Speaking to RTRS, Ćosić said that divisions dating back more than three decades, which he believes contributed to the outbreak of war in BiH, have been passed down to younger generations and are now being expressed through such messages.
“The difference is that these messages refer to something that actually happened to us,” Ćosić said.
Ćosić accuses perpetrators of attempting to rewrite history
Ćosić argued that the Serb people had suffered genocide and claimed that Bosniaks had historically sided with those responsible for crimes against Serbs.
“If there is a people against whom genocide was committed, it is the Serb people. That is widely known,” he said.
“Those who participated in that genocide during the Second World War and other wars were Muslims, or Bosniaks. They were on the side of those who committed genocide against the Serb people,” Ćosić claimed.
He described the graffiti as an attempt to reinterpret historical events and transfer accusations arising from the 1990s war onto the Serb people as a whole.
“This message is an attempt to rewrite history and to take what happened during the past defensive and patriotic war, characterize it in a particular way and attribute it to our people,” he stated.
According to Ćosić, the incident also demonstrates what he sees as an inability among some younger generations of Bosniaks to establish normal relations with Serbs.
“The graffiti will be removed, but the hatred will remain”
Despite his criticism, Ćosić emphasized the need to create conditions in which different communities can live alongside one another.
“We must create the conditions to live next to each other. But if someone comes into your own backyard and insults you in such a monstrous way, while it is perfectly clear who suffered genocide in the 20th century, then it becomes obvious that things cannot function that way,” he said.
He stressed that the damage to the mural could be repaired, but argued that the hostility behind the act would ultimately harm those who promote it.
“The letters will be erased and the graffiti will be repaired. However, their shame and their hatred will ultimately consume them. That is the key message,” Ćosić said.
Warning that similar messages could target other communities
The mayor also warned that such hostility could eventually be directed against other ethnic communities.
“Today, this message is directed at Serbs. Tomorrow, in the same way and somewhere else, it could be directed at Croats,” he said.
Ćosić criticized what he described as efforts to build a collective identity around victimhood, arguing that such an approach was giving way to insults and hostility toward other peoples.
“Now comes the next phase: insults directed at other peoples and attacks against them, or against us, in our own backyard,” he stated.
Concluding his remarks, Ćosić reiterated that the mural would be restored and that acts of vandalism would not prevent Serbs from moving forward.
“A piece of graffiti can be erased, and a mural can be painted again. Do it as many times as you want. In the end, it will consume you, while we will continue moving forward, but without you,” Ćosić concluded.
Source: RTRS
