sarajevo looked for an enemy in me. I looked at the people of Srpska. Sarajevo builds its politics on obsession. They are obsessed with me because I stand in the way of what they can never become — masters of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
They are obsessed with Republika Srpska because they want it smaller, weaker, quieter, or erased altogether. But I have never practiced politics of obsession. I practiced politics of friendship, stability, and self-respect. While they drew enemies, I built bridges.
While they invoked chaos, I protected peace.
While they attacked a position, I defended an institution.
Republika Srpska is not my political option. It is my vow. For many in Sarajevo, Srpska is merely a geographical space they would gladly erase from the map.
For me, it is much more: the homeland of my ancestors, a legacy to descendants, proof that the hardest paths are crossed when a people know what they are defending.
This is why defending Republika Srpska is an obligation, not a choice. Not for me — but for every honorable Serb, wherever they live. They dreamed of my end, and then the end of Srpska. But I made plans for a new beginning.
Not for the first time, nor the last. They are used to underestimating what they do not understand. When I decided to take a step back, many hoped it marked my end. They did not understand that major steps forward often begin with a deliberate step back — not for oneself, but for the people.
I proved that my position is not sacred. Republika Srpska is. Functions pass. The people remain. Statehood remains.
Sarajevo celebrates a victory it did not achieve. And that is its greatest weakness. They wanted humiliation, chaos, the collapse of Republika Srpska’s institutions. Instead, they got stability, unity, and a people who once again showed whom they trust when it matters most.
Sarajevo holds only an illusion of victory. And illusion is all it has. Because anyone who must invent victory has already lost.
And Republika Srpska?
Republika Srpska moves forward. Calm. Strong. Dignified.
With a people who know how to choose, and leaders who know how to bear the weight of the times. I have not finished my plans. I have not finished my battles. I have not fulfilled my obligation to Srpska. And no matter how hard they try to stop us, one thing they cannot defeat: the strength of a people who have never known how to kneel. The Serb people.
Source: RTRS
