The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, asserted today that it is not possible to equate Srebrenica with Jasenovac, emphasizing that he is not exaggerating when discussing the scale of the atrocities committed in that concentration camp.
In response to the statement by the President of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, who claimed that Dodik “exaggerates” when he says that 500,000 Serbs and 200,000 members of other nations perished in Jasenovac, Dodik remarked that Milanović “has his own audience.”
“I believe we have a tacit agreement not to comment on each other… Am I exaggerating when I talk about Jasenovac? That’s his opinion. Our data indicates a number of 700,000 – 500,000 Serbs and 200,000 others,” Dodik stated.
He added that he confirmed this during his visit to the “Yad Vashem” Memorial Center in Jerusalem, where there is a room with the names of all the camps.
“Under the name Jasenovac, the number 500,000 is written. I spoke with the director of that center, considered one of the most influential people in Israel, who told me, ‘Here it is recorded, and they can say what they want. 500,000 is the minimum number of victims,'” Dodik explained.
The President of Republika Srpska pointed out that the manner in which other people’s victims are respected in BiH is also evidenced by the monument at Kazani, where Sarajevo Serbs were killed, with the inscription “citizens of Sarajevo.”
“And this is the narrative they serve us. There is no possibility of living in such a BiH,” Dodik told Happy TV.
He reiterated that those who think the resolution on Srebrenica will be forgotten in a few months are mistaken, and they label him a nationalist when he says it won’t be.
“I am a nationalist, but not a chauvinist. Are you not allowed to love your own people? I have Bosniak friends, but in a political sense, we are two universes apart,” Dodik stated.
Commenting on the local elections in December, when the opposition in Serbia claimed that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić brought voters from Republika Srpska, Dodik said that wherever he appears in Serbia, citizens greet him with joy, while they turn their heads away from opposition members.
“That’s their problem. If they want to be serious politicians, they must first address the people and see what the people think. They didn’t need to say anything to the people about this UN resolution. The people thought: ‘This is against us,’ and then some opposition member appears and says they will represent them,” Dodik explained.
He added that this is not possible and that the prevailing national interest is paramount.
“Perhaps the problem is that previously in Serbia, the national interest was not respected, but the interests of some offices and embassies,” Dodik concluded, noting that he never agreed to such discussions and ultimatums.
Source: RTRS
